Lamma Island

Here is one of the fish tanks at the seafood restaurant.
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Hong Kong includes about 234 islands of various sizes. They are MUCH more rural than downtown Hong Kong. Lamma Island is the third biggest island after Lantau (where the airport is) and Hong Kong Island (where I live). There are many ferries that travel daily to Lamma from either Aberdeen or Central district. I traveled with my friends, Jane and Rio, on a beautiful Sunday. It is only a 30 minute boat ride for 12 HK dollars (about 2 US dollars). (A better deal than the Steamship Authority!) Lamma is a very quiet community made up of 2 small villages, Yung Shue Wan and Sok Kwu Wan. There are no cars, only bicycles and foot paths. Two teachers from our school live on the island and commute to school on the ferry every day. We actually bumped into the art teacher in the little village while we were walking around trying to decide where to have lunch. Many expatriates have moved to this island and are living amongst the fisherman and farmers.

Jane and Rio on the ferry.
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We took the ferry to Sok Kwu Wan and then hiked over to the other village. It was a good walk, about an hour and a half. We passed several others that were out enjoying the day. We stopped and took a look at a quaint little organic herb farm that was right by the Hung Shing Ye Beach. It was a very nice beach, but the view was interrupted by the chimneys of Lamma's giant power plant. There is one large wind mill standing in the middle of the island. Lamma's highest peak is 1,076 foot Mount Stenhouse ( we did not climb to the top of the peak!)

.....there are no cars, only bicycles and foot paths.

Sok Kwu Wan village as we arrived
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When we arrived in Yung Shue Wan village, we walked through the small shops and had a great seafood lunch by the water at Man Fung Seafood Restaurant. It was one of those restaurants that had the fish tanks all lined up so you could walk up to pick out what you wanted to eat. It is a bit much for any animal rights supporters, but you can't get any fresher than that! Many Chinese people will only eat seafood that they pick out live, they do not believe it is fresh otherwise. We had several dishes and shared them, one being "scampi". The creature they referred to as "scampi" appeared to be a cross between a lobster and a large shrimp. These "scampi" were about 8-10 inches long, all tail, no big claws. They steamed them with garlic and herbs and they were delicious!

Jane and I in front of a bamboo grove
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We were able to catch a different ferry back to Hong Kong from this village. Getting to Lamma and back was very easy. It was a great way to spend a Sunday, away from the high energy of school and downtown. Only 231 more islands to explore!