Outlying Islands (離島), Hong Kong // 2015

There are a group of island surrounding Hong Kong Island as well as the mainland, they call it Outlying Islands. These islands are easily accesible via ferry from the Central Ferry Piers, and trips are very frequent. This trip, we went to Lamma Island and Lantau Island.

Lamma Island 南丫島

No llamas here. 

Lamma Island was initially not in my plan. But CS's colleague say we should go there for seafood.

We took the ordinary ferry from Central Pier 4 and arrived at Yung Shue Wan. You can park anything you want at the pier, don't worry... it's free parking!

Colour coordination - WJ's pants and shoes, the dog with it's collar and my shoes~

We didn't really know what to expect here. But when we arrived, there was an a map of the island and it says there's a family trail that will take you to the seafood restaurants, with about 1.5 hours walk. After a short walk, we arrived at Hung Shing Yeh Beach.

Hung Shing Yeh Beach is quite a small stretch, but is a proper swimming beach, with a proper lifeguard tower, shower & changing rooms, and a BBQ area on the cliff at the end of the stretch. Water was cool and clear.

Anyway.... after the beach, the family trail was not what I expected. It was a hilly trail, basically we had to trek from one side of the island to the other side. Thankfully the they did up the track nicely but some parts can be tiring going up the hill. And when you reach higher ground, it can be very windy. Along the way, there are lookout points, cemetery, route to windmill and a village houses.

Hong Kong is known for its density with very limited land, but here in Lamma Island, villages have enough land to live on a landed house and work their farm. And this is a very old lady, still working her farm.

A pretty sight at almost towards the end of the walking trail. 

It was already late evening when we finally arrived at the seafood restaurant. We took a few breaks throughout the walk to simply enjoy the wind and view. Food was pretty good and the restaurant provides free ride back to either Central or Tsim Sha Tsui (so that tells you it's not cheap eating there :P). 

Monkey Tips: At Central Ferry Pier 4, there are 2 types of ferry to Lamma Island - the ordinary ferry that stops at Yung Shue Wan and the fast ferry (which is also more expensive) that stops at Sok Kwu Wan. If you want to see more of Lamma Island like walking through the streets with shops and houses, to the beach and to the windmill, you should take the ordinary ferry to Yung Shue Wan. From here, you can choose whether you wanna eat at seafood restaurants. If yes, then you'll have to do the 1.5 hours trail to Sok Kwu Wan. 

If you take the fast ferry to Sok Kwu Wan, you will see a row of seafood restaurants the moment you arrive. After that, there's a temple...and then it's 1.5 hours to the more happening side of the island. Do check the ferry schedule - the ordinary ferry has more frequent trips.

Tai O, Lantau Island  大澳, 大嶼山

Lantau Island is the biggest island in Hong Kong, and you don't necessarily have to take a ferry to get here. There's MTR that goes to Tung Chung, and from there you can take buses to different parts of Lantau Island.

We went to only one little fishing town in Lantau Island - Tai O.

Fish cakes - original and squid ink flavour. 

An old house sandwiched in between two taller and newer buildings. I don't mind living in a house like this.

Stilt houses is what Tai O is famous for. 

Traditional wood-fire stove. 

Grilled shrimp roe. So yummy but WJ and H doesn't know how to appreciate fishy stuff, they didn't like it.

Favourite pastime for Hongkies - Mahjong!

I like Tai O a lot. I suppose this place have good fengshui too as its landscapes includes hills and water.We walked till the end of the street and at the hills at the back, there's a cemetery. It's like the perfect location to rest the ancestors. I'm sure the ancestors will look after the next generation very well.

This 山水豆腐花 (mountain water tau foo fah) is so very the good! I believe this is the smoothest tau foo fah I've ever had in my life so far. Perhaps they do actually use actual water from the mountain, I actually believe so. (I don't even know if it's the mountain water that makes it so silky smooth or they're just very skillful at making tau foo fah. Haha!)

The other things that was very good is this cheese grilled oyster. There's bacon in it. Anything bacon has already earned the 50% approval from me even before I taste it. But really, this was done so well.... the bacon, onion, cheese....just go so well together.

Monkey Tips: The easiest way to get to Tai O is simply take the MTR Tung Chung Line to Tung Chung. From there, take bus No.11 to Tai O. It's a windy road and the bus driver drives pretty damn fast for that kinda route, but I don't feel unsafe. The journey is about 1 hour or slightly more.