You may be sitting reading my blog in a far away land, imagining me in a busy, built up city of concrete sky scrapers choked with crowds. Well let me tell you now, you are wrong. I live in Sai Kung, which is a small fishing town surrounded by green mountains and known in all tourist literature you care to read as the 'garden' of Hong Kong. Its really true. From my house, perched high on one of the aforesaid green mountains, I am afforded the most relaxing yet stunning view - described by Roy Wilson as my millionaire's view' (Roy being a friend of mine from Blackpool so he should know).
Of course this gem of a town is a magnet for city dwellers at weekends. The town becomes thronged as many Hong Kongers travel on the efficient, safe and clean public transport system to breath in the clean air. They pass through on their way to Sai Kung Country Park to hike or barbecue. Or they come to the pier to catch a ferry which will take them to one of the outlying islands and a beach. Then there are the golfers who catch a special ferry to the best public golf course in the world check it out - http://www.kscgolf.com/index.asp it is really the world's best.
But an increasing popular hobby of visitors to Sai Kung is dogging. Well yes, I know these days it doesn't have anything to do with dogs but I want to rescue this thoroughly spoilt word and take it out of the domain of dark country lanes and disheveled clothes and bring it back to the canine world where it truly belongs. Yes dogging is the practice of parading your dog along the waterfront of Sai Kung together with dozens of other dog owners while admiring other people's dogs, taking photographs of other people's dogs, preening your own dog, picking up your own dog's poo or diluting their wee with bottled water so as not to pollute the clean streets of Sai Kung. Dog owners can regularly be seen enjoying a meal at an outside cafe - the attentive waiter having brought the dog a special chair so it doesn't have to sit on that cold dirty floor.
There is a plethora of dog accessory shops here. I can't keep up with the rate at which a new one opens and, sadly, one closes down. There are loads of pet supply shops, some quite basic selling food, chew toys and the odd fancy dog lead but now we have sophisticated dog clothes shops stocking a whole range of doggy clothes with diamante studded collars to raincoats for dogs. And now, to my total amazement and disbelief - doggy buggies. Yes pushchairs/strollers for dogs. At first I thought this was just a silly manufacturing gimmick when I saw one for sale in a pet shops. But how wrong could I be? Each weekend it is easy to spot the doggers equipped with doggy pushchairs pushing their pampered pooches around the town. What ever happened to taking them for a walk?
Photographic evidence of the existence of doggers with pushchairs in Sai Kung with and pooch pushchairs for sale. Also lovely orange raincoat for dogs plus a pick n mix counter for doggie treats. By the way, if you want to place an order for a pushchair I can get you a good price!
