I had lugged a bulky tent and a sleeping mat from Shanghai and even though it looked wet, I was determined that I would go camping. I hadn’t brought all this stuff to leave it in the flat.
I set off for the ferry terminal after lunch and as soon as I got on board for Lantau Island ferry it started to bucket down.
The sea was choppy and I imagined myself putting the tent up in the rain. It wasn’t looking like a promising start.
In my mind, I had the idea that camping on a beach would be exotic. I would open the tent in the morning and look out over clear blue seas and fluffy white clouds.
That was looking increasingly unlikely, however on reaching Lantau Island the skies had cleared slightly and by the time I arrived at Pui O beach campsite there was only a fine drizzle.
I insisted on putting up the tent before I h
ad registered at the office because I was determined not to be caught by the rain. There is nothing more miserable than putting up a tent in the rain – or taking one down! Just as I finished kicking the final tent peg into the sand, the rain started again.
This time it didn’t last for long though and soon I was sitting at my beach campsite table outside my tent looking out to sea like I imagined. I had chosen a Monday so it was very quiet, just an extended Chinese family with their comedy beach tents, a Russian couple and a French girl who turned up very late and asked about the weather.
And she was right to ask. The forecast wasn’t looking good and as she put up her tent the sound of distant thunder could be heard. I turned in at abot 10 o’clock but the heat was oppressive. I wanted to sleep with both doors open but the lack of privacy (and safety) and the threat of rain meant that I had to close both, leaving only the mosquito net open to get a bit of air.
About an hour later the rain came. When I say rain, I mean thunderstorm and lightning strikes. The sky was lit up as far as the eye could see and when the thunder cracked right above me the ground actually shook. I know this because my head was only kept off the sand by a groundsheet and a sleeping mat.
I didn’t get much sleep but was comforted by the knowledge that my tent was a good quality Vango whereas I dreaded to think what the Chinese family was going through with their beach tent, one babe in arms and a toddler. God knows the bedlam was happening in their camp.
I must have slept a bit because I woke up at 5:30am when the sun came up (the bad thing about camping!). I lay there for a while, I opened the door and saw the ocean in front of me. This was more like what I wanted, what I had imagined. Then it happened… a distant thunder clap. I shot up, pulled some clothes on and started dismantling the tent before the storm came back. I was like a lunatic, stuffing everything in my big bag before the heavens opened. 
And just as I was leaving camp struggling under the weight of my kit, the rain came down again – I had avoided taking down the tent in the rain by a few minutes. Thank God for my quick thinking. I felt smug thinking about the others still lounging in their tents listening to the onset of another storm coming their way.
I therefore joined the throngs of school children and commuters on the 7 o’clock ferry from Lantau toHong Kong Island. What a great commute.
I can recommend camping at Pui O beach. Not only is it spectacular and quiet but there didn’t appear to be a charge for cmaping there. In Hong Kong, you have to take anything free you can get, it’s so expensive here.