Windsurfing in Cheung Chau

Afternoon old chaps!

So I have decided as part of my blogging ‘travel atmosphere’ effort thingy I am also going to include nice little trips in Hong Kong in case you a) live here and need and idea for an easy getaway from the city b) just visiting and want to do something other than go up to the peak and do jelly shots in Al’s diner.

Feeling the post sevens debauchery still  taking its toll on my body I and a couple of friends decided it was high time to try out a new skill and get out of central Hong Kong so we chose to attempt windsurfing in Cheung Chau.

THE PLACE

Cheung Chau “Long Island” is a small island 10km south west of Hong Kong. It takes 25 minutes to get there on the Ferry from central pier however once there you feel as though you are in another country in the far east. There are no cars allowed on the island so as you would expect everyone happily cycles around smug at the lack of their carbon footprint and elated with endorphins. You arrive into a pretty harbor area and from there it’s very easy to follow the path round to the Windsurfing Centre.

THE PEOPLE

Everyone we met on the island was really friendly and helpful. The two people we got to know particularly well during the day were our instructors, a Father/Daughter combo that encouraged and guided us through the day. The father asked us to call him Uncle Lai and was an excellent windsurfer and oozed cool. Once out on the water he demonstrated how to sail out and turn back in a snake like fashion (this is called sausage surfing, naughty!) and managed to do this with such ease and grace with sunglasses intact and not even a splash. His daughter was called Stephanie and was fantastic at keeping us all going throughout the day and giving helpful tips along the way.

THE SKILL

I feel a little embarrassed to call this section ‘the skill’ as I am not sure that what I developed could yet be described as this however for those of you with or without windsurfing experience I have no problem recommending the Cheung Chau Windsurfing Club as a great place to set sail, if you pardon the pun.

The instructors (mentioned above) spent the first part of the morning running us through the theory of how to windsurf. This included many diagrams and a small toy of a very chirpy looking man on his board that had wheels stuck to the bottom, already I was confused! There was a lot of discussion regarding the direction of the wind which had me flummoxed however I nodded as Uncle Lai explained, I figured I would just get the feel of it once on the water….hmmm more on that later.

We were then taught the very basics on a simulator outside the classroom. Uncle Lai explained how to pull the mast up and then get into the correct sailing position using the 1,2,3,4 steps that take you to holding the boom and gaily sailing along.

Stephanie then took us onto the beach and asked us to take the boards out without the sails attached and try to balance on them. Predictably we all climbed on top cocky at this request and then immediately slipped off amidst giggles and yelps…..this carried on for about 20 minutes.

We then put the sails on our boards and were towed out to sea (probably the most fun part of the day) and then tried to put all the theory into practice. This did not work out well for me and went something like this;

Climb on the board

Fall off

Climb on the board wave at one of the others, lose focus

Fall off

Climb on the board, get steady, reach for the mast, pull up the mast, panic at where to point the sail….

Fall off

It went on like this for just over an hour. I know it sounds ridiculous but I just couldn’t understand where the wind was coming from and how that related to my sail, I knew I should have paid more attention in geography when I spent most lessons learning how to flick a pencil round my thumb, what use is that to me now! Thankfully I was the only retard in the group and we didn’t embarrass ourselves totally as the others meanwhile were able to pull themselves up and glide along for at least 10 seconds before falling off. Needless to say I was a little despondent and in a bit of a sulk as we were towed back in for lunch.

Post-lunch I had given myself a pep talk and resolved to make sure I would at least sail once. This positive mental attitude did just the trick as on my first attempt I managed to get up, get my angle right and sail (albeit very slowly) into the sun and out to sea, hoorah! This made things a lot easier, everything clicked into place and from then on all 3 of us spent the rest of the day sailing from one side of the beach to the other and having Uncle Lai tow us back to the other side so that we could begin again, none of us quite mastered the idea of learning how to turn. Anyway minor oversight, we carried on in this way for the next 3 hours in the brilliant sunshine – pure bliss.   

By the time we were towed back into the beach we were all exhausted but still eager for more and already talking about making this a more regular trip, turning being our first prioirty to master. We sat and had a drink with Uncle Lai and Stephanie who gave us more tips and told us we were very ‘determined’ – a nice way of saying a bit crap but lots of heart which I’m happy with. We laughed and told stories about various falls with both of the instructors before Uncle Lai gave us all a free cap (whoop!) and a cheeky smile and we went on our way.

THE ACCOMODATION

A few of the girls decided to make a jolly little holiday of the trip and stay over in Cheung Chau at a place bizarrely called ‘The Miami Resort’ however Miami styleee it was not. ‘Cheap and cheerful but very basic and with very hard pillows’ was the report back so if in doubt take your own. Although to be honest after an energetic day of windsurfing you’re probably likely to be able to sleep anywhere.

THE FOOD

As I didn’t stay for the night I had only lunch and supper in Cheung Chau however both were fantastic. Our lunch break was at the Windsurfing club and I had a delicious plate of fresh grilled sardines and salad which was a perfect meal to fill me up enough for another 3 hours of the sea. Simple but delicious. Supper was taken at one of the many seafood restaurants that dot along the harbor near the ferry. We got a cute little table right next to the sea and went about working out what to eat as we were super hungry after all our surfing work. All the restaurants along this stretch pretty much serve the same thing but the food again was fantastic. The calamari, spring rolls and steamed scallops with garlic and ginger were a particular favourite, we ended up ordering 2 of each! Plus the bill only came to about 350 honkey (35 quid for you brits) for 5 people – an absolute bargain!

TIPS

1.       Get a good night’s sleep before you go, this is not a day to tackle after a boozy one in Dusk till Dawn.

2.       Wear a suitable bikini, rearranging one’s self atop the board can make one more likely to fall back in. Which is not very ladylike and a real faff, innit.

3.       Take waterproof sun cream especially if of the English Rose variety – you will burn and look like a beetroot, not in keeping with windsurf windswept beach chic look we were all hoping to achieve. Oh no sir.

All in our entire trip to Cheung Chau turned out to be an unexpectedly wonderful day, one of the best I have had in Hong Kong and a really nice break from the electronically controlled life most of us lead. Damn you crackberry! Eventually the day came to a close with us sipping our Tsing Tao, watching a beautiful sunset, my muscles beginning to ache, my skin sun and salt soaked, tired, bruised but with a huge grin on my face.

V xx

Whale Island, Vietnam

Hello internet.

My name is Vicki, I’m 25, I live in Hong Kong and I am a travel addict.

For the last year I have been travelling somewhere new almost each month and have found some great places like Koh Ngai, Niseko and unfortunately some absolute dives….Crowne Plaza Jakarta sort yourself out! To be avoided at all costs! In the myriad of internet sites, lonely planet, trip advisors and travel agents I am going to attempt to give you, my blog reader (thanks Mum) an idea of the atmosphere of the places I visit so you can see if you fancy it yourself. I will also be highlighting great places to eat, tips, things to avoid, my soundtrack, my reading list and places to stay.

So without any further ado my first ‘experience encapusulator’ will be……(drum roll please)……VIETNAM.

With my best friend coming to visit Honkers we decided on a little trip over to the Nam for 3 days with the main aim being a lot of the old R&R and not much else. Despite the flights being more expensive than I had hoped, I thought Asia was cheap tut tut, I found a tiny island 2 hours north of Nha Trang called simply Whale Island, here it is on the map;

THE PLACE

There is only one resort on the island imaginatively titled ‘Whale Island Resort’ but it’s got everything you would expect – friendly staff, a bar, a restaurant, bungalows on the beachfront each with its own friendly gecko presiding over the bathroom. We called ours Gordon.

The island itself was absolutely beautiful and if you are into diving is supposed to be one of the best spots in Vietnam. Diving is taught by a very tall man that looks like one of the trees that talk in Lord of the Rings. White sand beaches, tranquil clear sea, palm trees complimented my horizontal position on my sun lounger perfectly and the right amount of breeze meant we were never too hot. The hours slipped by in a haze of reading Solar by In McEwan, listening to Clarence Carter with a lunchtime shandy thrown in for good measure.

THE ROOM

Basic but clean. A bargain for the 50 USD Price Tag for 2 people.

THE FOOD

Supper was a ‘eat what you get’ affair which I always like although not an ideal for veggies/vegans or fruitarians (insane people those people that only eat food that has fallen from trees). The food was good, but not great. Their main mistake was to put the menu for supper on the board outside the restaurant which left us in high anticipation for dinner as on paper the menu sounds good; Vegetable Soup with Croutons, Squid and Prawn Salad, Chicken Curry and Fried Banana – all good ideas but in reality really just a bit average and anti-climactic. It was a shame that they didn’t stick to the deliciousness of traditional Vietnamese.

THE PEOPLE

There are a lot of Frenchies that were staying on the island but they were all very friendly and did not just slurp red wine, crush garlic and duel with French bread batons like they do in Paris. We met 2 fantastic older frenchie couples holidaying together that had been friends for years and despite being in their mid 60’s acted like a bunch of teenagers. The two ladies were chic and French-like with their trendy glasses and perfectly tailored holiday outfits and the two men were like lusty pubescent boys chasing their girls into the sea and frolicking about splashing and doing handstands. They were hilarious as they danced along the beach, got drunk in the bar and had a definite joie de vivre that was lovely to see and actually a bit of an inspiration.

TIPS

Do not, I repeat do not go for one of the massages offered by the resort unless you have a sadist fetish and enjoy the feeling of being beaten up. My masseur used a strange technique of pressing my pressure points so hard I yelped in pain, followed by aggressive rubbing followed by pretending to do Tai Kwon Do on my skin even on my face and strangely particularly on my eyelids! I spent an hour lying there wondering when it was going to get better, it didn’t and then silently praying to all the gods I know the names of to make it stop.

Do make sure you settle yourself down to watch the sunset from the bar accompanied by a delicious cocktail, beautiful sun streaked sky over the mainland which is in sight of the island.

Definitely do eat the Pho on the second floor of Nha Trang airport with some spring rolls, even at 10 am in the morning. Quite simply the best raw beef pho I have ever had in my life, how can just a broth be that good?

Overall this trip ticked the revitalization box and delivered me back into Hong Kong well rested, with a slight tan/burnt bottom and a clear head – perfect after the debauchery of the Hong Kong Sevens. It was also really good value for money once we were there so if you can bag cheap flights a total winner all round. Kerching! I was a little sad not to eat more Vietnamese food and get a sense of the energy of one of the cities due to time constraints boringness however Saigon, which we only passed through in transfer looked awesome from my window seat in the air.

I’ll just have to go back again….which is absolutely fine by me.

V xx