#18 Introspections from the Beach 沙灘思路

Party, camping & beach cleanup at Sai Wan, Sai Kung

Welcome back to City Girl Slow Life. This is Tania. The newsletter was on hold for almost a year, as the life I was living was faster than ever. Building two ventures at the same time in attempts to living slowly, I ran out of time to sit down and contemplate and share my musings (nothing made it out of the drafts!). I aim to live 2025 more intentionally and to create more, so thanks for sticking around! :)

歡迎回到〈城市女孩・慢生活〉，我是 Tania。過去一年我同時開始了兩個不同的創業項目，有時候生活的步伐快到忘了怎麼慢生活：）寫了很多文章的草稿，但都不足以放到平台上。今年我期許自己能對日子有更多的察覺、並有更多的創作，所以謝謝你仍舊訂閱，希望你也喜歡我的沙灘思路 ♡

Before camping in Sai Wan Beach, I didn’t know the impact of camping at such a space will bring me.

去西貢的西灣沙灘露營前，我沒想過我會有什麼思路會讓我想要重新開始寫文章。但去了一趟，短短的兩天一夜，收穫卻是滿滿的。

Nestled deep in Sai Kung, we had to take a 30-min speedboat to reach the beach. First, was the rush of the bumpy waves where the speedboat would fly up a couple of meters then slam back down. Then, was knowing that when you get off the boat, you need to take off your shoes and tread through the water to shore. When you finally made it, the beach welcomes you with its vastness.

西灣離市區非常的遠，從西貢市中心，我們搭了三十多分鐘的快船才抵達沙灘。一路上我們乘風破浪，便已開始了和大自然共舞的行程，下船的時候甚至要涉水才能抵岸。在抵岸後，映入眼簾的是一望無際的沙灘。我們到了！

Our goal for the weekend was simple: Saturday night beach party, Sunday afternoon beach cleanup.

我們週末的計劃很簡單，週六晚上我們想要舉辦一個小型的沙灘派對，而週日下午在離開前我們要進行淨灘。

Within three hours, our crew set up tents, created a dance floor — we tied a massive tarp to the trees to create a cover and stuck bamboo sticks in the ground to create more height. We built a sick fire pit with bricks lying around and started a fire, and even designed a nice stage for the DJ decks + our JBL speaker we got specifically for this trip.

我們在短短的三小時內搭建了我們的帳篷，用帆布與撿來的竹棍建立了我們的舞池的屋頂與支架，並用遍地的石磚設計了爐火區、DJ台、音響區。其中一位友人在我們在忙的時候已把火升起。

As night falls, the mesmerising energy of the fire increases. It’s the sizzling, the smell, the colour, the glow and the shift in the energy. In a beach full of vastness, the fire glued us together. On a cold night, there’s nothing better than sitting next to the fire. As the fire glows, so do our spirits. Giggles and banters float in between the flames.

火的魔力在夜晚來臨時越來越夢幻：火燒木頭的酥酥聲、濃密的煙味、在黃橘紅之間跳動的顏色⋯⋯從光的忽明忽暗中也能感受到空氣中的能量變化。在浩大的海與海灘中，這把火把我們凝聚再一起。寒夜之中，我沒有任何慾望，因為我已經和好友們坐在熾熱的火旁邊了。當火升起，我們的意志力也升起。時而說笑、時而深談，時間在火旁邊近乎停止卻又接近永恆。

It was shocking that throughout the night there were still speedboats coming into the beach. The beach was no longer empty and vast as we found it, but turned into a cozy commune of more than 20 tents. Hong Kong can be so small sometimes. Even in the middle of nowhere, deep in nature, the tents nexts to ours turned out to be family friends and some other Sai Kung rugby boys.

明明夜晚已經到來，我們卻一直看到不同的快船紛紛停靠在西灣沙灘，原來夜深了還是有人要來這個海灘。原本空蕩蕩的沙灘一轉眼已有超過二十個帳篷搭建，今晚的西灣臨時社區靜悄悄的已經成立了。在香港有多容易碰見認識的人？連在大自然深處的我們，也發現能附近的帳篷，其中一個是鄰居朋友、另一個則是西貢的一些欖球隊隊員們。

“I followed the music and found you!” said Chiara, one of the attendees who RSVP-ed to our beach party as her friends and her joined our fire. We were playing some past Tempo Contato party recordings before we switched to live DJing. The serendipity of new friendships at a party combined with the serenity of the beach and accompanied by soulful beats — the night couldn’t be any better. But it did. As we started dancing to the music, we also noticed the waves lit up in bioluminescence. The waves were dancing with us too.

「我們跟著音樂走就找到你們啦！」Chiara是其中一個報名參加我們沙灘派對的大學交換生。當時我們的 JBL partybox 正播著 Tempo Contato 之前的派對紀錄作為背景音樂。當人潮來了，我們便準備切換音樂開始 DJ。能在海邊聽音樂、跳舞、遇見不同文化背景的新朋友真好！當我們沉浸於巧遇的美好時，一抬頭，海浪中可以看見藍眼淚向我們招手——此刻的浪花被藍色螢光色點綴，夢幻不已。

And at about 9:30pm, our JBL speaker died. The online advertisement promised 18 hours but it lasted only about 5 hours perhaps due to it being on full volume and full light show mode. We were deeply frustrated by the technical issue and desperately wanted to charge it to continue the party, but we didn’t bring the charger. While we were thinking who to call to get them to the beach at this hour to save the party, we got interrupted by erupting fireworks coming from deep inside the mountains. “This is the best night ever!!!” While the fireworks kept going on for the next few minutes, it’s as if it’s a celebration to the end of our joyful gathering. At that moment we accepted that the party is coming to an abrupt end.

晚上九點半時，我們的JBL音響突然沒了聲音。不是能播十八個小時嗎？結果在最高音量、LED模式下只能撐五個小時。此刻的我無比懊悔，怎麼沒帶充電器呢？但就算帶了充電器，該在哪充電呢？是不是該叫個朋友送充電器來呢？還沒想到一個結論時，突然山裡面砰砰砰的煙花聲響起。抬頭一看，哇，太美了吧！也太剛好了吧！「這是我在香港最棒的一晚！」煙火就這麼持續了好幾分鐘，山裡的陌生人和我們一同慶祝這美好的一晚。派對於是在煙火的幫助下畫下了完美的句點。

As the fireworks stopped, we gravitated back to the fire pit, and that’s when we realized even the firewood we had foraged were running low. Some of us went to forage for more, as I kept fanning the fire to keep it alive. The process of fanning a fire is a direct communication without any words. You must trust your intuition when fanning — is it too much? Is it too little? Do I need to change an angle? Should I blow some air or should I use this cardboard? No matter what you do, you simply have to trust that it will work. And when it doesn’t, you must iterate quickly. There’s no time for hesitation, especially when the fire is weak. What keeps a fire alive is a combination of many subtle changes — it’s not about pondering why and how. Your job is just to keep the fire alive. And when suddenly the fire is full of life again, there is hope in the air.

當煙火停了，我們又聚在營火邊。這時我們才發現，火快熄了，柴火也快沒了！同行友人有些跑去尋覓更多的柴火，而我則開始瘋狂煽火，不能讓火熄啦！煽火的過程彷彿是和火進行一個無語的對話一般。什麼時候需要大力一點、什麼時候需要小力一點、什麼時候需要換個角度，全憑直覺。尤其是在火這麼微弱的時候，煽火過程不容片刻遲疑，而且必須全程專注，隨時應變。到底是哪個步驟能把火救起來呢？這也不太重要。重要的是：必須將火救起。而當火充滿生命力時，你鬆了一口氣：今晚不用冷著過了。

Life at the beach is as simple as staying warm and having a good time with good people around you.

在海灘時很容易感到滿足：只要身子暖著、和好友們快樂閒聊，心也就暖暖的。

Eventually we decided to part ways and get ready for bed so we can be well rested for our beach cleanup the next day. Sleeping on the beach is surely not the most comfortable, but being fully engulfed by the gentle nature somehow made it the most restful sleep for all of us.

美好的時光總是要告一個段落，尤其是為了隔天的淨灘活動，我們必須睡飽飽才有體力。睡沙灘當然不比家裡的床墊舒服，但被大自然輕輕的呵護著時，我們沉沉地睡去，好久沒有睡得這麼香、這麼沉了。

To be continued…

未完待續⋯⋯