I Visited The Saddest Park Ever and Yelled at My Dad

Walk into the park and you would be greeted by this depressed duck at the entrance

On Sunday 19 Dec 2021, the Hong Kong government decided to make 99 percent of the city’s transport free for all. That was why on the day before that, my mom asked me repeatedly while pacing around the apartment,

“Shirley, will you go outside with me and Dad tomorrow? Transport will be free! I want to go to Kam Tin and visit the Sky Mirror there. I have been around Kam Tin and it was nice. I want to bring you and Dad around. Go with me! You can’t just stare at your computer all day, you need to move!”

What is a “Sky Mirror”? Where is Kam Tin? Who are you, Shirley Lee, and why do I have to read about your family trip? Good questions.

Some Background Information Before We Begin

Where is Kam Tin?

I am not an expert of the city I live in (Hong Kong). I have grown up and lived here for 26 years yet I still mix up the districts from time to time. I am used to being laughed at for this.

I don’t know the history of Kam Tin (錦田); I don’t know its exact location. When my mom told me that she wanted to visit Kam Tin, I only had a vague “vibe” of what Kam Tin possibly is like. Here are some random, very likely inaccurate thoughts that pop up in my mind when “Kam Tin” was mentioned:

• It is probably one of the “backyards” of Hong Kong — there would be a lot of greens, most probably more than other places in Hong Kong, a concrete cyberpunk of a city
• It is also the “backyard” in a sense that all construction and car waste would be piled up there
• There would be farms and ponds
• There would be a lot of village houses
• The air would probably be cleaner than other parts of Hong Kong
• The words “mosquito repellent spray” popped up in my head the moment the words “Kam Tin” were uttered
• You know how in the Wild West of the greatest country of all time (USA), because it was mostly nature (desert and cacti), not many people were…