Lamma Island
Sunday, March 7 1999

Toshi, Julia, Maggie and I went to Lamma Island today. Lamma Island is Hong Kong's third largest island and it has two main villages. We took the ferry from Pier 6 costing $10.50 HKD. The ride was approximately an hour and I spent the time doing my homework.


Pier 6 & Pier 7
view from the ferry

What a Small Boat!
a police boat


top : Yung Shue Wan Ferry Pier. There are actually two piers
on Lamma Island.

right : Toshi and I under the Lamma Island sign

Yung Shue Wan, Lamma's main village, is home to many young expatriates seeking a relaxed Hong Kong life. As a result, Western-style cafes, pubs, and New Age shops have transformed it into a tranquil bohemian refuge. However there is a traditional Tin Hau Temple here.


foreigner selling books

Hung Shing Yeh Beach

girls digging in the sand
sun bathing in front of industrial waste


A WILD ANIMAL!
GHOSTS!

Lo So Shing Beach
fish farms nearby So Kwu Wah Village

We were all planning to climb up to Mount Sternhouse, which the highest point on this island. We didn't know how to get there, as one of the paths shown on the map seemed to not exist. We asked a group of men, mostly of old men. The one middle aged man told us that we should start climbing from So Kwu Wan Village, as the nearby path had gone bad due to undergrowth. The old men on the other hand told us that climbing up Mt. Sternhouse is dangerous and we shouldn't go up. The path is terrible. It was quite funny because all the old men were discouraging us from climbing the mountain. We also talked to some other old people and they said the same thing. As Julia pointed out, it was kind of strange that all the elders were trying to tell us not to climb up! Anyway, our adventurous spirit couldn't be contained and we found a flight of stairs nearby the Tin Hau Temple and began the ascent up.


The path up was clearly defined for about the first hour and a half. As soon as we reached the top of the first hill, we realized we still had a way to go. From then on, there was no clear path and we were climbing up on different paths. In fact, it was kind of hard to see each other because we were going at different speeds. It took about 2 to 2.5 hours to reach the top Mount Sternhouse.

left : walking along the path
right : resting on a large boulder cliff


Success!!!


many seaside restaurants
boat for Aberdeen