Hong Kong and Macau_ City Guide (Lonely Planet, 14th Edition) - Andrew Stone [78]
Charming Yim Tin Tsai (Little Salt Field) is so-called because the original fisherfolk who lived here augmented their income by salt-panning. A few minutes’ walk from the jetty up a small flight of steps to the left is St Joseph’s Chapel, the focal point of the island. This is Yim Tin Tsai’s only house of worship, which is most unusual in an area of Hong Kong where temples devoted to Tin Hau proliferate. Apparently the villagers, who all belong to the same clan, converted to Catholicism 150 years ago after St Peter appeared on the island to chase away pirates who had been harassing them. There’s also a modest cafe open daily and plans for new facilities in the island, including a museum and hostel (see www.exploresaikung.com for further details).
Yim Tin Tsai is connected to the much larger island of Kau Sai Chau by a narrow spit of land that becomes submerged at high tide. Kau Sai Chau is the site of the 36-hole Jockey Club Kau Sai Chau Public Golf Course ( Map; see also Click here), a public links course that can be reached by the course’s direct ferry from Sai Kung (adult/concession $50/30 return), which departs every 20 minutes daily from 6.40am to 9pm; the last boat back is at 10pm. Boats dock in Sai Kung Town at the long pier opposite the new Sai Kung Waterfront Park. The 19th-century Hung Shing Temple at the southern tip of Kau Sai Chau won a Unesco restoration award in 2000.
Beyond Kau Sai Chau is Leung Shuen Wan (High Island), a long trip from Sai Kung Town, and the High Island Reservoir, which was built in 1978 by damming what was once a large bay with dolooses (huge cement barriers shaped like jacks); sea water was then siphoned out and fresh water pumped in. You can see one example of a doloose ( Map), weighing 25 tonnes, on display on the pier in Sai Kung Town.
If you want to be out on the water for a longer period or to have greater flexibility as to where you go, you can hire your own boat. Kaido owners can usually be found trawling for fares. Explain to the kaido owner where you want to go, how long you want to spend there and which way you wish to return. They don’t speak much English, but if you point to the islands on Map in this book, they may get the picture. The usual price for this kind of trip is about $150 on weekdays, more on the weekend.
* * *
Return to beginning of chapter
TAP MUN CHAU
Eating Click here
Tap Mun Chau ( Map), which translates as ‘Grass Island’, is very isolated and retains an old-world fishing village atmosphere. If you have the time (count on a full day and make sure you get your timing right), it’s definitely worth the trip, and you will be rewarded with a feeling that’s hard to come by in Hong Kong: isolation and a slightly otherworldly feel.
The sailing is particularly scenic from Wong Shek, as the boat cruises through the narrow Tai Tan Hoi Hap, which is more remin-iscent of a fjord in Norway than a harbour in Hong Kong.
Delightfully sleepy Tap Mun Chau doesn’t have accommodation, but you may get away with pitching a tent. There’s only one restaurant on the island (Click here), but there are shops selling snacks and drinks. The island is found off the northeast coast of the New Territories, where the Tolo Channel empties into Mirs Bay, which is Tai Pang Wan in Cantonese. Only Tung Ping Chau to the northeast in Mirs Bay is more remote.
As you approach the pier at Tap Mun village, you’ll see fishing boats bobbing about in the small bay and, to the south, people working on fish-breeding rafts.
Tap Mun village is noted for its Tin Hau temple, which was built during the reign of Emperor Kang Xi of the Qing dynasty in the late 17th or early 18th century and is located northeast from where the boat docks. The Birthday of Tin Hau (Click here) festival,