hiking in Hong Kong – Miriam Drori, Author

I should have known. When D and I go away together, we go walking. Hiking. Along undulating country paths, and boy do they undulate in Hong Kong.

Don’t get me wrong. I enjoy walking. I enjoy the views and the country air and the exercise. Much better than the crowds and the pollution of the city. It’s just that sometimes, when D has sprinted to the top of a steep hill and I’m still struggling at the bottom, I feel a bit deflated. But when I finally reach the top, my high spirits return.

And some of the time we worried about the threatened thunderstorms. We experienced one of those on our first evening – from inside an underground train station. It certainly wouldn’t be pleasant to be caught in one of those with no protection around, but fortunately we weren’t.

We saw some magnificent views, but the one that interested me the most shows the countryside and the city on a misty day.

We walked through a fishing village with ramshackle houses and TV aerials and air conditioning.

We were fascinated by the myriad of fish shops, but didn’t feel tempted to buy any. We passed restaurants full of people eating tasty-looking meals, but were put off by Chinese-only menus and waiters who didn’t speak English. We felt more comfortable eating in the city, where English is spoken and written.

Back in the city, we marvelled at Kowloon Park with its birds, waterfalls, heritage museum, totem pole,

and much more. We enjoyed watching groups of little children in their colourful raincoats.

And there was more climbing in the form of steps leading to the Ten Thousand Buddhas Monastery, which deserves a post of its own.