Categories
Hiking

Hidden Treasure: Hiking to Trio Beach

Hong Kong has scenic view like this:

It is like a corner of southern France.

To see the view, you will need to go this hidden treasure hiking route in Sai Kung. Another plus of this route is that  you will end up in a peaceful beach, with beautiful view of waters and mountain, and then you take a ferry back to the mainland. It is all very enjoyable. Good for a half-day outing.

How to get to the starting point:

Take mini bus No. 101 from Hang Hau MTR station. Before you reach Sai Kung, get off at the highway at this crossroads, with a sign pointing to “Lions Nature Education Centre”, and a side road called “Che Keng Tuk Road”. Or simply tell the bus driver to drop you off at the Hiram’s Highway (西貢公路) nearest to Lions Nature Education Centre.

the crossroads leading to Lions Nature Education Centre

Follow the Che Keng Tuk Road and walk past the Lions Nature Education Centre to the waters. You will see at the right scenic view like this: The Yacht Club lies at your right hand side. Don’t go there, but go straight past the houses at the left. You will find a path flanked by trees. That is the way. 

On the way you will come across a sign saying Ma Nam Wat. Follow it, and then at your right hand side, you see this uphill path.

the uphill path

Go up and follow the path, and you will see view like this at the top:

Carry on and  there you go, it is the trio beach (三星灣).

overlooking the trio beach
trio beach

The day I was there, only youngsters were training in canoeing and dragon boat rowing. It was serene. No noise from crowd.

trio beach

If you see a boat pass by, just wave at it. It will come and take you to the Pak Sha Wan (白沙灣) pier , which is right across the waters. The ferry fare is $10 each. Once you land on the pier, the Hiram’s highway is just steps away. You can then take mini bus or bus to the town of Sai Kung or to Hang Hau or Diamond Hill from the highway. The whole trip is about 2 hours.

Just wave, the boat will take you back to pak sha wan
Categories
Hiking

Hiking near the city

This hiking route is very close to the city. The walk is about one hour, a leisurely walk.

Characteristics: starting point close to a MTR station in the city; easy to walk; with wonderful view of Hong Kong Island and Kowloon, and the harbour

Path: Mt Parker Road (Quarry Bay) – Sir Cecil’s RideBraemar Hill Park (near North Point)

Where to start:

Get off at Quarry Bay MTR station and take exit A. Turn right, and you will find yourself walking along the King’s Road towards the direction of Tai Koo Shing, passing the Tong Chong Street and Pan Hoi Street. After about 5 minute’s walk, you will see a flyover, under which there is a road called Mt Parker Road, leading uphill.

The hiking route:

Follow the road going uphill and enjoy the walk, which is part of Tai Tam Country Park (Quarry Bay Extension). About half an hour walk, at the right hand side, there is a signpost pointing to “Sir Cecil’s Ride”. This path is a very pleasant walk, taking in the city view (the harbour and Hong Kong Island and Kowloon), and walking between trees on a mud path. Don’t be surprised that you will come across runners from time to time, as this path is actually a runner’s path.

Where to finish:

After embarking on the Sir Cecil’s Ride for 20-25 minutes, you will see a sign pointing to the direction of “Po Luen Path”. Follow the sign and you will come to a point where you will be directed to Braemar Hill Park. From the Park, you can easily access Fortress Hill or North Point, by walking down the main road or taking a minibus.

Categories
Hiking Where to Eat/Drink

Yum Cha in the countryside

You want to try the very traditional Dim Sum restaurants in Hong Kong? Here’s the place that you definitely should not miss out.

Chuen Lung is a small settlement at the mountainside of Tai Mo Shan, Hong Kong’s highest mountain (957 meter). It has two traditional restaurants, where you have to help yourself cleaning the cups and bowls, setting the table and ordering and bringing the food and dim sum you want from the kitchen. They are probably the only restaurants in Hong Kong still operating this way.

The restaurants’ vegetable dishes are particularly good as the vegetables come from the fields in Chuen Lung. Their bean curd pudding dishes are also famous.

You can sit outdoor in the restaurants, enjoying the sun and the countryside air. That is one reason people like going to Chuen Lung for Yum Cha. But some people may not like it as they may find the restaurants a bit dirty. But I personally like the experience. Going to their kitchen and ordering the food you want are just awesome. Even more awesome is that you can Yum Cha in the countryside.

After Yum Cha, you can walk up the mountain to the top of Tai Mo Shan for an amazing bird’s eye view of the city. Or you cross the second restaurant (called Duan Kei) and follow a path passing by the fields, leading to a track along a long drainage channel. Follow the sign pointing to Shing Mun Reservoir and Lung Mun Country Trail. After about 1.5-2 hours of walk, you will come to the Shing Mun Management Centre, where you can take mini bus No.82 to Tsuen Wan, or continue walking to the Reservoir.

How to get to Chuen Lung:

Take mini bus No 80 (less than HK$5) at Chuen Long Street, near the Tsuen Wan MTR station. The final stop of the bus is Chuen Long. Where the mini bus stops, you will see the first restaurant (Choi Long, meaning colorful dragon) right away.

Categories
Hiking Travel Tips

Yuen Tsuen Ancient Trail

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
on the trail
overlooking Tsuen Wan
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
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 Shem Tseng
Here you turn to Sham Tseng
Categories
Hiking Travel Tips

High Junk Peak trail

This time I recommend another hiking route in Hong Kong, a  walk from Ng Fai Tin (五塊田) to Tai Miu (大廟),called High Junk Peak (釣魚翁山)country trail.

high junk peak trail
high junk peak trail
Clear Water Bay
Clear Water Bay

It takes about 3 hours to finish the walk. There is a bus stop at the entrance to the trail and for a start, you will have to climb some stairs.  After a short walk, you will find Tseung Kwan O development area with buildings after buildings at the right, and Clear Water Bay at the left. The view of Clear Water Bay is spectacular. And at some point, you will see the High Junk Peak, among Hong Kong’s most pointed peaks. People with stamina and strength will try to climb up, but not me. clear water bay, hk

After reaching Tai Miu (meaning big temple in Chinese), you can walk to Po Toi O Village Road and from there to reach Po Toi O village, which is famous for seafood. The village is actually small and there are only two restaurants, Seafood Island and Fat Kee. Personally I like the food in Fat Kee, but the seating is more comfortable in Seafood Island. You can take No.6 minibus to Po Lam Station from the village.

Po Toi O fishing village
Po Toi O fishing village

How to get there:

Take the 103M minibus from Tsueng Kwan O Station, or the No. 6 minibus from Po Lam Station, and get off at Ng Fai Tin. Ask the bus driver to alert you if you don’t know where to get off.

This route is not very fitting for hiking in summer as there is little shade along the way. But it is perfect for now, when it is getting cool.