Posts tagged World Traveller Internship UK 2010
A hike in Hong Kong
Sometimes things just happen for a reason. Take for example the other day. Matt and I had ventured out of our swanky hotel to wander round the streets of Hong Kong, getting a feel for the place and trying the local cuisine. Around lunchtime we directed ourselves towards a number of Cantonese eateries eager to sample the dim sum- a dish which consists of small portions of food served either in baskets or on plates. The place we eventually chose looked authentic enough; indeed we were the only Westerners in it and as such had some trouble conveying our order through to the waitress who seemed to completely ignore me for some unknown reason. After a complex, confusing and frankly rather bizarre ritual involving checking off several little boxes on a number of pieces of paper- a process which looked more suited to a bingo hall than to restaurant – the waitress wandered off leaving us very confused about what we’d ordered. As it turned out, she had completely ignored any of my requests for vegetarian food, and had instead directed all her unintelligible questions to Matt, who totally overwhelmed by the whole situation, had allowed her to order masses of food for him and none for me. Consequently, I decided to give that place a miss and after Matt had finished eating we went off in search of another place for me to grab some food. It was then, in the sandwich bar I chose that fate struck.
We were seated at a table, map out, considering our next move when a voice called out from behind a newspaper. The voice, as it turned out belonged to a smartly dressed English businessman sitting at the next table along. ‘Do you need some help?” he asked. And that was it. From there the conversation went on. As it happened, this guy was the former president of the Hong Kong ex-pats hiking society, and as such knew all the best routes to take and where to find the most stunning views of the city. We’d done Victoria Peak, we’d been to Stanley, we’d taken the ferry across to the other side. Now we were looking for something different. Something that would fulfil our innate desire to explore and to experience a real adventure. Also, hiking sounded fun. As soon as he told us about the walk to a place called Ng Tung Chai, which passed through ’some of the best waterfalls’ he had ‘ever seen’ we were hooked. He then mapped out a detailed route of where to go and how to get to the starting point via bus and MTR metro system. Included in his precise description of our intended trail was the following gem of advice. ‘Take the path marked NOT VIA WATERFALL, and unless it’s been raining, ignore the warning signs. They’re only there to stop you from getting close up’. What? But we want to go to the waterfall I thought. How odd! He assured us that he had taken the very same route a few weeks back with his 9 year old son, and that anybody who was reasonably fit could manage it. Delighted with our newly acquired knowledge and the promise of a real adventure we headed back to the hotel, happy to have found such a helpful and informative friend.
The next day we were meant to be on a tour of the Northern territories, but a mix up with the hotel pick up times meant that fate struck once again. Having missed that tour we now had time to head off in search of these great waterfalls in Ng Tung Chai. The first part went well. We metroed it to the supposed bus stop for the number 51 K bus- the bus which would take us to the Visitor Centre and the start of our hike. We searched everywhere but could we find this damn bus stop? Short answer: no. Long answer: (exasperated) noooooooooo.
Realising that we were running out of time we hailed a taxi and showed the driver the address of our intended destination. He nodded and we got in. Barely 5 metres down the road he begins to consult a map. ‘Umm… do you get the slight impression that this guy might not exactly know where he’s going?’ I asked Matt. He smiled in agreement. Two minutes later our suspicions were confirmed when the driver started to call a friend. The friend seems equally stumped. Great! So now we’re just kinda cruising around in a taxi stocking up a hefty cab fare and getting nowhere, I thought. Just then fate struck for the third time. We saw the bus! We saw the same bloomin’ number 51 bus we’d been searching in vain for at the bus terminal. ‘Follow that bus’ I shouted momentarily forgetting he understood no english. ‘Umm.. busi, follow busi..busi good!’ I attempted in the manner of the world’s worst charade. Miraculously, however he seemed to understand and we followed the bus until we saw a sign for the Tai Mo Shan Visitors centre. Huzzah, we had made it, but by now it was 4pm. After a quick chat with the guys at the centre, we bought a Country side series map- essential if you want to try one of these hikes and make it back alive- and headed out at a brisk pace. Brisk, because they’d told us it would take around 5 hours. Barely 500 metres up the road the stunning views began. We’d climbed pretty quickly and already we could look down on the sprawling business heartland of HK and marvel at the sublime juxtaposition of countryside jungle on one side and urban jungle on the other.
From there on upwards the views just got more and more spectacular and although at one point we were shrouded momentarily in thick fog for around 15 minutes, we were fortunate with the weather. It was not stiflingly hot and humid, but was instead sunny and bright for the most part, which meant we had some absolutely stunning views.
With note pad in hand we followed the clear instructions that Paul, the man from the sandwich shop, had written down for us and took the turn marked ‘not via waterfall’ down a dirt track into dense jungle. The path was often rocky and sometimes a little difficult to scramble up and down but nothing that the average person couldn’t handle. Both Matt and I buzzed with a sense of real adventure. Everything was so green and lush and fresh. It was just like you imagine Harrison Ford or Angelina Jolie doing in Indiana Jones or Tomb Raider. There was also a certain buzz from ignoring the danger signs and rebelling a little. Clearly, it must be stated that we kept our common sense and would have turned back if at any point it got too dangerous. It also should be said that we only did this on the advice of an experienced hiker. And it was advice well worth taking. The waterfalls when we reached them were just stunning and the whole day was such a great adventure. We swam for a little in the pool of the biggest fall and took some amazing photos (which should be up on flickr soon!) before realising it was getting dark and we still had a fair bit to go. So we pushed on eventually reaching the small, sleepy, town of Ng Tung Chai just as the sun was setting. From there we hopped on the bus and metro back to our hotel, thoroughly knackered but completely satisfied with a day well spent. If you’re in the area and you have a spare day I thoroughly suggest trying a hike. Just remember to bring a map, enough water and plenty of repellant for those peskie mossies. Try it though, and you will be rewarded with some jaw-droppingly beautiful scenary.
Route: Take the MTR metro to TSUEN WAN- the end of the red line. Then take either the 55 or 51K bus, or taxi (around 35,000 HK Dollars) to the Tai Mo Shan Visitor Centre. Buy a countryside series map- you’ll need it. Follow the path up and where it splits into two, take the road marked ‘Not via waterfall’. Dodge past danger signs and go round others warning of landslides only if the weather is good and it doesn’t look like raining. Our route took us 5 hours and it was dark when we finished so it’s a good idea to start earlier than we did. Say around 12 or 1 and you should be fine. Good luck, and let us know if you do it. We’d love to see your photos too!