Journey to Hong Kong

If you plan to go to Shenzhen from Hong Kong, just get a Shenzhen visa at Lowu or Huanggang border. No need to apply for a China visa in advance. But this is the case only if you are a passport holder of certain countries, such as most of the EU countries, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. US citizens are not eligible for this Shenzhen visa, so are passport holders of the following countries: Afghanistan, Algeria, Bahrain, Cameroon, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Israel, Lebanon, Liberia, Libya, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Syria, Sudan, Turkey, Uganda, United Arab Emirates and Yemen.

The Shenzhen Visa Office at Lowu is immediately upstairs after clearing the Hong Kong immigration and customs. It is open 9AM-10:30PM seven days a week and accepts RMB for payment only. The visa is a five-day visa and costs RMB160. If you are a UK passport holder, you will be charged a much higher fee at about RMB470.

A friend has just got a Shenzhen visa for RMB160 at Lowu border. According to him, the whole process took about half an hour. You will first get your queue number, and when it is your turn, you give your passport to the staff for checking, followed by making payment at another counter. You will then have to wait again for your turn  to collect your passport, this time with the visa.

It was a Sunday when my friend applied for the Shenzhen visa, and the visa office, he said, was surprisingly not crowded with foreign travelers, but with Filipino domestic helpers working in Hong Kong and hoping to spend their only free day in a week in Shenzhen.

Note that the Lok Ma Chau border (the one connected by MTR) has no Shenzhen visa service. You can only apply for a Shenzhen visa at Lowu border or Huanggang border.

If you want to bike in Hong Kong, the best place to rent a bike is the Tai Shui Hang bike park near Tai Shui Hang MTR station on the Ma On Shan line. In the park, there are three bike shops, all of them offering a full-day bike rental for HK$20 (US$2.6), from 9:30am to 6:30pm (the official opening hours of the park are 9am to 6pm). For that moderate price, don’t expect the bike to be very a professional one. If you want a better quality bike, pay more.

a bike shop in the park

Before you reach the park, you will also find a bike shop which offers bike rental from 9:30am to 8pm for HK$20, and sometimes HK$15. The opening hours are slightly longer.

Hong Kong’s best bike paths are located in the Tai Wai / Ma On Shan / Shatin /Taipo areas in the New Territories. In all these areas, near the MTR stations, you can probably find bike shops for bike rental. But it is sure that you won’t be able to find the rent as cheap as HK$20 for a whole day.

The bike park in Tai Shui Hang is in the Ma On Shan area, from where you can bike to Tai Mei Tuk in Taipo (a place close to Plover Cover Reservoir), passing through the Hong Kong Science Park. Be assured that the scenery along the route is beautiful. You will find yourself biking along the sea or surrounded by hills at times. Well, you will also find yourself biking in the Taipo Industrial Estate area, where some of Hong Kong’s factories are located, including the fast food chain Fairwood. You can smell curry in the air.

the section of path next to science park

If you don’t know much about Hong Kong, biking is a very pleasant way to experience the city. It is a shame that Hong Kong has a very limited number of bike path – there is none on Hong Kong Island.

the way leading to bike park

How to go to Tai Shui Hang bike park

Take exit B of Tai Shui Hang MTR station. Turn right where you see a cement road leading to trees. The park is 2-minute walk away.

More information

It is about 18km from Tai Shui Hang bike park to Tai Mei Tuk. A return journey would be 36km. For a rent of HK$20, you have to return the bike to the bike shop on the same day. Or you pay a little more, to return the bike at Shatin or Taipo at a designated bike shop.

the thai restaurant I went to

It takes 1-2 hour bike ride to finish one way journey, depending on how strong you are and how good your bike is. In my case, it took me almost 4 hours to bike from the bike park to Tai Mei Duk and return, in sweltering heat.

Tai Mei Tuk is famous for Thai food. It is such a pleasure to sit down for some delicious Thai food after some hard biking.

Travellers to Hong Kong may know the ferry service from Central to Tsim Sha Tsui. This is the most popular ferry route for visitors to Hong Kong. Other than this, you may also have learnt about the ferry service to the outlying islands, such as Lama Island or Cheung Chau.

If you want to see more of Hong Kong from the sea, or venture to new parts of Hong Kong by ferry, there is actually more choice. Hong Kong’s Transport Department maintains updated and complete information on the city’s ferry service, including information on schedule and fare. Please refer to here.

One route I recommend you take is from Sai Wan Ho to Tung Lung Island. The scene from the Tung Lung Island is spectacular.

Taipo Waterfront Park is the only park in Hong Kong that has bike rental service. It is a great place for renting a bike and cycling around, especially for families. You can cycle towards Shatin, or further to Taipo from here, most of the time along the waterfront.

A bike shop is located near the waterfront, next to the bike trail. It allows you to return your bike at the same bike shop in Tai Mei Tuk, Taipo, which is about one hour bike ride away, or in Shatin.

The day I was in the park (a Sunday), I saw many kites flying high. So it must be a good place for kite flying too. For more information about the park, check out here.

How to get to Taipo Waterfront Park:

Get off at Taipo MTR station of the East Rail Line. Take a taxis and it will cost you less than HK$20 and take 10 minutes to get to the park.

entrance to the HKU musuem

If you are visiting Hong Kong and look for art museums to visit, do not just visit the Hong Kong Art Museum in Tsim Sha Tsui. Aslo try the University Museum and Art Gallery at Hong Kong University, Hong Kong’s oldest and most prestigious university. The university was recently ranked the Number One University in Asia by QS.

The University Museum often stages some wonderful exhibitions, such as the most recent one by one of the most reputable Chinese painters today CHU The-Chun (朱德群)。A French painter of Chinese origin, Chu is considered one of the masters of modern Chinese painting. The exhibition features a series of pieces of porcelain jars, painted by Chu using the famous Sevres blue highlighted with gold. The exhibition is therefore named “Of Snow, Gold and Sky Blue”. The beauty of the jars is breathtaking and the skills and emotion exhibited are superb and nuanced.

Website of University Museum and Art Gallery, Hong Kong University
http://www.hku.hk/hkumag/main.html

How to get there:

The website contains travel direction, showing you how to get there by a variety of means. One of the most convenient ways is taking minibus No. 8 from the City Hall, Central, costing HK$6. Ask the driver to drop you off at the Caine Road entrance of the Hong Kong University. You will see the museum where you get off.

This trail is hard – mind you. As the trail name suggests, it used to be the trail linking Tsuen Wan and Yuen Long. It takes me about 4 hours to complete the trail from Tsuen Wan to Sham Tseng, an exit on the way. If you want to walk the whole ancient trail, it will take even longer.

I wouldn’t say the scenery along the trail is breathtaking, but it surely is a wonderful hike testing your stamina and allowing you to take in some gorgeous mountain views and bird’s eye view overlooking Tsuen Wan. As part of the uphill road has no shade, it is advisable not to tread this trail when it is really hot.

on the trail

overlooking Tsuen Wan

How to get there:

Get off at Tsuen Wan MTR station, exit A4. Walk through the covered corridor leading to Discovery Park residential complex, all the way to Castle Peak Road. Carry forward and pass by Tsuen Tak Garden, and you will see Adventist Hospital in front. Opposite the hospital you can find a staircase with a sign indicating it is the Yuen Tsuen Ancient Trail. The starting part is hard, as it is up and up and up. But once it is over, you will have pleasant walks ahead.

the starting point opposite the Tsuen Wan Adventist Hospital

You can go to Sham Tseng, which is famous for roasted goose, on the way, instead of Yueng Long, the destination of the trail. If you go to Sham Tseng, where you finish the hike is exactly where one of the famous restaurants offering roasted goose is – Chan Kee Roasted Goose.

Here you turn to Sham Tseng