I could see the star

It is hard to know what we are missing without comparison. I knew the pollution in Hong Kong was bad. I am talking about air as well as light pollution. I still cannot comprehend why the government is wasting money for that stupid laser show in Central at night. It's not like everyone will stop what they are doing at 8pm to look up for the laser beams shooting in all directions from the top of skyscrapers along the harbour. Then, we moved to the boonies. Ah! I can see stars again. Well, I saw a real stary night last night in Pattaya.

There was an outdoor dinner at the local yacht club last night for my husband's conference. We walked around a bit after dinner and settled down in one of those nylon lounge chairs on the beach. I looked up and saw stars every where. It was so beautiful and peaceful. I didn't want to take any pictures because I worried the flash might disturb other people from looking at the stars.

Technology and money brought convenience to us but we don't seem to realise how much we have given up as a result. Simple things in life can bring so much joy but I suspect most people will not realise until the precious is taken away from them for good.

I don't think I can be very green but these are the things that I will make sure my family do

1. Bring our own canvas shopping bags and say no to excess packaging at supermarket. Plastic bags don't decompose and they smell and release toxic when burnt! (If lunch club members are reading this, you can call me the bag lady!)

2. Recycle. We bought a fertilizer drum. All leftover food (except meat) goes in there and 6 weeks later, we get fertilizer. It's been a long time since we last shopped for any lettuce. We are about to harvest some zucchini! It's good to grow our own veg in flower boxes on the rooftop and on the balcony. Reduce heat on the top floor too.

3. Use baking soda for cleaning

4. Walk more. I like running to the neighbourhood supermarket. 30 mins back ad forth and no need to pay for a gym membership

5. Use your own chopsticks if possible. If saving trees is not a good enough reason, ever saw documentary of some "wooden" chopsticks are made?

Step by step but we gotta go towards the right direction if we still want to enjoy what nature has to offer....