Sunburn in Stanley

January 31, 2009

Today I went to Stanley, a small town on the SE part of HK Island. I took the 6X bus from Central wish afforded me beautiful views of many of the bays and cities along the way, definitely a wonderful ride. In Stanley I saw the old Murray House which was at one point dismantled and stored. When it was reconstructed they had extra columns which now stand in front of the House. I also went into Tin Hau Temple which is said to be the oldest building in HK and also was used as a bomb shelter during the war. Inside there is a nice open air courtyard then a small portion of the Temple for prayer and offerings.

I walked through the Stanley Markets and bought some postcards but nothing else. There was an amazing amount of wares for sale in the small market district, everything from clothes, to paintings, to luggage, to jewelry and back. After the Market I sat on the rock formations that you can climb then took a nice walk down Wong Ma Kok Rd to St. Stephen's Beach. I truly like this beach, it is a little off the beaten path and you can watch people wind sail and learn to Kayak, I am sure it is different once summer hits. I laid on the beach for a while and got my first sunburn in HK, who ever would have guessed?! Don't worry it isn't bad I was out for about an hour but I have killer raccoon eyes from my glasses. I walked back on Wong Ma Kok Rd. to the bus depot and then over to the main beach - it is not nearly as peaceful as St. Stephen's. On a side note - Stanley is where the Dragon Boat races are.

I took bus 6 back, which takes a longer route than 6X, it does not take the tunnel. It offered a number of additional, beautiful views of the coast line and a great view of Happy Valley and Wanchai when returning to the North side of the island. I recommend taking the bus and sitting in the upper deck right side on the way to Stanley and the left side on the way back.

Sorry - no real pictures from Stanley, I forgot to charge my camera and only took about 2 photos that aren't uploaded yet. This one goes into pure memory.