Hanging Lantern

My friends and I had been enjoying hiking in the New Territories.  Many Hong Kongers rarely come so far out to hike, often discouraged by the "distance" it takes to reach the various locations, but this is just an example of how lucky we all are in Hong Kong.  It is incredible that a thirty or forty minute car ride is considered to be an inconvenience for some and it really does demonstrate how lucky we are to have so many options available.

This was the first hike I had ever done this far north.  In fact, I think it was very possible this was the furthest north I had ever been in Hong Kong.  We were doing a very difficult hike around Plover Cove Country Park that was about 16km in length.  Some of the boys had become a little bit obsessed with "peak hunting", and I was being taken along for the journey.  We started off near the famous "Bride's Pool" (though we walked straight past it without looking at it) and immediately started our ascent to the ridge.  Within a short time, we could see out across to Plover Cove. 

It was a pretty sight to see.  The area is tranquil and undisturbed by the developments and construction in the rest of Hong Kong.  In the distance, we could see the damn that had been created to create a fresh water reservoir for Hong Kong.  Over the last few years, there has been discussion about draining the entire reservoir and using the filled in land for more housing for Hong Kong.  It would seem a shame for this all to be developed into more housing, but beyond that point it feels very far away from the city for such a development to be convenient and useful. 

The day was far hotter than I expected.  We had been fortunate up until this day with cool temperatures which made hiking easy and comfortable.  After about an hour, I was struggling.  The others looked a bit more haggard than usual, but my legs were screaming at me.  Luckily, we reached a peak, and we started our first descent towards the old village of Sam A. 

Walking along the water and the mangroves, we were now far away from the hilly terrain we had been climbing earlier.   There was a cool breeze and there were now people everywhere.

There were clearly easier options for arriving at this location and it seemed to be a very popular hiking location with families.  It was understandable.  It was fun to walk and there were lots of different things to investigate and explore.

After a walk along an artificial walkway built up to protect small enclosed waterway (was it a damn or a dyke, I wasn't sure), we could see across to part of the village of Sam A, sitting in the shadow of Tiu Tang Lung.  It was one of the more picturesque scenes I had come across in my time hiking in Hong Kong.  This small village was once the home to one of the local clans in Hong Kong, but circumstances and lack of work had forced the clan members to leave searching for work.  On weekends, some members would come back here to this beautiful location to open the restaurant for hikers and other visitors.  Unfortunately for us, we could only stay for a short time (just enough for a drink) before we had to push on.  If were going to climb up and over Tiu Tang Lung, we didn't have any more time to spare.

The hike up was extremely steep.  We scrambled up the side of the peak, at times using our hands to drag ourselves up.  Every now and again, we passed small groups who were going the other way and heading down the side of the peak.  I wasn't sure which was the better idea.  It was tough going to get up, but going down some of the more slippery sections definitely seemed more than a touch dangerous.  Once reached the peak, it was clear that the effort had been more than worth it.

This was one of the best views I had seen in my hiking.  We could see far off into the distance towards China as well as all of the surrounding islands in the northern parts of Hong Kong.  In Cantonese, Tiu Tang Lung, roughly translates to "hanging lantern".  With the unobstructed views in all directions, I could get the sense of why it had been given this name.  It stood out in the surrounding areas and from here, it would be definitely been able to act as a focal point for finding your bearings.

At the top of the peak, there were several instagram models who were getting ready for their photos.  They had come up an easier route, but still looked exhausted nonetheless.  They looked at us curiously, all of us covered in dust and dirt.  We kept on walking as we needed to get down the peak before it got too dark.  My legs were now starting to give out.  The long hike had completely drained me.  I could feel my left quad cramping and I had lost all strength in my hamstrings.  By the time we reached the bottom, my legs had no energy left.  Even if I had wanted to climb another set of stairs, my body would have said no.

Sweeping vistas

I had seen Lam Tsuen from a distance whilst on the MTR one day.  It looked strange.  A desolate and barren set of peaks with deep and bright trails etched into the ridges.  It didn't seem to be a natural part of the lush greenery of Hong Kong.  Rather, it seemed to have been picked up from some northern European country and dropped into Hong Kong.

I convinced the guys that this was the next hike we needed to do.

A short uber drive left us in the middle of nowhere, in the "suburbs" of Hong Kong, far away from the skyscrapers and the crowds.  We were standing next to a car yard looking for the start of the trail which turned out to be a barely signposted set of steps up into some bushes.  After a very short walk of about five minutes, we were clear of this cover and we found ourselves walking through a large country park which seemed almost completely devoid of any trees or shrubs.

It was beautiful scene which we were confronted with on this hike.  It wasn't like anything which we had encountered before in Hong Kong.  We had grown accustomed to lush greenery, so to be walking through this barren and stark landscape felt akin to being in a foreign country far from home.

It was still relatively cool weather, but the lack of any cover still meant that we felt the sun far more than we otherwise would have.  It was a draining hike.  The dust started to swirl as the winds blew, but it all just seemed to add to the wonder of this place.  

The path of the hike rose up and down along the ridge.  It's undulations took us up to high points, then dropped us slightly again, giving us a wide variety of different challenges.  It also gave us an ever changing view that seemed to become more spectacular as we went along.

It was a great hike.  Definitely one of the best I have ever done in Hong Kong.  We had timed it well too.  The weather wasn't too warm yet so as not to overpower us.  I couldn't imagine trying to do this hike during the middle of summer under the intense sun.

Once we reached the top, it was time to go down.  Eamon and the others were peak hunting and so wanted us to go down a different route to the one we had come up.  A far steeper route was taken straight down and towards the next peak.  It was one of the most bizarre experiences I had ever had.  It was far too steep to merely walk down, but there was little to not plant matter to hold onto on any of the sides.  Instead, I found myself half falling, half sliding down the dusty slope.  It was an inelegant way to finish off a hike.

This hike was one of the furthest North I had ever been in Hong Kong.  It was also the closest I had felt to being back in the deserts in my entire time in Hong Kong.

Tai To Yan

There are some lovely ridges in the northern parts of the New Territories that we wanted to hike given the cooler weather.  Eamon and the others were "peak hunting" with their Strava accounts, so a few of us agreed to go up with them.  To make things more interesting, they found a more challenging route for us to take to get to the top of the ridge. 

It was far more of a bush whack than any of us could have imagined.  There was a path (barely), but it had largely overgrown.  What made it worse were the attempts by previous hikers to cut their way through the dense vegetation.  All this had done was to leave sharpened branches protruding into the path, ready to slice open the legs of those like myself who had come unprepared without longer trousers.  The cuts were mostly superficial, but a few of them left me smarting.

Everything cleared up at the top.  We appeared out of the thickets and people already at the top looked at us with confusion.  There was a much easier path to the right of us.  Why had we decided to go up this other route?  I thought it was a good question as I wiped some of the blood of my legs.

With the difficult part of the hike completed, we were left to enjoy a far more serene walk along the ridge.

Ridges are always fantastic ways to get a better look at Hong Kong and its surroundings.  The views are always panoramic with little to no interruption and we were lucky that it was a clear day.

In the distance we could see as far as into Shenzhen.  This brand new Chinese city was pushed up right against the border with Hong Kong.  It was hard to fathom that it had all grown in little over twenty years.

We made our way along the ridge and then down the hill.  By the end, we wanted to get down quickly and to get a drink and food.  Eamon started running and soon we were all running along the ridge as well.  For the last couple of kilometres, it was a run.  Others we passed looked at us with shocked expressions as these eight random people flew past.  It was a tiring way to finish a hike, but it did mean that we were able to get to our food and drink more quickly.

Hold on tight

There are some issues with the pipes leading out of my apartment.

It's a long way down, but that didn't seem to disturb the plumber who came to replace the cracked pipes.  With the help of some safety ropes, he was soon outside of the building doing all the necessary repairs.

Hong Kong seems to have at times a laissez faire approach to safety when it comes to these sorts of things.  I'd imagine that there must be accidents that happen quite frequently, but at the same time, there does seem to have been a knowledge and skill level developed by these workers when it comes to dealing with the dangers and risks which are involved.

Coronavirus and the entrepreneurial spirit

Hong Kong is a strange place sometimes.  I've been here for five years now and I'm constantly amazed by how stagnant the society has become at times.  Technology is surprisingly backwards.  E-Commerce seems trapped in the noughties.  Digital payments is still painfully slow in its uptake.  Something as simple as paying for a taxi requires a handful of cash, with the ability to pay with card rare as hens' teeth.  Yet at other times, I'm truly amazed by how vibrant and ingenious the people are.  One of these areas has always been how quick it is that people here identify (and act on) ways to make money!

Over the last few months, the selling of surgical and face masks has started to go into overdrive.  At first, everyone tried to get in on the game and stores which sold items completely unrelated to surgical masks started to stock this most valuable of commodity.  Now, things have become even more professional as the dedicated stores have started to open.

These mask stores have started to pop up everywhere.  Often in extremely high end (or at the very least formerly high end) locations.  They don't look like the short term stores trying to sell goods quickly at a discounted price.  Instead, these are fancy looking stores, with quality branding and sleek facades.

For me, these stores are an incredible example of just how entrepreneurial people can be.  They've identified a need and they've pounced on it.

Then again, there's also something more terrifying about it all.  Seeing these stores, there is a permanence about them.  These don't look like the short term pop ups that once existed to merely fill a gap between more permanent tenants.  Rather they seem like a fixture, here for a far longer period than any of us would like to admit or accept.

The top of Lantau

The Christmas and New Year period has been a limited affair in Hong Kong.  The restrictions have prevented any of the travel or mass partying that I would have normally expected, but people have still continued with smaller, private gatherings (which are still permissible strangely enough).  After a huge amount of overindulging, I felt sluggish.  A few of us decided we needed to remedy this and so a tougher hike was planned up to the top of Lantau Peak (via the West Dog's Teeth Ridge route).

We tried to get the ferry to Mui Wo, but by the time we arrived it was already full.  Dozens of other hikers stood around hoping that another service would be added, but it wasn't to be.  We decided we would head over to Tung Chung via the MTR instead and bus over from there.  The trip turned out to be relatively easy and in a little bit over an hour, we were actually standing at Shek Pik reservoir look up and what we would be trying to climb.

The path leading up the start of the hike up became increasingly busy.  It was very clear that on this lovely day, that many people had decided on the same idea as us.  At one point, we even encountered what could only be described as a traffic jam.  At the front, was a man carrying what looked like a cake box.  After completing the climb up myself, I wondered how the man with the cake could have ever possibly carried the cake all the way to the top.

The hike up was relatively difficult for a random weekend hike, but at the same time I wouldn't say it was overly challenging.  Many people around us were using specialised gear, but the four of us managed to get up in our usual shorts, t-shirts and running shoes.  There was a fair bit of scrambling to get up, but again, nothing that would necessitate any specialised gear (though some gloves may have helped with some of the chaffed hands).

We raced up the side of the peak, with the day's hike leader setting a cracking pace for us.  Within a couple of hours, we were at the top.  It was a fantastically fast pace for the four of us and throughout our ascent I could hear just in earshot comments from other hikers about how shocked they were at how quickly we were going.  Most were going up fairly carefully, but there was something incredibly fun about scrambling up at speed and the adrenalin soon overtook me as I bounced up over the rocks.

At the top of Lantau Peak, a huge crowd of people had gathered.  There were multiple ways of reaching the top of the peak which didn't require the steep scramble we had taken, so there were all types of people and their kids walking around admiring the view.  There were even several people with their small puppies who had decided to come up.  In the distance, we could see towards Shek Pik and where we had started.  Even further into the distance, we could even see the airport and the bridge that led to Macau.

The day was clear.  There was only a slight breeze so we felt great having just exerted ourselves so aggressively.  This was the second highest peak in all of Hong Kong.  I felt good standing up there.  I felt great having been able to keep up with my friends.  I had come a long way in only a year.  My fitness levels had become so bad over the last few years and I was pleased that my efforts to fix myself were paying off.  All the running and clean eating had clearly had a positive effect on me.  Looking out at all the people still slowly scrambling up, I realised that I didn't feel exhausted, but rather I was energised by what I had done.  I could only look forward to more of this now!

We didn't stay too long at the top.  We started to head down so that we could get back in time to get some food.  On the way down, we passed dozens of people who were slowly making their ascent.  It was an incredibly busy day.

By the time we reached the bottom and managed to make our way by bus back to Mui Wo, we were all spent.  The sun had dropped behind the hills and the temperature dropped suddenly.  I shivered as I sat in front of a pizza, with a tall beer to the left.  That first long gulp of the beer after the long hike, nothing really tastes quite as good.