For a girl who really is not all that fond of water, there have certainly been a lot of boat trips lately, although I guess it's not all that surprising when you find yourself living on a small island, surrounded by lots of other islands that are just waiting to be explored!
The ferry is the usual mode of transport between the islands and the majority of them are pretty modern, comfortable and ultimately provide a smooth journey with relatively few bumps along the way. You can reach most of the islands in about 30 mins which is about as long as I usually want to be on a boat. My trip to Discovery Bay on the island of Lantau on Wednesday for hiking purposes, was such a journey.
The "junk" trip around the harbour on Wednesday evening was something else though. I've since learned that the water in the harbour is always choppy, so I'll remember that for future occasions...and try to avoid them.
On Saturday we were invited on another boat trip but this time departing from the south side of the island where the sea is much calmer and we spent just over an hour on beautifully calm waters, cruising down to an island south of Stanley called Po Toi. The weather was warm with a familiar haze but thankfully not much sign of humidity. I braved the upper deck where, if you could avoid the very excited and bouncy children (mainly toddlers) on board, you could chill out and take in the view. On arrival at Po Toi we docked and made our way down to the beach-front restaurant. A very "local" place. Open air with a yellow plastic roof to shield from the elements, plastic tables and chairs, concrete flooring...all very rustic in the true sense of the word. It's normal for me to feel a bit apprehensive about eating in places like this, but I needn't have been concerned because the food was excellent. Surprisingly so. But then our hosts already knew that...this was not their first visit and I can see why. The over-causual feel was strangely appealing. No need to dress up...flip flops welcome...although bug spray was required.
On Friday I took my first trip to the island of Cheung Chau with some friends. We were so lucky with the weather, it was the perfect day for island-hopping. Just a standard ferry for this trip and after the statutory 30 minutes we were docking again. I'm not sure if cars are banned on the entire island but there were no sign of any...just loads of bicycles, a harbour full of boats of all shapes and sizes and a whole fleet of miniature tractor-like vehicles that apparently were being used to ferry building materials back and forth...construction is just never ending it seems...even on a quiet and unspoiled island like Cheung Chau.
We strolled, snapped and finally settled on a place for lunch. The food was OK but our server was very entertaining..she wouldn't tell us her real name but apparently when translated, she is known as the "Fat woman"... or something equally unflattering. You have to admire the directness of this culture! Try that in a western society and there would be uproar..or at the very least some very upset people. She seemed to like it...
Yesterday's boat was tiny. Basically a motorized rowing boat with the sole purpose of getting us from Deep Water Bay to Middle Island...a trip that takes all of about 3 minutes. Good job...small boats are the most challenging for me...especially the getting in and out, but all was well and I have to say, it was actually quite fun...so close to the water it was as though were were skimming it...without getting wet...perfect.
This week I don't have any boat trips planned. I have a week of keeping my feet firmly on mother earth. Quite honestly I think I need that, I can still detect a gentle bobbing up and down, a slight swaying motion within....
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