Silvermine Bay

 Ever since we got back to Hong Kong, we've been itching for a Beach Day. Instead, it's been rainy and grey. There's been a few hot, sunny, blue-skied days, but they've all been during the week. By the time the weekend arrives, it's back to rain. 
So this last Saturday, when it was cloudy, but not actually WET, we decided to just take a day trip to the beach regardless, and we would just stay as long as we could. 

 We like Silvermine Bay Beach because it's a fairly nice beach, but it also has a great Turkish restaurant (where we went for my birthday), and an English used-bookstore, which is a rarity in Hong Kong. So even though it's a bit of a journey to get out there, we think it's a worth-while destination. The bus ride is scenic too. 

 The clouds were crazy to watch. It was obviously pouring rain in other parts of Hong Kong, but since it still was very warm and hadn't hit us yet, Mike and Annika went and swam in the shallow water, while Leila and I relaxed. 

 The this point, the lifeguard kept making announcements over the loudspeaker that a thunderstorm warning was in place, but since it wasn't in this vicinity there would still be lifeguard services. But finally, even though the rain hadn't come, they announced over the loudspeaker that a storm was approaching and everyone needed to leave the beach. 

 The rain started off slowly, but by the time we got to the ferry terminal it was a downpour. That's ok. We had time for a nice lunch, a browse through the bookstore, and a decent amount of time on the beach. We were glad we hadn't let the forecast keep us home. 

We took the train/bus to get there, and the ferry/train to get home, which essentially took us on a big circle. It was a good day, but we're still holding out hope that we'll get some actual beach weather that happens to fall on a weekend sometime soon!