Lost on a Mountain

After a lazy Saturday we decided to get up on Sunday and explore the city. The only happenings of yesterday was our first "family" meal. We cooked on the common room hot plates and had a few casual drinks in the dorms. For those of you have stayed in American dorms you're probably shocked at that last fact. Yes, we are allowed to drink in the dorms. Although the security guards are very casual about the presence of alcohol the thought of visitors past 12AM is unthinkable. Visiting hours are extremely strict (I still don't understand all the logic here).

The original plan for the day was to go on a five hour hike at the "Dragon's Back", but that will be saved for another day... we didn't want to wear ourselves out too much especially since school starts tomorrow!

In order to still get a little exercise in we decided to venture into Hong Kong and climb up Victoria's Peak. The peak is a huge tourist attraction but a must do if you visit! Once at the top you have some of the best views of the skyline! After a quick MTR ride into Central we were in the city. Not only were the buildings some of the tallest I'd ever seen, they were also the most oddly shaped!

We followed the signs to the peak and started our adventure for the day. Haley and I made it to the start of the hiking trail and then decided that the climb up looked a little rough so we turned around and bought tickets for the tram (lazy I know). To be fair, we do a lot of walking around here. We justified the tram ride with: 

1. It's a tourist must do

2. We climb up steps all the time

3. Once you get to the top of the peak there is a lot more walking around to do (we didn't want to wear ourselves out too early) 

We got to the top and realized (after the extremely steep ride up) that it was the best $40HK (about $5.50US) we had ever spent! Not only was the tram ride really fun the hikers got lost halfway up and were all really tired and cranky after the climb. Yay for Haley and I! 

Tram tracks

Riding up!

Tram at Victoria's Peak 

Once at the top we waited for the stragglers to join us (it took them an extra 30 minutes)... again best $40HK i've spent so far! The hikers were all hungry after their climb so we went into the shopping mall for lunch. The locals are obsessed with shopping... it seems like every 500ft there is some sort of convenience store or mall. I skipped eating lunch after a very filling breakfast, but Haley and I found an AMAZING place for the rest of the group to sit and eat. We all lounged on the observatory deck of the shopping mall and enjoyed lunch in 60+ degree weather with some of the coolest views in HK.

                        

Casual lunch on a rooftop...

While eating lunch we also got to meet "Snack" the dog...100% serious here we actually met a dog named snack. For those of you familiar with Asian cuisine the name was a little ironic but hilarious. 

After lunch we walked around the observatory deck and got an awesome view of Victoria Harbour. Paul also took the chance to shotgun a quick beer in probably one of the coolest locations ever. 

All the lounging around and eating made us all think that a short hike would help burn off some of the calories. All of the food here is either extremely greasy or you are served all carbs I don't think healthy options really exist. I'm not sure what the secret is but all of the locals are still stick skinny.

"Short" Hiking Group

Excited at the beginning of the hike

 

What was supposed to be a 30 minute hike turned into a 2.5-3 hour climb across the entire mountain. That's right there were about 15 white people lost on a mountain. For Haley and I the hike was quite enjoyable (remember we took the tram up) for the other 13 in our group an additional 3 hour climb was a little less pleasant. Although there were times when we questioned whether or not we would ever find a way out (those of us with water and food started thinking about how to ration for the night), we finally started climbing down and ended up at a random bus stop on the other side of town. Despite the mishap, the double decker bus ride home revealed a little more of this fabulous city and made for a lot more memorable day.

We found a waterfall!

Some of the views

Tired on our first double decker bus ride

 We finally returned home to City U 7 hours later. Most of us crashed for the night and were ready to tackle the first day of class here in Hong Kong!