Trip to Po Toi: Leaving Aberdeen

The previous weekend we hired a junk to go to Po Toi (which we had done previously and enjoyed very much, hence the repeat trip). We had asked a few friends and colleagues if they wanted to join, but as the weather did not look too promising, almost all pulled out. Nonetheless, Monica and Michael decided to take the risk and joined us for our junk trip. It turned out to be a beautiful sunny day!

We boarded the junk in Aberdeen, just next to the Sampan piers at Ocean Court. The first few metres the captain had to manoeuvre past the other boats and ships, as it was a busy day. There were many different boats out on the harbour. Some of them were just small ferries crossing to the other side, others were delivery boats (we saw a boat delivering glass bottles) and then there were tiny boats with just one or two passengers, like this one. I don’t know where they men were going, but they just waved at us and let the bigger junk pass, before they continued their journey.

Patrick and Monica also had their cameras with them, so it turned into quite a photo session. Especially at Aberdeen harbour everyone was trying to get the best picture – but I am sure we all must have ended up with the same photos. I am sure Michael would be shaking his head at us, he was the only one without a camera, who was not bothered with taking the best shot. He just enjoyed the time on the boat.

There were a few other junk boats leaving Aberdeen harbour at the same time. Weekends are always busy, especially in the summer. We had to wait till we could actually board the junk, as other junks were pulling up at the public pier before us. Anyway, so we made our way out the harbour and while we were leaving another junk came our way. The kids were waving to us, what a fun day!

We left the harbour and made our way across the sea, passing Repulse Bay, Stanley and then just crossing the open water to reach Po Toi. There were several smaller islands next to us, and apparently they provide good shelter for fish – hence the fishing boat next to us, which was busy fishing. You can see that it had its nets out.

We kept going towards Po Toi and left a few small islands to our left and right. There were a few with caves, like this one, which looked interesting to explore – but I guess you need to know in which caves you can go and then have a guide with a small boat to take you.

Anyway, after an hour travel we made our way to Po Toi. The island is very small, just a few houses and two restaurants at the beach. The captain let us off at the pier, so that we can then walk the few metres to the beach, where the restaurants are based. From there we could explore the small village, go to the temple or climb some of the paths up the hill.

Here is a picture of the junk we have hired for the day. It is called Colonsay and we had booked it from Island Junks.