Contemplating the silence
There’s a very pleasant hiking trail along the coast from Discovery Bay to Mui Wo.
Coming from the ferry, keep to the left, then go up to the main road, and then left again, towards Marina Drive and Kai To Pier, where the small ferry to Peng Chau puts out to sea. Just a few metres after the junction to the pier, turn right onto a small overgrown path that looks like it might be the entrance to a nursery. The path circles the sandy bay, where as well as smaller sailing boats an old barque is usually moored. This is the Bounty, a full-size replica of the 18th- century ship that was built in 1978 as a prop for the movie The Bounty featuring Mel Gibson and Anthony Hopkins.
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Address Nim Shue Wan, Lantau Island | Public Transport Central Ferry Pier 3, Man Kwong Street, Central | Tip On the Plaza in Discovery Bay there is a little shop named Fresh Fruit Juice Paradise where absolutely delicious, freshly squeezed juice is sold.
At the end of the bay, the trail winds through Nim Shue Wan, a small Filipino settlement. Stay on the coastal path towards Mui Wo, which will take you steadily up and down, to the Trappist Haven Monastery, well known for their dairy products, now produced by an outside company. At one point the path ends at a paved road. Keep to the right and walk uphill until you reach the small Trappist monastery, that in 1999 was raised to the status of Our Lady of Joy Abbey. Since Trappists are a contemplative order whose monks have taken a vow of silence, out of respect you should keep your voice low when visiting the monastery.
One long-term resident was Father Nicholas Kao Se Tseien, who was probably the oldest priest in the world when he died in 2007 at the age of 110. He was a cat lover and the eight cats at the monastery, so he said, gave him the will to carry on. To celebrate his 110th birthday, he had not one birthday cake but three, because otherwise there wouldn’t have been enough space for all the candles.
After your visit, you have the option either to walk from the monastery over the hill to Mui Wo or go down to the water, where you can take a small ferry back to Discovery Bay via Peng Chau.
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