- 30-~ Friday, October 29, 1995 — North Shore News Hong Kong’s ‘I Alison Appethe Contributing Writer MONSOON rains pummel the waterfront on Cheung Chau island. The steamy weather is per- & rect. My Hong Kong guide Jessie Tse and I sit under a broad _awning in one of the many cates that line Praya Road, which in turn hugs the snug, typhoon-proof harbour. A Chinese woman in a conical hat and work clothes ambles by in the downpour. In the water beyond, Chinese junks and * sampans, home to 10%of the island's 22,000 inhabitants, bob serenely, Jessie and I dig inte a dizzying array of dishes dropped on our table in an apprepriatcly unceremonioxis manner. A dog pokes around our feet before a waiter sends it scurrying down the promenade. At the next table, four tough-locking fiskermien knock back mammoth bowls of rice, fish and vegetables, and beer from litre-size brown bottles. At another table, a well-dressed family of tourists looks right at home. Cheung Chau (“long island”) is of of three “outlying islands” that that offer modestly priced accommodation to Hon Kong workers, and a rural pace to weekend sightseers and forcign tourists. Like Lamma, the smallest of the three islands, Cheung Chau has no cars. Iv’s reached from Hong Kong Island by a one-hour “slow ferry” or hovercraft. The largest of the trio is Lantau, where tour buses are per-- mitted, but outsiders can’t bring vehicles onto much of the island. ‘(The new Hong Kong Internatienal Airport is on j Lantau, and is connected with Hong Kong Island and ; Photos Alison Sppetbe . Kowloon’ by the ultra-modern Airport Express train.) Lantau’s 9 THOUSANDS live on junks and sampans in Cheung Chua’s snug harbour, one-hour by ferry from Hong Kong. . fishing village of Tai O is reached by footbridge. Stall-like : storefronts, with old-world family quarters behind, line the narrow lanes. People and goods come and go by bicycle. The pungent odours of shrimp paste and dried fish fill the air. ". Like Cheung Chau, Lantau is a hiking mecea. At its dra- eyxi Ga Hh s a a CG (a jes 0 ie red matic summit is the Fo Lin Monastery, known for its giant > bronze seated Buddha > After lunch on Cheung Chau; Jessie and f open our TO those who have are looking for an easy way to horseback riding, water . a: travellers can choose. from a. ; umbrellas and amble oyerto the Pak Tai Temple, built for a experienced the Golden — escape — even for'a few days sports, and day trip options... variety of prograi.s ranging. - -. Toaist deity who defzated.a Demon King an his allies, a tor- Door or Canyon — to a healthier, simpler to archeological sites. With "(from a five-night “Revival"” . toise and serpent. 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