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Published: September 4th 2013
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One of the things I love so much about Hong Kong is that when you've had enough of the city itself, you can easily hop on an inexpensive ferry and escape to one of the nearby islands, such as Lamma or Cheung Chau.
I went to Lamma Island on June 21, 2013. I invited a couple of my new friends from the U of T Summer Abroad program to join me, but one was too busy with school work and another wasn't feeling great. I wasn't about to let such a beautiful sunny day go to waste, so I decided to venture out on my own.
I took the ferry from the Central Pier to Yung Shue Wan, which is the largest village on Lamma Island. My first stop was a bit of refreshment at Bookworm Cafe, and then I hiked along the Family Trail to Hung Shing Ye Beach. Beautiful beach except that the Lamma Island Power Plant is right there. I couldn't help but wonder every time I swam through a warm spot if that was pollution from the power plant. It seemed clean enough, but I decided to abide by the rule of not putting my head under just in
case.
There were a couple other young white women such as myself who had come to the island on their own as well and were sunning themselves on the beach. I thought maybe I should try making friends, but didn't. I can be anti-social like that sometimes, and I was looking on the bright side of exploring alone and not having anyone slow me down. Hiking at my own quick pace I was able to hike the entire island that day, despite the heat. I certainly wouldn't have gone nearly as fast if it weren't for my umbrella shielding me from the hot sun. So that's another thing I like about Hong Kong, is how safe it is for a young woman, clearly a foreigner, to go wander around alone. It's not something I would feel comfortable doing in many of the places I've visited - Brazil, France, Argentina - places where single women frequently get harrassed and robbed. In Hong Kong there's no such concern. The most you'll get is someone wants to take their picture with you because your white and they don't see too many white people so they get excited. Or little kids get excited and practice
some of their english on you. It's pretty cute. I didn't even have to worry about leaving my belongings unattended on the beach. I certainly kept my eye on them anyway because I'm paranoid. But there wasn't many people on the beach and lots of lifegaurds who seemed to also be keeping an eye out, so it seemed pretty chill.
After relaxing on Hung Shing Ye Beach for a while, I hiked further until I got to Lo So Shing Beach. I had the place practically all to myself! There was me and one other guy, and then the lifegaurds. So incredible that on such a beautiful summer day in a crowded city like Hong Kong that it's possible to find a little piece of abandoned paradise like this. I went swimming, which was very refreshing after my sweaty hike. I swam out to one of the floating docks and dived off it, forgetting the rule about not putting my head under water. My eyes felt kind of stingy after that, which could have been the result of salt or pollution.
I hiked further along the trail to Sok Kwu Wan, where I had some fish cakes at a place called Lo
So Kitchen overlooking the water. After checking out Tin Hau Temple I started walking another loop trail which took me past a cemetery, and up to Mount Stenhouse for some incredible views that included a rainbow! Then it was past Tung O where I passed some old abandoned buildings that had been taken over by trees, and through another village called Shek Pai Wan. My day of hiking ended at Mo Tat Wan, where I had a refreshing beer while I waited for the ferry to Aberdeen, from which I got on a bus back to my Hong Kong University residence.
The afternoon of
Wednesday, June 26 I went to Cheung Chau Island as part of an organized student group trip. After waiting at the ferry terminal for a while, we got on the slow ferry (not sure why we didn't take the fast ferry). After getting off at the main ferry terminal at Mui Wo, we got on another smaller boat and went to the Cheung Po Tsai Cave, which according to legend was used by pirates back in the day. There was a lot of waiting around before we finally started moving towards the cave, and I was
out near the front because I walk faster and was eager to see as much of the island as possible. I wasn't even sure I had reached the mouth of the cave, because it seemed more like a bunch of rocks and the opening was so small. One of the group organizers made it to the front and crawled in, assuring us he had been through the cave just this morning and it was safe. Having survived a scary claustrophobic cave experience a few years previously, being covered in sweat and not feeling up to crawling on the my hands and knees through a tight space only to be followed immediately behind by 50 others (thus not having the option of turning around), I chickened out. Instead I hiked a bit towards Reclining Rock and met back up with the group later. I saw a picture taken of some students from inside the cave several days afterwards, and then regretted not going through it because it didn't look like that small of a cave once you got further into it.
After standing around more, we got on the small boats back to Mui Wo, from which we were given free time
to roam around on our own. I went with a small group of others to Hing Kee Beach Bar on Kwun Yam Wan Beach, past Tung Wan Beach. Both very nice beaches. I was the only one who had the forethought to bring a bathing suit, so after a beer and some fish balls I went swimming and the others took off. Then I hiked the loop trail that goes along the Mini Great Wall and the Human Head Rock. At one point I was taking photos and admiring the setting sun, being mindful of the fact that I better hustle if I wanted to finish the trail before night fall (which I certainly did, especially since I hadn't passed too many other people on the trail.) So I'm taking pictures, and then I look behind me to find two big black dogs had snuck up on me. They seemed friendly, but I admit I was a bit freaked. I ordered them to stay back and not follow me, and thankfully they obliged.
Walking back through the village before getting on the return ferry, I stopped to try the infamous Cheung Chau bun. Every year there is a big
bun festival, most
famous for the bun mountains or towers. All the buns are marked with a red symbol that means Longevity. I wish I would have bought more than just one, they were so good!
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