Escaping coronvirus restrictions

I had been counting down the days.

For weeks, I had been waiting with excitement and now it was finally time.

I was leaving Hong Kong!

It was a permanent departure, but for a holiday.  It didn't matter though.  Having been trapped in the city for so long because of the never ending coronavirus restrictions, any escape was a positive.  For Veronica and myself, it was also important because we wanted to go on a trip together.  We had been lucky to have been in a city that didn't have any lockdowns, but things were dragging out in Hong Kong and it was starting to take a toll on us.  We decided that even with the quarantine requirements, we were going to go.

On the day of the trip, I felt an excitement I hadn't felt in a long time.  It was the feeling I used to have when I first started traveling.  It had been a long time.  Sitting on the Hong Kong airport express, I felt a grin on my face as we sped along.  Even at this point, there was a reminder about what things were like now.  The wait for the train was a truly insane 20 minutes (it used to come every 6 minutes) and the carriage was eerily quiet.

The airport itself was also a ghost town.  All the shops were closed and as we walked between the lounge (which was thankfully open) and the gate, we may as well have been the only people.

It didn't matter.

We were seated on the plan, we were headed off on our trip.

The trip itself was great.  Qatar Airways has always been a great airline and the pandemic has changed nothing. After a short stop in the lovely Hamad airport in Doha, we arrived at our destination.

Rome.

This would be an amazing trip away.

Coronavirus and a growing debacle

Hong Kong has descended into a bizarre level of madness that is difficult to comprehend.  The tragedy of it all is that the local population are all generally opposed to everything that's happening, but instead they have all been dragged along for a horrific ride by bureaucrats who don't seem capable to implementing, let alone making, any positive decisions.

It's been frustrating over the last few months as the local government have constantly shifted and changed their requirements for how we will live our lives going forward.  Initially, most people seemed to agree that the stringent measures taken were acceptable.  With no vaccine and the dangers to both individuals and the health care system, it was all deemed necessary.  That's all changed now.  With ready and abundant access to vaccines and the foreign experience showing that the new omicron strain isn't anywhere near as much of a cause for concern in comparison to its predecessors, the rationale for the continued actions has now become increasingly less justifiable.

The next challenge for the people of Hong Kong was now "will they, won't they" game the government seemed to be playing with a full city lockdown.  Initially, all the public announcements were that there would be no lockdown, then suddenly the Health Secretary decided to declare that a lockdown was being considered.

Given the inability of the government to manage even the small Penny's Bay quarantine facility, people were unsurprisingly lacking in the necessary confidence in the government to be able to provide for their needs during any such lockdown.  So the of course, the panic buying  has started.

 

Shelves are being completely cleared.  Fresh produce and meat are sold out.  The fear that there will be an inability by the government to maintain a supply of food to Hong Kong is real and so the people are reacting accordingly by stockpiling themselves.

I wasn't going into the full panic buying mode that some were (not yet anyway), but I still thought it was prudent to get myself prepared.  Fruit and vegetables didn't seem to be the best idea given they probably wouldn't last until the date of any lockdown starting, but stocking up on some non-perishable items seemed to be a good way of providing myself with some insurance, just in case the worst case occurred.

It seems strange and it is definitely depressing having to deal with all of this two years into the pandemic, particularly when the rest of the world is now slowly moving on and getting back to normality.

Living in the age of coronavirus and getting coronavirus

Well I have covid.

Over the last few years, I had managed to avoid getting covid, but I had succumbed this current wave in Hong Kong.  Veronica didn't have it at first, but she too soon caught it (I'm assuming from me).

Was it bad?

Not really.  A couple of days of headache, a bit of a fever and some coughing.

To be very honest, it was nothing compared to the respiratory infections I would normally get every couple of years.  No one wants to get sick, but compared to other illnesses I had previously experienced, this was certainly nothing serious at all.

With this new less deadly strain and everyone all vaccinated, the restrictions in place seemed ever more draconian and unnecessary now that I had the first hand experience.

Coronavirus and all is quiet

The rest of the world seems to be moving on.  There seems to be less and less talk about covid as the virus becomes endemic and people seem to have become used to living their lives with it.  Speaking with friends overseas, there seem to have been a countless number of people I know who have caught it.  Most interestingly though is that even with all the people I know who have caught covid, I can say that thankfully not a single one of them has had any serious symptoms.  Flu-like symptoms seem to be the worst of it and for many, the symptoms have been even milder.

Hong Kong is sadly for most of us, taking a very different approach.  It continues with a tightening of measures.  Social distancing requirements are being increased and thousands of people with few to no symptoms are being sent off to quarantine without any fixed time for leaving.  It's all leaving people here incredibly frustrated and the anger is now starting to swell.

I went into the office to arrange for some documents to be signed.  It had been a while since I had physically into the office.  With the restrictions, most businesses were implementing work from home policies.  I did my work in the nearly empty office and I went out to get some lunch.

It was a shock.  The normally busy halls of ICC leading into Elements shopping mall were nearly deserted.  It felt like something out of an apocalyptic story.  Every step I took echoed slightly as I found my friend waiting for me.  She was one of the few people in her office as well.  There wasn't a need for any booking today, so we just walked towards the restaurant of our choice.  
 

Coronavirus is never ending in Hong Kong

The rest of the world is starting to open up again and Hong Kong remains trapped in a never ending cycle of incompetence.  There's really no other way to describe what is happening other than a complete failure of government.  There is neither any progress towards a return to normality, and recent events have demonstrated that even preparation for the continued approach didn't actually happen.  It is mind boggling that when given the choice of two paths, it turns out the Hong Kong government decided that it would do nothing instead.  It's reached a point where even the leadership of China has now come out with a rebuke against them, going to show that they have achieved the truly incredible outcome of angering every group with a stake in Hong Kong.  It takes a special level of idiocy to be able to do that.

Everything was closing up, and the weather was horrendous, so Veronica and I thought we would visit Habour City over on the TST side.  With increased restrictions seemingly just around the corner, we wanted to get out and about whilst we still could.  We walked around some of the shops (most of which were heavily discounted) and were shocked by how few people were around.

 

Rainy days on a weekend in Hong Kong normally mean that the malls are completely packed with people wanting to get out whilst still being sheltered from the elements.  Walking through the sparsely visited mall was off putting.  It was like seeing the city slowly losing its life and purpose.

Since there was almost no one around, we thought we would try and take advantage of that by going to the Cheesecake Factory for some lunch.  Since it's opened its only outlet in Hong Kong, the lines have been incredibly long.  Waits of several hours are common and the last time we tried to visit, we were told that so many people were waiting for a table that they had run out of the buzzers they give to people in the line.  With those waits, we haven't bothered and have generally gone off to find other food.

This time, things were very different.  A short ten minute wait was all that was needed.  It didn't even seem like there was anything stopping us from getting a table immediately other than the need for the table to be cleared and set.  Once inside, it was clear that the restaurant was not full.  At best, it was three-quarters full.  It was one small benefit to the annoyance of dealing with restrictions that were making increasingly less sense.

We ordered our food.  It had been years since I had been to the Cheesecake Factory and I hadn't forgotten about the enormous portions.  As expected, we received our enormous servings.  I looked at what was in front of me almost like a challenge.

The food was "OK".  It was not fine dining or anything approaching that, but that's not what it was about.  This was for me, a celebration of "Americana".  The bountiful approach to food and eating that the US had become strangely famous for.  The cheesecake wasn't bad though.

Veronica barely finished half of her lunch (we would take it away and have it for dinner).  Somehow, I forced myself through the pain and managed to eat all of my plate.  I didn't feel great.  Looking at the empty plate, I questioned why I had bothered to put myself through such an ordeal.

The Eight Immortals

Pat Sin Leng Country Park is a mountain ridge which sits in the north eastern part of the New Territories.  It's not as far north as up around Plover Cove, but it's not too far away.  It was once considered to be a far off wilderness, but the last few decades have seen significant development and growth closer to the water in areas like Tai Po and Shatin, so it all now feels much closer to civilisation.

The ridge itself is famous for having eight peaks along the ridge, and so the name translates to the "Eight Immortals".  These legendary beings from Chinese mythology were each represented by one of the peaks along the ridge of Pat Sing Leng.

We started off our hike in one of the small villages in the middle of the New Territories. Every time we come out to places like this, we are reminded of how rural the whole area must have once been.  Even now, it's quite amazing that with the metropolis that is Hong Kong just a short drive away, that such lush greenery and scenes of simple farming life could still exist.

As walked further up through the hills, we were given an even more incredible sight.  It was probably the clearest day I have ever experienced on any hike in Hong Kong.  The visibility was completely unobstructed and we could see clear into China.  It was a strange sight to see, the more rural and green parts of Hong Kong, with the background of the enormous and modern city of Shenzhen.  None of this would have been there only a short twenty years ago.

As we walked further, we found ourselves above the tree line, walking through open landscapes of rock and grass.  It was a beautiful scene.  The air was fresh and the sky was perfectly blue.  Temperatures were low too so the whole experience was perfect for hiking.

We hadn't arrived yet at the actual "Eight Immortals", but the views we were getting were already incredible.  Walking along the top of the ridge, we could see towards the ocean as well as back over towards the middle of the New Territories.

Every section along the walk provides almost completely unobstructed views.  It had taken me a long time to get here and I was glad I had finally made it.  Eamon mentioned that this was still one of the best hikes he had ever done in Hong Kong and he had hiked most, if not all, of Hong Kong's official trails.

Finally we arrived at the actual "Eight Immotals".  Turning around, we could see back along the ridge we had just hiked.  It was impressive to look at.  The high ridge line seemed almost sharp against the sky.

In front of us there were these eight peaks we had to complete to finish our hike.  From a pure distance point of view, it didn't seem to bad at all.  We had completed most of the hike already so this was actually just the final third or so.

Though short, it was a bit harder than I expected.

Given the distance we had already travelled, the next eight and frequent ups and downs put quite a bit of strain on the calves and the glutes.  None of the little ascents and descents were particularly tough, but doing them so quickly one after another turned this into a strange form of interval training.

As always, we were going at a quick pace and so we passed by group after group of people who were taking a more leisurely stroll along the ridge, stopping at each spot for far longer than us to enjoy the views they saw.

Not for us though.  We continued on.  It was certainly worth it as well.  Even though we were truly spent by the end of the hike, it had been everything promised and given some of the best views I have seen in Hong Kong.

Down South

With the coronavirus restrictions back in full force in Hong Kong, we were also back to our weekly hiking.  We discussed our next destination and we all quickly decided to go to Po Toi Island.  This was a place on everyone's list of "must visit" so this seemed like as good as any time for us to all head there.

We all woke up early and gathered down in Stanley.  Po Toi Island is sparsely populated and so there are only a few ferries to and from the island on the weekend.  We weren't the only ones with the idea either and there was a long line to board the boat.  We got our seats and the boat quickly filled up.

Po Toi Island is one of the southern-most islands in Hong Kong.  Of the small islands around Hong Kong, it's probably considered middle sized, with not enough space for it to have been developed, but apparently it was home to more than a thousand people at one point.  Not too many people remain these days other than those there to run the small shops and restaurants catering the visitors like us.

Once we were off the ferry, it was fairly simple to follow the trails straight up.  As always, a group of the guys were on their hunt for "peaks" and so they had already pre-planned some of the key locations that we needed to reach.  It was a bit mechanical at times to be chasing the peaks with these boys, but on the flip side, it did mean that there was always a motivation to go out and explore some of the further out parts of Hong Kong.  On the whole, it was definitely a positive thing.  It also didn't mean that all we did was just run towards peaks and nothing else.  On this hike, as we made our slow ascent up towards the first peak, we made a slight detour off towards "Mo's Mansion".

The crumbling ruins of Mo's Mansion were what was left of what would have once been an impressive and large house.  We walked through what was left of this home.  It was built in the 1930s and survived several decades until Mr Mo apparently fled after a failed kidnapping attempt.  Now, it is slowly returning to nature, with signs everywhere of people exploring the site and possibly camping in it as well.

We kept walking and eventually reached the first peak we needed.  There was nothing particularly special about it and the views from the top were not memorable.  We looked at our map and noticed that there was a large peninsula if we kept walking.  We had time, so we decided to push on for a bit.

This decision to keep going further was a good one.  As we continued over the crest of the hill, the large peninsula came into sight and it was something spectacular.  It was a wind swept and barren piece of land that sat isolated from the rest of the island.  On this area, we could also see dozens of small tents, with what must have been more than a hundred people who had decided that this was the perfect place to do some camping.  We walked closer and we found a set of stairs.  With over 1000 steps leading to the bottom, this rivaled the infamous "Twins", but the scenery was infinitely better (the Twins is easily the most overrated hike in Hong Kong).  This little peninsula was as windswept and isolated as any part of Hong Kong I had been on.  There are many stark and barren parts of Hong Kong that make you feel like you're in another part of the world, but standing on this spot, my friends were generally of the view that this felt like Scotland (I'll trust their word as I've never been).

We turned back after doing a loop and went straight back up the stairs we had descended.  All 1,000 steps without stop.  I thought back to all the times I had done the Twins before and how much more enjoyable this had been.  The wind was strong and there wasn't anything impeding our view.  Everytime I turned around and looked out, all I saw was the enormous sky.  I was an inspiring view.

We looped back towards the fork in the road that we had encountered on the way up to the first peak and headed in the other direction towards the next peak.  Along one of the ridges overlooking the main bay where all the ferries and boats stopped, there were hundreds of little cairns built up by visitors over the years.  It was a little bit surreal to see all of these little structures, but we had no time to stop so we kept moving.

Eventually, we reached the second peak.  There wasn't much of a view at all.  Looking at the map, there was a THIRD peak not too far away that was on a separate list that the guys were considering.  A couple of us laughed and thought that this was more than we wanted to do.  So the group split in two, with some of the boys heading off towards another peak and the rest of us heading back towards the bay and the comfort of the restaurants.

Along the way back, we decided to stop for a longer look at all the little cairns which had been erected.  Walking amongst them gave us an opportunity to make some of our own and to take some photos.  The breeze hadn't slackened and standing exposed on the edge of this ridge, there was an amazing "refreshing" feeling.  You could feel your lungs clearing as you looked out towards the distance and we all happily agreed that skipping the last peak had been a good idea. 

We ended up at one of the restaurants in the bay.  Sitting, eating and drinking, the other boys eventually joined us having run to and from the final peak.  They looked exhausted, having gone through thick bush to get to that last peak.

North West New Territories

The northwestern parts of the New Territories don't seem to get much love from hikers and visitors to Hong Kong generally.  It doesn't have any of the fame of the Eastern or Northern parts of the New Territories which give stunning views into China and to the islands out to the East of Hong Kong.

It doesn't make a huge amount of sense to me that this is the case.  There are some great hikes out in this region and it's actually far easier to get out to this region in comparison to the areas based in the East.  There are good MTR links and the buses in and out of the region benefit from highways that a generally fast flowing.

One major thing that is lacking though are the beaches and boating opportunities that exist out to the East, so that definitely removes some of the glamour appeal.  The waters out here are the heavily trafficked waters of the Pearl River Delta.  A brisk trade of shipping is constantly flowing up and down from Guangzhou and the numerous cities along the way, making the waters murkier and dirtier in comparison to out East.

The weather was overcast and cooler.  It made the hike far easier and with the lack of any shade, I'm not sure if this would have even been possible during the hotter months.  Maybe this was another reason for this area being less popular with the hikers   We were hiking in a big group and we slowly started to split up as the stronger hikers forged ahead.  It was a bit strange to see our group snaking across the long distance of the trail.  With no cover, you could see everyone far ahead and behind.  I felt strangely connected with everyone, even though there were hundreds of metres between each of us.

At different points, we would group back together.  The jack rabbits at the front would slow and wait for the rest of the group.  We were a loose spring that seemed to stretch and snap back from time to time.  All connected, but only barely.

The arid environment and lack of cover made it easy to look out into the distance.  In any other situation, I would feel far more alone during such a hike, but any time I looked forward or back I could see hikers coming to and fro.  None of them were necessarily close, but it made it feel like we were all in the same room or all together at some common event.  Any loneliness was gone.

As we neared the end, we realised we were running out of time and we wouldn't make it to our final challenge of Castle Peak.  Some of the boys were hoping to get this peak ticked off on their list of challenges, but for the rest of us it wasn't worth the time.  We needed to get back to the city.

The convenience of hiking in Hong Kong is such that even with this last moment change in decision, there wasn't too much of an impact.  We just took the next closest turn instead of continuing on the trail and within thirty minutes or so we were all approaching the main roads and civilisation again.

We all took out our phones and started the search for cars to take us back to the city.  The simplicity and ease of it all never ceases to amaze me. 

Mount Stenhouse

Eamon wanted to climb the highest peak on Lamma Island, so I found myself back on the island after less than a week.

He thought it would be a fairly simple hike and that most of it would be paved, so I didn't bother bringing my water bladder or wearing any more specific hiking clothes.  Shorts with cotton t shirt and a backpack with a few bottles of water.  That all seemed to be enough.

As usual, I was foolish for believing my friends.

Rather than a simple walk up a paved path, I found myself in dense scrub, fighting up paths which were barely cut through the vegetation.  My legs were scratched, my arms slightly bloodied.  Thankfully, I had decided to wear proper hiking shoes instead of some runners, so I was able to at least bound up the path without slipping and hurting myself.

Still, it was fun all the same.  A good whack through the bushes in the Hong Kong jungles and paths is usually an enjoyable day out and you get all the benefits of the exercise as well.  The hike ultimately wasn't that long, but it definitely had some trickier and more taxing sections.  When the scrub closed in, there were sections where you could feel the air thickening and breathing became more difficult with the humidity.

The views were as you would expect, stunning once you reached the highest points.

At various points in the distance, I could see back to where Veronica and I had stayed only the week past.  Further off once you were higher, you could see all the way back to Hong Kong.

It's always one of the stranger feelings you get when you go on these hikes in Hong Kong.  You feel like you have fought through the wilderness, through parts which are remote to others and isolated from civilisation.  Then you look up a bit and you realise you are just on the neighbouring doorsteps of on of the most densely populated metropolises in the world.

The opening of something grand

I like modern art.  I like it a lot.  I grew up thinking that it was something silly and pointless, but I still remember my first trip to London and my visit to the Tate Modern.  Being introduced to the deeper meaning of it all changed my mind and I was opened up to an incredible world that still inspires me to this day.

Living in Hong Kong has been interesting from the perspective of my personal interest in art and culture more generally.  It hasn't been "bad" per se, but it certainly hasn't been amazing.  I had expected there to be more galleries and locations to satisfy this itch, but I had sadly found myself in a fairly similar situation to Sydney.  There was stuff around, but I definitely wasn't in a centre for arts and culture.

All of this seemed to be slowly changing though.  Hong Kong is making a big push to become the centre for culture within the region with major development of the West Kowloon Cultural District.  This huge park area is going to contain parks, restaurants, galleries, museums and theatres.  Some of this is already open, but must of it continues to be under construction.

However, one of the shining jewels of this new area has now opened! 

M+ is hoping to be the world's next great modern art museum.  It is an enormous new complex which has floor space which puts it on par with the Tate Modern and MOMA (which are two of my favourite galleries in the world).  The idea that we in Hong Kong now having something of this size and scale is truly exciting.

In anticipation of this opening, Veronica and I decided to become members.  Everything was going to be "free" in the first year, but we wanted to support the gallery and we also thought that there might be some benefits to getting in early.  This proved to be the case when we received invitations to attend the private members opening of the gallery!  Instead of having to fight with the throngs of people who would be queuing to get in when it actually opened, the gallery was opened for all members to attend a few evenings earlier.  We took the opportunity to go to work dressed a little bit better than usual, then headed over with all the others to see this brand new gallery.

It was amazing to see.

The space is enormous, and it is filled with wonderful and strange exhibits.  The focus was on art within Asia, and it was a pleasure to be able to see the various types of expression from the region all within the same space.

One particular highlight was the large gallery inside which had been set aside for one of the more unique works from Antony Gormley.  Hundreds of thousands of clay figures, each unique, each hand crafted by the inhabitants of a village in China, each of them silently looking up.  Standing in front of this crowd of figures was a strangely humbling and awe inspiring experience.

The rest of the gallery was no less intriguing, with installations, paintings, sculptures and other oddities designed to make you think and ponder.

It didn't feel quite like I was in Hong Kong.  Veronica even mentioned that she felt like she was back in New York again.

It was a privilege to be able to attend this opening.  As a members event, the space was far more open and we didn't feel any of the crowds that would normally be at a new location like this.  Instead, we were able to walk calmly from exhibit to exhibit, calmly taking in everything and enjoying it without any bother.

A change of art

I have never been an expert in art, but it's been an important part of my adult life.  It's been an interest (or possibly even a passion) which has driven me to travel more and seek or more things to see.

I've enjoyed visiting modern art galleries in particular, seeing how art has developed and changed over the last century.  But even that art now seems far less on the edge with the growing digital art trend.

It shouldn't be surprising.

What is art after all?  It is merely something sitting within a gallery?  Something which someone with a degree in art history has deemed to be "art"? 

Or is it simply just an expression of thought and ideas?  Something intangible that someone, somewhere had tried to capture in some form, whatever that may be?

Walking through the different displays, I couldn't say I liked everything.  But at the very least, I could appreciate that this was a new medium with which to appreciate something a bit different.  For me, that was more than enough.