lantau trip 2007

Here are some photos from yesterday's trip to Lantau with Jon. I made a concerted effort not to retake the exact same photos that I've posted from previous Lantau trips, and I think I succeeded for the most part, although you can check for yourself by taking a look at my previous two Lantau posts (trip to lantau with the kite master, and Beautiful Lantau). After looking over those two posts very briefly just now, I'm blown away by the exceptional weather we had for yesterday's trip.
Also, since I've always felt quite disoriented while climbing up Sunset Peak, not really sure which direction I'm facing or what I'm looking at, I decided to keep a map of HK handy while captioning these pictures.

Start of our trip: Go Mui Wo.

A view of central from the ferry pier. Look at that sky!
Another shot. (I took almost this exact same picture last year... but there was construction then)

Some photos taken from the deluxe-class deck. Taking the slow ferry was fun, just like old times...

Jon and me.

HK island.

West Kowloon. Look at those clouds!

Jon with HK island in the background.

Looking at my pale, white, sunscreen-free shoulders in this picture makes my sunburn hurt even more... (in my defense, Freddy predicted scattered showers, and being slightly pessimistic, I was pretty sure some of them would be on Lantau...).
The mountains of Lantau from our cool and comfortable deluxe class window. We decided to go deluxe, taking advantage of air-conditioning while we could.

Jon and one of the First Ferry sailors standing beside the very tastefully decorated deluxe class "bar." Methinks those bottles in the background are just for show...

Deluxe class all the way!

Jon emerging from "the forest of despair." We would've stopped at the orange rock/bench, but found the insects too numerous to bear.

A view facing East from a clearing along the trail. That's Heiling Chau (left) and Cheung Chau (right) in the background.
A view facing North, with Tuen Mun in the background.

Looking West: A view of the mess hall and other cabins from the saddle.

Looking East: A view of the saddle and cabins from the mess hall.

We sat for a while outside the mess hall -- in the sun!! :( -- and I was soon playing host to a thirsty bee who was apparently trying to drink my sweat. Not a very pleasant thought, but I've never been in such close proximity to a bee without being stung... it was quite an interesting experience.

Some snacks that we enjoyed outside the mess hall. Contrary to the claims of the packaging, there was no bourbon in this mango snack.
Jon on top of Cathedral Rock, which we passed on our way to the back trail.

Cathedral Rock and the old swimming pool down below.

A view from near the summit of Sunset Peak (looking East).

A zoomed-in view, with HK island and Kowloon slightly more visible.
Jon on our way down the back trail, with South Lantau and Soko islands (the site of the proposed new CLP LNG plant -- see WWF link) in the background.

I think that big construction site in the middle of this picture is where the old YWCA camp site -- where we had all those years of Harvesters camps -- used to be. :(
This is a view of Cheung Sha, the beach we'd go to during Harvesters camp. I was surprised by how long the beach looks from this angle, and when I mentioned it to my mother later on, she very politely pointed out that Cheung Sha literally means "long sand" in Cantonese.

This was taken near the bottom of the back trail, facing West. That's Lantau peak, the other major peak on Lantau. I don't think I've ever climbed it, but I'd like to go soon. Maybe once my sunburn heals...