The day after Xmas. Here it is Boxing Day, another holiday. I meet my friend D at the Admiralty MTR station at about 11:00AM. She has suggested that we go to Sai Kung, a town in the far northeast part of Hong Kong in the New Territories. To get there were take the MTR to Choi Fung, and then a minibus to Sai Kung. The entire trip takes just over an hour.
Sai Kung is another waterfront town, and thus is focused on the water, with waterfront restaurants, lots of boats, lots of people fishing, etc. Sai Kung also has nearby small islands, reached by negotiating with individual sampan owners. D had suggested that we go to Hap Mun Bay, but first we decided to have lunch. After walking down the long line of waterfront restaurants, I spotted a restaurant about a half-block off the water with outdoor seating. This looked like it might have potential. We asked for the menus, and yes it was clear we had come to the right place--a meal that was costing over $300HK on the main strip here would cost less than $150HK! So for the second day I had my favorite meal--steamed fish, greens, and rice.
After lunch we walked back to the waterfront strip and spoke with a couple sampan operators. We soon found a boat that would take us to Hap Mun Bay, wait for us for an hour, and then bring us back, all for $120HK (about $16US). The boat, called a sampan, was a smallish wooden vessel, operated from the back end, with a loud putt-putt engine. It reminded me of the childrens' story about the little engine that could! This engine putted along and took us to our destination slowly but surely, and after about 30 minutes or so we disembarked at a concrete pier and stairway at the edge of Hap Mun Bay. There was a slightly cool breeze which felt good in the afternoon sun. We walked towards the main beach area, where there were several college kids relaxing with some getting their feet wet. The beach had a fairly large building with restrooms and showers, and I could see that during the summer this place was very popular.
We walked inland from the beach building to a clearing where there were several picnic areas and a few tents were pitched. It seemed that the college kids were here for the holiday weekend. What a great place to spend the weekend! We then walked up into the hills. I wanted to walk to the highest point, but D was not so inclined, and we only had an hour. But we did get pretty high up and it was another really nice walk!
It was time to get back on the boat so we walked back down. The operator saw us as we were approaching the pier and started in to pick us up. There was a young college couple on then pier fishing. They asked me if they could ask the boat operator to give them a ride back to their college. I said sure, no problem, and so they joined us for the ride back. However, their college was a slight detour from a direct path back, and so they had to pay the drive an extra $80HK. It seemed a little steep to me, but they were happy, the driver was happy, and I was happy to get a longer boat-ride. They are students at HKUST (Hong Kong Univ. of Science and Technology), a fairly new university perched on hills overlooking the water. What a great location!
We continued walking north. As we passed a parking structure on the left I noticed some signs and dog refuse containers. Adjacent to the structure was a dog walking area, and there were lots of dogs and dog owners. Some of the dogs were really cute and small, including one little guy with a cute little sweater that had angel wings on it! Now if you ask me why was the dog wearing a sweater in 60F weather, well I have no answer for that. There were also children flying kites, and lots of families out for an afternoon stroll. We walked all the way to the north end of the waterfront walkway. On the beach to our right were several windsurfers, skimming thru the water in the healthy breeze. They were all wearing wetsuits.
At the end of the walkway there were a couple restaurants, including one with a really unique concept--an outdoor grill restaurant. Each picnic style table has its own grill, and for a set price per person you can select your food from the buffet and cook it yourself. It's like having your own backyard waterfront grill, but no cleanup! They were very busy! A short distance away we came to a café and bar, and ordered some coffee which we enjoyed while sitting and watching the windsurfers in the late afernoon sun.
It was getting time to head back so we walked south back towards the bus terminal, occasionally taking short breaks on a bench and watching the parade of people on the walkway, and boats in the water. As the sun got lower in the sky so did the temperature. A young boy was riding on his father's shoulders. He saw us and said "hi!", and I said "hi" back. He smiled and laughed, and waved and blew us a kiss as he was carried away. What a cute kid! Soon it was time to catch the bus. The ride back to Choi Hung was fast, and we were soon on the MTR heading back to town. D was going to meet a friend for dinner, so we said goodbye at the Admiralty station, and I continued home.
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