Hiking is a huge part of Hong Kong because of the lush vegetation on all of the islands and the views that you can see of the near by beaches and waterways. There are many different types of hikes that can be done here including early morning hikes to see the sunrise at the top of mountain or late night hikes to see the amazing skyline and buildings. I want to be able to do every hike possible, but since I have never hiked before I have to work my way up to certain hikes because most are very rocky and have a lot of creepy crawlers on the trails, and I don’t do good with bugs (Hong Kong’s massive spiders) and wild animals. However, I want to be able to do as many of them as possible because I know it will be a great experience.
The first hike that I went on was in Sai Wan to the three most popular pools and a very beautiful beach. To get to the hike, we had to take a bus from campus to Sai Kung, where another bus would take us to the Sai Kung East County Park. Before we went to the Park we had breakfast at a small restaurant because you have to wake up early for the hikes and there was no time for us to eat breakfast on campus. It was very delicious! Throughout the shopping area, we saw many dogs and one woman let us play with her dog since she heard us talking about the dog. The people were very friendly in the area and were very happy to talk with us whenever we stopped to pet their dogs. Once we finished exploring the pier in Sai Kung, we got on the bus to the Park to begin our hike.
The drive there was very long. I was very surprised how great the bus and cab drivers are because it was a one-way road for a very long time with traffic coming from both directions, but no accidents have ever happened up in the mountains. It was like they knew when another car or bus was coming from the other direction and they would just stop, so that the other traffic could do through. Once we got off of the bus, we had a 40-minute hike from the drop off location to Sai Wan Village and the beaches. The hike wasn’t so hard at the beginning and the views were amazing. The only problem was that we picked the hottest day to go on the hike, so we were all very, very hot, which made it kind of hard to hike also. Luckily I packed two huge bottles of water and Gatorade for everyone so we could stay hydrated.
Towards the middle of the hike, there was a huge hill that we had to climb. It was very steep, but there were stairs to go up also instead of the flat path to make it a little easier. When we reached the top, we were all winded and had to sit to catch our breaths before we made it down the hill. Going down the hill was worse because it was steeper than coming up the hill. To make it a little easier for us, we followed the locals on the trail and did a small jog down the hill. Along the way, as we got closer to the village, we saw cattle grazing and relaxing in the grass next to the trail. At the end of the trail, we arrived at the beach and it was beautiful. The water was very clear and the breeze coming from the water was refreshing. Before we relaxed at the beach, we hiked some more to the three small pools in the mountains where you can jump off the cliffs into two of them.
To get to these pools, it was very rocky and there was no real trail. We had to follow the rocks and the voices of people to get to them. Once we did it was beautiful and there were many people there enjoying the water. Since it was very crowded, we just stayed at the first pool because it would have been a long wait to jump off of the cliffs. The water was very warm and relaxing. We stayed there for a while and then made our way back to the beach. At the beach, we just relaxed in the water and body surfed, which was fun. After the long hike and sitting in the water for a while, we were very exhausted and hungry. We wanted to take a boat ride back to Sai Kung, so we had to wait an hour for the next boat to come, but it was definitely worth the wait. The views were marvelous, especially since the sun was setting a little. Seeing all the people on their boats having fun with their kids and floaties was nice to see because it showed us that even though the tourists enjoy these areas, the locals know how to really enjoy them.
Sand Writing: Drexel in HK
When we got back we ate dinner at a Michelin Thai restaurant and the food was great, which is definitely why they got Michelin Stars for about 6 years in a row. After dinner, we went to a bakery to buy Bo lo baau (Pineapple Bun). I feel in love with it and I found my new favorite baked good. We shopped around for a little more and then took the bus back to campus. It was a very adventurous day and we enjoyed each moment of it. We got to bond more and just enjoy each other company. The day was worth it and we can’t wait until we do our next hike!
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