Camping on Grass Island

In Hong Kong, there are loads of islands and remote beaches where you can go camping, and a few weeks ago, I went with some friends to explore one island in particular - Grass Island. Our initial plan was to rent kayaks to get out there, but when we realized a kayak tournament meant they were all rented, we caught a ferry out to Tap Mun (Grass Island) from Sai Kung. 

Our camping crew for the weekend

The docks at Tap Mun

Riding on the ferry boat and arrival at the campsite

I was a bit worried, seeing as my idea of camping is to pass out drunkenly on the beach only to be woken a few hours later by the Coast Guard shining a light in my face. That counts, right? Lucky for me, camping in even the most remote locations in Hong Kong comes with some basic amenities. There were a couple seafood shacks on the island so we never even needed to use the gas cooker we brought out. 

There are a couple little seafood restaurants 

right near the water on Tap Mun

It was really refreshing to escape the city for a day and spend some quality time with my favorite people. We didn't do anything in particular, but just hung around the campsite playing cards, reading Harry Potter out loud to each other, jamming on the ukulele, walking some of the island trails and checking out the rock beach below. 

Joep dominating everyone at cards

View of the fishing boats around Tap Mun-

I've gotten so used to harbours like these, 

I need to appreciate them more!

Tap Mun is a great island for camping, as long as you are cool with cows wandering into your campsite at all hours. Seriously, these things were assertive. Hide your food and slap them on the ass to get rid of them, is what we learned. You could almost always tell when cows were coming your way because you would hear shrieking from nearby campsites. Ha!

The coooowwwwwwwssss

Camping in Tap Mun can be as wild as you make it. Yes, there were toilets somewhere, but we designated a certain patch of bushes to be our toilet. Yes, you can eat at the local seafood restaurants (salt and pepper squid!) or bring your own cooker. You can make camp in the main stretch of shoreline, or get creative and walk a bit further for some privacy. I actually wish we had stayed two nights rather than one because I had such a good time. I'm already looking forward to a potential kayaking and camping trip later in the spring.

View from our campsite-

Can you imagine pirates here in the 1840s?

The people next to us had a cute tent