Po Toi Island

We have heard of this Po Toi island (蒲台島) for many years, but couldn't make it to visit there before. This is because the boys are still small that time and not fit for a long distance hiking trip. As they are getting bigger, we have less consideration now. So, this is the year we finally made it to Po Toi island. Boy, 7 years we have been waiting for! I'm glad my parents could join us too.

The ferry schedule is not frequent. We departed from Stanley Pier at 11.30am. It said the boat journey will take around 30min.

There are some cushion seats inside the boat. But we rather sit at the upper front deck, simply to enjoy the cooler breeze and unblocked view.

Condo that built along the coastal line (with sea view) are very expensive property, but they worth the investment. I heard their price had upgraded N times.

The boat started to sail towards the vast open sea.

The visibility was poor that day. Most of the time, we saw nothing, but mist surrounded us.

Some of the time, we could see a small island's tip shrouded in mist. The scene is very very mysterious, like a movie.

How nice if we can see a little mermaid lying on the rocks there and waving to the people that is passing by...

We almost there...



getting closer and closer...

Po Toi island is a small, granite island with hulking hills ringed by a stark yet dramatic coastline with an old fishing hamlet clinging to the one sheltered cove. There are trails to hilltops, and to the tip of the dramatic southern headland.

Tin Hou Temple is in maintenance. Really, no matter how small or how remote the island it is, temple is for sure one of the construction there.

Tai Wan bay (大灣) is the one-and-only-one township of Po Toi island.


Finally we reached the pier at around 12pm.



Just want my parents to remember what is the place we have taken them to this time.

Actually, we didn't know which way to go. When we saw this sign board, naturally we walked straight to the way it points us to.

This tree looks so cool. I guess it must be older than my great grandparents.


oh, bamboo trees, it's not normal to see them in HK.


The trail starts from here, doesn't seem too difficult.


Po Toi island lies 3km off the southeastern tip of HK. It is famous for its rock formations.


You got to look at the rocks with your imagination flying, as it boasts Turtle Rock, Monk Rock, Supine Monk, and Palm Rock.

Some people had hired a private boat and stopped over this bay for partying. KS loves the idea. He said he wants to organize this trip and invite his colleague to join.

The further we walked, the scenery is getting more spectacular too.

After walking for 25min, we saw a sign board pointing us to go downstairs to see the rock carving. I wonder what it is? Some Kung-Fu master carved their words on the rock by sword?

Well, no. Apparently, there had long been a local legend among the fisherfolk of the existence of several rock carvings. Finally, groups of carvings were found at the southern part of Po Toi in the 1960's. They are of different motifs and separated by a rock fracture 70cm wide.

The group on the left consists of lines resembling stylized animal and fish patterns. I stared at it real hard, but didn't get it. Sigh, where has my imagination gone?

While the group on the right is composed of spirals in an inter-locking arrangement.

We crossed from one hill to the others by following the steps near the coastal line. Although the road seems not tough, there is no shelter at all. So, we felt pretty tired walking like this under the relatively hot sun.


Vincent said he saw giant crabs down there, I said I saw a gigantic whale splashing in the ocean there.


Although my imagination seems to have remained well grounded, as I've only seen Monk Rock. But even if rocks look only like rocks, this is a fine place to visit.

There is a light house at the end of the cape there, but it still seems like a long way to go. By then, we have walked 45 min to get to this point.

Po Toi island is also famous for its sea weeds. The boys wanted to go down to the beach there to pick the sea weeds. Of course, their mean parents won't allow them to do so.

While most of the hills are covered with brownish short grass, this part of the hill look especially greenery.

As we continued the walk, William started to protest. He said he was too tired to continue anymore. Only when we promised we would buy him coke and ice cream, then he got up and moved on.

Besides William, my parents were getting very tired too. So, we decided to stop at this point and turn back. Seeing the long trail ahead of us, I wonder how's the scenery like over there? Sigh, too bad we couldn't walk any further. We will come back again next time, and we will complete the whole trail.



So, we all sat there and rested for some time before heading back.


The scenery at this bay is so beautiful and peaceful.

After resting for 10 min, we headed back by following the same path. Actually, we hate to take the same road to return to the origin. But in view of the condition of the team members, we have to give up trying out new route.


Anyway, looking backwards can be another way of experiencing too...

He was really tired by then. But we couldn't carry him too long either. It's tough to carry a 18kg boy to walk on the road like this too.

So, we walk-stop-walk-stop-walk, until we finally went back to where we have started.

On the way back, William spotted his favourite - wild mushroom. I take this as a good opportunity to lecture him not to simply pluck the wild mushroom and put into his mouth.

Those fruits are not mango, but Pei-Par. Chinese doctors believe they are good ingredient to cure caughing.

This tree is commonly seen in HK and Malaysia too. But it's the 1st time I see the fruits. The shape is 3D-star, like the 'lucky paper-star' we used to fold when we were teenagers.


After walking for 1.5 hours, finally we went back to the starting point.


My body immediately felt so cool when see the green trees and under their shelters.


The trees here look so old yet healthy. They are lucky for not treated as 'wishing tree', nicked name 'make-money-tree'. Its buddy , the famous Lam Tsue Wishing Tree (林村許願樹) is not that lucky though. In fact, it is near death now, after getting excessive worship and attention from the people all around the world.

Just 3 decades ago, Po Toi was home to around a thousand people, most of whom lived around this cove. But, drawn by the booming city and driven out by mainland marauders, all but a handful have left. There are ruined buildings amongst trees by the pier; others are scattered nearby, and many more must have long since vanished, smothered by shrubs and climbers.

The one-and-the-only-one store that sell local stuffs.


This old couple was not chopping ordinary woods, but a kind of medicine roots. That's what they told Vincent after he squated there and chatted with them.

That is the only seafood restaurant on the island. We have no other choice but to take our lunch there.

When the boys saw the beach, they were very eager to run over there without any push.

An old lady were pulling out the sea weeds from the water.

It's over the busy lunch hour, anyway, we still got to wait to be served. Boy, we all were so hungry by then.

While waiting for the foods to come, we took the kids to a nearby jetty. First, we had to cross this narrow bridge. It really tested our balance.

He was so proud that he could cross the bridge without any assistance. Then, he crossed it again and again.

They looked at the water for a very long time, hoping to see something extraordinary special. Too bad, no water monster was seen there.

We gobbled the delicious seafoods very quicky and then, rush to the pier to catch the ferry. Should we missed it, we would need to wait for another 1.5 hours for the next round.

Again, we didn't sit in the comfort zone, but stayed at outside. Don't know why the boys like to glaze at the water for so long?

So I went down the deck to see what they were seing. Then I know why they were like so hypnotized? The water surface is very smooth and surreal, like a piece of silk fabric moving by gentle wind. Your mind would be easily drifted away if you stare at the surface for long. Also, there are quite a lot of jelly fish floated on the surface too. End up, I stared at the water a long time myself too.

30 minutes later, we returned to the Stanley's pier.

This place is not as quiet and peaceful as it looks here. Most of the time, the place is very crowded and it's hard to find a parking lot.

Besides Stanley's Market, this is the most famous landmark in Stanley.

They are many restaurants in there. It's a good choice if one is looking for a romantic place for dining.

Coincidentally, there was a street puppet show in the amphitheater nearby this square. We stood there to watch the show for 20min. They boys enjoyed watching the show a lot, but my parents were getting very tired by then. So, we got to pull the boys to leave. They were so upset for couldn't watch the show till its end. Sorry. As a punishment, I were forced to make a puppet for them when we got home.