Lamma Island

Our third day in Hong Kong we decided to take a ferry to one of the many islands littering Hong Kong, Lamma Island.  This island was suggested to us by friends and feels completely different than Hong Kong because of two reasons: 1) Buildings are not allowed to be taller than three stories and 2) Cars are not allowed on the island.  There are two towns on the island that have ferry ports to Hong Kong and a walking trail from one town to the other.

We were dropped off at Yung Shue Wan, the northern and seemingly larger of the two towns (there are other towns on the island, but not many).  It was early afternoon when we arrived and decided to eat immediately.  I got a roasted vegetable sandwich which was fresh and tasty while Andy had a chicken sandwich that was pre-made and not very good.  We also split a small pitcher of fruit ice tea, which was delicious.  The trail to the other town takes approximately two hours on foot.  It took us two walkthroughs of the town to find it because of an ill-marked detour but it was a cute little town.

Once out of the town the trail is paved all the way through the island.  The trail passes by a beach that overlooks the power plant, heads over a mountain with gorgeous views of the ocean, and back down to the other side of the island.  The second ferry town felt deserted with very few tourists present.  We arrived just 5 minutes before the ferry left for Hong Kong and the next ferry to leave wasn't for another hour and a half.  Sweet!

Back on the mainland we headed to downtown Kowloon to watch "A symphony of lights."  We were worried about being late to it and rushed downtown to arrive just at the beginning.  It is hard to describe because it was amazing and corny and silly but a lot of fun.  Also, it's free and lasted 13 minutes.

For dinner we ate at Branto, a vegetarian Indian restaurant suggested in Lonely Planet and by email from a friend of a friend.  It was on the second floor, not very well sign posted, and we were the only non-indians in the restaurant.  We ordered a Masala dosa and vegetable curry with rice.  It was incredibly tasty.  For dessert we stopped at a grocery store on the way home and picked up some snacks.

The next day we headed to the airport and eventually left for Beijing, an hour later than scheduled due to heavy rain.