woke up late on day 3 and visited lamma island. this was such a charming place. it was a short ferry ride away from the harbour but the whole ambience was totally different, almost worlds apart.
lamma island is a fishing island. i decided to take the ferry to sok kwu wan (索罟湾) (rainbow bay) and hiked towards yung shue wan (榕树湾) (banyan tree bay). it was interesting that when i arrived, there was a hosted lunch going on at the jetty seafood restaurant and guests were invited to belt a couple of songs as they ate. there was this particular 60-over year old lady who sang a traditional cantonese song and it was just amazing how "traditional" her voice sounded - big pitch (soprano-like), yet not piercing - just like how the family song di nu hua sounded like when i heard it long time ago. i stood there and watched her sing for a moment before continuing my walk.
the walk was rather straightforward - not too hilly and the climb was relatively gentle initially. it brought me through the tin hau (天后) temple and as I climbed, the view of the whole village came into sight. it was really nice to be able to see the many fishing pontoons scattered within the bay itself. it was then that i came to appreciate how the hills around the bay served as barriers to typhoons during the typhoon seasons. my climb also brought me to little houses and at one point i missed a turn and ended up in another village at the eastern side of the island. had no choice but to walk back up the hill to get back to track. it was really tiring and it drained me of my energies. heh heh...
anyway, lamma island was interesting. on one hand, it is old, rustic and charming, yet on the other side of the island, there was a huge electric power station. this station, i understand, generates and provides electricity to hong kong. it was superbly contrasting given the 3 towering chimney that rose above all the hills and the tree-less landscape of the whole installation. the whole walk took me some 3 hours. i didn't bother to stay and explore the villages at yung shue wan (榕树湾) (banyan tree bay) as i was tired. took my lunch there and boarded the 3.15pm ferry back to kowloon.
i spend the evening relaxing in bed. my body and right shoulder had started to ache after carrying the backpack through the day. i was supposed to meet up with sy this evening but in the end told him i wanted to just stay in bed and rest.
No comments:
Post a Comment