Mui Wo's abandoned buildings

Now that winter is here, the undergrowth has died down, making exploring abandoned buildings around Mui Wo so much easier. This used to be a tea house.

Path to Butterfly Hill.

Goes past a house that looks like it was in the process of being renovated before being abandoned again.

You get great views of Mui Wo town from Butterfly Hill. This Yuen family grave probably has the best feng shui in all of Mui Wo.

 Not quite Angkor Wat but close.

Would be a great spot for fashion photography... if you can face humping all that equipment up a slippery and overgrown path.

The houses are pretty creepy, though, so I would advise you to try exploring them in full daylight.

Hidden house gems

I want this house. Isn't it like something from a fairy tale?

 This one too... only maybe more like a Grimm fairy tale.

Desirable(ish) residence for rent

By the beach, lots of outdoor space, no pesky neighbours...

 ... ok, maybe one.

Green Island lighthouse

I usually doze off in the ferry but I try and make sure I'm awake to take in the view of my favourite lighthouse. There's precious little information on it but I did find this link on lighthouses in Hong Kong.

For those who are too lazy to click on, this is what it says:


Green Island (Tsing Chau) 
1905 (station established 1875). Active; focal plane 37 m (121 ft); white flash every 10 s. 17.5 m (58 ft) round granite tower with lantern and gallery, painted white. 1st order Fresnel lens in use. The keeper's house and other light station buildings are leased to to the Wu Oi Christian Centre as a youth drug rehabiliation center. 

Google has a satellite view. The lighthouse was built to carry the 1st order lens made available when the Cape D'Aguilar lighthouse was replaced by the Waglan Island lighthouse. The station was recognized as a Hong Kong Declared Monument in 2008. Located at the southwest point of Green Island, a small island off the west end of Hong Kong Island. Accessible only by boat; there are views from various ferries in Hong Kong Harbour. Site open, tower closed. ARLHS HOK-002; HK-069; Admiralty F3538; NGA 19460.

Hmm... I wonder if I should have taken drugs as a youth because the rehab centers appear to be in places with wonderful views. Joke, joke!

Super tree house?

Work in progress on a huge rain tree in Shap Long.

If my wonky Cantonese is reliable, the workmen said they are building a treehouse.

I guess that's one solution to Hong Kong's rising home prices. Can't wait to see it!

The house in the woods

We were getting a bit bored with our usual Mui Wo-Pui O route so we decided to try another one that went a little over the mountain.

And we were glad we did because we came across this charming village house tucked among an overgrown orchard.

The old couple who lived there were as charming as their house. When we asked them the path to Shap Long, they came out and showed us the way... speaking in English.