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Po Toi Island and Stanley Hong Kong

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Po Toi Island and Stanley Hong Kong
Po Toi Island (蒲苔島) is the southernmost island off of Hong Kong Island. This off-the-beaten-path island is a great destination for a half day outing while in Hong Kong. Not only does it have gorgeous crystal blue waters and really interesting rock formations, there are ancient rock carvings, a curious abandoned house from the 1930's, and an old school noodle shop serving a hyper local version of Hong Kong style noodles using the locally harvested seaweed.
Po Toi Island and Stanley Hong Kong
Po Toi Island is harder to access because the public ferry from Stanley or Aberdeen only runs on certain days of the week. On Saturdays there are only two times, 10:30AM and 1:30AM, and the last return boat leaves at 4PM. We showed up early (around 10AM?) to try an beat the crowds. I guess it didn't work and everyone is already in line, haha . . . .
Po Toi Island Hong Kong
Thankfully we made it onto the ferry (it's quite large, actually).
Po Toi Island and Stanley Hong Kong
The views on the way to Po Toi Island are quite interesting. Check out these huge satellites!
Po Toi Island and Stanley Hong Kong
And this island that is completely white rock!
Po Toi Island and Stanley Hong Kong
Approaching Po Toi Island.
Po Toi Island Hong Kong
Po Toi Island and Stanley Hong Kong
There was a time when Po Toi Island had over a thousand fishermen and farmers living there. However, as time went by, the younger generation moved into the city, and the population on the island dwindled down to
Po Toi Island and Stanley Hong Kong
It is fascinating to see the houses that families just abandoned. Some have been here for close to a hundred years, and yet you can still peer in and see evidence of daily life.
Po Toi Island and Stanley Hong Kong
Po Toi Island and Stanley Hong Kong

Old Mansion Family Mo

Po Toi Island and Stanley Hong Kong
The Old Mansion of Family Mo belongs to one of the few families known to have settled here about a century ago. This particular house was built in the 1930's but has long been abandoned.
Po Toi Island and Stanley Hong Kong
Po Toi Island and Stanley Hong Kong

You can walk around and explore the different rooms.

Po Toi Island and Stanley Hong Kong
Po Toi Island and Stanley Hong Kong

The Paths Around the Island are Easy to Navigate

Po Toi Island and Stanley Hong Kong
Po Toi Island and Stanley Hong Kong

The hiking trails around the island are extremely well marked. It will take several hours to explore everything, and we ended up not having enough time to explore the entire island during our half day trip. Still, we were able to see a majority of the recommended sites.

Ancient Rock Carvings over 3000 years Old!

Po Toi Island and Stanley Hong Kong
Rock carvings were discovered in the 1960's, and are believed to be over 3000 years old. It's interesting, but we had a harder time seeing the patterns when we stood close to the rock, but could see it better when we stepped back a few feet.

We only encountered one restaurant on the island . . .

Po Toi Island and Stanley Hong Kong

You're bound to get hungry after hiking, but the food options are quite limited. The one restaurant that serves hikers on weekends basically only serves variations on one main dish.

Po Toi Island and Stanley Hong Kong
We both got a bowl of ramen topped with luncheon meat, an egg, and locally harvested seaweed.
Po Toi Island and Stanley Hong Kong
I even bought a couple packs to take back home with me, sort of a hyper-local souvenir.

Off to See Cool Rock Formations!

Po Toi Island and Stanley Hong Kong

Po Toi has a lot of cool rock formations, and part of the fun of this hike is exploring the island and identifying all of them.

Po Toi Island and Stanley Hong Kong
This reminds of of Big Hero Six, isn't he cute?
Po Toi Island and Stanley Hong Kong
The bumpy rock in the distance almost looks like the moon!
Po Toi Island and Stanley Hong Kong
Walking towards tortoise rock . . .
Po Toi Island and Stanley Hong Kong
Because the island isn't that big, you'll encounter lovely blue seas along a large part of the hike.
Po Toi Island and Stanley Hong Kong

Tortoise Rock

Po Toi Island and Stanley Hong Kong
The large rock really looks like a tortoise shell, expecially together with the smaller rock "head" that includes an "eye". In the photo above, a person is standing on top of the eye.
Po Toi Island and Stanley Hong Kong
Can you still see the tortoise from a distance?

Palm Rock or Praying Hands

Po Toi Island and Stanley Hong Kong
This palm rock was really popular and a woman managed to climb on top of the fingers while setting off a drone to take some drone shots. I'm sure those drone shots were amazing. The large rock next to the hand looks like a person's head, so together the overall image looks like a person praying.

Supine Monk

Po Toi Island and Stanley Hong Kong
Pretty self explanatory, this rock looks like a monk leaning back as if he were resting. Bryan is trying to "prop up" the monk, I guess?
Po Toi Island and Stanley Hong Kong
Aside from the cool rock formations, just the normal hike itself is very beautiful, with so many gorgeous mountain + sea vistas all along the hike.
Po Toi Island Hong Kong

Heading Back to Stanley

After spending a couple hours on the island, we had to catch the 4PM ferry back to Stanley (lest we get stuck on the island overnight!!!).

Po Toi Island and Stanley Hong Kong

Stanley is also a fun place to visit. Since the last ferry from Po Toi leaves at 4PM, there's still several hours of daylight left to explore Stanley, such as Stanley Market.

Stanley Hong Kong

We wandered up and down the market, and ended up purchasing a cool Hong Kong themed "neon" light and even a new backpack for me!

Po Toi Island and Stanley Hong Kong
Stanley Hong Kong

The best way to end a great day: Bakehouse's famous sourdough egg tarts and coffee before heading back home.

Stanley Hong Kong

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