dumplingtravel-blog

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Night hike - Mount Parker, Mount Butler and Siu Ma Shan

I work in Quarry Bay but hadn’t realized there was a network of hiking routes lurking in the peaks behind the labyrinthine Swire complex. The plan was to explore this area by replicating a route I’d seen online, and to do it after work.

The route was this: ​ Greig Road > Hong Pak Trail > Mt Parker Road > Jacob’s Ladder > Mt. Butler > Siu Ma Shan > Radio Mountain > Cecil’s Ride > Braemar Hill. It had been billed online as “Easy Night Hike”.

We met at 6.30pm at Tai Koo MTR exit B. Cathy didn’t bring any water, I had forgotten my socks, and it was drizzling. Things were off to a great start!

We headed to the top of Greig Road (below), and followed the pink sign post giving directions to the Wilson Trail Section 2. 

From here, we quickly found our way onto the Hong Pak Trail, a woodland loop. For the first hour, we were walking in dusk as the tower blocks of Quarry Bay twinkled behind us. One Island East presided over Quarry Bay, like the ICC of East Hong Kong.

This path eventually brought us out onto Mount Parker Road, a wide lick of concrete that slopes up Mount Parker until arriving at a clearing, an intersection of hiking trails.

Here we briefly took the wrong turn, accidentally rejoining Mount Parker Road, missing the signposts for Jacob’s Ladder. This wasted about 15 minutes of our time, as we were well on our way to Tai Tam Reservoir before we turned back.

Jacob’s Ladder. This was the most challenging part of the hike. By now it was very dark and we were using our phone torches to guide the way (I also forgot my headlamp). In more exposed parts of the hike light pollution had illuminated the paths, but not here. 

Snake watch intensified but all we saw were petrified frogs.

After about 15 minutes of steep uphill we arrived at the summit of Mount Butler. By now the rain was lashing and I took a hellish photo of the trig.

Soon after this we joined Section 2 of the Wilson Trail. On another night this would have been beautiful: panoramic look downs on the entire of Hong Kong are available. But it was misty and raining. We took pictures quickly and carried along the mountain top, feeling exposed as the wind howled.

As we passed over Siu Ma Shan parts of the trail had been redirected due to “soil repairment”. Very Hong Kong. Coming off Siu Ma Shan was simply stunning. I want to revisit this section of trail in the day time, or even better at sunset. It offered one of the most unobscured views of Hong Kong and Kowloon – with just swathes of greenery in the foreground.

This path eventually leads to the Mount Butler HF Radio Receiving Station. That place is creepy as hell. Lanky metal masts swayed menacingly in the wind. Prison-like barbed wire protected eerie looking buildings. We moved through this spot fast.

We’d been hiking for nearly 3 hours. Cathy had had no dinner. I’d gotten blisters from the lack of socks. We were looking forward to getting off the mountains.

On the right handside of the road, on a bend on Sir Cecil’s Ride, there is a narrow path that sharply comes down the mountain. After about 15 minutes this deposited us back to reality: Braemer Hill and the Chinese International School.

We’d walked 13.42km in 3 hours and 1 minute, made an elevation gain of 690 meters and apparently burned 692 calories. With that news, we went home to eat chocolate!

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Hike Mount Stenhouse on Lamma Island

At 350 meters above sea level, Mount Stenhouse is the highest point on Lamma.

People often complain Hong Kong hiking trails are concrete paths. Mount Stenhouse is the perfect antidote to this. The mountain isn’t marked on Google Maps, there are no concrete trails winding up to its peak, and we didn’t see another hiker the whole way (amazing for a public holiday on Lamma).

The first time we attempted to hike Mt Stenhouse we failed. The MyMapHK app showed a wild trail leading up it from Sok Kwu Wan that we attempted to follow. 

The beginning of the trail was littered with aggressive red signs warning against angry dogs that had blocked the way. We didn’t see any dogs, but the trail we found was barely a trail: the vegetation was up to our waists, and as we got further up the mountainside it disappeared. We took the only possible way forward, and soon were clambering over huge rocks. The GPS showed we were way off track from where the trail used to be. Finally, we came up against a huge rock, twice our height. On the other side was a massive drop we weren’t sure we could scale if we needed to turn back. 

We gave up, and I lost a $200 bet with a friend who had wagered that we couldn’t find the way up Stenhouse.

The challenge was on! The following weekend we returned to the mountain, with a new route and a new bet: double or quits. If we succeeded this time, I’d clear my debt. If I didn’t, I’d owe $400. And we had to find the trig.

So the hike: We followed the family trail from Yung Shue Wan to Sok Kwu Wan. As we arrived in SKW, we turned right up the public staircase located just before the Tin Hau temple ahead of the main drag of seafood restaurants.

For about 20 minutes, we followed the staircase until it brought us out on a hillside. To the left, there’s another staircase, winding over Ling Kok Shan, and in front there is a viewing pavilion. To the right of the viewing pavilion, there is a dirt track which is the start of the trail.

Initially the path is quite well-trodden, a dirt red line cutting through the shrubs. After about 30 minutes, it gets deeper into the hillside, and steep. Some parts were extremely slippy.  

The views were amazing, continually offering a new perspective on Lamma. Yung Shue Wan and SKW, I realised, are bunched together on the first half of the island, and beyond that a rugged green carpet has been rolled out. 

We’d chosen a really hot day for it. It was 29 degrees and we were constantly reapplying factor 50 suncream as sweat stung our eyes. But as we got higher up the mountain, amazing views of Sham Wan came into view, looking more like Thailand than Hong Kong, making it worth it.

About an hour after leaving the viewing pavilion, we reached what we had thought would be the summit. But on our left there was now a higher peak. And seen as Stenhouse is the highest on Lamma, we knew we had to keep going. At this point, helpful yellow ribbons started appearing, tied onto the trees. These are markers for the trig, so follow them.

We ascended the final peak, and at first we turned right, but that took us to a dead end: a huge rock. So we doubled back on ourselves, and headed for the peak.

The final piece of the puzzle is a sort of ring road, shrouded in shrubs, at the top. We followed the yellow ribbons through this, and then up over an exposed rock path and suddenly were at the trig. The view from the very top is a bit obscured by trees, so get your best pictures about 10 minutes before that.

We loaded up on mango mochi, water and crisps before descending. 

Here’s another tip: bring some string or plastic. There is a tree by the trig where hikers tie a piece of material to mark their achievement. I only had a scruffy bit of white plastic in my rucksack, but that did the job.

We came down the mountain the way we came up, and it took about an hour back to the pavilion. Thankfully we didn’t see any snakes -- or wildlife in general. Stenhouse seemed devoid of animals other than birds and bugs.

Once off the mountain, we went to SKW for deep-fried squid balls and carried on to The Bay at Mo Tat Wan, for clams, flaming prawns, duck and smoked salmon. Too tired to walk back to YSW, we got a san pan home for $350.  From YSW to the trig and down to SKW had taken us about 4 hours, and offered some of the best, most peaceful hiking views we’d seen in Hong Kong.

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Sunset Peak - Lantau Trail Section 2

We took a 10 minute blue cab ride from Mui Wo to the beginning of Section 2 of the Lantau Trail. The weather was fine. We were wearing factor 50 sunscreen. Everything looked good.

The hike kicks off with a sharp ascent up steep steps, which initially passes a helipad, and lasts for about an hour. 

As we got higher up the mountain, the weather quickly changed, becoming incredibly misty.

At some parts of the trail we couldn’t see people 20 meters in front of us, and condensation from the weather was forming droplets on our hair.

It took about an hour to do the hard climbing then the terrain levelled out, and became easier on the feet.

Towards the top of the mountain, we began to pass abandoned stone buildings, which presumably once belonged to a remote farming community (the trail is littered with large poops indicating that once-farmed animals do still roam these mountainsides).

Soon after passing these houses we reached the actual peak. There was no view whatsoever, but it was fun to be up there in the eerie, horror movie-esque atmosphere.

The descent was a sharp downhill drop, following a set of stones that were becoming slippery in the rain.

After 2 hours we reached the bottom of the mountain, and the end of Section 2. Plans to climb Lantau Peak (section 3) afterwards were abandoned due to weather in favour of going to Mavericks in Pui O.

We followed the main road to Mavericks, which took about another hour. My step counter said we’d done 18k by the time we got there (which included my walk to the Lamma and Mui Wo ferries that morning).

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Mui O to Pui O - Lantau Trail Section 12

We took the 11.10am ferry from Central to Mui Wo. After getting off the ferry, we turned left past McDonalds, and walked for 5 minutes along the road that hugs the coast. After the Water Services Department, there’s a yellow sign indicating the path where Section 12 of the Lantau trail begins.

The trail is fairly flat to begin with.

Looking out to the left, we could see Hei Ling Chau, Peng Chau and Kowloon in the distance. 

After 10 minutes, the trail starts to climb Pak Fu Tin,  and the views across the bay get better.  

About midway through the hike there are some moderately challenging uphill sections. Enough to get you sweating but not to get you panting.

Above, are some nice views of Chi Wa Man. From here we began to descend and make our way to Pui O. 

After 2.5 hours of very casual walking we made it to Pui O. The sign posts say this section of the trail should take 3 hours, but I think it could easily be done in 2 with a little bit of pace. 

In short, it’s a nice moderate hike that ends up on a beautiful beach. We rounded off with a late lunch at Mavericks.

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Poon Hill Trek - Pokhara, Nepal

Since watching “Everest” the film in a rowdy cinema in Guangzhou a couple of years ago, I’d wanted to hike in the Himalayas. We didn’t have much time in Nepal, definitely not enough to go to any of the base camps, so the Poon Hill hike was a good, shorter option. It goes into the Annapurna range, and at the summit was said to offer spectacular vistas. Some blogs recommended doing the hike in 6 days, but we didn’t have that much time, and wanted to do it in 4.

From Kathmandu, we took a light aircraft to the lakeside town of Pokhara. The flight was 30 minutes and saved us an 8-hour bus journey. Glad we didn’t read up on Simrak Airlines’ safety record beforehand.

DAY ONE

After spending a night in Pokhara, we headed to Nayapal where the hike begins. We’d already gotten our 2 permits sorted in Kathmandu, and had hired a guide called Mukti, recommended to us by our hotel. We agreed to pay him $22 per day to guide us, which would include his food and accommodation.

We set off early, and the hike began following the Modi River along some fairly easy paths.  

After about an hour and a half, we stopped for lunch -- fried noodles with chicken. Pretty tasty, and Mukti encouraged us to fuel-up, as the afternoon held the dreaded “3,000 steps”.

On the way to the 3,000 stairs there were lots of other steps which we were disappointed (and a little concerned) to hear weren’t included in that stair count. About 1.5 hours after lunch we finally reached the steps and began our ascent.

The scenery at this point was nice, but definitely not nice enough to make you want to climb 3,000 steps at high altitude.  

After about an hour, we reached the top and arrived at the Super View Guest House in Ulleri. As soon as we stopped walking I became freezing cold, and no amount of layers could stop me shivering, as my clothes were wet with sweat. Thankfully this was one of the few places we stayed at on the hike to have hot water and a hot shower sorted me out.

At night it gets extremely cold. The hotel lit a fire and after dinner I went to bed at 7.30pm. The beds did not feel the cleanest.

DAY TWO

When woke up at 6am, the sun was coming up and out of the bedroom window the Annapurna had finally come into view. One side of snowy, sculpted mountain looked as though it was being set alight by the red sunrise.

We had breakfast at 7am -- banana pancakes and soupy noodles, with the ubiquitous mountain milk tea -- on the roof of our hostel (above) taking in the gorgeous view. At about 8am we set off. Today was 3 to 4 hours of walking to Ghorepani. 

Mainly we were gently walking up-hill. Along the way we caught glimpses of the Fishtail, and other snowy mountains, when the cloud coverage passed. Generally the scenery today was much more interesting.

From this point, all goods were being transported by donkeys. And approaching Ghorepani it became impossible to buy bottled water: for environmental reasons, tourists were expected to refill their bottles with natural filtered water. Worried about getting sick, we were reluctant to do this. Until we reached Pokhara, I lived off milk tea, beer and bottled Sprite. Jerome tried the water and did not get ill.

After 3 hours, we arrived in Ghorepani. A bleak hilltop town which is the base for most travellers hoping to ascend Poon Hill at sunrise.

We dumped our bags at the highest hotel in Ghorepani then  had some delicious momos at a local snack shack, and enjoyed a beer at a restaurant. For a moment, the cloud cover passed and we were left with an amazing view of the mountain range.  

The whole town had a power cut, so we couldn’t charge our phones or use any wifi, but thanks to a clever fire heating system there was a warmish shower at the hotel.

That night, we had dinner at the hotel: I had vegetarian Thali and the hotel owner kindly served us red wine and told us about how hard it is for Nepalese to get tourist visas. We went to bed at 8pm. 

DAY THREE

We woke up at 5am. Pitch black outside. Freezing. We had gone to bed in all our clothes and just added an extra few layers to go outside. I’d never seen so many stars in a night sky: bright bullets of light punctuated every piece of black space.

Coming past our hotel were dots of light we knew were torches. Using our phone torch, we set out for Poon Hill. From the outset it was steep uphill, and a real shock to the system at 5am. After about an hour of uphill we arrived. 

As sun started to rise, we realised that majestic mountains had been hiding in the darkness -- watching them gradually come to life was genuinely amazing. All around us Himalayan giants came so clearly into view. Luckily the cloud had finally lifted. All our climbing was with it. 

We remained on the hill for an hour before it got too cold. Back at the hotel, warm porridge and milk tea were waiting and the lack of cloud revealed that our hotel terrace had a stunning, clear view of the Annapurna. Power resumed so we loaded up on wifi.

About 9am we set off. Today we had 9 hours of hiking to do. The first leg of the morning was a hike as steep a climb as Poon Hill, and at the top of that mountain the view was just as good if not better than atop Poon Hill. 

Then we started walking through forest, and slowly coming down the mountainside -- although there were sections where we’d climb down a steep path, only to have to walk back up an equally strenuous one an hour later.

We paused for lunch, and then persisted. We passed by Tadpani, without taking note, and pressed on for Ghandruk, finally arriving at 5pm, very sore, thoroughly tired and unimpressed to learn our hotel was out of hot water.

We satisfied ourselves with momos, Everest beer and turned in early.

DAY FOUR

We were up at 7am for breakfast. We only had 3 hours of walking this morning until we'd reach the town from where we could catch a jeep transfer back to Nayapal. Views of the snowy mountains had gone, and we were sore. 

The views coming down the mountain were beautiful. Rice paddies, and clusters of improbable villages clinging to shelves on the mountainside. 

By the time we reached Pokhara both of our legs ached so much it hurt to even walk down stairs, or cross our legs or bend over. The 12 hours of walking on day 3 was quite tough! But we agreed we’d still rather have done that than spend 5 days completing the hike, as the sleeping conditions were quite tough, and it was so cold.

The aches went after a couple of days (and good massages) and the memories of those views will stay with me forever.

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Yung Shue Wan to Luk Chau - Lamma Wild Trails

A few months ago, someone on Instagram recommended that I download the MyMapHK app. It features old maps of Hong Kong from the 19th century, a very comprehensive map of contemporary Hong Kong -- Google Maps, for example, can’t locate specific houses in Lamma villages, whereas this map can navigate to any front door -- and it also outlines lots of small, unnamed wild trails.

From our home in Yung Shue Long Old Village, we joined the Snake Path that runs around the back of Yung Shue Wan, at the Fire Station, and headed past Open Space (above) up towards Cable Road, one of the biggest roads on Lamma. We cut over Cable Road, and followed a trail that led almost directly to Lamma Winds.

At Lamma Winds, on the right hand side of the road above the MyMapHK app shows 3 paths forking off east. We took the middle path, which leads to a pavilion look-out point. At the top right corner of this clearing, there is a vague track. We got onto that and began making our way through the bushes. The trail is very faint, but in most places it is clearly a wild trail, and offers lovely coastal views.

From there we moved forward along trails with red earth, going right over the top of the nearest mountain, which is unnamed on the map. At some places as we approached the summit the shrubs became very think and the trail barely discernible. 

After the summit, we started to veer left a little, and came to the beautiful little spot below where some considerate soul has laid out 2 chairs for tired walkers.

Rather than drop down into Lo Tik Wan, we kept following the trail straight (ish). This took us over some really remote, almost bleak hillsides that I annoyingly didn’t take any pictures of. If you want to lose yourself from the madding crowd -- specifically, the throngs on the Family Trail -- this route is great.

When Luk Chau came into view on the map, we started to descend quite sharply, having joined a concrete track that winds down the hillside to the coast. Lots of ancestral graves are around this area.

Eventually, we came down into Luk Chau, a coastal village with fish farms like those in Sok Ku Wan (the next bay over). A man carrying papayas he’d plucked from a local tree greeted us. The houses in Luk Chau are rustic and there is a beautiful European style home, built nearly 100 years ago, that today is derelict.

We were going to follow the same wild trails back to Yung Shue Wan but as we left Luk Chau the heavens opened, and many of the trails we’d followed here wouldn’t have been safe to attempt without the proper gear in the rain.

As such, at the top of that concrete path that had taken us into Luk Chau we hooked onto another concrete path that joined the Family Trail about 20 minutes from Hung Shing Yue beach. 

The hike had taken us about 2 hours and hadn’t been particularly strenuous, but had been something of an adventure. Dumplings were consumed.

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Park View to Stanley hike - Wilson Trail Section 1

At a friend’s birthday last December, Christy and I had pledged to hike the Wilson and Lantau Trails in 2017. After weeks of chilly weather, on Jan 22 we embarked on our first hike of the year: Stage 1 of the Wilson Trail, Stanley Gap to Park View.

We decided to do the hike starting from Park View, to enjoy the best views of Stanley when coming off the Twins.

We took a taxi to the lay-by at Park View (all cab drivers know this location) and began our hike by crossing the road, walking right a few meters and heading up the trail signposted here.

The beginning is quite a steep ascent of Violet Hill, following rugged mountain paths. Looking back, you can glimpse the high-rises of Central and TST shimmering distantly in the winter sun. Later, there are wonderful views of Tai Tam Reservoir.

There’s a fairly steep descent of Violent Hill for about 30 minutes (pictured below, looking back). We were fairly demoralised by this -- after all, what goes down must go up on this trail! 

Finally, we crossed a stream via a small bridge to reach the foot of the first of the Twins, where famously you have to climb 1,000 steps. 

Note: if by this point you’re feeling tired, you can choose to circumnavigate the Twins by taking the flat road to the right, rather than pressing forward, and this path will still take you to Stanley Gap.

We decided to face the challenge and I started up the steep steps. Christy prefers to hike uphill slow and steady whereas I find it easier to do uphill quickly (and it’s better cardio, I suppose), so I pressed ahead. When I reached the top (below) I was slightly disappointed. Thick shrubbery means there isn’t a look-out point and the view isn’t worth all that upheaval.The second peak of the Twins is nowhere near as tough, but again after surmounting it there isn’t that “wow” view.

That comes later. 

As we turned the corner, we were suddenly brought out onto an exposed mountain face, where crude stone steps lead you down into Stanley. The views here are absolutely breathtaking. The whole of Stanley is spread out before you.

It takes about 25 minutes to get off this mountainside, and the hike ends at Stanley Gap. There’s a bus station here where we caught a ride into Stanley Town and headed for the Boathouse restaurant.

The hike had taken us 2 hours, and left me surprisingly sunburned in January! Cocktails and chips were consumed. 

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Shek Pik to Tai O via Fan Lau Fort hike (Lantau Trail sections 7 & 8)

We took a blue taxi from Mui Wo out to the stunning Shek Pik reservoir and began our hike at the end of the Lantau Trail Section 8, intending to end up in Tai O for dinner. The aim of the day was to find the abandoned fort at Fan Lau, built in the 1700s to ward off pirates.

The first hour of the trail was a bit dull. We followed a flat concrete road, which would have an amazing coastal view if not for thick trees on the left side.

Things got interesting after the sign above. At this point we left the Lantau Trail, and hopped onto the Fan Lau Country Trail -- a stone path that snakes off onto the Fa Lau peninsula, the most south-western point of Hong Kong. Off the concrete and onto dirt tracks with great views, this started to feel like proper hiking!

The Fan Lau trail dipped into a valley, then up a steep hill offering amazing views of Kau Ling Chung beach, as we looked back.

As the trail wrapped around the peninsula head, we came down onto Fan Lang Tun Wang beach, which was strewn in plastic from the ocean.  

At the end of the beach another stone path took us back into the hills and past some odd, statuesque stone formations. I thought the one below was likely to be a manmade ancient worship site, J thought it was likely to be natural. Debate amongst yourselves. 

About 10 minutes after this we arrived at the fort, which J described as akin to “something we’ve seen 100 times before in England.” Which is true. But it’s novel to see something very old that’s pre-colonial in Hong Kong. Not much of the fort remains now, but at one time it had 8 cannons and was protected by nearly 40 soldiers. We agreed it’d be a great spot for an illegal rave.

It had taken us about 2 hours to get here. After this, the trail passes by a “stone circle” which we didn’t stop for (very self explanatory as to what it is), and the trail descended the mountain onto Fan Lau Miu Wan, which is a lovely bay, backdropped by an abandoned village, where furniture and pots in some of the homes are being reclaimed by nature.

As the sun set on the beach, a man with a fishing net swam out into the ocean to catch dinner.

Speaking of dinner, at this point we started to get hungry and the one shop on this beach was closed. So we headed through the village up back onto the Fan Lau Country Trail, catching a lovely view of the Tin Hau Tempe, before rejoining the Lantau Trail at Section 7.  

About 45 minutes later, we came off the mountain side and arrived on flat land and into Yi O. The trail thins here and a recently opened-up brick wall is a hallmark of a dispute that meant for a while hikers couldn’t pass through Yi O, due to locals claiming that it crossed onto private land, and so the trail had to be diverted. Today, Yi O is back on the trail and tourists are camping out on the farmland. Controversial plans are afoot to build a hotel and spa here.

As the sun started to set we accelerated our pace towards Tai O, where a seafood feast awaited us. After 4 hours of hiking at about 7pm, we finally stumbled into the village very sore and very hungry. Most restaurants were already on last orders.

We ordered 2 Tsingtao and a plate of deep fried peeing shrimp and toasted a successful day out.