July 5 – Journey to the South China Sea

After a lost day of wandering, we decided to give it another shot. We took 2 trains and a bus to get to a place called Sai Kung which is apparently where we needed to go for the hiking trails but when we got off the bus it just seemed like a sleepy old town. There were no English speaking people to help us out and we thought this was once again the beginning of another lost day. We eventually found someone who wrote something in Chinese on a napkin and told us to just give it to a cab driver who would know what it meant. After half an hour in a taxi driving through the middle of nowhere he stopped, pointed to a little trail leading into the forest and said “you out here”. We were told that there should be a small town about an hour into the trail so we decided to go for it as we could always take a cab back to Sai Kung from there. About an hour into the hike we ran into another person who laughed when we asked about cabs and told us there were no roads until the end of the trail, which was about 12 km’s and 5 hours by foot. We had no idea of what lay ahead, where we would end up or if there would even be transport back to Sai Kung once we finished the trail. But going back to the starting point would just lead us to a quiet dirt road with very little traffic so we decided to just go for it and hike the whole thing.

 

After about 2 hours of hiking we reached a clearing high above a gorgeous white sand beach with turquoise water. It was like being in Jamaica - who would have thought that one of the most beautiful beaches on our trip would be found just outside of Hong Kong! And the only way to access it is to either hike for 2 hours like we did, take a boat or fly in on a helicopter - there was actually a helipad on the beach. It was already 4pm when we got there and the only other people in sight were a group docked on their private yacht offshore and a couple who left by helicopter shortly after we arrived. After an hour of swimming in our underwear we decided we should go as it would be getting dark. We somehow veered off the paved trail and were now on a dirt path winding through the jungle without any other person in sight. At this point we started to get nervous as the sun was setting and we still weren’t sure if we were going in the right direction or what would be at the end of the trail. On top of that, we had been told not to do the trail at night because there are poisonous snakes and wild animals in the jungle.  

 

 

 

 

We quickly carried on and soon found our way back onto the paved trail which eventually led to what looked like a fishing village which had been abandoned many years ago. Looking through the windows of the houses we could see that furniture and table settings had been left behind as though the inhabitants left in a hurry. It was starting to get dark and creepy and after another 1.5 hours of walking we reached a paved road at what appeared to be the end of the trail. It was now dark and we had no idea how to get back to Sai Kung so we decided to start walking in the direction we thought we needed to go. After half an hour of walking we reached a bus stop in the middle of the forest and decided we would wait for the bus. All of a sudden Lungi started panicking and pointing towards the forest saying, “oh my god, oh my god, there’s a huge animal coming towards us.” There was some sort of black animal staring and slowly creeping towards us but before I got a good look at what it was, a car drove past and scared it deeper into the forest. We were now alone, in the pitch-dark, in the middle of nowhere with some sort of beast watching us from the forest. We had no place to hide and if this thing decided to come at us, we would be screwed.  

By now all the forest animals and insects were making their noises and freaking us out so I decided to collect some weapons – I grabbed a big stick and bunch of rocks which is all I could find. Another car passed and I tried to flag it down but I guess he wasn’t keen on picking up the sweaty, bearded white guy holding a big stick and giant rock. Finally, after what seemed like hours of waiting in fear, a bus came flying around the corner and saved us from being something’s dinner. Lungi practically hugged the bus driver.

 

 

 

 

An hour of travelling and we were back at the apartment for a quick shower before making our way back to the Ritz which was still open this time. It’s an incredible bar with a magnificent view over the harbour and Hong Kong skyline. The bar is on the 118^th floor and is apparently the highest bar in China (someone even told me the highest in the world). After a long and somewhat scary day, even the $20 beers were delicious.

 

 

 

July 2 – Hong Kong

We arrived in Hong Kong and met up with an old friend of mine, Kyoshi, who’s given us his apartment while we’re here. I heard that apartments in Hong Kong which I can now confirm. If I stand in the middle of his place and stretch my arms out, I can touch both walls – it’s a little like sleeping in a boat cabin. Regardless, it’s very comfortable, in a great location and it’s really nice to be staying in something other than a hotel for a few days.

Kyoshi and his girlfriend

I’ve been looking forward to China for a long time and to seeing what all the fuss is about. Hong Kong is like a bigger, brighter and fancier version of New York, I never thought that was possible. The transportation system is incredibly modern and efficient, the streets are clean, you can pay for almost everything with the swipe of a prepaid cash card and the city itself is just buzzing - you can really feel the energy and the growth. Despite all the modernity and fast pasted growth, there is still a strong presence of the traditional Chinese lifestyle and culture. This makes Hong Kong a very unique place.   

We spent the first couple of days visiting tourist sights. First we caught a boat to a neighbouring island and took a gondola up to a Buddhist monastery called Po Lin, home to the largest Buddha in China and where I had my first taste of roasted pigeon (tasty but not enough meat). We came back to Hong Kong and watched the Symphony of Lights from across the harbour – the symphony of lights occurs every night at 8 pm when the water front buildings put on a light show to the sounds of classical music. Hong Kong’s skyline must be the best in the world; there are hundreds of buildings lit up in different colors bordering the water, mountains in the background, boats in the harbour and a surprising amount of lush green areas sprinkled throughout the city.

 

 

 

 

The following day, we climbed to the top of Victoria Peak which overlooks the skyline from the other side. It was Canada Day so we met up with Kyoshi at work, a wine bar called Palette, and spent a few hours drinking delicious wines before going out with some of his friends in an area called Lan Kwai Fong. Lan Kwai Fong is packed with bars and clubs spread throughout alleyways and stairways climbing up the hill. Given the amount of Canadians here, there were a lot of people out celebrating Canada day. I can’t remember much after the second bar we visited and the whole evening is a bit of a blur so I’m guessing we had a pretty good time.

 

 

Lungi found out about a hiking trail across a mountain to a beach with amazing seafood restaurants so we woke up the next morning, slightly hung-over and decided to find it. We took a ferry out to an island and after an hour of walking around we realized that we were in the wrong place. We decided to go back to the city and explore a bit more but while walking around we got separated and lost each other. I’m not sure where Lungi had gone (and she doesn’t know either) but I spent the next 3 hours walking up and down the streets trying to find her. We were on Hong Kong Island and the apartment was across the harbour so getting back is not easiest thing to do for “Lungi-types”. I eventually decided to head back to the apartment, hoping that she could figure out where it was but when I got there she was nowhere in sight. I went back and forth from the apartment to the train station and finally I ran into her on the street wandering around like a lost puppy. I’m actually pretty impressed that she was able to find her way back.

We then set off to find the Ritz Carlton which is the highest hotel in Hong Kong. After being given the wrong directions and ending up on the wrong side of the harbour we finally found out where it was and ended up walking there as the trains had already stopped running. We arrived at the Ritz at about 1:30am to find out that they had already closed the bar. Today was spent entirely on searching for places and each other.

Hung-over

Some of you will understand