Hong Kong TOAL
After spending our first three nights in Hong Kong, we were boarding our friends’ catamaran Monday afternoon for a five night cruise around Hong Kong
and the surrounding waters. Hours
of route planning and provisioning had taken place prior to our arrival and we were the beneficiaries of that work by our friends who live in Hong Kong and own
the boat. A last minute change was made to move the boat trip out a few days due to a spot of rainy weather. As it turned out, we had five glorious days on the boat and were told by all friends we encountered that we had the best weather Hong Kong ever sees: warm, sunny, cool breezes, and low humidity. It was marvelous.
During our first three days in Hong Kong, we shopped and ate in Kowloon, Stanley
Market and Central. We had a BBQ on our friends’ rooftop patio and climbed to the top of The
Peak. I should not move forward
with the boating portion of our trip without sharing some photos of our time in Hong Kong.
Steamed xiao long bao
Our first day, Saturday, we made a trip to Kowloon side via the Star Ferry. It was a rainy day and the crowded streets made a good first taste of Hong Kong.
Wet Market, Saturday dinner, our first night, at Tung Po Seafood Restaurant
Noisy, crowded, disco music and beer served in soup bowls, excellent!
Favorite dish at Tung Po - spicy, salty fish which we ate on toasted bread
Sunday, we went to Stanley Market for trinket shopping and a dim sum lunch at Chung's Cuisine, Stanley Market
Sunday night, we grilled burgers on our friends' rooftop deck.
Yes, that is real grass on a rooftop in Hong Kong!
Sunday, we went to Stanley Market for trinket shopping and a dim sum lunch at Chung's Cuisine, Stanley Market
Roast Goose
Creamy Custard-Filled Buns
Pork and Vegetable E-Fu Noodles
Pork Dumplings
Ginger Chicken Feet
Sunday night, we grilled burgers on our friends' rooftop deck.
View from the roof
We decided a little exercise was called for before we lazed ourselves on the catamaran for the next several days. Monday morning, we climbed to the top of the Peak on a route requiring some scrambling. It was a steep but rewarding route.
Views from The Peak
Monday lunch before boarding the boat was at King's Taste in Central. We had two dining goals on our list - dim sum and Peking duck, and Eriko came through on both choices. We parked at the IFC containing a labyrinth of shops and walkways and the beautiful Four Seasons Hotel. Wish we had a little more time there.
After lunch, the girls and I did a little shopping while Chris and Tim loaded our bags into his van to head to Sai Kung for the start of our boat trip.
After lunch, the girls and I did a little shopping while Chris and Tim loaded our bags into his van to head to Sai Kung for the start of our boat trip.
Flaky, delicately crispy turnip cakes
Scallion cakes
Peking Duck - truly so delicious, like nothing we've had in Seattle
Peking Duck sliced off the bone, served with scallions, cucumber, melon and pineapple with paper thin wraps.
Monday, April 13 – The Start of a Five Day Catamaran Trip
The car was packed, and we were picked up from our little shopping expedition for a quick trip to the grocery store in Sai Kung before we settled aboard. Night one was spent at the dock after unpacking our bags and stowing our supplies in Hong Kong Marina in Sai Kung. At sunset we sat at the bow of the boat, enjoying our drinks, watching the sun drop behind the hills and thinking about how lucky we were.
A quick taxi ride into Sai Kung town brought us to a bevy of dinner options. Of course the first place we came upon made us marvel at their live seafood tanks. It was an amazing assortment of seafood, and after a couple minutes of convincing by the restaurant’s manager, we found ourselves at a table at the Hung Kee Restaurant. We may have foolishly chosen the first restaurant we came upon, but in that moment, it was all perfect. It was much more about the experience and the food was not bad either.
The car was packed, and we were picked up from our little shopping expedition for a quick trip to the grocery store in Sai Kung before we settled aboard. Night one was spent at the dock after unpacking our bags and stowing our supplies in Hong Kong Marina in Sai Kung. At sunset we sat at the bow of the boat, enjoying our drinks, watching the sun drop behind the hills and thinking about how lucky we were.
A quick taxi ride into Sai Kung town brought us to a bevy of dinner options. Of course the first place we came upon made us marvel at their live seafood tanks. It was an amazing assortment of seafood, and after a couple minutes of convincing by the restaurant’s manager, we found ourselves at a table at the Hung Kee Restaurant. We may have foolishly chosen the first restaurant we came upon, but in that moment, it was all perfect. It was much more about the experience and the food was not bad either.
The restaurant's live fish tanks
Salt and Pepper Squid
Steamed Shrimp
Lobster in a creamy sauce with noodles
Steamed live scallops in their shell with glass noodles, garlic and scallions
Steamed fish with soy, ginger, scallions and cilantro
Wok fried fresh crab with garlic, ginger and scallions
After dinner, we walked a bit to a dessert place, Honeymoon
Desserts. We sat, over full,
happily tired, but still found room for some ice cream and mango with sticky
rice. After another short taxi
ride home, we were safely back aboard the boat and tucked away for the night.
Tuesday, April 14
I awoke early after a good night’s sleep. Excellent drip coffee was made using an ingenious single drip coffee pouches that rest on the edge of your coffee cup. Why don't we have these in the U.S.? Great for trips like these.
Final preparations were done, bags of ice for the cooler (Special note: Tim purchased a new cooler called a Yeti and instructions suggested making a slurry of ice and salt. Strange, I know, but this process, coupled with the excellent engineering that has gone into this high end cooler made for some amazingly cold beer. In fact some of the light beers actually froze solid, another reason to avoid light beer!) were purchased, captain’s muffins consisting of English muffins and peanut butter were had, and we were on our way. We motored north through Mirs Bay to Tai Long Wan, a serene beach where we took the tender in for lunch.
Lunch was simple rice
and noodles but delicious and the setting serene and beautiful. After lunch, we motored around to Long Harbour to set anchor for the night and hike to Sharp Peak Sai Kung.
Ignoring a sign stating “very
treacherous” climb, we moved onward to earn our drinks and carbonara
pasta dinner we would have on board the boat that evening. The descent was more treacherous than the upward climb because of the loose rock and the steepness, but we all made it safely down.
One poor photo of our carbonara dinner was taken. Something about being on a lovely boat, in a lovely evening, that makes you forget all about having to take food photos. No lack of sunset photos though.
Final preparations were done, bags of ice for the cooler (Special note: Tim purchased a new cooler called a Yeti and instructions suggested making a slurry of ice and salt. Strange, I know, but this process, coupled with the excellent engineering that has gone into this high end cooler made for some amazingly cold beer. In fact some of the light beers actually froze solid, another reason to avoid light beer!) were purchased, captain’s muffins consisting of English muffins and peanut butter were had, and we were on our way. We motored north through Mirs Bay to Tai Long Wan, a serene beach where we took the tender in for lunch.
Beach at Tai Long Wan - beautiful, soft, fine sand
Black Bean Beef Rice
Fried Singapore Noodles
Looking down the mountain on the rocky trail
One poor photo of our carbonara dinner was taken. Something about being on a lovely boat, in a lovely evening, that makes you forget all about having to take food photos. No lack of sunset photos though.
Wednesday, April 15
We woke to glassy waters and a fair layer of dew. After coffee and breakfast, a little tidying up, we were on our way.
We made our way to Ping Chau where we had a lunch of hot dogs and spicy sausages. Several high speed passes were made by the police patrolling the area as it had been a popular smuggling route between China and Hong Kong being that China was just across the water in close view. Not too long ago, they used to use high speed boats to move stolen Mercedes from Hong Kong to be sold in China. After lunch, we sailed our way back through Mirs Bay and through Double Haven to Sam A Tsuen, where we planned to anchor for the night.
Once anchored, we took the tender onto shore and walked 1.75km to the deserted town of Lai Chi Wo. Once there, we realized though most buildings had been deserted, there were still a few occupants and dogs in town.
Look at the size of the wok! We noticed all the houses had large wood fire places for extra large woks.
Upon our return to the boat, it was time for a quick swim,
showers, and a high speed run on the tender before settling down for
dinner. Dinner was grilled kalbi
short ribs, rice, macaroni salad and cabbage slaw. Again, food photos took a back seat to enjoying our setting.
Thursday, April 16
An early start was made for the long ride south to Middle
Island, just off Hong Kong Island, where we planned to have dinner at the yacht
club. Along the way, we made a
quick stop at a beach for a swim and possible boogie boarding followed by
grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch.
We pulled up to the dock at Middle Island about 3:30pm, had
our showers and evening cocktails and snacks before heading up to the yacht
club for dinner. We were told we
have hit some of the best weather ever seen in Hong Kong. Another fabulous
day in the books and a gorgeous evening to top it off.
Yes, there was a sunset every night, and yes, I may be sharing them all with you.
Friday, April 17
This was our last night on the boat before getting on our flight back home Saturday night. We made our way to Causeway Bay, just a short
jaunt from Middle Island. We planned to head into Wan Chai, just a short taxi ride away, and go to The Wanch to watch our friend’s band, Bus Uncle,
perform. Wan Chai turns out to be somewhat of a spot in which most 15 and 17 year olds should not be hanging out. Therefore, after a nice Thai food dinner, and catching half of our friend's band play, we taxied back to the boat.
The ride through the harbor and into Causeway Bay was quite rocky at times. Lots of boat traffic and tight quarters produced a lot of confused waves. We arrived in Causeway Bay and went into the Hong Kong Yacht Club for the pool and some lunch. Sadly, upon return, we had to vacate the dock as they were needing it for the dozens of boats they were loading into the water for a small craft race. Discussions were had and the decision was made to head back to Sai Kung. This worked out as a blessing in disguise. There was a lot of construction taking place at the Bay and would have been a noisy night and morning. We also had to make our way back to Sai Kung on Saturday regardless to return the boat to dock and leave for the airport. The only downside was a longer taxi ride from Sai Kung to Wan Chai that night. Not much of a downside at all
The ride through the harbor and into Causeway Bay was quite rocky at times. Lots of boat traffic and tight quarters produced a lot of confused waves. We arrived in Causeway Bay and went into the Hong Kong Yacht Club for the pool and some lunch. Sadly, upon return, we had to vacate the dock as they were needing it for the dozens of boats they were loading into the water for a small craft race. Discussions were had and the decision was made to head back to Sai Kung. This worked out as a blessing in disguise. There was a lot of construction taking place at the Bay and would have been a noisy night and morning. We also had to make our way back to Sai Kung on Saturday regardless to return the boat to dock and leave for the airport. The only downside was a longer taxi ride from Sai Kung to Wan Chai that night. Not much of a downside at all
Back in Sai Kung marina
Saturday, April 18 - Going Home
We woke up sad it was our last day in Hong Kong and dreading the long trip home to Seattle. If you know me well, you know I'm a get up and leave type person at the end of a trip. Our flight was not until 7:20pm. Therefore, a fun activity was planned to distract me from the angst of waiting around. We motored and then sailed onto Pak A, High Island Reservoir and had lunch at Yau Ley.
Fish farms by the restaurant
The Yau Ley boat will come pick you up at your boat.
Chili and salted squid
Salt and pepper spare ribs
Fried soft tofu
Pan Fried udon noodles with beef
Black pepper shrimp
Looking at these last photos, that was a lot of fried food in one meal. A last big bang before we head out I suppose. Of course I failed to photograph the leafy greens we had. Yes, we did eat vegetables.
After lunch, we made our way back to the dock at Sai Kung, cleaned ourselves up, packed up our bags and said our goodbyes. It was a trip of a lifetime. I would never have imagined sailing around Hong Kong could be so beautiful. We were blessed with perfect weather, expert planning, excellent company, wonderful and generous hosts, and treasured memories. Visiting Hong Kong is enough of an experience and adventure, getting to go on this sailing trip made it truly a TOAL (Tim's term for trip of a lifetime). Cheers and happy boating!
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