13/02/10 - Lets climb a mountain!
This weekend it's Chinese New Year Holiday here in Hong Kong. Astrid has Monday and Tuesday off work so we thought given we have some recovery time over the holiday we would embark on a more strenuous walk, and hike up one of the highest mountains in Hong Kong. Ma On Shan (702m - Horse Saddle Mountain) is in the New Territories (the part of HK that has the land border with China). Set in Ma On Shan Country Park we were promised epic views into the mainland and the Sai Kung countryside.
Once again the weather intervened, it was a misty day with low clouds threatening rain, so we knew that the views may be limited but we were committed and up for the climb, so we went anyway. After a two hour climb we reached the peak - check out the wind and mist we encountered at the top. Visibility of about 20 metres instead of 20 miles!
On the way down we took a wrong turn and inadvertently added another hour onto the walk, including another 30 min climb, which at that stage wasn't welcome! Our route off the mountain wasn't quite as planned and after 4.5 hours of walking we were in no mood for the pack of feral dogs that greeted us with loud barking as we headed toward civilisation (we waved large sticks at them!). It took approximately an hour to get back onto HK island via bus and train, once back in Causeway Bay we rewarded ourselves with prawn Laksa and the best grilled spicy chicken from our favourite Indonesian joint.
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