Golden Field of Canola Flowers…Maybe Not?

Thinking about going to the golden field of canola flowers? Our trip might help you in deciding…

It was a rainy Friday evening, the weather has been pretty miserable for the past week. People said England rained a lot… well these people haven’t been to Hong Kong. We pondered just when the skies would clear so we could go out and explore more of this new city.

It was just at this moment when Sarah let out a tiny yelp and prodded me to turn my gaze over to the TV we had on in the background.

Scenes of vast beautiful fields of yellow flowers flashed on the screen for the news report. WE HAD TO GO.

With a sudden change in mood we nervously checked the weather app, hoping for the weather to clear by tomorrow. Lady luck was on our side, clear skies and no rain.

Canola Flower fields

The Canola field is situated in Sha Lo Tung (沙羅洞). The easiest way to get here is to make your way to Tai Po, the closest MTR station. At this point you either have a choice to walk the entire journey or ride a bus (20A, 20P) taking you a good portion of the way.

All you lazy people smiling at the idea of a bus, sorry you still have to walk. The walk up to the Canola field is around 50 minutes so dress in comfortable walking gear, I didn’t and instantly regretted it.

Don’t worry if you’re bad with directions as there will be a rather large crowd of people heading the same way. In fact upon arriving at the Canola fields, it felt like there were as many people as there were flowers.

To say we were disappointed would be an understatement having walked the entire way lugging all our camera gear. Maybe it is because both Sarah and I spent most of our lives living in the lush greenery found in Surrey (UK) that we weren’t very impressed.

Never mind, always the optimist I tried scouting a spot to snap a few photographs to make the whole trip worthwhile. But every spot and every angle would always encounter a selfie stick or two.

Find a spot where no one is crowding and you’ll soon realise is because the patch of canola flowers have been trampled all over by the stampede of people.

It took a good few hours before we finally got a few shots with no one in the background! Usually I would say persevere and you’ll be rewarded. But not this time. Although we did end up with a great shot in the end, the whole endeavor was just not worth it.

So to sum it up:

1. The field was smaller and much less impressive than shown on TV and through my own pictures
2. The flowers were in a terrible condition having been trampled all over
3. Far too many people and far too many selfie sticks

So in conclusion: No you probably shouldn’t go.

We hope this post has has helped you guys decide whether you should go or not! If you have any questions or would like to get in touch, please feel free to drop us a comment below, shoot us an email or find us on instagram and facebook!