This awesome island day trip was organized by CUHK Exchange Student Ambassadors! Our big group of about 40 exchange students met up at the University MTR Station at 1pm on Saturday, then set off for a ferry from Central to Cheung Chau. We arrived at the island at the ideal snack time (around 3pm), split into groups, and immediately set off to grab some snacks and souvenirs. My group of 8 picked up some curry fishballs and mango mochi, which was definitely one of the highlights of the trip. A generous chunk of cold, fresh mango wrapped in the soft glutinous rice casing, the mango mochi were perfect for the warm, sunny weather. Several exchange students returned to campus with take-out containers full of them for their friends.
After exploring the island in our smaller groups, we reunited as one large group and followed the CUHK Exchange Student Ambassadors on a hike to the Cheung Po Tsai Cave. Named after the most notorious pirate of Hong Kong, Cheung Po Tsai (fun fact: he married his stepmother, pirate queen Cheng I Sao), this cave is said to have once been his hideout from the Chinese Government and may have once held his treasure. The more curious lot of us slid down into the narrow opening of the cave one by one and clambered down a short metal ladder. After using our flashlights to make our way through the pitch black tunnel that quickly became more and more narrow, we squeezed up another ladder and out of the cave. It was pretty cool getting to climb into a pirate cave. #piratenation
While we were exploring the cave, a couple exchange students decided to jump off the rocks into the water below, evoking cheers from on-lookers who had a good view from the rocks opposite from us. Our lead student ambassador, Alvin, was a bit concerned and leaned over the fence between the rocks and the trail, reminding them half jokingly, “Be careful! No insurance-la!” Luckily the guys who jumped off made it without any serious damage. Kawaii band-aids were passed around for a cut foot.
After that adventure, we returned back to the village for a seafood dinner. Sitting at large tables of about 12, we were presented by dish after dish of local seafood. Most of it I had had before during family dinners, but there was one dish I had never heard of or seen before – mantis shrimp. Named for its resemblance to the praying mantis, the mantis shrimp is also known as “pissing shrimp,” due to the fact that it can spray water from its tail. It didn’t look as appetizing as the crab, but that didn’t stop me and several other exchange students from picking one up with chopsticks and tearing off its head. Although there wasn’t much meat on the mantis shrimp, it tasted pretty good. Two thumbs up for dinner!
ABC in HK 