Wild Hong Kong touring Dragon's Back

Seems that Google fixed my Blogger problem. That was quick; just 1 day after I reported it. Would have been nice if they would have let me know however. But hey, Blogger is free so, I can't complain too much.

Anyhow, here are some developments of late: I have gotten a few requests to organize hiking tours and while I can do this, this is certainly not the focus of this blog. I figured it would be better to leave that part to the pros.

So, when I got a new follower a few months back under the name "Wild Hong Kong", I was curious and did some Googling. Happens to be the Hong Kong Eco-Tour business of Rory Mackay, who specializes in Hong Kong hiking, kayaking, cycling, and canyoning tours.

I met Rory and told him there was an opportunity for mutual benefit in what I was doing with HikeHongKong and what he built with WildHongKong.
Hence the referral to his site. 
In the end, I get a cut (full disclosure) and you get a discount (5%)

However, before I could recommend Rory's tour, I wanted to make sure I tried them myself. So I did this past Sunday. It has been raining like crazy for the past 2 weeks so we were lucky for clear skies, which is best for Dragon's Back.

Right off the minibus stop, weather was perfect. Not too hot.

Admiring the view of Shek-O beach from Dragon's Back (Rory on the right)

Postcard-perfect view on a sunny day

As I said, it's been raining hard for pretty much every day and streams which are usually trickles were full

I found Rory's tour to be very nice; he obviously knows the trails, but he was also very knowledgeable in answering questions the group had about Hong Kong, the various sights we would encounter, and about the flora and fauna (I learned a few things myself about these gigantic spiders that we sometimes see on the trails. No worries though, they keep to themselves).

All-in-all, a great day and probably the best way to have a condensed "best of Hong Kong's outdoors" experience for a person or a group visiting Hong Kong.

If you are in Hong Kong for a few days, plan a tour with Rory to see the wild side of Hong Kong that is less frequently covered by the tourists (the more frequently covered wild side being Lan Kwai Fong, but that's another story altogether)

Instructions to get the Wild Hong Kong discount:
When you have decided on a tour, proceed to booking by clicking on 'Make a Booking', fill out all the required information, and then make sure to use your HikeHongKong discount/promo code HIKEHONGKONG2016 in the field 'Promotional Code' at the bottom right of the page. This will get you a 5% discount on your tour.

Discovery Bay to Mui Wo

(Updated 2019-APR-15)

Duration: 

2 hours

Difficulty: 

7/10. There's a 20 minutes/120 meters climb that's a bit painful when it is very hot (I did it a 33c/90% humidity)

Cel phone coverage: Partial.

Water needs: 1.5 liter.

Appreciation: 9/10. Great views. Monastery is interesting.

Map & Details: n/a

Exercise Area: No

Transportation: Take the ferry to Discovery Bay and the ferry back from Mui Wo.

Why it's worth it: 

Great views, nice beach, shopping and restaurants on both ends.Turkish food at Bahce.

Take the Discovery Bay ferry from the Central pier. You'll be there in about 30-40 minutes.

Right off the ferry, hang out left along the pier.

We'll keep going along the pier for about 100 meters.

Turn right to get to the main road.

At the main road, turn left.

Follow the main road.

As the road dips and merges, cross it and walk towards the bay side road. But be watchful that you do not take the bay side road. Right as you get to the road, there's a gatekeeper's cabin.

You want to head out right behind the cabin and through the fence. You will see a small beach there.

Follow the path by the beach.

You'll see a sign post. Go towards Mui Wo via the Trappist monastery.

Gets a little bit tricky as you get to the little village. Follow the visual cues here (and the arrows)

Hang out left.

Left again.

At this point, it's pretty much just following the path.

Banana plantations.

Go through that house's veranda. Yes, it's not a private path; it's just that the owner build over public space so, don't feel too bad about going through what looks like his home.

Another little village.

You'll eventually get to a larger road. Turn right into it. That's where the ascending part of the hike starts.

You arrive at the monastery, which can be recognized by the blue bridge leading to it. If you feel like it, it's a nice little break. Have a little visit but stay quiet. Once you are done. keep going on the road, going up.

At the crossroads, stay in the middle and you'll see the foot path going on...

... with a sign post announcing that you are indeed on the right way.

Now, at the point when you are in sight of the Chinese gazebo, you can climb up for the view (very nice) or take a right through an "uncharted" path through the bushes which bypasses the climb. But, if you went that far, why no enjoy the view? Once you soaked in the view, it's a long and scenic way down. After another 20 or so minutes, you'll see Mui Wo in the distance with the ferry pier marking the end-point of your trek. You're still about 45 minutes away.

Turn right at the bottom of the stairs. From that point on, there should be no problem finding your way to the ferry pier. Make a stop at Bahce for great Turkish food before you ferry back to Central. After a nice hike in the sun, I suggest a nice jug of sangria.

Sheung Wan

(Updated 2019-APR-15)

Duration: 

1 hour

Difficulty: 

1/10. Flat

Cel phone coverage: Full

Water needs: 0.5 liter

Appreciation: 8/10 if you want to soak in the culture

Map & Details: 

Exercise Area: No

Transportation: Start from the Sheung Wan MTR station, exit 'B'.

Why it's worth it: 

Go when the stores are open. You'll see a bit of what's typical of Hong Kong. A few key historic sites. Do some antiques shopping.

1. Western Market: Edwardian Building built in the early 20th century. You can get in a browse the various shops.

Once you're done, make your way to the Wing Lok street and check out the Bird's Nest and Ginseng shops.
Keep going until you reach DesVoeux road. At DesVoeux/Queens/Ko Shing, you'll see an escalator going up a building. That's a hot food market. If you haven't had lunch, you may want to pause and mingle with the local for cheap fares in an unfamiliar setting.

Once your belly is full, come back down and keep going on DesVoeux where you will find many dried seafood shops. Step in and have a look if your nose can tolerate. Dried seafood is used in many of the everyday Cantonese dishes.
Upon arriving at Ko Shing Street, turn left onto it. You will discover tons of herbal medicine shops. If anything ails you, there might even be a local Chinese doctor to recommend some highly "fragrant" concoction to make you better. Keep walking to WoFung road, then via Wo Fung to Hollywwod Road. "Hollywood Road was the second road to be built when the colony of Hong Kong was founded, after Queen's Road. It was the first to be completed. Some people think that the road was named after the box-office success of the illustrious movieland flick, The World of Suzie Wong. In fact the road was put up early in 1844, at least forty years before the more famous Hollywood in California was settled. It was named after Hollywood, the family home of Hong Kong's second British governor, Sir John Francis Davis, near Bristol, England. " (Wikipedia)

2. Possesion Point.
Walk a little bit on Holliwood until you reach Possession Point (now Hollywood Road Park). "The area is where Commodore James Bremer, commander-in-chief of the British forces in China, took formal possession of Hong Kong on 26 January 1841." (Wikipedia)
Now, stop and think for a minute that Possession Point used to be on the coast! That's land reclamation for you!

On Holywood Road, you will find a myriad on antiques shops. Take your time to explore. Although unaffordable for most people, those treasures are worth a look.

3. ManMo Temple
Strolling along Hollywood, you will reach the ManMo temple; "A Man Mo Temple or Man Mo Miu (traditional Chinese: 文武廟) is a temple for the worship of the civil or literature god Man Tai (文帝) / Man Cheong （文昌） and the martial god Mo Tai (武帝) / Kwan Tai (關帝). The two gods were popularly patronized by scholars and students seeking progress in their study or ranking in the civil examinations in the Ming and Qing dynasties." (Wikipedia)

From this point on, I suggest you keep going on Hollywood and visit more of those antiques shops, until you reach the escalator. If time permits, you can visit the old Police Station and its prison, or go up the escalator to SoHo for drinks before dinner, or down towards the MTR and the IFC mall and ferry pier.