Hike along the coast

 Hiking  No Responses »
Dec 142011
 

Hoi Ha Wan

If you want to see some of Hong Kong’s most charming sea scenery, then you must hike this route. It mostly skirted the coast, unveiling first the Long Harbour and then Hoi Ha Wan, a protected and sheltered bay which is named Hoi Ha Marine Park because of its conservation value.

Route: Tai Tan Country Trail (大灘郊遊徑） 

Hoi Ha Road (near Tau Tong Kai猴塘溪) – Tai Tan （大灘） – Sze Tei （獅地）– Chung Sha Teng （涌沙頂） – Lo Tsai Shek （爐仔石）– Lan Lo Au （攔路坳）– Hoi Ha （海下）

When you start, you can see this view:Then you pass Tai Tan Village, commanding quiet water and mountain views:

view near Tai Tan

view from Tai Tan village

Near midway, you will come to a beach.  After the beach, it is a continuous climb. Not easy. And the path is dotted with rocks!

But you will be rewarded with this scenery at the top:

Sharp peak, known for its steepness, stands out in sharp relief

And then, I met three cows which occupied the narrow path in front of me. (That explains the cow dung along the way.) I mustered all my courage and managed to walk past them without irritating them, luckily.

Going downhill, I had the first glimpse of Hoi Ha Bay:You will then come to the intersection with Wan Tsai Peninsula which houses some modern campsites. From the intersection is about half an hour before you reach Hoi Ha Village where there are small family-run shops selling drinks and noodles.

How to get to starting point:

Take minibus No.7 from Sai Kung which goes to Hoi Ha. Get off at Hoi Ha Road where the trail “Tai Tan Country Trail” starts. Or get off at Hau Tong Kai bbq site. And then walk against the direction of Hoi Ha for two minutes on Hoi Ha Road before you can see the starting point of the trail.Total hours: 3.5 hours

Length: 7.3km

Always follow the sign to Hoi Ha or the “walker” trail sign, and you will find your way.

How to get back to Sai Kung

Take No. 7 minibus going back to Sai Kung from Hoi Ha Village. The stop at the village is the terminus for the minibus.

Map of the Route

 Posted by Anna at 10:14 pm

A hike through Sai Kung Old Path

 Hiking  No Responses »
Dec 052011
 

Hiked on 2 December, 2011. Weather: Fine. Route: Tseng Lan Shue （井欄樹) to Tsz Wan Shan （慈雲山）

This is one of the most memorable hikes I’ve ever done. Highly recommend it.

First part of the trail: from Tseng Lan Shue （井欄樹） to Tai Lam Wu (大藍湖)

This part of the route is also called Sai Kung Old Path(西貢古道）, dating back to old times when residents in Sai Kung used the path for going to Kowloon. It is one of the most pleasant routes I have hiked. See the video below:

Lush trees line the dirt or stone-paved paths, with singing streams and birds. Some tree roots branch out extensively to form steps.

The red in the green:

Second part of the trail: Ascend Tung Yeung Shan (東洋山，about 570 metres)

When you come out of the “Sai Kung Old Path”, you will find yourself land on a concrete road. Follow the road to Tai Lam Wu village, a small settlement. Once you have passed by it, you will soon see a sign and path at the left leading up to the “Wilson Trail” and a strenuous hike will soon commence.

The  hike up the near 580 metre-high Tung Yeung Shan is all steps and steps. However once you bring yourself up to a higher point, you can see this wonderful view:

Third part of the trail: Fei Ngo Shan Road

You will reach Fei Ngo Shan Road (飛蛾山道) after descending from Tung Yeung Shan.

look back at Tung Yeung Shan from Fei Ngo Shan Road

Follow the road and you will come to this panoramic view of east Kowloon and Hong Kong island, which was in shrouded in smog when the photo was taken.Follow the concrete road of “Shatin Pass Road” (沙田坳道) to reach Tsz Wan Shan （慈雲山）from where you can easily access Wong Tai Sin / Diamond Hill MTR station.

Total length:
About 9 kilometers; takes about three and a half to four hours.

How to get to the starting point:
Take minibus to Saikung from Choi Hong MTR station. Get off at Tseng Lan Shue at Clear Water Bay road. Enter the Tseng Lan Shue village and find and follow the sign of “Wilson Trail”， which appear a few times along the way before you  pass a farm and reach the starting point.

Map of the route:

 Posted by Anna at 2:02 pm

Cafe restaurant in TST

 Where to Eat/Drink  2 Responses »
Nov 292011
 

If you look for simple food in Tsim Sha Tsui (TST), especially around the Star Ferry pier, do not miss this restaurant – Deli and Wine, right next to Hong Kong Cultural Centre. This restaurant is actually run by a giant food chain in Hong Kong Maxim’s Group. It is a new move by the group, focusing on light and casual dining with another similar restaurant located in the shopping mall next to Hang Hau MTR station.

My favorite food for Deli and Wine in TST is vegetable curry and mushroom pasta. For their price (about HK$50), the food is unbeatable.

The curry vegetable comes with one plain rice and one bowl of curry

The interior decor is like a cafe. The seating is pretty comfy.

I have tried their fish burger and spicy French Fries in the Hang Hau branch. Liked them. They tasted ten times better than McDonald’s fish burgers and French Fries. The branch in TST sells fish burgers too.

Address: G/F, Restaurant Block, Hong Kong Cultural Centre, 10 Salisbury Road

 Posted by Anna at 1:35 pm

A competition between a pig and a wolf

 Hong Kong As It Was  1 Response »
Nov 272011
 

Hong Kong will have two candidates competing to be the next Chief Executive. One is Leung Chun-ying, former Convenor of the Executive Council, long suspected to be a Communist Party member and another is Henry Tang, former Chief Secretary, with a very rich family background, who is deemed as dumb due to repeated and multiple blunders and flip flops. The competition is therefore termed by some as one between a pig and a wolf.

There has been a series of high profile people coming out in support of Henry Tang recently, including movie star Stephen Chow who in defending Henry Tang, said he was actually “not stupid”. Can you see how “high quality” the candidates are? We just need them not to be dumb.

And don’t be misled by “election” or “competition”. All two candidates are okayed by the Beijing authority and are of course pro-Beijing. Who can “elect” them anyway? A 1200- strong election committee with representatives from different sectors, which is dominated by the influence of tycoons and major businesses. And these 1200 people represent about 0.01% of Hong Kong’s population.

A Beijing official in charge of Hong Kong affairs told the media in October that the election matter is “decided by Hong Kong people, not by me”. This is like black is white, white is black; or false is true, true is false. A shameless lie. A flagrant contempt for truth.

Hong Kong’s “election” of the next Chief Executive who will assume duty on 1 July, 2012, is a joke and a farce. The sweeping media reports on the two candidates disgust me – they lead the public to believe that there is a real “election” going on.

 Posted by Anna at 9:29 am

Al fresco dining: the local way

 Where to Eat/Drink  No Responses »
Nov 202011
 

You may easily associate alfresco dining with fine dining and expensive restaurants. This can be so true in Hong Kong. On the other hand, alfresco dining can be simply like this: This is a local restaurant in Chevalier Garden, Ma On Shan, New Territories with simple round tables and plastic chairs placed outdoor. I ate afternoon tea here today, enjoying some gratifying moments after a 3-hour hike.

I ordered a dish of Singaporean style fried noodle with a cup of milk tea. The Hong Kong style milk tea using the branded evaporated milk was smooth, and the noodle, as expected, was ordinary. The tea time costed me HK$25 (US$3). That made me happy – to enjoy the warmth of autumn sun and al fresco dining can be so simple and can cost so little.

 Posted by Anna at 10:23 pm
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