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Fo Tan Hares - Gobi Lo, Crash Test Dummy Hashers - Comes Up the Rear, Dr Evil, Gobi Lo Ho, Snatch Catcher, Octopussy, Freewheel, Blow My Bush, TV Tits, Crash Test Dummy Write-up - Snatch Catcher 5:30pm - my alarm goes off, reminding me to get ready for LSW Hash. It's a 7pm start, back to the good ole days. Getting to CTD and Gobi Lo's joint run in Fo Tan is an adventure in itself. Navigating the depths of Quarry Bay MTR, battling the expressionless robots glued to their mobile phones walking into me from all directions possible at Admiralty MTR, and then thinking I am finally well on my way and having scored a standing spot in the packed train on the light blue line - but no, this train does not stop at Fo Tan... To not bore you real runners with my urban misadventure, I finally arrived at A at 7:25pm... and very grumpy... the 2 hares looking a little downcast even though they seem to be manning a large number of bags. You are runner #5 I was told, the rest of the bags belonging to the basketballers! Briefing was straight forward: 1 trail no splits, 7.8k - 'cos not many people so no point setting 2 trails. Big uphill, lollipop trail. So up towards the looming dark hills behind Fo Tan I go - every step is new territory since I have never been here! But the run is certainly way more enjoyable than the MTR ride, however 'short' that ride was. Up on a steep, sandy and weathered trail which offers a gorgeous view of the Ma On Shan Range behind me. The moon was wonderfully bight and full, hanging like a disc in a perfectly clear sky, illuminating the mountains in the distance. If only this was the case for the blood moon eclipse the night before! Deep into the dark wilderness I continue on, taking comfort that the trail is extremely well marked, doubt there is any chance of me getting lost - although there is a story about a certain hasher who went off trail to avoid some cows, and hence getting lost... Finally getting to a flatter part of the trail, but now it is a forest track with fallen trees as hurdles that my short legs need to get over. After what feels like 2.5km of slow hurdling (but actually just below 1km), the trail finally leads me onto a paved road. Hurray! Time to make haste, my tummy is growling. Even the sight of a mushroom forest growing out of a lump of turd could not entice me to slow me down for a picture. I did eventually catch up with 1 other lonely hasher, Freewheel, going very carefully on the slippery, sandy downhill. I skipped past, and the rest of the trail was straightforward, and gleefully for me, all downhill. The group had moved onto the bash, rightly so since its past 9pm by then. Octo was gushing about how great the food at this Dai Pai Dong is - that a Fo Tan run must end with a bash here! And we also have 2 special guests! Dr Evil returning to HK for a visit and chooses LSW to make his 1 guest hash this trip! And TV Tits - non-runner but was on point for excellent food ordering duties - her experience harking back to the days where she and her crew would have late dinners here after wrapping up filming nearby. Down downs by Octo To the Hares! To the hares for setting a check leading the pack to angry village man who cannot afford a dog! Angry village man on guard duty, barking at hashers for 'trespassing' (since the only person who could read the Chinese sign was Octo - Snatch Catcher probably still on MTR tour of Racecourse station) To the hares for putting cows on trails! And porcupine, and all sort of strange animal sounds (wait, are you new to HK? Well yes, in fact BMB is somewhat new, hence the fear of cows) To the hares for a well marked trail - putting flour on piles of turd To the stealth returnees! To Dr Evil - being the one that dragged Gobi Lo into trail running To Dr Evil again - back in the day, was offered a seat on the MTR by a kind soul who didn't know he had just completed a marathon! CTD to Gobi Lo - supposed to be co-hare but did not show up for recce, and on day of run, spent the whole time 'correcting' CTD - too long! too much elevation! too far! not enough flour! To the hares! Not buying enough beer! Only a pack of 4 cans?????? Completely underestimated Freewheel. Should have bought at least 3 times more! To CTD - likely to be setting the last LSW hash for a while - leaving HK after 20+ years (Or is it 30+years??) to go back to Scotland! Hash Band is looking for a new band member, apparently not difficult to replace the voice, but definitely it will be impossible to replace the man! :,( 9.32km
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