Hong Kong: Have I Really Seen It All?

Hong Kong is a tiny region located south of China and although the land area is limited, the variety of things to do is endless. Aboard a ferry one day, I drifted away from what was familiar to me. I thought maybe because of how small Hong Kong is, I might have seen it all but maybe I was wrong. So there I was, on an unassuming island. Hong Kong surprised me, once again.

It is not a secret how much of Hong Kong is a tourist haven, the city is incredibly easy to navigate and everything else is conveniently full of character. I have always considered myself as the city type and this is why I favoured much of Hong Kong. But I felt like I have already known much of what has been told so I decided to go farther than I usually would.

Cheung Chau Island is a forty minute-ferry ride away from Central Pier 5. The skies were pouring rough rains but it didn't bother me. The temperature dropped fifteen degrees which was perfect for a nice stroll on this island. I had little information about the town and although the weather wasn't very friendly, the people were.

Walking down from the ferry, the island had a totally distinct feeling, it gave a very rustic off beaten ambiance, it was kind of rural that it almost didn't occur to me that I was still in Hong Kong. Bikes were parked in alleys and the boats were docked along the entire coastline. Cheung Chau has a lot of character behind its Fisherman’s Village façade and is apparently popular during its Bun festival which I, unfortunately, was a month early.

Seafood were plenty along the streets of the island although strangely, dining seafood here was a tad expensive. While wandering through the rugged alleys of the island, there I found a couple more cafes and hole-in-the-wall eateries which to me were a pleasant surprise. There was a flock of students who looked like they were coming home from attending school in mainland Hong Kong. I wondered if they had to embark on that ferry journey every day.

I perused the small scaled restaurants until finally finding a spot in front of the pier for an alfresco seafood dining.

Fancied some dessert after so I got myself the island’s famous mango mochi. It wasn’t the sweetest mango I have tasted if I’m being honest but worth the try regardless.

Just when I have expensively refueled some energy devouring fresh seafood, my path led me to the Reclining Rock. It wasn't an ordinary stroll, I realised. The long walk included a hill climb and a trek inside a cave but expectedly, the view at the end was breathtaking and the cold breeze was refreshing. It was a spot perfect to just gaze endlessly towards the horizon. It was the complete opposite of Hong Kong’s busy street from across the sea.

Taking the path less traveled isn't something everyone would fancy but perhaps allowing yourself to be off the beaten path could spice things up a little bit.

What I learned from this short expedition? That there’s always something more no matter how familiar something is. And once you’ve reached that, it always isn’t as pretty as what we have in mind or hoped for, but there’s always a story. Like how the children would cross the ocean to spend 7 hours at school. Or how an old married couple spent their last bit of money to open a beef noodle soup at the back of an unassuming neighborhood to fund their retirement. Sometimes not words nor pictures could even relay these stories but as long as there’s a road to traverse, there’s a story to gain.