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.