See One Thing: HKG-The Dragon's Back

 

I made it back alive! 

It was another memorable trip to and from Hong Kong over a weekend.  First off, no, I didn't clear my upgrade for the long...long....outbound flight.  For a brief second on Friday it was looking possible, but then a group of four booked into business class on a prior flight misconnected and had to be re-booked in the last few available seats.  Disappointing, sure, but honestly it went fine.  I had a main cabin extra seat with unlimited leg room, watched some movies, and slept about half the way there. 



Feet up, painful comedy on tap.

I'd seen this coming, so I geared up for the flight.  I had my Briggs & Riley cabin bag with me, so aside from takeoff and landing, I had it in front of me to use as a footrest, which worked great.  I also panicked a few days out, and ordered a Turtl travel scarf, which is basically a neck wrap with a plastic insert that supports your neck.  It honestly worked pretty well, and after a few more flights, I'll  probably do a real review.  I didn't have the usual sore neck when I woke up this time around like I usually would dozing in economy.

8 hours down, 8 to go....

This was my 6th time through Hong Kong, and the more I go, the more I appreciate the city.  It's one of the densest places on earth, and yet because of the surrounding waterways and parkland covered by steep green hills, doesn't feel overwhelming. 



Hong Kong Island from the Sheraton.  No complaints.

As usual, I took the airport express into town when I arrived, checked in at the Kowloon Sheraton.  I'd paid some points to upgrade to the Towers part of the Sheraton, which is a kind of hotel within the hotel on the high floors.  It has a separate check-in, lounge, and elevators, as well as some other fringe benefits. 

Video from the Towers elevator- Hong Kong skyline & Nathan Road

Since the timing worked out, I enjoyed hanging out with some other flyers from the US there for the fare deals as well.  After the Sheraton happy hour, we moved over to Ozone, which is the 'tallest bar in the world' on top of the Ritz Carlton tower.  Always good for one drink, but not much more as you're there for the view, not the prices. 



100+ floors up for a round of cocktails with new friends at Ozone

The next day, after the Towers Breakfast buffet at the hotel, I headed out to try something new.  Instead of my regular walk around The Peak, I got more adventurous and went for the Dragon's Back trail hike at Shek-O Country Park. 

This park is significantly further away from Kowloon than the peak, but you can still get there via the MTR in less than an hour if the bus connection is fast.  It took me a bit longer on the way out, for reasons I'll shortly explain.

The trail itself starts from a trailhead with signage on Shek-O road.  From there, it's a steep-ish hike up the path, including rocky areas and carved stone steps.  There are several places to stop and take in the view as you climb.  Part way up the initial climb, the trail branches and there's a shelter and benches.  To do the basic dragon's back, continue straight at this point.  As I went I noticed that the path is periodically marked with blue paint on the rocks. 

Eventually, the trail reaches the ridgeline of Shek-O, and proceeds through several rolling hills towards the peak, the "Dragon's Back" if you will.  At this point, panoramic views of the entire back side of Hong Kong island are constant, with the blue water all around.  Below, you can see the Shek-O golf course and Shek-O beach, and eventually Big Wave Bay. 

It's about 30 minutes, if you're moving along, to Shek-O peak.  There's a significant incline, and uneven terrain, so 30 minutes is enough to get some exercise in.  From there, you can continue on to either the trail down to Big Wave Bay, or go to the next trail intersection, and take a circle path that will eventually bring you back to the original trail, where you can get back to the road. 

There were plenty of people also doing the hike, but it was by no means crowded, especially since it was mid day on a Monday, and the weather was unseasonably cold and windy, even for winter in Hong Kong.

 

The view from Shek-O peak-

I seriously considered going on since it really was beautiful, but I knew at some point the jetlag was going to hit me hard, and it was threatening to rain.  I started back down the way I came, and stopped for a bit longer at a clearing to relax and take in the view by myself for a few. 

So, how to get there...

From Kowloon, take either the MTR to Admiralty, or if you're in the market for a little more walking and a trip on the water, take the Star Ferry and then walk to Central or Admiralty.  From there, take the blue 'Island Line' MTR toward Chai Wan.  Get off at the Kei Wan, and take the number 9 bus to the trailhead.  It's the most popular stop on the bus, so likely you can just follow along with everyone
else.

You have to take the Star Ferry at least once per visit.  That's the rule.

MTR to Chai Wan

I, however, misread the directions, and took the MTR all the way to Chai Wan.  Realizing what I'd done, I just went outside and got a cab to the trailhead.  It was faster, but probably cost an extra US $6 or so.  On the way back, I took the bus to the MTR as planned, transferred at Admiralty, and took the red line back to Tim Sha Tsui outside the Sheraton.

The Dragon's Back trailhead on Shek-O road.

It was definitely getting to be time for a nap, but by this point my adventuring made me hungry, so I wandered around Kowloon to see what looked good.  This part of Hong Kong is bustling, and the streets are lined with all kinds of stores and restaurants.  There's so many options, it's hard to pick.  I was making my way past Kowloon park when I saw a sign that looked familiar from my googling prior to the trip- for "Haiphong Road Temporary Market."



In and around Kowloon

I vaguely remembered something about the best....beef something... in Hong Kong for like $4, so I ducked inside.

The temporary market isn't so much temporary, as having been there for a long time, and isn't about to go away.  It's a mix of stalls selling all manner of vegetables, meats, and just about anything else, and on the lower level, a haphazardly laid out food court area serving mostly locals around crowded plastic tables and chairs.

The food court at the 'temporary market.'

This is not a place for the faint-hearted, as it requires passing by food hawker stalls actively butchering pork and chicken (not so much actual live animals...just recently live animals) to get to the food court on the lower level.  Once there, I was immediately accosted by an overly friendly vendor who would eventually convince me to get his special beef noodle dish, and then sit with me while I ate.  He practiced his English, I had some delicious noodles and learned a riddle about whether to choose to face down a murderer, a fire, or a hungry lion.  Spoiler alert- go for the lion...for some reason...he was still working on that English, and my Cantonese is limited to one word, and I'm not sure I'm even saying that right.

I got back to the hotel in time for a quick cup of tea at the lounge, and then took my customary daytime nap to try and somewhat stay on schedule before my body would 'wake up' for the night.  All in all it was a full and satisfying day in the city.  I'd fully recommend the Dragon's Back hike, and will be keeping it in mind to do again.

From noodles at the temporary market, to high tea at the Towers Lounge.  Living the mileage dream.

Up next in a few weeks... the 'Scandi run' begins.  Copenhagen, here I come (at least 3 times)!

Travel safely & enjoy the journey,

~CruisingAltitude



Bonus feature- a very jetlagged vlog clip from the top of Shek-O:

It's the end of the world as we know it....

British Airways tails at Heathrow from my last mileage run-your connection to Europe just got longer.

Well, this post could be about so very many things.  So very, very many things.

In the major headlines last week, a slim majority of UK voters decided to take their country out of the EU.  There are lots of feelings about this going around.  So very, very many feelings.  I have some, but that's not the point of this post, or this blog really.  What I will say though, is it's a sad week for the future of travel if you're considering transiting LHR on the way to other European cities.  Heathrow already isn't the smoothest connection, now add an exit from the EU passport control, possible additional tariffs, and no good can come of it.  On the other hand.... the pound and the euro are on the way down, so it's possibly a good time to snatch up some decent ex-UK tickets, if you're in the market.  So, you know, priorities.

So, there's that.  There are also quite a few other world events that could be in line with this post's title, but they're not what I'm supposed to be talking about here.

However, what is on topic for this blog, is American's decision to end the last great mileage program as we know it.  In fact, American was the first airline to 'invent' the frequent flyer program, advertising it with the simple "fly a mile, get a mile" slogan that has lasted decades, and became the model for the other carriers that followed.  Yet, under new management due to the US Air merger, starting August 1, this system will no longer be followed.  Instead of distance flown, all that will matter is how much you paid for your ticket.  This is extremely bad news for the large majority of flyers, your correspondent included. 

There is no point to this pic, I've just been typing far too many 'words' without a picture, so here's a nice view of takeoff from DUS.  Much better than the words.

The new system that has been set up, is targeted on two groups of travelers.  The first are the people who don't really belong to any mileage programs.  They don't use them, only travel a few times a year, and generally just book the lowest fare, no matter what airline it is, or how bad the product or service.  These people couldn't care less, and just want everything stripped down so that when they click purchase on Orbitz, they think they have a good deal (never mind that they'll probably end up getting nickel and dimed out of quite a bit of extra money along the way in fees for bags, food, picking seats, and the like.)  This new program allows AA to bottom-out the benefits they offer, scrape a few dollars per fare out of the overhead costs, and try and compete for these people with the likes of Frontier and Spirit.  Trying to be like the most hated airlines in the country.  Makes sense.  

The other, drastically smaller, group of flyers the new system is aimed at are the "1%" or less of flyers who habitually buy full fare business and first class tickets.  Everyone else in-between, they don't seem to care about retaining as loyal customers.  This is all allegedly well and good, I would suppose, for the bottom line according to current management.  However, if I'm being honest, if I had the corporate backing to be buying international business and first fares regularly there's no way I'd be picking any of the legacy US carriers at all.  I'd be going with the top service, and the flight and connection times that suited me best.  None of these criteria would lead me to a US based airline.  The product, and especially the service, is just simply better on most international carriers.  Even in economy the service on Japan Airlines, Qantas, or Malaysia puts any US airline to shame, jetbridge to jetbridge.

Nevertheless, AA has decided to forgo staying as the one international US airline with a true mileage program, rather than a spend based program, in favor of just doing what the others did.  I suppose if there's no competition doing any better, why bother.  My eventual reaction to this will be a post for another time, or not, if I know what's good for me.

So..... anyway.....to the point, and on a much better, if a bit nostalgic, note....

Given this particular 'end of the world as we know it,' with the blessing of Mrs. CruisingAltitude, I hurried up and booked one "last" true mileage run before the Aug 1 deadline.  As luck would have it, there was one weekend left where Hong Kong was still within mileage run territory.  As I've said over and over again, I love Hong Kong as a mileage destination.  It is an intersection of cultures, new and old architecture, and beautiful natural sights, all wrapped up in an accessible and visitor friendly urban landscape.  It really is one of the finest cities in the world.  Plus, and almost as importantly, it is very, very far away. 

Morning views from my last HKG run: Beautiful Hong Kong island in the foreground, Kowloon in the distance.

My itinerary this time takes me on the overnight flight to Dallas from LAX, letting me start off the journey at the Qantas 1st lounge, followed by time for a nap, shower, and breakfast in the DFW Centurion, before getting on the ultra-long haul flight to HKG.  At 17 hours, and over 8,000 miles one way, it's still the longest flight on AA metal you can fly.  My return, just under two days later, connects through Tokyo's Heneda airport on Cathay Pacific, before heading on home to LAX on one of AA's new 787s.  The HND-LAX is a relatively new route, and it will be my first stop at that airport, as I usually connect through Narita.  Unfortunately, the 5 hour stop will be just shy of enough time to really justify going into the city, but I've never complained about time spent in the JAL 1st lounge!

From the northeastern vector into TYO- beautiful sea and sky!

So, all in all, I'm trying to make the best of the 'last' real mileage run.  This trip will earn me over 33,000 miles.  If I take it after August 1 this year, it would barely have earned 8,000.  End of the world as we know it, indeed. 

With that in mind, I have some plans for my time on the ground.  I'll see how many of them I get to in the end, but for now I'm hoping to hit up any (or all of the following):

-At least one night of the 'Symphony of Lights' laser show.
-Enjoying the views from Kowloon from the waterfront, and possibly from the 118th floor of the Ritz at the 'tallest bar' in the world, Ozone. 
-Running the 5k loop path at the top of "The Peak."
-Finding the old "Checkerboard Hill" in Kowloon (See my ramblings about this HERE)
-Dim sum
-Possibly some time at the rooftop pool/spa of the Kowloon Sheraton Towers Hotel.
-Finding the perfect cocktail (after I find the way in) at Foxglove, and/or Quinary...and/or....and/or...
-Of course, some quality time before my outbound flight at the many fantastic lounges at HKG.

Yes, this is what I mean by 'quality time' at the HKG lounges.

In other words, I don't plan to waste this opportunity to send real 'mileage running' off with a memorable weekend.  Sure, there will still be mileage trips to gain status, but it's the end of an era for sure. 

I suppose the best light to cast this in, is to be thankful for the experiences that the AAdvantage program in it's last incarnation has allowed me, both on mileage runs and redemption trips-  I've seen every continent (save Antarctica), with stops in over 20 cities I otherwise wouldn't have been to, pet lions in Africa, been harassed by monkeys in Malaysia, and yes, had my share of memorable (if a bit strange) foreign airport and plane experiences.  What's more, I've made quite a few good friends who are just crazy enough to feel the same way about the occasional one-day trip to Tokyo (or Brazil...Doha....). 

So, what else is there to say about the end of this particular little world?  Where do we go from here? Another airline? (*cough* Alaska Air *cough*)  Something else entirely?  I'm really not sure yet.  For now, I'm just looking forward to the next adventure. 

~CruisingAltitude

A last backward glance at the 'old AA' - sunset over DFW and an endangered MD80 'Mad Dog' to go with.