Wednesday, March 22, 2006

Cheung Chau


Cheung Chau Harbor

We are a little behind on our blog, so it is time to catch everyone up on our adventures!

We visited Cheung Chau on the last day of January, during the Chinese New Year. To get to Cheung Chau, we took an hour long ferry ride. Once there we took a few minutes to check out he street market and harbour, where local fishermen were unloading their catch from boats to aquariums in front of seafood resturants.



Boats


More Boats

Next we walked a short way to the Pak Tai temple, one of the oldest in Hong Kong.



Temple

Incense

Wes and a Stone Lion

Next we crossed to the other side of the island... which only took about 5 minutes of walking. It was a nice day on the beach. We had to laugh at the rules which were posted nearby... no frisbees allowed??


Beach Rules


Beach

We continued walking to the south part of the island. Along the way we enjoyed great views of the south China sea. Some of the pathways were shrouded with trees, and one section was bordered by a 'great wall' which was somewhat less impressive than the name suggests.


South China Sea


'Great Wall'


Cheung Chau from a distance

After a couple hours of walking, we arrived back in Cheung Chau, where locals were celebrating the New Years holiday. Lucky symbols are important for the holiday - we saw kids fishing lucky goldfish from a kiddie pool with tea strainers.


Local Kids 'fishing'

We passed by a Banyan tree which is supposedly inhabited by spirits.. locals had left offerings for the spirits at the tree.


Sacred Banyan Tree

Well, that's all for Cheung Chau... but we will be traveling to Vietnam and Thailand soon, so check back for more photos in a couple weeks!