Labour Day 2015 fell on a Friday, which made it a "long weekend" of 3 days. Just enough for a quick getaway, and it's HK yet again!
Yes Inn @ Causeway Bay
Accomodation this time was the good ol' Yes Inn, but instead of Fortress Hill I decided to give Yes Inn@Causeway Bay a try. Located just across Causeway Bay MTR station and accessible by airport bus A11, Yes Inn is always easy to get to.
Other than location (and free and reliable wifi), what I like most about Yes Inn is the simple yet modern deco and the relaxing atmosphere. At the main reception area there was a pantry with free coffee and tea, refrigerator (remember to label your items unless it's free for all) and even a free massage chair (limited to 15mins)!
And the rooms. Budget accomodation in HK is always going to get you tiny rooms, but now I share this room with a dozen other travellers, men and women. It's a mixed dorm, kind of a first time experience. Each traveller still gets his/her personal space in the form of a mattress with curtains. There's also a cupboard that's electronically locked with your own access card so you can leave the room with a peace of mind.
Triple deck bunk beds line up alongside a narrow corridor.
I'm glad I was allocated a "ground level" mattress, no need to climb up and down the ladder.
Staying in a dorm has its perks; you can easily make friends and socialise. It also means you may have to sleep with the chorus of snores - that night there were 2 such instruments, one of which was from the bed above me.
Hungry, time to get food! No blogpost about HK is ever complete without mentioning food.
Food
The local cafés, known as 茶餐厅🍴, they are everywhere! It's hard to go hungry in HK unless you have very strict diet restrictions....or you ran out of money.
First meal upon arrival, curry beef brisket with rice; and hot coffee.
Baked rice with beef tongue(?!!); and ice coffee.
Dim Sum (点心), a must have in HK. So affordable, even in hotel restaurants; and the best in the world, although some say there are better ones in Vancouver's Chinatown.
凤爪。Chicken feet with Chinese tea (no coffee here).
Don't forget the Street Food! These are stalls that line up along the busy pedestrian walkways,making the already congested footpaths even more congested. There's a good reason why hordes of locals and tourists stop in their tracks for a snack, you can smell them from across the street. These are great takeaway snacks if you don't have time to sit down for a meal; or the cafés are too crowded.
Curry fish balls and bbq cuttlefish.
Shopping - the outdoors
Next, (one of) the main reason for travelling to HK yet again - shopping! Outdoor shopping! I don't mean shopping in the outdoors without a shelter, I mean outdoor products. Back in my tiny island state Singapore, outdoors to the majority means a picnic at the beach and National Service for the men (every year I do Reservists not enough ah, still want to go outdoors and feed mosquitoes?! Siao!) Therefore the outdoor community at home is very small, the small demand leads to small supply with only a few brands willing to make a presence, and they are usually the big international brands that burn a hole in the pockets.
Although HK is probably less populated than Singapore (maybe not with the influx of China Chinese), the outdoor market is huge! Walking down the street, you may stumble upon an outdoor shop selling outdoor stuff from different brands, some of which are unheard of in Singapore. One of my favourite shops, as mentioned in my previous HK post, is RC Outfitters. The Causeway Bay outlet is just across the street from Yes Inn!
Chamonix is in busy Mongkok, now expanded to 3 levels.
25% discount for RC VIP member and 20% discount for Chamonix (promotional period, for most brands).
I was recommended to another outdoor shop by my HK climber friend Melanie (more on her later) it's called Mountain Services Shop @ Fortress Hill MTR, just 2 stops from Causeway Bay. The shop carries mostly Petzl products, specialising in climbing/mountaineering equipment.
Hot pink harness!
HK is supposedly the best place to buy diving equipment, I wonder why as there aren't any famous dive sites in HK, although locals do dive in the seas surrounding the outlying islands. Another HK friend Gloria introduced me to this shop called Diving Adventure, and guess what - it's also across the street from Yes Inn, in the building beside RC!
Bunny Hoodie!
Labour Day Protests
While I was busy shopping, Labour Day protests were well underway in the streets outside. I was later told by Melanie that protests are common during Public Holidays, different groups will apply to the police for "permission" to stage a protest and lobby for their cause. Roads will be closed for them as they walk down the roads shouting their messages and carrying banners and signboards. They will end at the government building in Central where they will hand over their petition letter to the local government.
Here's a group fighting for sex workers' rights.
Bouldering
Met Melanie that evening for a bouldering session. Mel is a recreational climber whose full-time job is a news reporter with the South China Post, which she told me is the only proper English newspaper in HK. Only 24 years of age, but so mature and so cool. She brought me to this dodgy building near Kwai Fong MTR, went up by this dodgy lift and entering this dodgy room. Yes everything is dodgy, but once in the gym a whole new world awaits. That evening nobody else was climbing, not even the manager was around (Mel had the keys to the gym), it felt like a private boulder gym. Th gym also reminded me of the good ol' days of the Climb Asia shophouse before it moved to the current location in Tessensohn. Although the place looks old and smells of stale chalk powder, you can imagine a dozen of climbers hanging out together and climbing, laughing at each other on a normal day. Even the heavily plastered mattresses have got so much character.
There are so many tiles it was easy to get lost while climbing on a route.
Although Hong Kong is small, it boasts of numerous climbing gyms and awesome natural climbing cliffs. According to Mel, the busiest days in the gym are Tuesdays and Thursdays; because most people will climb outdoors on the cliffs on weekends, rest on Monday, then hit the gyms on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Wow.
Lantau Trail (Section 1)
Finally, the highlight of the trip. Lantau Trail is a 70km trail entirely on Lantau Island, therefore the name. Many weekenders go to Lantau to have fun at the beach, cycle, walk, or just to get away from the crowded city. It's kinda like how Pulau Ubin is to Singapore. A few times a year, international top trail runners also gather here for trail races such as Translantau. My objective was more humble, just compete section 1 & 2.
Getting to Lantau is so easy. MTR to Tung Chung station or take a ferry from Central Pier 6. There's even a sky-bridge that links Central and Hong Kong MTR stations to the pier so there's no need to navigate your way through the traffic on the roads below. Getting to the ferry was a simple tap in of your Octopus card, no need to purchase any ticket. The fast craft takes 40min, the slower boat about an hour.
The boats will take you to Mui Wo, which is the start of Lantau Trail. Other than being the start of Lantau Trail, there's another good reason to start from Mui Wo and end at Tung Chung, instead of the opposite; the reason shall be revealed later.
Section 1 is supposedly 2.5km of easy walk, but was far from a walk in the park. Right from the start the upslope increases your elevation, pretty intense if your muscles were not warmed up yet. If you are not very fit (like me) I would suggest walking up the slopes as a warm up.....for bigger monster hills to climb!
Lantau Trail (Section 2)
Section 2 was the first "very difficult" section in Lantau Trail, not difficult to understand why.
If section 1 was the warm up on concrete pavement, section 2 is like "Let the party begin!" The start of the section was unmistakable with the huge bbq site and over-arching sign that says Lantau Trail. Usually such places are the start of numerous trails, be sure to look for the right one.
The start of section 2 was all about stairs....up and up and up. My friend Tifanny, veteran of numerous trail races in HK including Lantau, gave me this advice "just put one foot in front of the other". How true.
"A thousand steps begin with the first."
"Each small step brings you closer to your goal."
I can go on and on. I wonder whether these famous quotes were thought of while the author was panting along the stairs.
Catching a breather and feeling the lactic acid.
With such a steep incline, it wasn't long before I was in the clouds, literally. Looking at the horizontal distance covered on my GPS watch was most disheartening (only 500m?!!); but looking over the cliffs at the view below....totally out of this world!
Feels like in Heaven's realm.
Sneak view of the city below, before the clouds engulfed again.
Better view from a higher point. That's the international airport in the background.
Fancy staying in a holiday chalet in the clouds? Cold and windy though.
A random centipede dragging its tea break (earthworm) around.
Section 2 is 6.5km long and it's 80-90% up slopes and up stairs, at least that's what it felt like! Getting to the summit of Sunset Peak was very tough physically, but it's especially tough on the mind knowing there are a few other more challenging hills to climb in this 70km trail. One day....but not today.
After Sunset Peak, the trail takes you downhill (like finally!) until you reach a road that goes Mui Wo to the south and Tung Chung to the north. Hop on a bus and you're on your way.
The perk of ending your day at Tung Chung is because you can shop at City Square Outlets, lots of sports discount outlets such as Nike, Addidas, Puma, New Balance and Quicksilver. After that you can lug your spoils onto the MTR back to your accomodation.
Last Day
On the 3rd and last day of this short trip, for a quickie workout I decided to go for a Body Pump class @ Fitness First Exchange Square. Body Pump classes in Singapore are usually packed to the fullest, if you arrive late you may not be able to sign up for the class. However in this particular class in HK, there was just 3 of us with the instructor. It was a refreshing change to have so much space in the studio; and the view while working out....FWAH!
Breathtaking view from the studio while working out.
After workout, last minute shopping (yes again, mostly to buy for friends) and A11 to the airport.
Note to self: It can take more than 30mins from the Departure Gate to your Boarding Gate. You will need to take a train to the boarding gates and maybe also a shuttle bus if your gate is far away. Yes I always have to run to catch my flight but this is the first time I arrive just 1min before departure.
Pant pant!
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