12/1/18 – An Uncertain Undertaking

What a marathon, today – from our lecture on Hong Kong’s economics (long, but informative – I felt like I learned more in today’s lecture than in any other) to a quick Thai lunch in Fu Tai, Haley and I set out for Ap Lei Chau, a small island off the Southern coast of Hong Kong island. I had read an online blog that mentioned a nice hike across a sandbar to an atoll off of Ap Lei Chau, and so we decided we’d try to find it. This proved a bit harder than anticipated – since neither of us have cell service here, we found ourselves navigating by the maps in the MTR stations, memory, and common sense, and we ended up having to backtrack multiple times before we even reached the head of the trail. In one instance, as we spent an embarrassingly long time wandering aimlessly around the bus stop until an old woman, guessing at our goal, emerged from a nearby McDonald’s to usher us wordlessly over a concrete berm. The staircase on the other side looked very much closed to the public, but after being goaded on by the entire clientele of the McDonald’s, we set off up the trail-like route and ended up climbing to the top of the island. The going was steep and tough, and when we finally got to the top, all that greeted us was a view of pristine blue water – no sandbar or atoll to be found. Discouraged, but not dejected, we skirted the edge of the summit for a while until finally, magically, the grassy rock, and the thin stretch of sand attaching it to the larger island, came into view. The route from then onwards was no cakewalk – the long, steep descent, the winding trek up and across the atoll, and the treacherous return along the island’s rocky perimeter took us a good four or five hours. But it was a jubilant hike, at least for me, since it was all done with the knowledge that our crazy gamble had been justified. It felt like a miracle that a single, nameless, too-good-to-be-true photo on a single online blog could be a real place we could visit, as long as we remained committed to finding it. I’d say today has been my most satisfying day in Hong Kong, and serves as a reminder that the best things often require a little work and worry.