Testing the Water

Hong Kong is surrounded by water. For that reason, I was not that surprised when I started to see how many beaches Hong Kong has. Not only does Hong Kong have many different types of beaches, but also many of these beaches are very beautiful. One of the most popular beaches in Hong Kong island is located in Repulse bay which is at the southern part of the island. Being an international student from Greece, I wasn’t expecting it to be that great since I would be comparing Repulse to Greek beaches which are known worldwide for their beauty. My four Greek friends and I decided to go visit the place so we could judge ourselves.

Our trip there was quite long. First, we had to take the subway for 4-5 stops and then we had to ride a very small bus that would then take us to the beach. The bus ride was wonderful. The bus was on the road right beside the sea which had an amazing view. There is something quite unique about Hong Kong topology. You can see small green hills in the sea surrounded by water that really stand out. Furthermore, the people of Hong Kong have perfected the technique of building structures on the side and on top of hills. So, on our way to Repulse we could see many hotels and luxury apartments built on very strange grounds.

We went there on a Wednesday evening, so when we arrived the beach was nearly empty. It was a long coast (maybe half a mile long) and about 600 feet wide. The sand was completely natural (just like most beaches in New Jersey 😉) and there were multiple lifeguard houses. The water was very calm and so we were able to swim quite far inside the bay. About 200 feet within the sea though, we came across what appeared to be a shark net! Since Hong Kong is warm for most of the year (and reaaaally hot during summer), the water was at an excellent temperature. We stayed inside the water for almost an hour and we did not want to leave for a single moment! In the end, we spent a couple more hours on the beach talking about different issues with each other. The bus came by every ten or so minutes, so getting back to the city was pretty easy. All in all, I would never expect to find such natural beauty just a few miles away from the Hong Kong city center!