Voyage - 20090927

Yesterday we went to Cheung Chau, the long forgotten island which the four of us have not been stepped on for years. I guess nobody would love to go there by helicopter, which the service is rendered by Government Flying Service. Thus, ship would be the only accessible means.

Living in a coastal city, there should be no less opportunities for Hong Kongers to sail. Though the Victoria Harbour has virtually become a ditch, many people, no matter visitors or local ones, would still be happy to commute between Central and TST by the cheap Star Ferry. For longer voyages, there are plenty of choices, say to Macau; or those gambling cruises, which are popular among aunties in public housing estates.

Traveling by ships gives me mixed feelings. The faster the vessels, the duller the experience.

Thanks to Turbojet, we could go to Macau in around an hour. However, as the ship is in that cheetah-swift, you could only have fleeting glimpses to the surroundings. Even worse, if you choose New World First Ferry instead of Turbojet, the greater ups and downs inside the cabin would exhaust all the available vomit bags. Nobody would love to lose weighs in such a vigorous way, and NWFF is thus one of my personal everlasting blacklist items.

On the contrary, slow ferries could give you an irreplaceable holiday mood. Star Ferry could always give you some sorts of peace, even in that mere several minutes trip. In the voyage to Cheung Chau, the slow vessel is an excellent tranquilizer. Sitting in the open cabin, situated in the rear of the ship, the decker allowed you to feel the breeze, smell the salt and touch the sticky air. When we were on our way back to Central, under the comfortable pace, Cheung Chau first lingered around. Below the shining new moon, Cheung Chau gradually contracted as a barely visible point. Enchanted in the intoxicating ambience, suddenly, we found ourselves were embraced by the twinkling hoardings along the parallel sides of the Victoria Harbour.

N shared a little joke on the return trip. When she visited Thailand some 10 years ago, one of the spots was Pattaya which a super rocky boat trip was involved. Landed, all the comrades vomited, except two groups of people - - - one from Cheung Chau and the other from Yuen Long. They were used to the tumbling lives!