Today was the last King of the Hills race for 2009-2010. The Tai Po full marathon. 36Kms long.

Wasn’t easy but wasn’t as tough as KOTH Lantau. Probably because the weather was great. Weatherman, for a change, turned out right in his prediction of relatively cool weather in Hong Kong today. A good relief from the sweltering heat. It was about 18 degrees today compared to 27 yesterday!

Started the race at 0900 HKT and had to climb up Cloudy hill and Pat Sin Leng before heading down the most slippery path I have seen in Hong Kong. Fellow competitors were much crazier than me and some of them seemed to be leapfrogging on this trail. They were literally heading down a slippery slope and I heard at least one of them shouting “this is so much fun”. This guy was like a kid in a candy store and loving every moment of this monkey business! I’ll admit, I was having some fun too but after my butt hit the ground over 3 times, I was wishing it would end soon!

Maintained about 12Km/h avg on the flats and didn’t stop anywhere. Goal was to be top 15 in my category but I couldn’t believe the result – came 8th overall and 7th in my category. 36Kms completed in 4 hrs 36 minutes. Good way to finish off the series.

Looking forward to some more kick ass races this year.

• King of the Hills (KOTH) Tai Po – recci 2 (6)
• Hiking, 2010-02-13, KOTH Tai Po Recci 1 (0)
• Tai Po Kauh to Shing Mun Reservoir (encore) (0)
• Shing Mung Tunnels (0)
• King of the hills – Hong Kong (Full Marathon) (2)

Tags: KOTH, Tai Po

And so, I had to heed a calling from the Big Buddha at least this time after a previously failed attempt where I prioritized the airport over Buddha!

So, the plan today was to take the 0950 HKT ferry from Central to Mui Wo and then do Mui Wo -> Sunset -> Lantau -> Shek Pik -> Mui Wo in about 4 hours.

Also, I was quite excited to try out my latest gizmo today (Garmin 310XT). As I was setting off from my home, I was thinking about how man, in his infinite wisdom, likes to complicate things. A century back, going hiking would have cost nothing and would have required nothing more than time. But, today, a hi-tech hiker like me has so many gizmos to play with. A GPS monitor, heart rate monitor, smart phone, Mp3 player, etc, etc!

Set off as planned on the 0950 ferry. The in-ferry entertainment system came in the form of repeated apologies from the overhead sound system as the ferry “was going to be late because of foggy weather”. This apology just wouldn’t stop!

Reached Mui Wo at about 1020. The ferry was barely 5 minutes late (was apologizing so profusely really necessary?!) There are 2 paths to Nam Shan, one is the village path and the other access is through the usual roads. I opted for the village path. I started the timers and was jogging at about 8Km/hour. 10 minutes later, in spite of 1 GPS receiver, 1 smartphone with Google Maps and having done this hike several times before, I still couldn’t find the village path!! That’s the irony of technology! I was then forced to return to the starting point and had to take the road access to Nam Shan. Lost about 15 minutes and started the hike at 1045.

After about 15 minutes (3Km), I reached Nam Shan in foggy weather. Visibility was quite bad but hey, that’s Hong Kong most of the time.

Nam Shaan

The ascent to Sunset Peak (934m) began from there. I saw some people initially but looks like the corporate saying “it gets lonely at the top” also applies to mountains! I was the only guy after about 500m! Sunset Peak was great, I visited the trademark Sunset huts. It looked like a haunted house from a horror movie as parts of it emerged from the fog.

Haunted Hut on Sunset

Did some awesome trail running, went back down to about 400m (saddle) and then started climbing Lantau peak. I was running down some trail and was interrupted by a trembling guy who looked scared and puzzled. He started talking to me from a distance. Something didn’t seem right. I unplugged my earphones, took a deep breath before stopping. I was getting ready to run at top speed in case this guy turned out to be some robber!

The guy composed himself and said to me “there’s a cow”.
My mind was prepared for all kinds of things including a suicide bombing (I watch too much of that CNN news!) So I was still struggling to decipher his message. There’s a cow?
I asked again, “you mean a cow? Like Maaaaaaaaaaa??”
He nodded and pointed at a black beast, chilling on the trail, munching on grass and slouching on the ground as if he owned it
Then it struck me, this grown up hiker was actually SCARED OF A COW!! And so, I got into one of my witty, sarcastic moods and asked him in a concerned voice “so, is this a Special Forces cow that has received anti human training at a Taliban terrorist camp?”
Alas! The guy was too shaken up to process any sarcasm
I then consoled him, told him not to worry and lead the way! The guy followed me closely, with barely 5 cm of gap between us as we passed the resting and munching cow!! (I could imagine the cow farting as he crossed and laughing to himself going ‘he he’!)

Anyway, after saving yet another complete stranger from the jaws of death (I tend to do this sort of thing), I continued my steady pace to the Summit (934Km).

Lantau Peak

Temporary Refuge on Lantau Peak (rats live here!)

Then ran towards Ngong Ping. Could easily tell when I had reached the village as I could easily smell the strong perfume those tourists wear wearing from like a mile away! I don’t get it – wearing that much perfume, are they there to date Buddha or what?!

At that point, I saw a trail going down to Tung Chung and decided to change course. I gave Buddha a salute from a distance and took that trail to Tung Chung (about 8Km). Saw a beautiful farm on the way and was taking photos. Then this farming lady dressed in one of those Buddha costumes turned around and asked me to “stop taking photos, please”. I heeded! Brought back memories of being disciplined back in the day by the nuns who ran my convent school!

The farm on the way to Tung Chung from Ngong Ping

Eventually, found a bus stop in Tung Chung (close to the MTR) where I terminated the hike.

Now, for all the hi-tech stuff.
Map

Pics here here.
Detailed stats are here.

Brief Stats:
3 hours 45 minutes (Mui Wo -> Nam Shan -> Lantau Peak -> Sunset Peak -> Tung Chung)
Distance: 22.43Km
Max speed: 15.9Km/h
Avg HR: 156BPM
Max HR: 196BPM

• Hiking, 2009-08-08, Mui Wo to Ngong Ping AND BACK (0)
• Sunset Peak to somehow-get-to-the-airport hike (0)
• Off the Lantau Trail to Tai O (0)
• Lantau peak — Walk report (0)
• Hiking, Tung Chung to Mui Wo (0)

Tags: Big Buddha, Lantau Peak, Sunset Peak, Tung Chung

Owner:	ltcommander
Location:	--
Activity Type:	Trail Running
Event Type:	Fitness
Distance:	22.43 Kilometer
Time:	03:45:22
Elevation Gain:	1,469 Meters

• Nothing for now!

Tags: Trail Running, trail_running

Owner:	ltcommander
Location:	--
Activity Type:	Running
Event Type:	Fitness
Distance:	12.53 Kilometer
Time:	01:24:32
Elevation Gain:	703 Meters

• Nothing for now!

Owner:	ltcommander
Location:	--
Activity Type:	Running
Event Type:	Fitness
Distance:	7.87 Kilometer
Time:	00:55:09
Elevation Gain:	1,164 Meters

• Nothing for now!

I visited my first 10,000+ sq ft guesthouse in Sai Kung last week. That one boasts spectacular views of beaches and mountain ranges. Today, I decided to visit my second 10,000+ sq ft guesthouse in the New Territories. Again, this one also boasts captivating views of the ocean, mountain ranges and islands. (I know, I am a rich guy). My second guesthouse is called Plover Cove and the trek around the Plover Cove reservoir is one of the best treks in Hong Kong. This is why I have easily done this over a 100 times (kid you not) and therefore have legitimate ownership claims to it.

Today, the mission codenamed “Need-for-Speed” was to beat my earlier record of 2 hours 27 minutes comfortably. Meaning finishing in style, i.e. no huffing and puffing after finishing.

Started at 1200 HKT and reached the half way point at 1310 HKT. The trail gets really beautiful after the halfway point. You feel like you are gliding in nature. I kept speed constant (about 8Km) and finished comfortably at 1418 HKT (end of the long bridge in Tai Mei Tuk).

Stats: 2 hours 18 minutes (about 18Km)
Status: Mission accomplished! This is my new personal best. Next time the target will be 2 hrs 10 minutes.

• Ultra fast: Plover cove hike (0)
• Plover cove (0)
• Hiking, Running, 2009-04-04, Plover Cove circuit (0)
• Hiking, 2009-12-26, Plover Cove (4)
• Hiking, 2009-11-08, Plover Cove (high speed) (0)

Tags: Plover Cove

All the pictures from the hike today are here.

We had 9 join us on this King of the Hills Tai Po reconnaissance hike (second time for me). As usual, it appeared as though weatherman changed his forecast after looking out the window in the morning. I swear, I read 8 to 11 degrees or something as cold as that when I checked the forecast a day back. But, today turned out to be warmer than that – about 15 degrees with some sunny intervals. Remembering the weather forecast from a day back, I was actually dressed for a hike in Alaska (gloves, tracks and all that but a tee shirt and shorts would have sufficed).

Started in Tai Wo KCR station (now MTR) and the climb to Cloudy Hill began in less than 15 minutes. All the stress from the past week started leaving my body in beads of sweat as the cleansing/rejuvenating process began.

Couldn’t help but notice these beautiful houses during the climb. Wonder what they cost. I know I would be hiking up to Cloudy Hill and Pat Sin Leng every other day if I were living in one of those!

From Cloudy Hill, the route calls for another super climb up to the first summit of Pat Sin Leng (Wong Leng) from where there is this super slippery path down to Sha Lo Tung.

The beautiful Pat Sin Leng

The super slippery path is no joke. Even Arnold Schwarzenegger would have fallen at least once (and I mean before he became the Governor of California, i.e. when he was the Terminator guy). Some of the rocks are completely covered in moss and there’s no proper place to get a good grip.

Anyway, from there the route leads to Lai Chi Wo and then to Yung Shue O. Lai Chi Wo is scenic spot. There are trees several centuries old and their branches are all coiled up. They look something like a reticulated python.

There was some sign reading “You can help by NOT climbing and sitting on the Derris”. I would certainly love to help but what the heck is a Derris?? Some tree expert guy probably came up with that sign. How about simply saying “trees” instead of “Derris” for the average Joe like me?

After admiring the beauty of the trees, we left for Yung Shue O (oh, btw, forgot to mention that the group was reduced to 3 in size from 9 as several members were happy running the half marathon leaving the 3 of us to do the full).

Yung Shue O is stunning. You don’t have to have the arms of Rambo but you are still only a stone’s throw away from China! A boat, a strong sense of adventure and a contempt for law is all it’s going to take to reach Shenzhen illegally. (There could be some trained snipers on the Shenzhen side with rifles pointing at you but you have to take all this in stride). Seriously though, Shenzhen looks so close that it appears as though any monkey can go to the other side. Of course, the question would be why! Especially now there’s no point since Shenzhen property prices are pretty much the same as HK property prices!

Anyway, here’s a pic of a Soviet aircraft carrier which is now proudly owned by the China Gov and stationed in Shenzhen. It’s no longer functional of course and probably never was!

We reached Kuk Po after some steady running and could already feel the pull of a hot bowl of noodles all the way from Luk Keng. The pull got stronger as we let our minds process that thought. Needless to say, we yielded to temptation. So, instead of finishing at Sam-uk-something, we headed for Noodles and Austrian noodles at that. I remembered some strong recommendation about an Austrian pancake with ice cream dessert served by an Austrian dude all the way in Luk Keng. Why some dude from Austria would move all the way to Luk Keng and start a noodle shop there is something I cannot answer. But why not? Looks like Wall Street has lost it’s lustre anyway!

So, we started running towards Luk Keng. We saw some video cameras and some Chinese dude wearing some funny black hat and a traditional Chinese outfit (one that looked like it would have been worn by some ultra cool Kung Fu warrior from way back in the 1700s). This dude actually turned out to be Chow Yun Fat! That’s the Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon guy! I would have asked for an autograph but didn’t realize who he was until I was told much later!

The Austrian guy was happy to receive us. So, after treating ourselves to a nice bowl of noodles, we went with his critically acclaimed Austrian pancake dessert. Yummy is all I can say! We probably consumed more calories in those 30 minutes that we burnt in the preceding 6 hours but oh well! What’s life without food!

Great day out!

Stats:
32.3Km in about 6 hours something. Today though, it wasn’t about pace, it was about taking photos and enjoying a nice, long 30K+ hike.

• King of the Hills – Tai Po Full Marathon (0)
• Hiking, 2010-02-13, KOTH Tai Po Recci 1 (0)
• Tai Po Kauh to Shing Mun Reservoir (encore) (0)
• Shing Mung Tunnels (0)
• King of the hills – Hong Kong (Full Marathon) (2)

Tags: KOTH, Tai Po

Ok, I’ll admit – this post has nothing to do with hiking in Hong Kong but I just had to share this!

I usually cut across shopping malls as fast as I can because I can’t quite stand them, but a ridiculous display of a “Tiger” in Miramar Shopping Center, Tsim Sha Tsui caught my attention as I was rushing home. The ambiance was, of course, supposed to be in line with the Chinese New Year celebrations (year of the Tiger). So throughout the shopping mall, they decided to plant images of a -get this- BRIGHT PINK colored tiger that looks like an angry Hello Kitty doll! It looks like Hello Kitty just saw a barking dog and got scared!

Or maybe they wanted to paint images of tigresses because they look more cute and therefore shoppers would feel more obligated to spend more. But then, isn’t this the year of the Tiger, not Tigress?

Ah, I’ll quit analyzing. Now brace yourself for a fierce picture of this Tiger!

Grrrrrrrr. Scared, aren’t you? ;-)

• Nothing for now!

I think I can safely (and proudly) claim to be the only hiker in Hong Kong who has been up on the summit of Sharp Peak more than anyone else within a span of 3 years. That’s at least around 150+ times (easily!) and in all kinds of weather. I have been on the summit during typhoons, black rainstorm warnings, heavy rain and thunder, etc, etc. Therefore, I strongly feel that if there is anyone who has a legitimate claim to owning Sharp Peak, it’s gotta be me! Maybe someday I should be mayor of Sharp Peak!

Anyway, set off today at 1128 HKT from Pak Tam Au in cold and wet weather. Having foolishly killed my beloved HTC Touch Pro phone last week due to hiking in the rain, I took enormous precautions this time. Call it an overkill but I had my new Touch Pro2 in a plastic container which was in turn placed in a zip lock cover and that in turn was wrapped in my water proof wind breaker. I was also wearing one of the 7-11 ponchos! Yup, as they say, once bitten twice shy or maybe in this case, once wet, twice dry!

I was mostly the only soul braving the cold and wet weather up until an intersection on Stage 2 where I saw some gwailo grandpa admiring the scenery with his 3 big dogs. Grandpa looked at me, unplugged his earphones, smiled broadly and exclaimed “Always good to see a French guy running!” He then burst into laughter! Reciprocating his loud laughter, I also went ha ha ha loudly until my brain tried to process what he had just said. Always good to see a French guy running????? What on Earth does that mean and why in the name of Zeus would he think I look French?! Well, I was pacing myself and had no time for any smalltalk with Grandpa. So, I bid him goodbye and continued my steady pace leaving that little mystery float in my head for a little while longer.

I reached that left turn to Sharp Peak on Mac Stage 2 in less than 25 minutes. The weather was getting quite gloomy but that didn’t deter me, the numero uno Sharp Peak fan. The climb was very scary. The wind was so strong that it made me lose my balance from time to time. Visibility was about 3 meters max and there was NO ONE around. Not a single soul. I could clearly hear the roar of the waves from the nearby seas as the winds lashed it with immense force. It was quite scary! For a second, I wished I could see more human beings like I was in Mong Kok or something. (Ok, fine, maybe not Mong Kok – that’s the other extreme and too much of a torture!!)

Anyway, I reached the summit in precisely 51 minutes after starting from Pak Tam Au. Pretty comfortable pace, nothing too heroic. Stayed on the summit for what was I think 2 minutes max! My hands were quite numb from the cold wind and I had to use all the force from both my hands to push the volume button on the Mp3 player!

The run back down to Stage 2 was equally cold and scary but once I reached Stage 2, I could finally breathe a sigh of relief and resume normal pace.

Reached Pak Tam Chung at close to 1400 HKT and finished with a nice run to catch a mini bus that had just arrived!

Stats: 19.4Km, 2 hours 42 minutes. Roughly 7.1 Km/hour. (Comfortable pace)

• Sharp peak, Stage 3 Mclehose (fast) (0)
• Sai Kung Circuit in HOT weather (0)
• Running/Hiking – Sai Kung circuit (0)
• Hiking, 2010-01-16, Sai Kung Circuit (0)
• Hiking, 2009-10-03, Care Action (trial) (0)

Tags: Sai Kung, Sharp peak

Did a beautiful KOTH Recci (1st attempt) – Full marathon (about 32Km)

Route is this: Tai Wo -> Cloudy Hill -> Pat Sin Leng -> Lai Chi Wo -> So Pin Kok (or something like that) -> Yung Shue O -> Po Pin Kuk -> Luk Keng (we went to Luk Keng but the real thing goes to Wu Kau Tang and then to Tai Mei Tuk)

This is a really beautiful course. Of all the KOTH full marathons, this one’s probably got the best scenery. The view at the end of Shau Tau Kok from Yung Shue O is splendid. There was a huge ship docked there which looked like a small aircraft carrier.

Pace was very comfortable as this was just a recci. It took us something like 6 hours something to complete.

• King of the Hills – Tai Po Full Marathon (0)
• King of the Hills (KOTH) Tai Po – recci 2 (6)
• Tai Po Kauh to Shing Mun Reservoir (encore) (0)
• Shing Mung Tunnels (0)
• King of the hills – Hong Kong (Full Marathon) (2)

Tags: KOTH, Tai Po

So, here’s a question: what do weathermen and stock market analysts have in common?
Answer: They both predict something after it has happened!

So, for instance, if the Hang Seng index has fallen 200 points, an “expert” comes up with some wild cock and bull story about how hot money is flowing out of Hong Kong. Had the index gone up 200 points, the expert now claims it’s because hot money is coming into Hong Kong!

Likewise today, the weathermen forecast sunny periods and about 16-22 degrees. But as we reached The Peak to embark on a 50km HK Trail hike/run, it started pouring down! It was cold, windy and raining. (I am sure the weathermen now have some explanation about some Northeastern trough from Guangdong bringing rainy weather to Hong Kong!)

But, rain or no rain, sun or no sun, wind or no wind, the great Hikespeare has said “The hike must go on!”

And so we started at about 0810 HKT with a mission to complete the HK trail within 6 hours by pretty much running all of it! (that’s 50km)

Several members quit leaving two of us to brave the rain and the cold weather. As I did so, my clothes got much heavier as the tee shirt and shorts absorbed water like a sponge!

After several hours of steady running, we reached Dragon’s back at 1300 HKT and it started raining cats and dogs! I was already wet but now I was completely drenched! The falling rain drops were turned into mini missiles by the wind and these in turn, hit my eyes and ears with great intensity! It felt as though someone was playing drums next to my ear. But, as the famous Hikespeare has said, “The hike must go on!”

With much determination, we completed the hike 20 minutes before schedule! 5 hours 40 minutes is what it took and we treated ourselves to some well deserved noodles at Big Wave bay.

Good thing is that I felt fine despite a 50km hike/run and had no problems. I enjoyed the rain and the relatively cool weather. Bad news is that all my electronic gizmos including my much treasured phone ended up HATING the rain. My phone no longer works and I am now in the process of giving it the kiss of life (getting a hairdryer to smooch and heat the phone!)

Here’s the map for the day (manged to revive the GPS receiver using the same hairdryer kiss of life method!)

Stats: 50Km (5 hrs 40 minutes to complete against a 6 hour target under pouring rain!)

• [Questions from tourists] – you have probably seen this before… (0)
• Zodiac information (2)
• Wonder if this is true.. (0)
• Vacation, Christmas 2008, Ha Fu village (Shaoguan, China) (1)
• Vacation, 2008-08-22 to 30, Motorcycle trip to Leh, Ladakh (0)

Tags: Hong Kong Trail, Rain

I had to be at the airport at 1130HKT to pick up a passenger (my mom) but I wanted a novel way of getting to the airport. So, decided on one of my usual precision hikes this Saturday morning.

Mission was to get up at 0545, get a ferry to Central Star Ferry at 0630, take the 0650 ferry from Central to Mui Wo. Do, Sunset Peak, Lantau peak and reach Ngong Ping in 2.5hrs (1010), take a bus to Tung Chung (1040) and take another bus to the airport (1115). The 15 mins buffer was for wait time, photo time, etc.

Execution was as per plan, precise to the minute until near the top of Sunset Peak. Then I received some important intelligence from the Command Center (i.e. SMS from my dad) letting me know that the flight was about an hour earlier than originally thought. (Is THIS much punctuality necessary?!)

I then had to make an executive decision – continue on course and make the passenger (my mom) wait another hour at the airport or somehow do a curtailed hike that would end at the airport. After a fierce internal debate that lasted a good 5 minutes, I decided to go pick up my mom on time! Took a right cut from near Sunset – a beautiful trail that leads to Wong Lung Hang.

I was the only soul to be seen. It was misty, visibility was bad and the strong wind produced a ghostly noise! It was quite spectacular yet very spooky!

I slowed down just to be extra safe, didn’t want to fall anywhere and only be noticed the next day when more people would hike that trail! Also, reports said that illegal immigrant activity in that area would increase as we get close to the Chinese New Year. I wanted some extra energy to burn in order to outrun any II I would meet!

As I was doing some serious, yet controlled downhill trail running, the mist started giving way to some sunshine and I eventually found myself on Wong Lung Hang road at 0900. I had to be at the airport at 1030 now and decided to run to the airport! I thought to myself – if the bus can do it, so can I!

That enthusiasm was great but the sense of direction was not! I paused at the end of Wong Lung Hang not knowing which way to turn. I gazed up. I saw a plane with landing gear down at about 2500m. Would that mean that it just took off or is going to be landing soon or what?! More importantly, what was that telling me about the direction of the airport? Less than a second later, I realized that such serious effort at deduction was for Sherlock Holmes or Dr. House, not me!! (I have been watching too much of Gregory House lately).

Looked straight ahead and saw the Ngong Ping cable car. Had to be that way. I started running. 10 minutes into the run I saw a bus heading in the opposite direction headed for the Airport. Doh! I crossed the road and ran in the opposite direction. I made numerous mistakes. Eventually, used my broken Cantonese to ask some jogging dude if he knew how to get to the airport running. He gave me a weird look but knew the way!

At about 1035 I made it to the airport, running all the way from Mui Wo! Trail was Mui Wo to Sunset to Wong Lung Hang to the Airport (20km). The number of wrong turns I made is just amazing! I was circling the Cathay Pacific building 2-3 times instead of heading towards the terminal!

Pics here.

• The Calling from the Big Buddha (Lantau, Sunset, Tung Chung) (1)
• Hiking, 2009-08-08, Mui Wo to Ngong Ping AND BACK (0)
• 2009-06-21, Wong Lung Hang Stream (0)

Tags: Airport, Sunset Peak, Wong Lung Hang