Lei Yue Mun and Devil's Peak

Hello My Dear Great Ones,

On the far eastern end of the Kowloon Peninsula lies the rather quaint and historic(old) fishing village of Lei Yue Mun.  It is significant for its famous seafood restaurants and its location, on the northern shore of the Lei Yue Mun strait, the point where Kowloon and Hong Kong island are at its closest.  This strait was once guarded by pirates and the British (was there a difference? ha ha) for centuries from a small mountain raising over the Lei Yue Mun village called Devil's Peak.  Gulp. The pirates/British fortified the peak with a stone fort and monster cannons that could destroy would be invaders to the fragrent harbour, which is what Hong Kong means.  Sadly diseal fuel, a million cars, and air pollution from China does not make Hong Kong very fragrent these days.  And the fort up on Devil's Peak?  A ruin. 

Nearby are the modern towers of Kowloon and just across the strait, are the modern towers of Hong Kong, making the quaint fishing village of Lei Yue Mun and the ruins on top of Devil's Peak seem out of place.  Thankfully those in power have deemed it all a valuable tourist destination saving the old fishing village and Devil's Peak from the wrecking ball.  Destroying old buildings to replace it with new ones, can be, in my opinion, tragic.  I love the old and unique buildings of yesteryear.  Sure they can get old and dilapidated over time, and some need to be turned into rubble, but I say for many, they should be renovated.  It gives places an identity, a unique character, a soul.  

Having all cities in the world look like Calgary (ouch, thank goodness I am far away from some sensitive Calgarians) would be boring.  Interesting that Calgary wants to build a new "old" section of town to develop some culture and identity.  What they should have done is kept some of the old and renovated it.  Ok enough of the mini rant.

Two weekends ago I visited Lei Yun Mun and Devil's Peak with the lovely Celia.  It was a pleasant experience walking through the narrow passageways of the village.  The seafood restaurants had several aquariums offering a wide variety of  sea life for consumption.  That was very interesting.  We looked at the prices for the right to devour this sea life at some of the restaurants.  Wow.  Hefty.  Rich tourist prices they were.  No thanks.  

After Celia and I wandered through  Lei Yue Mun we then headed straight up the Wilson Trail to Devil's Peak.  According to the very accurate source of info, "wikipedia," Devil's Peak rises 222 meters above sea level.  222 meters?  Yeah…….ok. 

 

The hike was an enjoyable journey through jungle and elephant grass swaying in the breeze.   The old garrison on Devil's Peak was very impressive.  It offered commanding views of the ocean, Hong Kong and Kowloon and I could very well imagine that the pirates and the British felt pretty superior having control of such a strategic location.  Once again, and I have said it a hundered times, Hong Kong continues to amaze, impress, and wow me.  The weather is good too.  

Have a great week. 

 Love adios and ping on!

Dirk

Lei Yue Mun village has several boats (mainly fishing) docked in front of it.

The main street through the restaurant section of the village is really a narrow walkway.

All the restaurants had aquariums filled with all manner of sea life ready to be chopped up, steamed, or fried for a price.

This guy was a monster, worth $1000's I would say.

Now that's a lobster.

Several large fish in a wild variety of colors and patterns.

This was disturbing and not right.  Sharks should be left alone.

A massive King Crab.

Not sure what these are, but they look alien.

There were also a few shops near the restaurants.  A typical scene in Hong Kong.  Local shop owners playing majong.

This mini shop sold nuts and dried fruit.  Not bad.

There was a small beach and lighthouse nearby.  The beach was covered with water smoothed glass and shells.

The residential area of Lei Yun Mun hangs precariously on the edge of the shore. 

The streets are narrow and it is obvious that the residents of Lei Yue Mun love tv.

Up and onwards on the Wilson Trail.

Elephant grass.

In Cantonese Devil's Peak is called Pau Toi Shan.

Looking down from Devil's Peak at Lie Yun Mun strait and Hong Kong.

The old fort was impressive although nature is slowly taking it over.

This view looks out to Junk Bay.  Seriously.

Celia giving some perspective on the size of the fort.

The fort was obviously quite large and well fortified at its apex.

The fort offered great views of Kowloon...

Junk Bay, and beyond the island of Tung Lung, in the background, are the open waters of the Pacific.  Next stop after that is Central America...

Kowloon on the left, Hong Kong on the right...

This cemetery is called  Tseung Kwan O Chinese Permanent Cemetery.  Permanent? Are there rental graveyards, where you can transition from one to another?  I will investigate further.

Once you pass through Lie Yun Mun strait you enter into the World famous Victoria harbour as seen in this picture.  Kowloon on the right Hong Kong on the left.