Daytripping on the 4th

The 4th of July isn't officially celebrated in Hong Kong, of course, but Katherine and I decided to have our own little celebration by crossing off two items from my "things I want to see in Hong Kong" list that happen to be close to each other: Discovery Bay and Peng Chau.

We caught a bus to the Central piers, hopped on the speedy Discovery Bay ferry, and found ourselves in Discovery Bay twenty minutes later...

DB is a small residental development (well, small for Hong Kong - about 16,000 people) on the northeast coast of Lantau Island (the same island where Hong Kong's international airport, giant Buddha, and Disneyland are located). It feels very much like a luxurious resort, especially since you are greeted upon arrival by yachts, pools, tennis courts, and a secluded beach...

It also feels very much like an enclave - a place inside Hong Kong that is itself not of Hong Kong. The population is so dominated by expatriates, in fact, that Katherine commented it was like the inverse of a Chinatown...a non-Chinatown. She's right - that's exactly what it's like.

Because it is completely surrounded by mountains and ocean, you also immediately draw parallels to an elite gated community, though its beach and shopping facilities are open to the public (for those who want to go out of their way to use them). After exploring those facilities, we decided to sneak into the private residential blocks to have a little look-see...

If you didn't know better, you might mistake this for a road flanking a beachfront community in South Carolina. I was particularly amused by the golf carts - practically every resident seemed to own one (instead of a car). They race up and down the little streets (my favorite street name: Seabee Lane) alongside the public transit buses and delivery trucks (which supply the stores and restaurants). They even have their own license plates...and their own parking lots...

So cute! But also: so practical! If you really don't need a car for use in greater Hong Kong (which you don't, since the public transit systems are so amazing), but you don't want to walk up and down the hills of Discovery Bay when you go shopping, then a golf cart sounds like a great compromise. One note of concern, though: they don't seem to have any seat belts (or, if they did, no one seemed to be wearing them). If folks were just driving 5mph, with no other cars around, I suppose that might be okay. But these babies were going at least 30mph up and down the main road (again, alongside big buses and trucks), so the lack of a seat belt seemed highly negligent.

After our sleuthing, we decided it was time to hop on another ferry bound for Peng Chau...

Peng Chau is a small outlying island that is directly across the water from Discovery Bay. It is very quiet, with a small population and a distinctly rural feel - almost like a fishing village. Pretty much the complete opposite of Discovery Bay, and a far cry from the hustle and bustle of downtown Hong Kong...

Getting off the ferry

A typical Peng Chau street

One thing that really struck us while we were there: Peng Chau has lots of cats and dogs. Lots. I'm sure some are owned as pets, but it seemed that many of them were stray (and very friendly). Since Katherine and I are so partial to cats, we couldn't help but take a few snapshots...

After about an hour-long walking tour, we started getting hungry, so we returned to Discovery Bay for dinner at a contemporary continental restaurant called Zaks...

We eat early, so we had the place pretty much to ourselves...

...and our table had a great view of the beach

Katherine decided to have linguine with fresh clams, I thought a sizzling plate of all-American fajitas (for which I have a large soft-spot) would be an appropriate way to celebrate the 4th of July... ;>

Then we abandoned all American pretense when we shared a slice of banoffee pie for dessert...

A magical invention of the British

While we were dining, this little fellow flew right up to a ledge outside our window...

He's a crested myna, and Discovery Bay was home to tons of his relatives. Easily the bird we most often saw while we were there.

After dinner, it was time for one more ferry ride back to Central...


...where the bright lights ushered us home. Happy 4th of July, everyone!