Hong Kong and Macau_ City Guide (Lonely Planet, 14th Edition) - Andrew Stone [54]
Behind the Tin Hau temple is huge Ma Hang Estate. If you go across the front of the temple and follow the road, through the barriers and up the hill, you’ll reach Kwun Yam Temple ( 7am-6pm). The temple is on the left when you get to the roundabout at the top.
Shek O
Sometimes referred to as the ‘last real village on Hong Kong Island’, Shek O ( Map) has one of the best beaches on the island. Not as accessible as the beaches to the west (although it’s only a 20-minute bus ride from Shau Kei Wan), the beaches here are usually less crowded.
Shek O has all sorts of activities to keep you amused plus some creditable dining and drinking options. Shek O beach has a large expanse of sand, shady trees to the rear, showers, changing facilities and lockers for rent. It’s a good spot for swimming with several platforms offshore within a netted swimming area. In the village itself there’s miniature golf ( 2809 4557; $13; 8am-6pmDec-Feb, 9am-5.306pm Mar-Nov) and from Dragon’s Back, the 280m-high ridge to the west of the village, there’s both paragliding and abseiling. Walking is possible around Shek O beach, though the terrain is steep and the underbrush quite thick in spots. You can also take advantage of several bicycle-rental shops (bicycles from $15 a day), including Tung Lok Barbecue Store ( 2809 4692; Apr-Sep) in the centre of the village.
BIG WAVE BAY Map
9 or 309 (Sun only)
This fine and often deserted beach is located 2km to the north of Shek O. To get to Big Wave Bay follow the road north out of town, travel past the 18-hole Shek O Golf & Country Club ( 2809 4458; Shek O Rd), then turn east at the roundabout and keep going until the road ends.
One of eight prehistoric rock carvings discovered in Hong Kong (see Click here) is located on the headland above Big Wave Bay.
Repulse Bay
Repulse Bay ( Map) is the closest thing Hong Kong has to a posh beach suburb. It is home to some of Hong Kong’s richest residents, and the hills around the beach are strewn with luxury apartment blocks. This includes the pink, blue and yellow wavy number with a giant square hole in the middle, a feature apparently added on the advice of a feng shui expert.
The long beach with tawny sand at Repulse Bay – Chin Shui Wan (Shallow Water Bay) in Cantonese – is the most popular on Hong Kong Island. Packed on the weekend and even during the week in summer, it’s a good place if you like people-watching. The beach has showers and changing rooms and shade trees at the roadside, but the water is pretty murky. Lifeguards keep extended hours here: from 9am to 6pm daily from March to November (8am to 7pm on Saturday and Sunday from June to August).
Middle Bay and South Bay, about 10 and 30 minutes to the south respectively, have beaches that are usually much less crowded.
KWUN YAM SHRINE Map
Repulse Bay beach; 6, 6A, 6X or 260
Towards the southeast end of Repulse Bay beach is an unusual shrine to Kwun Yam. The surrounding area has an amazing assembly of deities and figures – goldfish, rams, the money god and other southern Chinese icons, as well as statues of the goddess of mercy and Tin Hau. Most of the statues were funded by local personalities and businesspeople during the 1970s. In front of the shrine to the left as you face the sea is Longevity Bridge; crossing it is supposed to add three days to your life.
REPULSE BAY Map
109 Repulse Bay Rd; 6, 6A, 6X or 260
The Repulse Bay, a copy of the wonderful old colonial Repulse Bay Hotel, built in 1922 and bulldozed 60 years later, contains a small shopping mall and several food outlets, including the Verandah Restaurant (Click here).
Deep Water Bay
A quiet little inlet with a beach flanked by shade trees, Deep Water Bay ( Map) is located a few kilometres northwest of Repulse Bay; lifeguards keep the same schedule as those at Repulse Bay beach, and in winter (ie December to February) they are on duty daily from 8am to 5pm. There are a few decent places to eat and have a drink, and some barbecue pits at the southern