(written by Cait)
Ooh, that smell
Can’t you smell that smell?
Ooh, that smell
The smell of death surrounds you
-Lynyrd Skynryd
Being my first time to Cheng Sha, I only had what I read online to guide me, and that put me on Bus #1. I made my way to the back, despite wanting to sit close to the driver so I could ask when to get off. There’s one other non-Chinese person, and the rest of the coach bus is filled with what looks and sounds like mainland Chinese tourists. Great. I inwardly groan because for many Westerners, mainland Chinese appear boisterous and obnoxious. Not before long, my hopes of sitting by myself are squashed by a lady’s plump rear who literally sits on me before adjusting over to her seat. Not a ‘sorry’, ‘dui bu chi’ (sorry in Mandarin) or a non-verbal wave of apology. But I don’t have long to think about that because the stench coming out of her bag has taken over all of my senses. “Oh my god!” I blurt out without even a thought of keeping it to myself. My hand covers my nose, I lean towards the window, and laugh at how awful it smells. Meanwhile, the woman is talking gaily and laughing with her husband (I assume) and girlfriends. I take a peak her way out of pure curiosity and see dried fish packed in plastic sticking out the top of her grocery bag, on top of her lap. It smells like that fish has spent the last week rotting in the Hong Kong humidity and sun, which dollars to doughnuts it was.
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It’s a windy ride up and down hills to the beach, and with every turn a new wave of rotting fish is thrown my way. How could that possibly be appetizing? Finally a seat opens up near the front and I sprint for it. We’ve come to a stop, and I point and ask the bus driver, “Cheng Sha beach?” He shakes his head. Guess that’s a ‘no’ then. Not five seconds later as we drive along, I see a road sign for ‘Cheng Sha Village’ with an arrow pointing in the opposite direction of me. Shit. The next stop is about 200 meters up the road and the driver looks at me and points at the door. I step off the bus and look around for any indication of where to go. Seeing none, I take a guess and head back to where I saw the sign. “Hello! HELLO!” I turn towards the sound and it’s the bus driver yelling at me from inside the bus. He points in the opposite direction. Hmm…okay, let’s see how this goes. The mountain is to my right, and I know the ocean is somewhere to my left, but thick trees and vegetation block my view. I walk uncertainly in the direction the driver pointed, and after a few minutes, see that he was right after all! Internally thankful for his advice, I easily make my way down to the beach.
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I saw two college age guys running to their towels after leaving the water. I thought they were being big dorks and racing to see who was faster. The sand here at Cheung Sha is so hot I feel like getting to and from the water I’m doing the Baywatch run. Some people stand in the darkness, afraid to step into the light, but not me, not today…I’ll be ready. All I need is a red, high cut one piece swim suit and a floating device to throw over my shoulder.
When in Rome…Wear a Banana Hammock
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Cheung Sha has two beaches; Lower Cheung Sha and Upper Cheung Sha. A rocky outcrop/bunch of boulders and rocks separate the two. The two beaches extend much further than the net protected-life guarded swimming areas, and I found many people to be swimming and hanging outside of it. I started at the end of Lower and walked all the way to Upper Cheung Sha. Instead of taking the path that goes behind the rocks, I went over the rocks. Not something I would recommend to everyone. I thought it could be a good place for pictures, but once I started climbing over the rocks, my attention was consumed with getting to the other side as soon as possible without hurting myself. The rocks were hot as hell and HUGE. I often had to jump up, down, and balance on the boulders, which I did not enjoy. Thoughts of the story/movie of 127 Hours (the rock climber who gets stuck and cuts his own arm off to get free) pop into my head. I wasn’t thinking I’d have to remove any body parts if I fell, but if I did fall and get hurt or stuck and was unable to get out, would anyone be able to hear my yells? The beach was pretty quiet and not many people were around. Even though there was no water back there now, I’m pretty sure the waves would reach back there when the tide was high…drowning seems like an awful way to go. I definitely do not recommend going that way if you are alone (or not physically fit for it).
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All this drama going through my head was unnecessary because I was soon climbing down onto the beach. First thing I did was take my shoes off and walk into the surf. I could see the swimming area ahead of me about a quarter mile. This beach too was pretty quiet, but I did see a handful of people up against the woods, taking refuge under the little shade it offered. The first guy I saw was on his own, and in a Speedo. Not all that strange, but then as I walked, I saw a couple other men, also in Speedos. Speedos are not super popular in HK, but they’re not uncommon either. But it was surprising to see them all wearing them. Then, I saw a guy (who I seemed to have been surprised because he sat down pretty quickly) with nothing but a hand towel he held that barely reached hip to hip, just big enough to cover his dumplings. What the…? Is this a gay beach? Is there such thing as a gay beach? Is there some unwritten culture rule that everyone knows this is that kind of beach? Maybe that’s why they are staying away from the swimming area-homosexuality isn’t totally accepted here, at least not with men. I’ve actually seen quite a few lesbian couples out in the open, so to say.
I continue to walk and then I see a woman. She stands up and turns around to get something out of her bag, and ‘well, look at that, she thinks we’re in Brazil’ I say to myself. Maybe it’s a hippie beach. Whatever, I’m still going to the swimming area, and not because I’m scared off, but I want to swim where there’s a shark net. Even in the swimming area, the few men who were there were donning banana hammocks. Despite my efforts to get Brad to embrace this part of the eclectic culture of Hong Kong and wear one, he’s not having it.
Overall, the two beaches are awesome and I can’t wait to go again.
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Check out my other posts about Lantau island, Bathing Water Buffalos and Don’t Feed the Feral Cows.