Islands and Beaches

The 24th brought a relaxing ferry ride to one of Hong Kong’s many islands, Cheung Chau.  The island appears to be two hilly islands connected in the middle with a narrow land bridge on which sits the town of Cheung Chau.  On one side of the bridge lies the harbor, crowded with fishing boats, fish markets and tourist shops and on the other, a beach lined by small vacation rentals.

The island has no cars or trucks so transportation is by foot or bicycle.  A person can explore both sides of the island in a day.  The hike on the north was pleasant and at least part of it was spent on a ridge line so the views were great (at least as great as they can be through the ubiquitous haze that cloaks the region). 

Mid way through the walk  I crossed paths with three women picking wild berries.  One of them handed me a berry to sample which was promptly granted my prestigious "thumbs-up" award.  Unfortunately, the thumbs-up designation is loosing much of its value as it is increasingly assigned to everything for which there has been a good result (from being handed a spoon along with my yogurt to being pointed in the right direction on the street).

The path on the other side of the island takes you along on a trail called the Little Great Wall (for its ornate construction) and past various rock formations named the Human Head, the Bell, the Snake, etc.   This side of the island is more populated so a person could wander back to the harbour by taking one of many different paths around or over the top of the hill. 

My last day in Hong Kong was spent visiting the southern portion of Hong Kong island, specifically, the town of Stewart.  Three towns in the south cater to tourists and the Hong Kong beech crowds.  Stewart is known for its street market and in this case the market seemed to be directed at the foreign tourists who arrive by bus loads.  (There seemed to be more chopsticks, golden cats with moving paws, and Chinese caps with attached long black braids, than I saw elsewhere.) 

I spent a few minutes relaxing at Stanley Beach and I even (briefly) entered the ocean despite the overcast skies.

Before returning to Hong Kong, I walked through Stewart’s nature garden which took me up to the Kwam Yum Temple.  The most noticeable feature of the Temple is a statue of Tin Hau who is believed to be the protector of fisherman. 

For me, however, the most memorable aspect of the Temple was the three tiny figurines hiding in a stone grotto at the base of Tin Hau.   This one looked especially lifelike.