A three hour tour

Yesterday afternoon I hiked up to the observation tower of Victoria Peak. It was a spurious decision that was born out of a need to explore without having any kind of concrete plan. Following instructions, I took a series of outdoor escalators up to the base of the park area and from there began to climb a series of concrete steps. I stopped counting at 350. These steps soon gave way to a concrete path that switchbacked up the side of the mountain. It has been raining for days because of the typhoon and if it hadn't been raining, I'm quite sure that it would have been so disgustingly hot that I would have turned around and gone home. But as it was I didn't see a single soul for the first 45 minutes. In fact, I started to get concerned that I would take a wrong turn and have to walk the entire way back without actually getting anywhere in the first place. But as luck would have it I ran into another hiker, 60-year old Roselyn and we accompanied each other for the next half hour or so up the main path that circles the top of the mountain. She pointed me in the direction of the scenic route around the mountain to the observation deck and I then happily followed the edge of the path around for another 45 minutes. I had gone so far that I was beginning to think that I had again lost my way. The path took me beside massive estates belong to the extremely wealthy and along the way I stopped to read the information posts about the flora and fauna of the area. I wasn't worried about getting lost exactly, but the path system is such that once you commit to a certain path, there is no going back unless you turn around. Just as I was losing faith (again) I asked some hikers where the tram terminus was and of course it was literally another 30 seconds along the path I was following.

In this country at this time of year it is a good idea to carry a change of shirt so after I cleaned myself up a bit, I enjoyed a victory latte in the coffee shop. I have to say that after walking up the hiking path and seeing hardly a soul and being surrounded by lush greenery and the calls of strange birds, the kitch of the tourist trap that is the Peak Tower Plaza seemed particularly garish and harsh to me. I rode the tram down and the entire decent took only 10 minutes. It's a very steep tram.

I hadn't really planned on hiking for a couple of hours and I felt very much done for the day when I returned home. So I did something that I think every tourist needs to do at least once here. I had a foot massage while breathing incense and reading my novel in a dark room. Releasing the tension in feet, ankles and lower legs left my ankles aching and I spent a quit night in the apartment with rain absolutely pouring outside. I think I have been as fortunate as possible with the weather here since it has been so unstable. I was able to get to Lamma for those couple of hours when it was sunny right before the typhoon clouded the sky. I got a day in at the beach, and like I said, the rain takes the edge off the heat. In Hong Kong at this time of year the rain and the air are warm so getting rained on is not the bone-chilling experience that it can be at home.

Web check-in for tomorrow's flight to Japan is done. The next post I make, will be from Tokyo.

Thanks for reading.