Lion Rock

The weather has been holding up relatively well, so a group of us guys decided to arrange a hike.

One of the most famous locations in all of Hong Kong is "Lion Rock".  It sits overlooking Kowloon and stands with a distinct profile seems to come out of the hillside.  It is a spectacular looking rise that gives you a lovely focal point when looking up along Kowloon.  It's also a famous hiking location which is meant to give incredible views of all of Hong Kong.

We all met at Wong Tai Sin MTR station and even from the exit, we could see our destination in the distance.

We started walking up the hill towards the start of the hike.  The road up towards the park itself was incredibly steep.  The four of us powered up the hill, looking with a touch of surprise at some of the elderly people who were also slowly walking up the hill.  After what seemed like a long time, we walked past a large temple and then onto the walking trail of the park.

Eamon had been up before and he told us that the hike was short, but steep.  Within a short time, had risen up very quickly.  The steps and the walk were indeed very steep, but it did meant that we were quickly looking out towards sweeping views of Kowloon and Hong Kong.

This hike was by no means a long hike, but there were definitely parts of it which were a bit more challenging purely because of how steep it was.  Other friends had told me they had wandered up with their kids, so it's definitely doable from that perspective, but if you want to go up quickly it'll be much harder.

Once we got to the top, we found ourselves looking out over Hong Kong.  The views from this peak are some of the nicest I've seen in Hong Kong.  The peak rises up so sharply, it means you are very "close" to the city itself and so you look down on everything rather than just looking at everything from a distance.

At the top of the peak, you can walk along the ridge, moving from vantage spot to vantage spot.  It gives a more panoramic view of the skyline along with some enjoyable sections of boulders and rocks to scamper over.

We had gone up in the late afternoon, so we were given the lovely views of the setting sun as we stood and looked out across the horizon.  It's always incredible to see Hong Kong from these views, you get to appreciate just how small the residential parts of the city are compared to the vast areas of forests that form part of the HKSAR.

We kept wandering up and down the different rocks, tired but still trying to find a better spot with a better view.

As night fell, we started the slower walk back down the mountain.

We walked slowly in the dark with a few headlamps and torches to guide us.  About half way down, we all stopped as we reached an opening in the trees and saw out towards the golden lights of the Hong Kong.  Matty declared we were stopping as he pulled out his camera equipment to take a photo of the glowing image in front of us.

Out on the jetty

I've read that the Sai Wan Swimming Shed (or the jetty at the shed at the very least) is one of the most instagramed locations in Hong Kong.

It wasn't hard to understand why it was such a highly photographed location.

It was an exceptionally beautiful location which combined the natural beauty of the water and its surroundings with a strangely isolated and rickety structure.  The jetty didn't seem to quite belong in this place, and yet it was this juxtaposition of something so delicate, artificial and out of place which seem to make the whole scene that much more picturesque.

I had somehow managed to find myself here on a day when there was almost nobody in the water.  A few elderly swimmers were leaving the water just as I was entering and they all began to do their loud breathing exercises up on the hill.  They let out loud bellows as they cleared their lungs and sinuses, each like a horn being sounded.  Again, it was such a strange contrast.  The calm serenity of the water and surroundings being interrupted occasionally by the loud whoops of the elderly.  It didn't seem out of place though, it almost seemed to make the whole experience more alive. 

I walked back to Kennedy Town after that experience.  I felt refreshed and awakened by the swim and was hungry.  I found my friend Jon who had finished his workout and he took me to a local cafe.

I ordered a matcha latte and a smoothie bowl.  Looking at the different colours arrayed out in front of me, it all seemed a very far cry from my youth.  This incredibly hipster meal in front of me was didn't seem to out of the ordinary anymore as more and more people moved towards an increasingly healthy diet.  I still wondered though whether bacon and eggs would have been more satisfying.