She rode every Hong Kong ferry. So what did she find on city’s remote islands and coasts?
- When a long-time Hong Kong resident found a list of official ferry routes, it opened a new world for her. She decided to ride them all
On the southern flank of Hong Kong Island, a small fleet of ferries picks its way between sampans, yachts and fishing vessels, from early in the morning until late at night.
Wooden, ancient-looking and high-sterned, they seat just a few dozen passengers, and their journey takes barely three or four minutes. The price per trip: HK$2.50.
Now the erstwhile fishing villages on either side of Aberdeen Harbour are forests of high-rise blocks. Between them, the dinky little ferries shuttle to and fro amid the not-so-fragrant whiff of fish, seawater and motor oil.
It is a gloriously quirky ride, and it helped get me mildly obsessed with Hong Kong’s varied transport options. Then, in January 2021, as Covid-19 was sweeping across the world, and with international travel near impossible, I stumbled across the Hong Kong Transport Department’s list of officially licensed ferry and regular kaito services (a kaito being a small motorised boat) that mostly service more remote routes.
