Lei Yue Mun Passage
On the east side of Victoria Harbour in Hong Kong lies a short channel known as Lei Yue Mun (鯉魚門 or Lye Moon Passage) which separates Kowloon and Hong Kong Island, providing access to the South China Sea. Having looked out the window of my office on the Hong Kong Island side at it every day for the past year I decided to explore what lies opposite in Yau Tong (油塘).
Yao Tong is easily accessible by an MTR station of the same name and heading south from Yau Tong Industrial Area will bring you to Sam Ka Tsuen Typhoon Shelter (三家村避風塘) by the coast of Lei Yue Mun where you’ll find a flotilla of small fishing boats moored. The tall buildings in the background of the photo above are on the shore of Hong Kong Island.
There are a number of small fishing villages which stretch along the coast and are popular with visitors for their seafood.
Not being a fan of aquatic cuisine myself, I passed directly through the streets of restaurants and market stalls.
The tall building in the middle of the photo above is where I work – you can see a time lapse video of the view here.
Within the village proper the housing was fairly ramshackle and basic but there was a certain order to all the chaos…
You wont find anywhere else with a waterfront view for this price in Hong Kong.
A dragon boat lies in wait of races yet to be won. In addition to dragons there were rather a lot of rather angry dogs in the area who enjoyed barking at parsers by (putting me off venturing too deep into the labyrinth).
As the coastline reaches a corner a 200-year-old Tin Hau temple looms into sight with curious palm-reading instructions painted on one side. I couldn’t tell my head-line from my life-line so luckily was none the wiser about my future!
Why does everyone always love taking pictures of rusting paint?
Beyond the temple the coastline turns rocky and the ruins of loading ramps which led to former stone quarries can still be seen rising above the water.
Signs warning people to keep off are of course ignored. Not a bad place to relax on a warm Sunday afternoon.
Chinese ships sail through Lei Yue Mun passage daily, headed towards international waters where their passengers are free to gamble to their heart’s content. The snob in me can’t imagine anything worse.
As the sun began to set back toward the denser populated public housing estates. If you’re up for a walk you can amble along to Kwung Tong Pier (觀塘碼頭), about 20-30 minutes away, and take the ferry to North Point on the opposite side.
Looking back from my apartment the view is obscured by Taikoo Shing (太古城), but you can still make out the line of the mountains on the other side in the background. Two different worlds separated by a thin stretch of water.
One Response to “Lei Yue Mun Passage”
Nice photos! Can’t believe it now I have a sight of the boats as well! Kowloon and Hong Kong Island are so close at this point!