Yuen Long to Butterfly Beach Bike Ride I DO NOT Recommend, HONG KONG
I usually post about routes or places I recommend; this time I’m going to do the opposite. I’m here to tell you guys to avoid this activity if you are thinking about doing this from some of the other blogs or websites you’ve read. It is a waste of time and most definitely not relaxing!
Thinking that this would be a great way to spend an afternoon, especially after reading a couple websites, including the one from the Hong Kong Tourism Board on the bike route from Yuen Long to Tuen Mun, I figured this would be just as lovely and relaxing as the bike ride we took a couple months back from Shatin to Tai Mei Tuk (highly recommend!). Boy was I in for a shock!
Here are the top 5 reasons why you should not fall into the trap of doing the Yuen Long to Tuen Mun bike ride:
Poor indications. Bike route not very well indicated and we got lost 3 times trying to get back on track. This resulted us walking the bikes through crowded sidewalks as well as up and down pedestrian bridges for 30 minutes. NOT fun!
Too much noise. 95% of the bike route is next to the highway; the noise from high speed traffic is incredibly stressful. NOT fun!
Dusty. Adding on to the traffic noise, majority of the bike route is next to industrial areas; moreover, it’s not merely industrial parks, the parks are construction oriented and thus super dusty, smelling, and every few minutes there were concrete trucks zooming past. Again, NOT fun!
Railroad Crossings. In addition to high traffic noise, dusty and smelly industrial parks, and concrete trucks, there are multiple light rail intersection tracks every 5 minutes into the ride. Some intersections have more than 6 track crossings so you have to really be careful and see if there are trains coming. NOT fun!
Lack of Multi-Bike Drop Locations. Last and not least, I don’t know about other bike rental shops in Yuen Long but the 2 that we visited and ended up taking the bike rental with did not have a drop off location in Tuen Mun. And guess what! The MTR, including the light rail trains do not regular size bikes, such as the ones we had onto the train! Luckily, we found a cab that would take us back to Yuen Long. It didn’t feel particularly safe since both bikes were semi hanging out of the truck and being held on by ropes with hooks…somehow we made it back to Yuen Long safely.
I do have to note though, Happy Bicycle, the bike rental shop where we rented from, was great! The lady was super friendly and we got very nice new bikes to accompany us to the ride. It was cheap too! I can’t remember the exact price but I think it was somewhere around $60 HKD for the entire day with either a $500 HKD deposit or HKID as a deposit. Do recommend them if you want to try this experience yourself or is in need of a bike in that area!
Happy Bicycle next to Yuen Long MTR Station
The entire bike route pretty much had everything I despise in what I consider a scenic relaxing bike ride. So, unless reasons 1-5 suits your liking, I do not recommend this route at all!
The only highlight - well, there were two highlights I suppose, were that we saw three stray cats lounging on the rocks by the pier. I have never seen cats feeling so comfortable yet being so close to the water. It was as if they were waiting for the opportune moment to dive into the cracks of the rocks to catch fish for dinner.
One particular orange tabby and I really connected! She turned and followed me with her gaze as I walked along the boardwalk. If only I could take it home with me!
The other highlight of the day was discovering the Japanese Bakery Hazukido in YOHO Mall in Yuen Long. A fusion of Japanese flavors with the French croissant, we took French Strawberry Croissant and the Spicy Cod Roe Croissant. The second one may sound like a strange combination but I promise it was so so good! The umami flavor paired with the airy flaky crisps of the croissant is truly a great match! Highly recommend y’all trying it if you haven’t before.
