Peng Chau: Take 2

Ok, this morning, the sun is actually shining, and the forecast says cloudy with sunny breaks, so I made the decision to revisit Peng Chau Island and finally see the rest of it without getting drowned.

With any luck, the only risk for today is sunburn ☀️

So, after the breakfast, fuel up, it's Star Ferry time, followed by the Peng Chau ferry.

And this time, I made it all the way there without any signs of rain, so yes, I am wet, but it has nothing to do with rain, more the 33°C heat with 90% humidity. 💦

Coming into the ferry wharf, the sky is still looking promising.

Northern Walk & Peng Chau Cemetery top

Anyhow, getting off the ferry, the first thing to do is to take the northern walk, which, based on my last visit, meant heading for the steps where the thunder started.

Don't let the steps put you off; they are not as steep or endless as they look.

I will admit I have no idea what's at the top.

Getting to the top, I am standing in a cemetery, but not like one I have seen before, no sign of the European style, grass with headstones, but in this case, each plot held a memorial.

And yes, this is a resting place, so be respectful, touch nothing, leave nothing and take nothing.

Walking Trails & Island Settlement top

So, moving through the cemetery, I came across another trail, which looked interesting, and yes, no signage, so I picked a direction and headed on down the hill

And come across a small collection of houses, seemingly right in the middle of nowhere.

Moving on past the homes, the path seems to stretch on into the distance. However, it's an easy walk, fully paved, and from what I can see, even lit up after dark.

Hmmmm, not good, I can hear thunder, but checking the sky, it's just a little cloudy, with some blue patches.

Hoping to avoid a repeat of the last visit, I take my life in my hands and continue along the trail.

And yes, after my last visit, this time I have a plastic bag for the camera, should history repeat itself 😀

Tung Wan Beach & The Old Leather Factory top

Thankfully, the thunder did not last long, so rather than seek shelter, I continued down the path and eventually came to the beach.

This was very much expected, being one of the places I wanted to see, and getting there this quickly reminds me how small the island is, although it's very possible I just took a wrong turn somewhere.

Before moving on to explore the area, I looked behind me and got a reminder of how close this island is to the city. Just check out this photo

Not good, more thunder in the distance, but feeling brave, I decided to have a look around behind the beach and risk the rain.

I was going to spend more time exploring, but with the thunder in the distance, I really did not want to repeat my last visit and miss everything.

Main Street & Sheltering from the Rain top

With the increasing thunder, the other tourists and locals started to check the sky and began to melt away.

So rather than investigate the leather factory, I headed for the main street.

This main street is lined with small local shops, and runs almost to the ferry wharf, and includes where I was hiding from the rain on my last visit.

Getting back to the waterfront, the sky was looking a little scary, with a repeat of my last visit very possible, so I decided to risk it and head along the waterfront.

To me, it looked like the storm clouds were heading away from me, so I headed off along the waterfront.

I almost made it to the end of the waterfront, then the light rain started, so I headed for the closest shelter and made it just as the rain turned very heavy.

Check out the above photo, now that's what I call rain, was falling so hard it was bouncing into my hiding place 🌧️

Talking of my hiding place, I was actually sheltering in the entrance to someone's house, and the house owner came back, with an umbrella in hand. I saw her coming and moved to another house. She saw move, smiled, and nodded thank you.

Language gap, what language gap? All it takes is manners, common sense, and a smile.

Needless to say, this case of déjà vu resulted in the rest of the day being cancelled.

Returning to the Ferry Pier top

This time the rain lasted for about 20 minutes, oh well, at least it's not cold.

When it finally stopped, I decided to risk it and head for the ferry wharf, having put the camera in its plastic bag, just in case.

Not a good move risking it, the rain got me again with no shelter close by, for those who know me, I am not a runner

Thankfully, I made it to some shelter, this time one of several public seating areas. I was not alone in using these as shelter; there were a couple of workers in the next one along from mine, and we exchanged sympathetic looks.

At least this second bout of rain did not last long, and I made it back to the ferry wharf without any more attempted drownings.

Getting to the wharf, the next sailing was not for a while, so time to try and dry out somewhat.

The bad news is no air conditioning, just some fans, not good, but better than nothing.

From my seat outside on the ferry, it's a goodbye to Peng Chau. For now, anyway 😉

Maybe for the next visit to HK, the weather gods will not be against me and give me some nice sunshine. At which time I will revisit and, with any luck, actually finish my Island exploration.

At least the rain held off to allow me to take some shots of the island.

Daily Stats: 13, 829 steps, which Samsung Health tells me is 10.31km, not great but still more than the daily 10K step target.