Back in those days when swimming pools were not a common public amenity, the Hong Kong people would swim near the coast. After all, Hong Kong is surrounded by water, so swimming is a regular sport of sorts. Even now, many still do prefer to swim in the sea rather than at the public pools. Anyways, seeing that you won't be walking to and fro your favourite swimming spot in swim gear, swimming sheds were built to cater for these enthusiastic swimmers.
With lots of free time on hand, J asked me to bring her to the "Instagram Famous Swim Shed", which is located near Mount Davis. While the spot is identified in Google, there was no directions of how to get to the spot from the main road. With the help of various blogs and Google Streetview, we set off with hopes in hearts and camera in hand to capture some pretty photos.
We spotted the signage after walking approx. 1KM from Kennedy Town Station. It seemed like a long walk because it was uphill mostly. From the entrance, we would need to walk down the concrete stairs until we reach the shed. Pretty accessible if you are comfortable walking long distances up and down.
& We're here! It was quite a good day for outdoor shots so there were quite a lot of people (more than 10 people visiting some rundown shed?! Unbelievable!) queuing to take photos of the pier. However, there was this old man who was fishing at the end of the pier and seems that either 1) He doesn't want to move. or 2) Nobody dares to ask him to move.
People ended up taking shots despite his photobombing lol. There was also a guy who looked very equipped with camera equipment and we overheard he was from London doing some shots for his latest project. He was the only one who dared to speak to the fishing old man; not sure what the conversation was about because the old man continued his fishing anyways and only left when the sun began to set. We also overheard a few tourists who actually cabbed here and had to take a few shots soon because they had other plans soon. Of course, and the few local youths who were looking all cool and posing over and over for their photographs.
Interesting people at the shed I would say!
It was still a hot summer day for Hong Kong and I was ready to melt, but I could see why this spot became a favourite with photography enthusiasts, given that this spot gives off the serenity and freedom that people on social media tend to crave. While J wasn't too pleased with her shots, I was ready to bolt before I end up as dinner for the local mosquito crowds. That didn't seem to bother the handful of photography enthusiasts who came while we were leaving!
