Done with junks? Five alternative boat trips in Hong Kong
From squid fishing to scuba diving, and from island-hopping to fine dining, there's more to Hong Kong waters than boozy junk trips
There are only so many photos you need of yourself jumping off a junk into the sea, right? Many Hongkongers would disagree, but as summer wears on it's worth looking at the boat-based fun to be had in the city beyond the usual all-day-boozing junk.
While filling a boat with food, friends and a load of drinks is a classic weekend activity, like all good things it can begin to wear thin with overuse. But fear not, because there are a few alternatives - ones which hopefully won't leave you drunk by lunchtime with a tomato-coloured sunburn.
Not so ugly Dukling
This is one of Hong Kong's real junks, and a symbol of the city's maritime roots. The recently relaunched Dukling is the only antique fishing junk still sailing in Hong Kong, and does harbour tours several times a day from Tsim Sha Tsui and Central piers.
Built in Macau in 1955, the 42-foot teak vessel was bought by an expat businessman in the 1980s, but eventually fell into barnacle-covered disrepair in Aberdeen Harbour. It was only recently saved from a state of near-dereliction when it was sent to Zhuhai to be restored to its former glory.
Plenty of the original features have been retained, although the boat doesn't rely on wind power anymore; there's an engine in the old fish storeroom, and customer toilets where the sailors' sleeping quarters used to be.
