Po Toi

Several weeks ago (okay, I know I'm behind...) Hugo and David and I caught a ferry to Po Toi, an island about 30 mins south of Hong Kong Island. It's the last island before you leave Hong Kong boundaries. There are actually about 230 islands in Hong Kong, and I would love to visit as many as I'm able to.

It was so different from HK - mostly rock, with hardly any people. It was beautiful to get out on a boat and feel the salty spray, and the wind. I loved it! The pictures above show some of what we saw. Apparently about a thousand people lived there thirty or so years ago, and the fishing village flourished, but all but about a few have left. A couple of the pictures show abandoned, tiny homes. The cemetery area was very interesting. There's a picture above of a set of graves. They're dotted along next to the hiking path. They have mounds built above the level of the ground, and they use lots of small tiles. There are some great hiking trails. We walked for about two hours.

One of the photos shows the Tin Hau temple near the water, which you see as you come into the the fishing village cove. Tin Hau is the godess of the sea, and has many temples around Hong Kong. Apparently, a long time ago, a young girl sneaked aboard some kind of boat. There was a huge storm, which lasted for days. Most boats around Hong Kong were wrecked, and sailors died. After several days at sea in the storm, when many of the sailors on board had died, the young girl took over the helm, and steered the ship to safety. She was Tin Hau, and she has been the patron of fishermen, ever since.

The little house in the bushes is Old Mo's house, and is reputedly haunted. Legend has it that Mo got rich and built the house for himself and his family on the island. Robbers came, intending to kidnap the family, but they were away. Mo and his family never returned to the house. Nearby there is a rectangular rock, named Coffin Rock (pictured), and the haunted house legend sprang up. Japanese soldiers used the house during World War II.

Po Toi has amazing rocks. Hugo saw lots of shapes in them. We didn't get to see some of the more famous ones, or the rock carvings. They'll have to wait for next time.

PS The pink and blue building behind Hugo and me is where we live, in Stanley.