Cheung Chau Get-Away!

Jen here. On Chinese New Year's eve, Roy and I packed our stuff and left HK Island for our first get-away since arriving last August. It was much-needed and we praised God for it!

Cheung Chau--one of the outlying islands of Hong Kong--is an old fishing island. I read somewhere that it is the most densely populated outer island. Shaped like a dog bone (see map), most people live in the central part, while the end regions are perfect for hikes. No cars on the island, except for mini emergency vehicles, so all the roads are narrow and there are bikes everywhere.

We stayed in a B & B (more like a hotel than a US B&B) and had a great time. The weather was cold and rainy all 4 of our days there. :( Fortunately we brought coats and umbrellas, and easily face the weather each day. The staff at the B&B always had hot water on hand, so we drank many servings of hot chocolate and tea (which we bought at a Park N Shop on the Island). For breakfast in the morning, we had three choices: soup, eggs (with meat and fruit), and an omelet (with mushrooms and tomatoes, no cheese). Oh, and btw, the "fruit" is a slice of cucumber and a slice of tomato. :) Interesting...

We spent many hours walking along the beach picking up sea glass. Roy loves to do this and this beach was a jackpot for such a thing. There was almost more sea glass than sand (not really)...after seeing it all (and some rubbish with it) we were glad it was too cold to swim.

On our third day there, Roy rented two bikes for us and we zipped around the island, taking in so much more than we saw the two days prior. It was so fun! We biked along the shoreline, past all the little street vendors, past all the tourist shops, past all the locals eating meals and hanging out. We buzzed up the hill (all paths were paved) to a hiking path, where we locked up our bikes and hiked to the "Pirate's Cave", where supposedly an old pirate stored his booty. It was less like a cave and more like a small hole in a rock, but hey, we saw it. The shoreline of the island was full of large tan rocks which the path led us over. At one point the wind caught Roy's hat and rolled it down some of the rocks. After some thinking and investigating, Roy retrieved it and we returned to our bikes and continued on. Up until this day, I thought the island was cool, but a little run down. I mean, if you live in a flat in an apartment complex, who cares how the outside looks? But on our biking expedition, I saw a different side of the island. A side that was quaint and tended to. Neat and painted apartment buildings, brick sidewalks, decorative fences and grass (what's that??). At one point I looked to Roy and said, "This place is kind of cute."

Here are a few more photos of our adventure.
Photo 1: Roy. On our hiking adventure, under a pagoda. Sweet.
Photo 2: Jen on the shoreline. Check out all those boats out there!
Photo 3:The sign in the top left of the photo is to a Christian cementary. I'll translate. No praying to the dead or swinging around those joss sticks. No burning incense. No food offerings (no poultry or veggies, or pigs or fruit--gotta be specific). No fires. Interesting.
Photo 4: One of the many street vendors who cooked food for you on the spot. We ate many a meat on a stick and bubble waffles. Mmm...sounds good right now. The street vendors made for a happening night life. You could eat dinner at a restaurant, or just mosey from street vendor to street vendor. Ciao!