Bolstered by my lovely all-by-myself day trip to Cheung Chau, I happily set out to explore another outlying island, Lamma island, this time with my husband the following day which was a Saturday (= no need to work). As biking around Cheung Chau was quite a breeze given the relatively flat terrain, I urged him to also get a bike on Lamma island. Boy, was it a huge mistake. We were completely ignorant of the geography of Lamma, which had only one path running across from one end to the other of the small island. The good thing is you will never get lost. The bad thing is to get from one bay to another, one has to cross the ridge and our bikes were totally useless on those horrendously steep slopes. The worse thing was we had to climb back over the same ridge again to return our rental bikes (the alternative was to lose our deposit of HK$600). I then realised why there were two ferries leaving separately for two different parts of Lamma from the mainland - Sok Kwu Bay and Yong Shu Bay - because people simply pick one bay to visit! The tasty though slightly pricey seafood meal at the end of our hike did soothe our rather broken spirit (legs felt broken too) but the savoury mantis shrimp and succulent bamboo clams were soon forgotten as we grudgingly trudged back up the ridge to return our rental bikes. Another reason why Lamma wasn't particularly appealing was the large expat population living on the island, which sort of turned it into a yuppie (plus white trash) hangout with the usual bars, booze and Western grub. Lamma is a 30-min ferry ride from the mainland which makes daily commuting to the mainland quite bearable. It is away from the city and yet not too far that you are cut off from your urban comforts. The first thing we saw when we landed was a row of real estate agencies hawking the ideal seaside home, followed by a row of restaurants and bars catering to the expat population. There were much less interesting sights to shoot, plus we were totally whacked by the punishing "mountaineering" experience.
A herb garden on the island. This is the entrance. The owner is a young HK couple who grows organic herbs and use them for making tea and snacks that are sold in their cafe.
A creative way to label the plants using upturned glass bottles and white paint.
The cat which is very much a part of the herb garden.
Houses on the hillside.
There is a huge power station (three smoke stacks and at least 4 storage tanks) on one end of Lamma island. I guess a lot of electricity is needed to keep the bars, restaurants and large air-conditioned homes going.
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