10th November, 2018

Mission accomplished. On Thursday, we headed back to Lantau Island, hiked up Lantau Peak, and scattered some of Nick's ashes into the wind. Lantau Peak, the 2nd tallest in Hong Kong, was one of our favourite hikes, and one of the toughest. It's a relentless climb to ~950 m (thankfully not from sea level), up stone stairs, some of which are 18" tall. A real heart-pounding thigh-burner this one. I actually found it easy this time, since Vincent was with us, draggin' ass. It was like Tai Chi hiking - quasi static, barely breaking a sweat. Vincent was half dead though. Anyhow, part of Nick has returned to Hong Kong now. Next stops are the Bruce Peninsula and Kelowna. Obviously, the biggest part of Nick is in the hearts and minds of those who knew and loved him. But it's meaningful to see his ashes returned home. It still sucks like Hell though.

Yesterday, Tanja and I did a truly intense hike, from Tsuen Wan (at sea level) up to the top of Castle Peak. More steep stairs, and at a relentless pace - that was a hike. The view from the peak was panoramic - Hong Kong on one side, China (now connected to HK by the longest bridge in the world) on the other. This group of enthusiastic Chinese guys joined us on the peak. Man, the people we've met here have been so nice. If for some reason I ever end up working here after retirement - and it would have to be on a lucrative contract with a fat housing allowance for me to even consider it - I swear I'll learn Cantonese. We were far too busy and stressed out to learn the language back in 1994-6.

We headed to the cinema last night - fortunately only 400 m from our hotel. We checked out the Freddy Mercury biopic, Bohemian Rhapsody. 5 out of 5, IMHO. We've always been huge Queen fans, and the actor who played Freddy did a bang-up job. Of course arc of Freddy's life was tragic, and this resonated strongly with Tanja and I. We were crying through the whole movie. But Warren Zevon nailed it when he sang:

***
Well, I've seen all there is to see 
And I've heard all they have to say 
I've done everything I wanted to do . . . 
I've done that too 
And it ain't that pretty at all
Ain't that pretty at all 
So I'm going to hurl myself against the wall
'Cause I'd rather feel bad 
Than not feel anything at all
***

Starting the hike up Lantau Peak. A few of the stairs lurk in the background. 

Made it up Lantau Peak. 
Ashes

Preparing to hike down.

The way down. 

Cows in Ngong Ping as the hike concludes

Enthusiastic hikers up on Castle Peak

Panoramic view from Castle Peak

We hiked down the other side of Castle Peak, down a gravelly and steep trail. Almost ass-planted a couple times, but at least avoided cobras lurking in the grass. 
Our hike ended up on a hillside, at a cemetery. With local property values in excess of $5000/sq. ft., the government is strongly pushing for cremation over burial. 



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

September 23rd, 2018 - End Game

I arrived at the cancer clinic at about 9:15 this morning, still wired after playing a great party in Bayfield, getting home at 2:00 am. Dr. Potvin had the results of the thoracic CT scan and the head MRI. The hope was that there might be on or two brain lesions responsible for Nick's dramatic neurological decline. No such luck. The cancer, grown chemo and radiation resistant, has proliferated in Nick's brain. There's no way to stop its growth, and it's ineroperable. Nick has days left. They're keeping Nick in hospital, as to send him home would result in horrific, traumatic consequences. The best they can do is try to make Nick's exit as peaceful as possible. Nick's six year battle is finally coming to an end. These six years have been trying, but we've not been without help, hope and support along the way. We love and deeply appreciate everyone who's had our backs during this time.
Read more

10th June 2019

Image
Last week we found out that the Nick Greeson Memorial scholarship had reached the $3000 mark.  On Friday, I spoke with two Humber representatives who told me that they were overwhelmed that we were able to raise that much money in such a short time.  "A remarkable achievement," Marlene announced. "We have enough money now to keep the scholarship going for another three years."  In November of this year, Matthew, myself and other family members will be attending the Humber Awards Ceremony where we will be honoured with the privilege of bestowing this award to another student who is/was struggling with medical issues while still demonstrating resilience and fortitude in the face of adversity -someone just like our Nick.  Thanks to all who contributed.  Please feel free to continue donating to this fund if you are so inclined.  We want to keep it going as long as possible. (LINK TO NICK'S MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP) I just received an email from a young man named Eri
Read more