Hong Kong junk trips: where to sail, what to eat and who to avoid as a potentially bumper peak season kicks off
- Coronavirus restrictions don’t apply on a junk when the boat is moving, and when it drops anchor, passengers can be arranged into groups of eight
- From the beaches and bays of Sai Kung to islands dotted around Hong Kong, there’s no shortage of places to drop anchor
A big day out on the water with a feast for lunch, perhaps a little too much to drink and a touch of sunburn are the markers of a weekend junk trip. Other cities have boats and water, but you have to be in Hong Kong to appreciate a classic junk excursion.
Although pleasure boats head out to sea year-round, June marks the start of the peak junk season – and given the coronavirus travel restrictions, which rule out almost all overseas trips, the sailings are likely to be more popular than ever this year.
“We are getting lots and lots of bookings,” says Tracy Li, operation executive at Hong Kong Yachting, which has 52 boats on its books that sail with three crew each from Aberdeen. “This year is more than 30 per cent busier than last year and we are fully booked for the first three weekends of June. People can’t travel, so more people are having summer holidays in Hong Kong.”
In the 1970s, ’80s and ’90s, junks were a key part of corporate entertainment and access to the “company junk” was a common perk of employment for the upper echelons. Those days have sailed, but junk trips still help define Hong Kong summers for those fortunate enough to be able to go on one.
“Elsewhere in the world you have a weekend place or take a drive in the country. In Hong Kong, the junk is our equivalent,” says Victoria Allan, founder of Habitat Property, who arrived in Hong Kong from Perth, Australia, in 1997.
“When I arrived, everyone I knew had access to the company boat. After the Asian Financial crisis, companies sold their junks.”
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The word “junk” refers specifically to the wooden sailing boats that date back to the Han dynasty, but it has become a catch-all phrase that now includes traditional teak boats as well as the snazzier white cruisers.
In 2010, Allan took over a friend’s share, one of six, in a 68-foot black-painted wooden vessel, the Cam Hong. “The kids have been off school [due to coronavirus] and it’s been great to take them out for the afternoon. We also use it at the weekend.”
For most, it’s a matter of booking a charter with a group of friends and everyone chipping in. “The group of people you are with is really important – it makes or breaks the trip, as you are stuck with them all day,” says Stephanie Shiu, former editor of Asia Spa Magazine.
With the easing of coronavirus restrictions, Jaspa’s Junks is accepting bookings for up to 40 people at the time of writing. A member of staff at Jaspa’s Junks explains that the Hong Kong government restriction on groups – a gathering of more than eight people is illegal – does not apply when a boat is moving. When it drops anchor, passengers will be arranged into groups of eight.
“Jaspa’s Junks offers all-you-can-eat-and-drink packages,” Shiu says. “It’s reliable food and good value for money, but I’m past the stage of enjoying that – when you start drinking at 10am it can get messy by the end.”
When she first arrived in Hong Kong, Genavieve Alexander, founder of public relations agency Genavieve.Co, embraced junk trip culture as a chance to meet people, but is now another who prefers smaller groups.
“Those floating pineapples and crazy stuff in the sea, when you lose you sunglasses and fall off the junk – I don’t know if I ever really enjoyed it,” Alexander says.
What she does enjoy is chartering smaller boats for a group of eight people and having a leisurely day away from the city. When she and her friends are feeling flash, they hire a 40-foot sailing boat (about HK$9,000 for nine people plus two crew). A recent trip helped make up for the Italian holiday they had to cancel because of coronavirus.
“We took a masseuse with us and brought various Italian foods and wine. We felt transported to the holiday we were going to have in Europe,” Alexander says.
Shiu’s experience is that junk trips with her Western friends centre around drinking – “it’s Brits and Aussies, everyone together” – while it’s a more composed affair with her Asian friends.
“I did a junk trip with Singaporeans – no one drank, and they stayed out of the sun. It was all about wakeboarding and eating the food, which we all brought,” Shiu says.
We’ve got good water, white sands, generally sunny weather and quite often clear blue skies. We just need the finesse, the Riviera chic – the food, wine and friends – to bring out that feeling
If you don’t fancy putting your own picnic together, there are plenty of places that will do so for you.
Coconuts, in Deep Water Bay, has a Thai junk hamper for six, “Nuts to Go” (HK$1,500), that includes a bottle of rosé wine. You can either pick it up on your way to join a junk in Aberdeen or send a tender to Deep Water Bay pier and pick it up from there.
Alternatively, and many will argue this is the highlight of the trip, you can stop at an outlying island for a seafood lunch. A favourite is Ming Kee Restaurant, on Po Toi Island.
“It feels like the most isolated restaurant in Hong Kong. It’s destination dining in the way that the Lamma ones aren’t,” says Dominique Backhouse, managing director of Companion Communications. “I love that it’s a family-owned business.”
Another of her off-the-beaten-track choices is Fat Kee Seafood, in Po Toi O, a small fishing village in Clear Water Bay.
“It’s a real local restaurant with good food and service. Before lunch you can wander around the living, breathing local village which has its own temple,” she says.
The destination is a key part of the day, so choose wisely.
Millionaire’s Beach (Nam Fung Wan), in Sai Kung Country Park, has freshwater lagoons and hidden coves, perfect for snorkelling, but it does get crowded. If you aren’t keen on loud music or “junk swapping” (people swimming to each other’s junks), then it’s probably not for you.
For somewhere more peaceful, head to another part of Sai Kung Country Park, Ham Tin Wan. It’s worth swimming from the boat to the beach to enjoy the powdery white sand and aquamarine waters.
“You can only reach this beach by hiking through the country park or else by boat, so there’s less wear and tear on the beach – it feels untouched,” Alexander says.
Turtle Bay, on Lamma Island, is another gem. The beach at this quiet cove is closed for six months of the year so that the turtles have a chance to nest.
Being a turtle sanctuary, this is not the place to go if you want to go wakeboarding or get out the banana boat.
A couple of Shiu’s favourites include Round Island, a small, uninhabited island off Chung Hom Kok – you can moor close to the beach and hop off, and it’s so small you can have it all to yourself – and South Bay, which is usually not as crowded as other beaches on the weekend.
Junk trips tend to be relaxed, sarong-wearing affairs, but there are a few ground rules. Always check with the organiser about what you should bring. Allan wouldn’t dream of joining a junk trip without bringing wine and a salad – and she expects her guests to do similar.
“You’ve got to control your kids. I tell my guests, ‘If your kids are under 13, they must wear a life jacket or they’re not coming on,’” says Allan, who has two sons of her own aged eight and six.
With weekends out on the water set to be especially popular this year, Alexander hopes Hongkongers will sail out in style.
“We’ve got good water, white sands, generally sunny weather and quite often clear blue skies,” she says. “We just need the finesse, the Riviera chic – the food, wine and friends – to bring out that feeling.”
