We had to pull ourselves from the cool comforts of our bedroom that afternoon. But we all agreed we’d be going to Victoria Peak, Hong Kong’s tallest mountain, for sundown. So off to the streets we went with map in hand to find our way to the peak. As always, one of the first few things to learn when in a new place is their mode of transportation, and now’s a good time to learn how Hong Kong’s transport system works.
Hong Kong’s myriad transport system can be intimidating at first but once you figure out the basics of it all, it’s quite easy to navigate around Hong Kong with a good map in hand. Hong Kong also has this Octopus Card which you can reload and use on different forms of transports like Buses, MTR (Metro Transit Railway) and even buying stuffs at 7-11 Stores. If you’re gonna stay here for more than a week or you’ll find yourself in back in HK several times in the future the Octopus Card would be real handy. I didn’t get one since I’m only here for a few days. I just made sure I have loose change in my pocket since buses don’t actually give a change.
We walked some lengths and asked around to find the right bus stop for Bus 15 which goes all the way up to Victoria Peak. We did find it shortly with some local pointing us to the right direction. We opted to take the bus since it’s much cheaper at HK$10 one way than taking the HK$33 dollars roundtrip via the Peak Tram. Besides the view along the bus route is just awesome. We passed along the prime residences there which I’m sure the owners paid for handsomely for the cool temperature and stunning views from their houses.
The Bus 15 dropped us at the Peak Galleria Mall terminal. Again it took our time to find the Peak Tower as the Galleria is literally in the way. We had to enter Galleria up to the view deck to find our way to the wok-shaped top of the peak tower. At the Peak Tower we had to pay HK$25 for the top floor access. Passing by several floors of shops selling electronic goodies and some restaurants we arrived at the viewing deck, and as expected, the place is crowded.
At 400meters above sea level according to my GPS while atop the Peak Tower, I thought it really isn’t that high but the views are really worth the visit. And oh, it’s good we brought along our jackets because the wind chill really bites, made me feel like my cheeks where thicker than it should be. For the heck of it, I tried sticking my head out from the glass rail and felt the colder wind shooting up from the surface.
As the sun goes down the views gets better. On the West are scenes of numerous ships and boats plying the West Kowloon harbour where the sun sets along with the fading gradients of the outlying islands. Looking up north, we see the familiar skyline along Victoria Harbor, the favourite subject of people when taking photos there, especially when all the buildings light up. People could catch the light show happening there every night at 8pm, but we decided to go by our tummies and find a good place to eat. Good thing we stumbled upon Mak’s Restaurant (Check out happyfoodies entry) at Galleria then ended with a delicious crepe before we made our way back home.
—
Get Ironwulf En Route OVI App for your Nokia Phone for your mobile content.
Join our Backpack Photography Photo Tours and Workshops for early 2011. Banaue Photography 101 for beginners on February, Bewitching Siquijor Photo Tour on March 2011 and Batanes Island Hopping in April 2011
Ferdz Decena is an award-winning travel photographer, writer and blogger. His works has found print in publications such as Singapore Airlines’s Silver Kris, Philippine Airlines’ Mabuhay, Cebu Pacific’s Smile and Seair InFlight. He has also lent his expertise to various organizations like the Oceana Philippines, Lopez Group Foundation, Save the Children and World Vision, contributing quality images for their marketing materials.
