Hong Kong and Macau_ City Guide (Lonely Planet, 14th Edition) - Andrew Stone [81]
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TRANSPORT – LAMMA
Ferry Ferries run from Yung Shue Wan pier to pier 4 of Central’s Outlying Islands ferry terminal, Pak Kok Tsuen (Lamma) and Aberdeen; also from Sok Kwu Wan pier to pier 4 of Central’s Outlying Islands ferry terminal, Man Tat Wan (Lamma) and Aberdeen.
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Perhaps the most interesting way for visitors to see a good portion of the island is to follow the 4km-long Family Trail that runs between Yung Shue Wan and Sok Kwu Wan. This takes a little over an hour, and you can return to Central by ferry from Sok Kwu Wan, Lamma’s second village, which has alfresco seafood places that are a magnet for food lovers. Those with extra time should carry on to Tung O Wan, an idyllic bay some 30 minutes further south at the bottom of a steep hill, and perhaps return to Sok Kwu Wan via Mo Tat Wan.
Lamma is the closest inhabited island to Hong Kong Island; its northernmost tip is only 3km across the East Lamma Channel from Ap Lei Chau in Aberdeen. There are two main settlements on the island: Yung Shue Wan to the northwest and Sok Kwu Wan on the east coast of the island.
There’s an HSBC branch ( 2233 3000; 19 Main St) and a post office (2 Main St) in Yung Shue Wan.
YUNG SHUE WAN Map
Yung Shue Wan ferry
Though it’s the larger of the island’s two main villages, Yung Shue Wan (Banyan Tree Bay) remains a small place, with little more than a main street following the curve of the bay. Plastic was the big industry here at one time, but now restaurants, bars and other tourism-related businesses are the main employers. There is a small Tin Hau temple dating from the late 19th century at the southern end of Yung Shue Wan.
SOK KWU WAN Map
Sok Kwu Wan ferry
If you continue on the Family Trail you’ll encounter a pavilion on a ridge, this time looking down onto Sok Kwu Wan (Picnic Bay), with its many fine restaurants, and fishing boats and rafts bobbing in the bay. Although still a small settlement, Sok Kwu Wan supports at least a dozen waterfront seafood restaurants that are popular with boaters. The small harbour at Sok Kwu Wan is filled with rafts from which cages are suspended and fish are farmed. If entering Sok Kwu Wan from the south (ie from the Family Trail linking it with Yung Shue Wan), you’ll pass three so-called kamikaze caves: grottoes measuring 10m wide and 30m deep and built by the occupying Japanese forces to house motorboats wired with explosives to disrupt Allied shipping during WWII. They were never used. Further on and near the entrance to Sok Kwu Wan is a totally renovated Tin Hau temple dating back to 1826.
WIND TURBINE Map
Standing in elegant contrast to that CO-belching, coal-fired power station, Lamma’s giant wind turbine, close to the top of the ridge just south east of Tai Peng village, makes a stirring sight (although in reality it is something of a white elephant generating far less power than was hoped for). There’s a small information board on wind power and an electronic readout at its base showing the power output of the turbine, but there’s not much else to do here but admire its feathered blades scything the breeze and to take in the dramatic backdrop of freighters setting sail far below, with Hong Kong Island looming in the background. To reach it follow the paths from Yung Shue Wan up to Tai Peng old village and turn right once you hit the concrete roadway linking the power station with Pak Kok.
HUNG SHING YEH BEACH Map
Yung Shue Wan ferry
About a 25-minute walk southeast from the Yung Shue Wan ferry pier, Hung Shing Yeh beach is the most popular beach on Lamma. Arrive early in the morning or on a weekday and you’ll probably find it deserted, though you may find the view of the power station across the bay takes some getting used to. The beach is protected by a shark net and