Cheung Chau
Quick posting on the occasion of my leaving of Cheung Chau. I've been here for five days. It was my mother's idea really. She flew out from the UK to visit Ling and I five days ago. She doesn't really like long-haul travelling. She would have much rather I lived in Greece. Accordingly, she asked us to find her a quiet little hotel close to the beach. It sounded like a tough job. In the world's most densely populated city, the words 'quiet' and 'beach' are not used that often? But we found a solution in the (dumbbell) shape of Cheung Chau.
This charming little island is located south-west-west of Hong Kong Island, just to the south of Lantau. It's a half-hour ride on the fast 'First Ferry' (HKD 22) or 50 minutes on the lovely slow 'First Ferry' (HKD 11 something). There are boats every 20-30 minutes or so so guests staying over here need not wait long if they are desperate to see the bright lights and tall buildings across the water. The lovely thing about Cheung Chau is that there are no bright lights or tall buildings. I did spot one pub in which fat Englishmen were guzzling beer and watching Premiership football, but it was about the size of a garden shed and there was only one of them. In short, Cheung Chau is 'proper' Chinese.
And it's tiny. It can be walked in a day. There are great hiking routes, that pass beside charming seaside cemeteries (if I am allowed to describe a place where the dead are buried as 'charming'?), secluded sand beaches and rocky coastline. In parts, it reminded me of Cornwall, especially when the sun stopped shining and it began to rain. Hitherto, it had been positively Meditterrnanean. November in Hong Kong is, without question, the best month of the year.
The 'front' at Cheung Chau is a bustling place, stuffed with great seafood restaurants. It really comes alive on evenings and weekends when the city boys from over the sea retreat here for some R&R. Fortunately, because the island has a no-car policy, they are forced to leave their Lexuses and Mercedes at home. I say 'no cars', there are a profusion of noisy little construction trucks which buzz around the island's hilly pathways. Cheung Chau is no different from anywhere else in Hong Kong in the fact that the building/renovation/maintenance work never - ever - ends.
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On the other side of the island is Tung Wan Beach, a lovely stretch of sand, not quite on a par with the Thai tropics, but nice enough nonetheless. Looking out to sea at night, it's possible to glimpse the stacked orange streetlights of the buildings on the south side of Hong Kong island.
The best digs on Cheung Chau can be found at the Warwick Hotel, at the end of Tung Wan Beach. They have a great deal on at the mo which means paying only 480 HKD per night, including breakfast which can be taken on the balcony overlooking the beach. Prices increase steepily on Saturday nights on account of the City boys.
The Warwick isn't without it's faults. The carpets are filthy, the ceilings are cracked and flakey, and the size of the rooms are very, very small (like everywhere else in Hong Kong that doesn't charge the equivalent of a month's salary per night). My mother (who, unlike me, actually stayed here) also reported an annoying industrial whirring which kept her awake at night. Then there's the helicopter pad just around the corner. However, for the deep sleepers, unwanted noises should be drowned out by the soporific sound of the waves lapping the shore just outside the room. The hotel really is about the location. It's fabulous. Oh, and they also have free wireless internet in the lobby.
Chaung Chau is a charmer. The whole pace of life over here is slowed right down and, walking around the front, beside the rocky coastline, or through the claustrophic old three-storey neighbourhoods, it's difficult to believe you are still in the fabled high-octane city of Hong Kong. The people over here are friendly. We ran into folk who were just happy to chat on more than one occasion. If you are looking to treat your non-travelling mother to some R&R before heading into the scary Chinese interior, I can think of no better place to take her than Cheung Chau.
