Hong Kong » Journey to Hong Kong

The ugly, the rich and the luxurious

May 112013

An inflatable sculpture exhibition is being held in the West Kowloon Waterfront Promenade, the site of the forthcoming park of the West Kowloon Cultural District. This “complex pile” by American artist Paul McCarthy is provocative. Against the backdrop of Ritz Carlton Hotel (Hong Kong’s highest hotel), a very much luxurious residential complex and a very much high-end shopping mall Elements, the pile makes you pause. It is an unwitting weird juxtaposition.

The “sacrilege” sculpture by UK-based artist Jeremy Deller has an unwitting effect too. His life-size bouncy castle in the shape of Stonehenge captures his interest in the spirit of public participation. And public interest and participation is obvious. It was a Saturday. People had to queue and wait for their turn to jump inside in the “castle”. Yet, just a stone’s throw away, lies a five-star hotel, a luxurious residential building and shopping mall, which ordinary people cannot use.

This is another exhibit I like:

By HK artist Tam Wai Ping

Hong Kong can be beautiful if the divide between the rich and poor is no more discernible. The exhibition curated by M+, Hong Kong’s new museum for visual arts at West Kowloon Cultural District, lasts until 9 June 2013. For details, please check out its website.

Visit wetland Nam Sang Wai

Hiking No Responses »

Apr 162013

Route: Nam Sang Wai (南生圍）

Date: 13 April 2013

Difficulty: Easy

Hours: 3.5

Name Sam Wai is a wetland area to the north of Yuen Long. It is home to many birds and flora such as reeds and mangroves. This walk is most suitable for families, as it is flat land all along. The picturesque wetland has attracted media attention in recent years because of plan for property development in the area. So grasp the opportunity to visit here before development will spoil its environment.

A small boat ferries people and bikes across Kam Tin River for HK$5 per head. It is the most interesting part of the journey. The eucalyptus trees are abundant in Nam Sam Wai and a path flanked with the trees is a signature scene.

The reeds are spectacular:This is Nam Sang Wai Road, along which you visit much of Nam Sang Wai:

A path alongside Nam Sang Wai Road, where you can walk on instead of the pavement of the road:Mangroves along Nam Sang Wai road:

How to get to the starting point:

Get off at Yuen Long MTR station and choose exit A for going to Yuen Long Kau Hui Road (元朗舊墟路). Turn to right at the end of Yuen Long Kau Hui Road to Shan Pu Road (山貝路). After passing a public toilet, you will see a sign pointing to “Nam Sang Wai Jetty”. Follow the direction to the jetty to take the small boat. After arriving at the other side of the river, you are at Nam Sang Wai.

Direction:

Follow the beaten path and you will soon pass by a big lawn where crowd is seen playing, relaxing, flying model planes, taking photos, etc.

Walk past the lawn to continue the walk along Nam Sang Wai Road, an embankment concrete road.

Follow Nam Sang Wai Road all along, and you will finally come to Castle Peak Road, after some 3-hour leisurely walk. Turn right at the junction of Castle Peak Road and Nam Sang Wai Road, and walk until you reach a subway. After crossing the subway, you will reach Kam Tin Road where you can take bus back to Yuen Long city centre.

Along Nam Sang Wai Road, you will find a number of farms where you can have drink or snack and take a rest. Biking is common in this area.

And, not long before you reach Castle Peak Road, you should walk under some flyovers and past a vegetable wholesale market, along Nam Sang Wai Road.

Scaling highest mountain in Hong Kong

Hiking No Responses »

Apr 112013

Route: Tai Mo Shan (大帽山) – Lead Mine Pass (鉛礦坳) – Shing Mun Reservoir（城門水塘）

Date: 7 April 2013

Scaling the highest mountain in Hong Kong , Tai Mo Shan with an altitude of 957m, may sound daunting. But it is not. For there is a road all the way up to the mountain with a comfortable gradient. However, it is a vehicular road, allowing cars to use so walkers must be careful. From the starting point I have chosen, i.e. the intersection between Tai Mo Shan Road (大帽山路) and Route Twisk (荃錦公路), it is a less than 2 hr hike.

View from the top:From Tai Mo Shan you can hike to Lead Mine Pass, which is about 2 hours. The landscape dotted by volcano rocks is amazing. This part of the route is most interesting, for the rock scene, the landscape and the pleasure of walking on a dirt path.

The last part of the route is easy, from Lead Mine Pass to Shing Mun Reservoir, which is about 1 hour 15 minute walk. It is concrete road all along with shady green.

Overall the route is highly recommended, especially for the first two parts. The hike is five hours in total.

How to get to the starting point (intersection between Tai Mo Shan Road and Route Twisk):

Take bus No. 51 at the bus terminal next to Tsuen Wan West MTR station (West Rail Line). Get off at country park stop. Walk downhill to the first intersection where Tai Mo Shan Road intersects with Route Twisk. Walk up the concrete road for about 1 hour 40 minutes and you will reach the highest possible point – not the very top where Hong Kong Government’s radio facility is located, a forbidden area.

Once you are at the highest point possible, turn to the right to go downhill and soon, you will come to a crossroads with a trail sign.

At this crossroads, turn right.

Turn right to continue. You are now on the way to Lead Mine Pass. Once you reach Lead Mine Pass, go in the direction of “Tsuen Wan” (荃灣), and you will be led to Shing Mun Reservoir and then station of mini bus No. 52 at the end of the reservoir after about a 1-hour walk. The bus will bring you to Tsuen Wan, where you can hop on the MTR train.

New food concept: Ramen food court

Where to Eat/Drink No Responses »

Apr 072013

I chanced to know that there is a Japanese Ramen food court in Hong Kong. It is located in the basement of Prudential Centre (恒豐中心), at Jordan MTR Station Exit E.

The food court is called Ramen Champion, featuring a number of Ramen stalls which boast Ramen of distinct styles and varieties. Ramen lovers will love this place.

It is certainly a high-end food court. I ordered a bowl of Miso Ramen for HK$60, which was among the cheapest of all offerings by the Ramen stall I had chosen to patronize. But I must say the soup base was very rich and yummy, and I liked the fact that the noodle bowl was full of bean sprouts, corns and bamboo shoots. Judging by what I got, the price is okay.

The food court has used the technology now popular in Japan’s and Korea’s food courts. Once you enter the food court, you will be given a card which you use for ordering your food. You pay when you leave the food court by producing the card at the cashier. Also, after you order your food, you will be given a device. The device will give signal when your food is ready so that you can wait for your food with peace of mind.

Island walk: from Discovery Bay to Mui Wo

Hiking No Responses »

Mar 272013

Date: 10 March 2013

Route: Discovery Bay – Trappist Haven Monastery (神學院） – Mui Wo

This walk on Lantau Island is not too hard if you walk from Discovery Bay, a haven for expatriates, to Mui Woo, but can be very challenging if it is in the opposite direction, i.e. from Mui Woo to Discovery Bay. There are too many steps like these to overcome. I dare you to try. But all the efforts are worth it – the scenery of the route is very enchanting. I started from Discovery Bay, choosing the easier way. The village life first came into sight, with farming lands and village houses surrounded by flowers and plants. It is spring time, seeing colorful flowers and fresh green leaves in their glory. The path leading to Trappist Haven Monastery blew me away, as the scent from Sweet Osmanthus trees filled the air. The Monastery area is very peaceful. You should spend a while in in its garden, just for a quiet moment with yourself. The Monastery is known among the locals because it once produced fresh milk branded Trappist Diary and sold all over Hong Kong. Trappist Diary is now Hong Kong’s second biggest brand in terms of sales of fresh milk. However, nowadays the Monastery is no longer involved in the daily operation of the diary company, though it is still its major shareholder. In the old days, the Monastery had a cattle farm first in Lantau Island and then in Yuen Long, before the production was moved to mainland China. Gone were cattle farms and the days of locally produced fresh milk.

Let’s get back to the trail. After reaching the Monastery, I started walking uphill, and having overcome a long and steep staircase, I finally reached the hill top with a panoramic view. Then it is all going downhill with still amazing views unfolding. I felt my legs shaking when I finally had walked down the many steps and reached Mui Wo. The hike is about 2.5 hours.

At Mui Wo, I was again welcomed to an abundance of colors. It was a wonderful closing to the hike. How to get to the starting point:

You can go to Sunny Bay MTR station of the West Rail Line and take bus to Discovery Bay. It is about 20 minutes before the bus takes you to the pier of Discovery Bay. The bus service is very frequent and the fare is about HK$10. Or you take ferry from Central to Discover Bay, costing HK$34 one way, which is an outrageous price.

From the pier you walk to to the left to Discovery Bay Road, and carry on until you reach the intersection with Marina Drive (遊艇徑). Turn to the Drive -not far from the intersection and behind a booth, there lies a hidden path. That is the path to Mui Wo. A sign is put up at the starting point so you will know you are on the right track.

Start of the trail

How to leave the finishing point:

You can take bus from Mui Wo pier to Tung Chung where you can hop on the train. Or you can take ferry from Mui Wo pier to Central. Both ferry and bus services are frequent.

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