Photowalk in Peng Chau
After being in lockdown since the beginning 2020 I have had absolutely nowhere to go. Think 2 years—oh we've all been there, ok, then you know what I mean.
Hoping to go somewhere to take some photo that's no in the city and nowhere I have been to, I chose Peng Chau, a mini-Cheung Chau, just less commercialized, and therefore better.
The cameras I went to Peng Chau with was the staple for compactness Agfa Optima 1535 and the recently repaired Ansco Memar.
There are 2 primary ferry lines to Peng Chau:
- Central – Peng Chau HKKF line
- Discovery Bay – Peng Chau Kaito ferry line
Coming from Tsing Yi with a companion from Tsuen Wan, the obvious choice was to go from Discovery Bay to save time and money. Discovery Bay can be reached by bus via Sunny Bay MTR station.
Discovery Bay is like Stanley but in Lan Tau Island, good for an afternoon stroll and ample of dining options. A beach with public shower facilities for summer as well. Paied Discovery Bay Plaza and the beach a small visit before going to the Kaito ferry pier for the ferry.
These Kaito ferries run on very sparse schedule, only one boat every hour, so it was interesting to see a woman running towards the ferry that's already left the pier throttled back towards the pier to let her board.
It took around 15 minutes to arrive at Peng Chau, just about when I felt bored on the ferry. With the blessing of blue sky and great sunshine, we set off to a relaxing stroll in Peng Chau.
Wing On Street is the one main tourist-sy street in Peng Chau and the tourist-spot feeling quickly fades one or two blocks away from that street.
The abandoned leather factory, rather like a dumping ground of the island's trash, received tourist spot status after people clustered the trash and organized them into artsy exhibits.
The place is infested with couples and familes and the locals seem used to this and would quietly, calmly dodge my camera should they come into my cone of vision.
Plastic containers, cooking pans and pots organized into a drum set, regrettably I was not good in playing music so nobody had to endure the performance of my companion and myself.
A lady came out of nowhere to pet the couple large sized turtles in a small pool, one of the exhibits.
Stay long enough, the visitors around would make the exhibits come to life.
The island is small as I was able to recognize multiple visitors and islanders throughout the day at different spots.
A leisure walk towards Finger Hill on the southern side of the island accessible via a limited number of paths. Elderly woman welcomed us with intense glare and sent us off with her approaching uncomfortably close towards us and saw us walk beyond her implicated territory.
The hike is uneventful and die-hard hikers would dismiss it as "not even a hike". Luckily no such companion would be invited to an outing such as this one. The path is scenic and full of surprises should one seek them out. With the mask on and sun high in the sky, water, food and rest was needed.
Fish sausage on the beach would have to do. The sound of waves was mesmerizing.
Then a slow walk along the coast to get back to town. Scene of the town not unlike Cheung Chau, only feeling slower and calmer, with less noisy tourists and bicycle traffic. Pretty tired so another rest, another sausage.
Pretty girls taking photos. Companion would suggest stalking on the #pengchau tag on Instagram in hope of seeing some of the photos of the girls. Vain hope.
Souvenir may be bought. Un-interested however. Companioned would have to buy something for girlfriend.
Most of the day spent strolling through the southern side of the island, but the northern side shouldn't be missed. Peng Lai Court has ordinary Hong Kong public housing estate design but is probably the shortest.
A short walk past the housing estate, and across the bridge is a very small island outside Peng Chau. Probably good sneaky spot for couples, in fact some were spotted hugging dangerously close together. Probably more dramatic comes nightfall.
Ran out of film. Shot a full roll of ColorPlus 200 on Ansco Memar and the remainder of Vision3 500T on Agfa Optima 1535. Sat on seaside rock listening to the waves before walking back to the pier, found the Heart Stones in the area and rather unimpressed.
Fairly tired. Kaito ferry back to Discovery Bay and gelato to finally finish off the day. I wouldn't recommend people visiting Peng Chau. We couldn't afford another good place be ruined by overflooding with visitors.
