Having spent time in Hong Kong, we made a day trip to the New Territories, which is part of mainland China. Walking among skyscrapers and about 7.5 million people, it is sometimes hard to remember that you are on a relatively small island. In fact, Hong Kong’s airport is on a separate island, Lantau Island, but the two are connected by roads and train almost seamlessly.

There are more, smaller islands in the South China Sea and we took the ferry to Cheung Chau island, where pirates once roamed. No cars are allowed here so we enjoy walking along the bone shaped island.

The sea dominates life on this island. We strolled a long, paved promenade along the shore of the South China Sea. We watched a chaos of little boats coming and going. Fishing nets were being mended and small boats brought in the catch of the day.

The smell of fish was everywhere while, on land, crews of cleaning ladies swept the streets. Laundry was hung from every window. We savoured the feel of this laid back community with a traditional past.

Bicycles and a motorized kind of dirt bike with baskets swept past us. Even the mailman rode a bicycle here. We walked along the waterfront and then inland through little narrow streets, past temples and narrow houses, along sidewalks with endless rows of racks with fish and shrimp drying. Many people here live on boats, junks, in the harbour. Women often wear traditional wicker hats and almost everyone carries an umbrella as protection from the relentless sun.

At the end of the nice water front walk, we followed a track on a white sand beach along the South China Sea. Orchid trees and flowering hibiscus lined the shore here, attracting a multitude of butterflies. At the far tip of the island, a walking trail led us through a tropical forest full of birds, to a cave where pirates used to hide.

Cheung Po Tsai Cave is a natural cave where the famous 19th century Guangdong pirate Cheung Po Tsai, according to legend, kept his treasures. He led a virtual pirate army but eventually surrendered. You can clamber through his cave and pretend the pirates are about to return to their hide-out…

Fish drying on wooden racks resting on bicycles.

There are more modern ferries, but this one was an adventure.

Instead of walking all the way back to the far end of the island to return to the city, we take a tiny, dilapidated wooden boat back, for 30 cents, to the pier and across the harbour past a variety of floating boats and ships. There we board to ferry for HK again and then re-enter the concrete jungle of the financial district. This different world - of haute couture, business suits, Dior and Gucci stores - rubs shoulders with the traditional world of fish drying on wooden racks on the backs of bicycles and women wearing straw hats - all part of the wonderful, contradictory hodgepodge that makes up the Hong Kong Islands.

Resources:

Cheung Chau Island: https://www.discoverhongkong.com/ca/explore/great-outdoor/wellness/cheung-chau.html

Ferry: https://www.sunferry.com.hk/en/route-and-fare/timetable

Cave: https://www.discoverhongkong.com/us/interactive-map/cheung-po-tsai-cave.html