Lamma Lamma Duck (or maybe Cheung Chau)

Hong Kong is a full on place.  We all know that.  Most of the time, it suits kids (or my kids, who are full on, pretty well all the time).

Occasionally, though you need a break from the densely populated areas and the shoebox apartments.

Ferry Terminal HKI

Happily enough, Hongkies will deal with that for you.  For you see, despite the Hong Kong we all know (HK Island, Kowloon) being massively populated, most of the territory is classified as country park.

Turn around to see the Harbour

For us, fresh (ish) air and a slower pace beckoned us to Lamma Island.  Having said that, Cheung Chau (which we missed :( ), Peng Chau (same) or any of the country areas in the New Territories such as Sai Kung are all great places to get away from it all.  

From the ferry at Kowloon toward Western HKI

Inside the Ferry

Southern Side of HKI is okay for the not-adventurous, but honestly, I didn't rate it that much.  Stanley is sterile, Aberdeen is nice enough, but more for shopping and Repulse Bay is okay, so long as Mainland tourists aren't there is droves (that's another story).  Plus, the ferry is generally cheaper that trying to grab a bus to Southern HKI, even more so for a taxi (though, as I might have mentioned, taxis are still uber cheap in HK).

Okay, sorry for waffling.

Grabbing the ferry from Central Piers is worth the fare alone.  A nice, scenic view of the harbour, which then gives way to the more rural, treecovered islands that dot the South China Sea.  

View from the Ferry at Yung Shue Wan

Leaving from the ferry terminal at Central, you arrive at Yung Shue Wan (Wan is beach in Cantonese) or Sok Kwu Wan.  We went to Yung Shue Wan (the main village on Lamma), and jumped off.

Fishing people and stilt houses after the ferry

Apparently, there are a number of Westerners who live here, but unlike Disco Bay, they don't want the sterile environment of a Gweilo-village, but have in fact preserved Lamma's 'realness'.

South China See from Yung Shue Wan

Jumping off the ferry, the toilets are off to the left, just past the island map.  Every parent needs to know where the next toilet is.

Inside the village at Yung Shue Wan

Yung Shue Wan village

The temporary permanent shelters so famous in Hong Kong

A boat, on the main street area.

I like to photograph signs

In the village of Yung Shue wan there are a number of (not-very-cheap) restaurants, mainly seafood.  Anthony Bourdain gorged himself on sea crustaceans at one of them.  There's also lots of little odds and sods style shops and convenience shops that aren't Circle K or 7-Eleven.  Grab a drink for you and the kids, maybe an icecream.  I grabbed a nice beer and wandered off.

Tai Yuen Village is on the walk to Hung Shing Ye Wan

Now there are a few walks and no cars, just these golf-style buggy things.  One is called the family walk and goes a fair distance.  It is fairly flat, but if you have small kids, might be a bit much.  We did the short (around 20 minutes) walk to Hung Shing Ye Beach, going past Lamma Winds.  The walk is short and not ever boring, and great for small children.  It isn't always clean on the side, which kind of puts a dampener on it a little, but not enough to make it too sad.  

Ramshackle Bush Views from the Walk

The pathway leading to Hung Shing Ye Wan

Hung Shing Ye Wan

And the beach at Hung Shing Ye Wan is fantastic.  Flat, shallow, nets for all the sea-nasties are there, and the water is beautiful.  Around the beach are lifeguards and shops that sell your typical sea tatt like buckets, spades, flip-flops (jandals, thongs, whatever other names we have in the Antipodes) and more drinks.  Park benches, showers and toilets.  So all the good stuff.

My kids loved it and typically for a gweilo family with a couple of blonde children, plenty of photo opps - for others.  Never ceases to amaze me that we provide more amusement than the natural surroundings.

Seafood Restaurant

You're probably paying for the view from the Restaurant

Sunset from Yung Shue Wan over the South China Sea, ferry terminal to the right

After your nice swim a gentle wander back, more ice-creams and if you're like us, a gorgeous sunset.  You could probably grab a bite to eat anywhere (there was a well rated American-style western restaurant called Lamma Grill about halfway through our journey in another village), but we just headed back and grabbed a local bite near our apartment.

View to Kowloon from HKI Ferry Terminal at night

Cheung Chau and Peng Chau are highly rated as day trip places too.  Next time we're in HK, we'll be doing that too.