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:

Then Go East....Far East....

Welcome to 2018, we're glad you're here! Before we get in the air, we'd like to go over some important features of 2017.**

It was a year full of new adventures, and not just a few miles flown.  As per usual, I went considerably out of my way to get my American/Oneworld status done, racking up those 100,000 miles.  It was a year for circling the world (quite literally), exploring foreign countries that are not so far off, plenty that actually are, and sharing travel experiences with family. 

 

If you're interested, you can check out some of the adventures here:

 

Havana Running (Cuba, of course)

 

Around the World in 80 Hours (Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Colombo, Doha)

 

Yes, This Is Real Life (Doha, Amman, Colombo)

Whenever I'm questioning my plans, or debating which itineraries I might actually sort out, I put in the 'pro' column if I'll get to add a country to my 'visited' map I keep in my head.  Since I'm usually at the mercy of the major Oneworld deals and routes, I tend to wind up in the same places repeatedly- Hong Kong, Doha, Tokyo, etc.  So it can be exciting when there's someplace brand new.  

This year I added Cuba, Jordan (airport, it was quick), Finland, Estonia (check these out on Baby Flyer Blog), and Sri Lanka.  Not bad at all.

 

Sometimes, however, it's nice to play the hits.  That's why when I saw an impressive deal back to one of my favorites, and on the last weekend before last year's upgrades expired, I jumped on it.  36 hours in Hong Kong, here I come.  I'm even really taking this one 'old school,' and back-tracking to Dallas to catch the longest flight in American's network direct to HKG. 

 

I'm currently sitting in the lovely Qantas 1st class lounge in LAX before my flight, enjoying some Hamachi crudo and minute steak.  Life could be worse.  As an aside, I stopped by the NEW LAX Flagship Lounge as well.  Review of this soon!

 

 

As per usual, I'm playing the upgrade waitlist game for the outbound, but for a nice treat I was able to book the return via Tokyo Narita right into business class on my SWU upgrade!  So no matter what, I'll arrive back home in good shape.

 

So, what's a girl to do with two nights and a day in this fine city?  A few options come to mind...

 

 

I'm staying (again) at the Sheraton Kowloon, which has a top floor restaurant bar and lounge with a great view.  For what it's worth, people are always looking down on the Sheraton because in a strict sense it's outclassed by some of the other major chain offerings in Hong Kong- the Ritz, the JW Marriott, Conrad, and so on.  However, it keeps being my go-to for a few night's stay for a few reasons.  First- it's right on the Metro at Tim Sha Tsui, and has a shuttle from the Airport Express station at Kowloon.  Second- Even though it's sold as two hotels (the towers and regular rooms) you can usually use points to cheaply upgrade into a Towers room that comes with a high floor lounge with a very nice evening reception.  Third- There is a rooftop pool and spas that are great even in the rain.  Lastly- it's generally CHEAPER than the competition.  That alone puts it right up there. 

 

My suite at the Sheraton last time around.

This is all to say that setting up shop in Kowloon gives me some easy options before even going outside.  However, I fully intend to go outside.  I usually try to get out and take a hike or jog thought one of the parks each time I'm here.  In the past, I've done a morning jog around The Peak.  This time I may branch out....who knows. 

 

 

 And then there's the food...oh, the food....  This time, I'm in the market for some dim sum (of course), and want to find some traditional congee as well.  I think I've located a place that's near the hotel, and open until 2am.  This seems like a strange criteria, but here's the thing- flying to Hong Kong from the US essentially makes you nocturnal on arrival.  Your internal clock 'wakes up' around midnight, and if you're not looking to adjust, places open until 2 am are key.  Plus, Hong Kong is one of those "never sleeps" places.

 

So.... the bars are open until 2 or 3, congee until 2, and I think I found a dim sum place that opens for the day at 4.  Done and done.  A bit of day sleeping, some time in the pool, and it'll be time to head on out.

 

Thank various deities for international Uber.

 

As it turns out, I'm also not the only frequent flyer to think that this weekend is a great time to be in Hong Kong, so I'm looking forward to some meetups with other travelers and acquaintances.  All in all, it promises to be a good time....once I survive the 17 hour flight, of course.  Fingers crossed for the upgrade!!

 

Travel well,

 

~CruisingAltitude.

 

**Kudos to you if you get this reference.