Walking along Tai Po Road – Taipo to Shatin Section

Traveling along the Tai Po Road is one of my favourite things to do when I get a spare bit of time (not often). Granted, the road is now broken (as in non-contiguous) in various places by highways and flyovers but the original route of the road still exists – more or less – between Tai Po <-> Fo Tan and Tai Wai <-> Sham Shui Po.

I’ve been intending to walk as much of this as I can for some time now, no real objective in mind other than trying to absorb a bit of old HK roadway nostalgia and to track down anything that may be a relic of the halcyon days when the road was the only way to get into the NT. Anyway, the other weeks I finally found the time to walk the Tai Po to Fo Tan leg.

Tsing Yi Nature Trail, Tsing Yi Island

Here’s another family friendly walk (the only type we can do since #3 arrived in 2009) that offers some great views over to Tsuen Wan, Tai Mo Shan, Tsing Ma bridge and surrounds. It’s ideal for the kids really – fairly short (we took about 80 mins including several short breaks) so they don’t get too tired and start moaning but still green enough to make you feel like you are escaping the concrete.

I haven’t dabbled in Pete Spurrier’s Leisurely Hiker’s guide for quite some time and so it is nice to get back into the swing of things with this one which can be found on page 288 of the first edition (the only one I have – it’s well used and thumbed and has been going strong for about 4 years now).

Shek Lei Pui Reservoir and lots of Monkeys

You’d think looking after 3 of my own monkeys (of the non-hairy persuasion) all week would make me reluctant about going to see some real ones – a bit of a busman’s holiday – but actually we were so desperate to avoid the boredom of watching Dragon Boat Racing (anyone who has had to sit through them before will attest that only copious amounts of alcohol can keep said boredom at bay) that pretty much anything was a viable alternative.

So off we headed to Kowloon Reservoir(s) by catching the #81 bus from in front of the Royal Park Hotel in Shatin and getting off at the stop for Shek Lei Pui Reservoir.

Walking from Sha Tin to Tai Po

I’ve been planning on doing this for sometime. I did do it in the opposite direction, using a bike, sometime around 1996 but obviously the whole area has undergone vast transformation since then and I was curious to see how it had all turned out. So off we set after a nice fortifying lunch at Sha Tin’s Crystal Jade restaurant (at the back end of the shopping mall) and headed off down the woefully slim ‘pavement’ that runs alongside the cycle track.

Fung Hang Family Walk, Luk Keng

When you have kids, it can sometimes be a bit difficult, if not impossible, to get out into the countryside in HK. Either they complain too much because walking up hills IS hard work (no arguments there), or as in our case one of them is just too small to manage some of the routes.

Po Toi Island

If you have access to a boat (or you can catch a ferry from Aberdeen Harbour) then Po Toi Island is one of Hong Kong’s outlying islands worth a visit. Being away from the main Victoria Harbour area, it’s not usually the first choice for visitors when they decide to visit an outlying Island (I think we can all agree that Lamma and Cheung Chau probably win hands down in terms of populariity in that respect) which is a shame because there is a great olde world feel to Po Toi which is immediately obvious when you disembark from your boat.

Kei Lun Shan, Lok Ma Chau

Kei Lun Shan is a fairly nondescript hill in the northern New Territories that commands an excellent view over the new border checkpoint at Lok Ma Chau. It’s sandwiched about half way between Yuen Long and Sheung Shui and so can be reached by using the minibus services that run from Fanling, or by catching a cab. If you have a bit of time then walking is always an option, but on this occasion time was against us.

Hung Shing Temple, Wanchai

Hung Shing Temple is also sometimes known as Tai Wong Temple and is striking perhaps because it sits right on the pavement in Queens Road East giving a sharp reminder of a Hong Kong that once was. Its proximity to the kerb also means that often passing pedestrians are shrouded in palls of smoke emanating from the altar room inside.

Ma Shi Chau Special Area, Tai Po

Ma Shi Chau is actually an uninhabited island in the northern part of Tolo Harbour. It, along with three other islands: Yeung Chau Centre Island and an unnamed island in the centre of the bay formed by Plover Cover Reservoir dam in the east and the Yim Tin Tsai headland (which houses Sam Mun Tsai) in the west, form the ‘Special Area’ – one of only six in the territory.

Walk from Shek Mun Kap to Po Lin Monastery

No originality at all on my part, this one is lifted from Pete Spurrier’s Leisurely Hikers Guide – however, since re-reading “Gwei Lo” by Martin Booth as part of a Batgung/Gwulo location mapping project I have also realised that this walk was, possibly, the same one done by Booth and his family in the book. The difference is that, in 1953, I suspect they had harder time of it and they got to spend a night at the monastery.

Wu Tip Shan, Fanling

I must admit I had never heard of this hill in Fan Ling. I was out for a bit of a walk exploring Fung Yin Seen Koon and still had a bit of time before heading back to Tai Po to pick the kids up from school. I spotted a sign saying Wu Tip Shan Path (Woo Deep is Cantonese for ‘Butterfly’, but actually the English name for this place is “Stable Hill”). So I figured I would walk for 30 mins and see how far I got before having to head back down the hill. I was pleasantly surprised by what I found.

Yellow House, 2 – 8 Hing Wan St

There is surprisingly little information about this building, which sits on Hing Wan Street behind the ‘Blue House’ of Stone Nullah Lane. All that I can ascertain at the moment is that it was built 3 or 4 years after the Blue House and has what is described as an art deco facade. I believe that this was originally slated for ‘redevelopment by the urban authority, mainly because both buildings, although containing tenants, are by law inhabitable due to lack of private kitchen facilities and proper sewage system (i.e. someone has to empty out the buckets every night).

Nam Koo Terrace, Ship Lane

Nam Koo Terrace is one of those buildings that makes you just stop and stare in awe and wonder. ‘Awe’ because it is a magnificent example of colonial architecture, ‘wonder’ because again like so many things of historical value in HK it sits neglected, possibly awaiting demolition, to make way for yet another pointless development dreamed up by someone with too much time and money on their hands.

Wanchai Heritage Walk (unofficial)

In the SCMP (6th October 2008) there an interesting article (certainly a rare occurrence for that particular paper) appeared with regards to a proposed Heritage Trail for Wanchai. Good news it seems initially, but on further reading it was noted that many of the proposed sites (24 in total) still have their futures hanging in the balance.

Wilson Trail Stage 8 (abridged), Tai Po

For those who don’t have excessive amounts of time (me included, though you wouldn’t believe it looking at this site) there is a snippet of the Wilson trail than can be walked, with relative convenience and in a short time, that affords some amazing views over a large part of the NT as well as some smaller more interesting places along the way – all within a 15 minute walk from Tai Po Market or Tai Wo East Rail stations.

Mount Parker Road Green Trail, Quarry Bay

This is one of the walks highlighted in “Leisurely Hiker’s”. It is a true hidden gem as to reach it you need to take the MTR to Quarry Bay and walk along Kings Road before making a right turn under a pedestrian flyover. You know you are on the right path when you are greeted by a sign saying “Welcome to the Mt Parker Road Green Trail” (see photo below).

Woodside House, Mt Parker Road

Woodside House is a huge colonial-style mansion situated in the lower portion of the Mt Parker Road trail (see another entry coming soon) in the Quarry Bay Extension of the Tai Tam Country Park. The text below (taken from the plaque outside on the road) mentions the continued existance of some of the original internal features, however, we couldn’t get in on the day we went and, actually, I have no idea if it is possible right now. Either way you can still wander through the main gate and have a rest on one of the benches inside the grounds whilst looking at its impressive facade.

Lam Tsuen River Quali Walk

The Quali walk is a Govt backed initiative for getting people of all ages to take more exercise. Basically there are a bunch of designated small trails (1.6km in length) dotted around the territory, with small exercise stations along the route.

Plover Cove Reservoir

Plover Cove was Hong Kong’s first reservoir and was built as a result of some serious water shortages suffered in the early 1960′s. In fact it was the world’s first freshwater reservoir created by damming off an area of sea – Plover Cove (Shuen Wan in Cantonese) – so it was a pioneering project in many ways.

Shing Mun (aka Jubilee) Reservoir

Strictly speaking I am talking about the upper reservoir, because the Shing Mun area has two: upper and lower. The upper reservoir lies conveniently halfway between Tsuen Wan and Tai Po and is passed when you walk the well-defined hiking trail that links the two towns.