By Vir B. Lumicao
It was virtually a voyage into the unknown,
at least for the first-timer who was on board the slow boat steaming south from
the Central piers in the afternoon of Feb 13.
But for the four of us
– my son Alvin, his wife Cocoa and daughter Athena -- who had been to Cheung
Chau a few times some years ago, nature lent a bit of eeriness to the trip on
that balmy day.
The Xin Guang had left
the quay just 15 minutes earlier on its regular sailing to Cheung Chau and
about a dozen or so of us on the aft deck were busy taking selfies and groupies
against the diminishing skyline on both sides of the Victoria Harbour.
Most other passengers
of the New World First Ferry vessel were content relaxing on their seats,
snacking and chatting, or busy tinkering with their mobile phones while several
others took advantage of the slow sailing to take a nap.
For the few of us who
might have been tied down by our jobs during the week, the 45-minute boat ride
spent on the deck was a welcome change, especially as warmer weather took over
that weekend from the chilly days earlier in the week.
Suddenly the passengers
on the deck were astir. From the starboard thick fog could be seen creeping
towards Hong Kong Disneyland, Kwai Chung and Stonecutters’ Island. That was
about 3:30pm. Five minutes later, there was only dense fog ahead of the ship;
another five minutes later and we were in the midst of the mist.
One could say
visibility was zero because even the afternoon sun could not shine through the
blanket of fog. Twice the Xin Guang had to stop for a few minutes in response
to the horn blasts of invisible but ostensibly large passing vessels,
apparently ocean-going container ships headed for or coming from the Kwai Chung
terminals.
The voyage was about 10
minutes towards its end when the ship had sailed past the mist and in the
distance loomed Cheung Chau, an outlying island that has transformed from an
ancient fishing village and pirate lair to a holiday destination bursting with
visitors on weekends and public holidays.
Once we disembarked,
our first instinct was to look a for a food shop to calm our hunger, but
McDonald’s lone outlet on the island was full, and so were other eateries on
the waterfront.
As an alternative, we
tried Cheung Chau’s famous mango mochi, a sweet sticky rice bun filled with a
slice of Philippine mango, spiral crispy fried sweet potato, and fried ice
cream – yes, fried ice cream. It’s a scoop of ice cream wrapped in sticky rice
flour dough then deep fried until crispy brown.
Originally we planned
to take a dip in the quiet waters of Tung Wan Beach, but during the hour or so
of our food tripping and stroll on the island’s streets, the fog had moved in
again.
At 5pm it was already
dusk and gloomy on the beach, with only three or four youngsters discernibly
playing in the knee-deep water on the beach. Where the shoreline started all we
could see was fog so eerily thick that the people on the beach looked like they
were standing on the edge of the world.
We could see no farther
than 100 meters such that the Cheung Chau landmark, Warwick Hotel, on our right
was nowhere in sight, and so was the allegedly haunted Bela Vista Resort,
notoriously called “Suicide Hotel” to our left.
Deterred but thrilled
by one of nature’s quirks, we decided to take the next voyage back to Hong Kong
Island.
How to get
there: At Central Ferry Piers, take NW First Ferry to Cheung
Chau on Pier 5. The company operates
both slow and fast ferry services every hour 22 hours a day to and from Cheung
Chau, with intervals varying from 30 minutes to 1 hour 30 minutes for the
Central-Cheung Chau outbound sailings and from 5 minutes to 30 minutes for the
Cheung Chau-Central sailings. From Monday to Saturday the fare on the slow boat
is $13.30 ordinary and $20.70 de luxe. Fares are higher on Sunday and public
holidays at $19.40 ordinary and $30.20 de luxe. Seniors, children and the
disabled pay $6.60 ordinary and $10.40 de luxe.
Fares on the fast ferry are $25.80 Monday to Saturday and $37.20 on
Sundays and public holidays. Seniors, children and disabled pay $12.90 Monday
to Saturday and P18.60 on Sundays and public holidays.
