Repulse Bay

Todays plan was to visit Repulse Bay and investigate the coastal walk, which, from what I understand, has a section that allows you to walk from Stanley to Kennedy town. Not sure of the exact distance, but an educated guess would be over 30km.

The entire walk right around Hong Kong Island must be over 100km, so it's not something for a single day, more like a week or so. And yes, it's on the list for a future trip.

Now, while that may sound way too long for any sane person to walk, well, for me, I have walked way further than that in the past without any issues, and even do the 21km charity walk with over AUD$1200 raised, for cancer research.

Anyhow, after fuelling up with breakfast, I headed for the star ferry to get to the island.

Arriving on the island, it was time to decide how to continue today's excursion. I could have taken a taxi, but after I visited Stanley market, I decided to just get on a bus, save some money and see more of the island.

After some quick googling, I found the bus details I needed and headed for the Exchange Square Bus terminus.

The bad news was that the bus was not due for quite a while, so it was time for some wandering around the area, in the vain attempt to avoid getting too sweaty.

The bus arrived, and I even managed to get the prime seat on the upper deck, right at the front.

Unlike the Stanley trip, this time, the bus was crowded, and with me being me, I was looking around and shared a hello nod with some other passengers.

An older local couple got on, and one sat next to me; now, me, being very sweaty from the +30C and horrible humidity, I did my best not to share.

As we approached Repulse Bay, he started to take photos, and as my stop was getting closer, I began to get up to get off.

I think he thought I was getting out of his way to take photos and tried to stop me from moving; it took another passenger translating to get the This is my stop across.

The result was much laughter, a slap on the back, and much smiling.

I feel bad for the damp seat I would have left behind 😳

This experience on the bus is not unusual; I have had many positive interactions with locals over the years. It's terrific to see that this has not changed.

I wonder what genius decided that waterproof seats were a good idea on buses when it gets this hot and humid; whoever came up with that one needs to seriously change their medication.

Back home, we get way hotter than HK, do not use waterproof seats, and have zero issues. Maybe someone from city bus company should reach out to sydney buses for some pointers.

So, getting off at Repulse Bay, the heat hit me like walking into a wall, but just check out the sky in this shot.

I have some history with Repulse Bay; back in the day, while living in HK, I used to pass through on the way to Stanley, but never actually stopped to explore. Time to fix that.

From my research and talking to several local friends, the primary attraction is the Tin Hau temple at one end of the beach. And for me, having visited several of these temples, it was high on my must-see list.

Heading down to the beach and needing liquid, I found a kiosk for the needed hydration. One thing to note is that the price was higher than what I usually pay, although it was still way cheaper than the rip-off prices at the airport.

What really got me was 5 minutes after paying too much, and looking around, I spotted one of the ever-present 7-Eleven stores. Oh well, now I know.

I decided to head for the temple, but rather than the sidewalk, I picked the back of the beach, which thankfully had plenty of trees for shade.

Arriving at the temple, it looks interesting and way more prominent than the last one I visited on Peng Chao Island or the Stanley one.

One thing to remember, this is a religious location, so be respectful and do not get in the way of those there for religious reasons.

Not wanting to break my own rules, I decided to enter without disturbing anyone and go around the arch.

What I found was very much unexpected.

The first thing I saw where two 10-meter statues, which, after some research, I identified as; Tin Hau, the goddess of the sea and Kun Iam, the goddess of Mercy.

This first shot, as far as I can tell, is actually Tin Hau or, in Mandarin, Mazu.

This next one is Kun Lam

Now, if I have these photos reversed, let me know.

Yes, these are not the only statues, just check out the following.

Now it's time to hit the beach and head for the coastal trail at the far end of the temple.

Walking the beach is not a new thing for me, as being Australian and living very close to the coast, when the weather allows it, I head for the nearest one.

This beach is very organised, note the lifeguard towers, and yes, it reminds me of some at home, although the lifeguard towers remind me of some I visited in the US back in the day.

One thing I did notice was the amount of trash in the water, which is not a new one for me, as back in the day, living in HK, this was a real problem. But things have changed; while it's still there, it's reduced in quantity (based on other beaches in HK, I visited).

So, moving on, heading to the end of the beach, which is the start of a trail, was my second target of the day.

Before leaving the beach, I spotted this:

Yes, that's 38C, and even to me, being used to heat from the Australian summer, it still feels hot, and checking my watch, it feels like it was claiming 44C. For once, I believe it.

Bearing in mind this is before lunch, it's just going to get hotter, so my thought of doing the full coastal walk to Kennedytown was not looking like a good move, even for me. Maybe for my next trip. ✈️

Anyhow, I decided to do the part of it, and head for Deep Water Bay, which was much closer.

And yes, there was actually signage 😀

Talking of signage, there was a map showing the full coastal walk, which was the first discovery of the day, in that you could walk to Stanley from the other end of the beach, and it was only about 3km.

On reflection, I should have taken that option and saved myself the sunburn.

Heading down the trail, it's looking like an easy walk, paved, with plenty of shade.

Moving on, I was passed by several joggers who looked like they were having real problems with the heat. As always, each to their own.

A few hundred meters down the trail, there is a break in the shade that gives a good view of the whole beach and the surrounding horribly expensive real estate.

Moving further on, the shade started to fade out, which left me walking in full sun, which is never fun, even with a hat and lots of sunscreen.

Check the above shot and top left is Ocean Park, but that's one for another day, or as I only have a few days left, another visit.

Continuing down the trail, the shade comes and goes, not that it's a problem for me, just something to note if you do not handle the sun the same way I do.

After about 20 minutes Deep Water Bay Beach comes into view.

Getting to the beach, I was in real need of hydration, so I expected to be able to buy something, but for some reason, there was nothing, no kiosk, and surprisingly enough, no seven eleven.

Not good, so the decision to get on a bus rather than continue the walk was a no-brainer, or was it?

When I got on the bus, it turned out the very next stop was Ocean Park Station, and yes, that's an MTR station. If I had known this, I would have pushed on, rather than do the bus thing.

OK, lesson learned, and something for me to remember for the next time.

Anyhow, the daily stats are: 23,720 steps, or a little over 18km, and yes, all in this heat and humidity.