Last week I had to play tennis at the Hong Kong Jockey Club's swanky retreat in the northern New Territories, "Beas River". Having never been there before, I checked out the HKJC website and printed off the directions I needed, i.e. those for the last bit after you leave the Fanling Highway.
All went well until I got to Step 14. The caption for this photo contains the first hint that something is amiss by telling you to "continue along Castle Peak Road and follow the sign (sic) for The Hong Kong Jockey Club". Surely one is never going to be enough? But nothing can prepare you for the trick that the Jockey Club plays on the driver in the next step. Or, rather, the missing step.
For, they completely miss out the most crucial junction of the lot, the right turn onto Kwu Tung Road. All of which means that the driver continues to steam down Castle Peak Road towards Yuen Long, sinceStep 15 clearly indicates that the next turn will be a left turn.
The Jockey Club pile Pelion on Ossa by sticking their one sign for "The Hong Kong Jockey Club" at the junction of Castle Peak Road and Kwu Tong Road only for the benefit of drivers coming from Yuen Long, i.e. you only see a sign at all when you've got lost, turned round and are driving back towards Fanling.
Fortunately, I've been to the golf course at Fanling a number of times, so I knew that Beas River, being adjacent to the golf course, couldn't be in Yuen Long. Less fortunately, one of our party for the HKTA mixed doubles league match didn't know this and she went round in circles, finally making it after a two-hour journey. What would have happened had she not been a Cantonese speaker, I shudder to think.
So, I have a Lunar New Year suggestion for myfellow blogger EB (known to you as Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges), which I've been kind enough to email him in person, in case he misses it here. Actually, I have two suggestions, so that he can adopt the one he thinks adds the most value.
Either A) sort out your website and your signage, or B) replace "Step" with "Fence", because getting to your place at Beas River is akin to riding in the Grand National. You're a racing man, Winfried. Perhaps you could call Fence 14A the Water Jump in honour of the phantom obstacle that Dick Francis and Devon Loch attempted to negotiate in 1956?
All went well until I got to Step 14. The caption for this photo contains the first hint that something is amiss by telling you to "continue along Castle Peak Road and follow the sign (sic) for The Hong Kong Jockey Club". Surely one is never going to be enough? But nothing can prepare you for the trick that the Jockey Club plays on the driver in the next step. Or, rather, the missing step.
For, they completely miss out the most crucial junction of the lot, the right turn onto Kwu Tung Road. All of which means that the driver continues to steam down Castle Peak Road towards Yuen Long, since
The Jockey Club pile Pelion on Ossa by sticking their one sign for "The Hong Kong Jockey Club" at the junction of Castle Peak Road and Kwu Tong Road only for the benefit of drivers coming from Yuen Long, i.e. you only see a sign at all when you've got lost, turned round and are driving back towards Fanling.
Fortunately, I've been to the golf course at Fanling a number of times, so I knew that Beas River, being adjacent to the golf course, couldn't be in Yuen Long. Less fortunately, one of our party for the HKTA mixed doubles league match didn't know this and she went round in circles, finally making it after a two-hour journey. What would have happened had she not been a Cantonese speaker, I shudder to think.
So, I have a Lunar New Year suggestion for my
Either A) sort out your website and your signage, or B) replace "Step" with "Fence", because getting to your place at Beas River is akin to riding in the Grand National. You're a racing man, Winfried. Perhaps you could call Fence 14A the Water Jump in honour of the phantom obstacle that Dick Francis and Devon Loch attempted to negotiate in 1956?
On that note, may I wish Kung Hei Fat Choi to all my readers, and I'll be back with more riveting stuff on Monday 7 February.
1 comments:
we were there just before xmas and nearly made the same mistake, but also luckily used logic rather than the instructions and got there intact!
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