Beaching It!

It's starting to get hot, which means that beach season is back! While there are a lot of beaches both on and off the island, these are the few I frequent on the Hong Kong side for a quick afternoon escape from the heat.

Big Wave Bay

Surfers head to Big Wave to catch the swells, while the girls who love them sun on the beach. Small coast, but it sure is pretty with large cliffs that hug either side. If you get tired of lounging on the beach you can wander up the trail or head to the beach side restaurant for a snack.

Shek-O

Nice, long sandy stretch of beach, but you'll be playing beach-blanket bingo when the weather is nice. Lifeguards are on duty and there are is even a playground for kids. Town shops cater to beach bums who need sunscreen and boogie boards. There also a couple of great restaurants if you stay through the afternoon.

South Bay Beach

A small beach tucked away from it all, this sandy outpost attracts expats in the know. There's a nice laid-back restaurant that's a great place for a snack or a cocktail, but be warned: the staff is as laid back as the vibe. Easy to get to, but hard to head home. You may want to put a taxi driver's number on speed-dial before you head out.

Stanley International Dragon Boat Festival

Dragon boating has been around for more than 2,000 years, so it was bound to have some quirky traditions sprout up around it. Some places don't let women paddle ... bad luck. At the Stanley International Dragon Boat Festival, women can compete, but the races are halted half way through the day for some ceremonial rituals.

First a roasted pig is carried out onto the beach and incense is lit around it. Staff members then go out and paint the eyes of the dragon red. Finally the staff takes out a golden blade and makes a sacrificial cut into the pig. I'm not quite sure what is done with the pig afterwards by the staff, but as for the teams, they continue to race.

Even though the competition is on a Thursday, there are still thousands of people out to watch the races, thanks to the fact that it is a national holiday in Hong Kong. More than 4,000 teams took part in this year's competition, and it seemed a good deal stuck around after to celebrate their wins or forget their losses down at Stanley's waterfront pub area.


Oh, and BTW -- SMUG ladies won it all on the beach this year!!

Buddy-ing up with the Big Buddha

I admit that I had avoided a trip to The Big Buddha for as long as I could. But when my parents came to town, I decided to give the Ngong Ping 360 cable car ride up to the resting place of the Big Buddha a try.


Why did I wait so long? The cable car ride itself is far less than I would have expected for such a touristy place ($93 RT), and the view was well worth the value. Even though it was a cloudy day, we still enjoyed watching the clouds blow over the Lantau hillsides. As we came closer to Ngong Ping village, we saw the Buddha loom on the hilltop. I don't mean to sound cheesy, but it was a serene sight.

The Ngong Ping village is a bit of a tourist trap, but prices again aren't as inflated as one would imagine. We grabbed lunch at Zen Taiwanese Bistro and then made our way over to The Buddha. After climbing the steps, you can then wander around the Po Lin Monastery, a working Buddhist monastery where you can watch the monks pray or make some offerings yourself.

All Ways to The Peak

The Peak is another one of those must-see stops on a tourist's list. It's one of the most exclusive areas of HK because of the fabulous views it affords from its vantage point. From the lookout, you can peer down at the skyscrapers and harbor below.


There are a number of ways to get to The Peak. It all depends on how much time and energy you are willing to spend to get there.

Tram
Most tourists visit The Peak by way of The Peak Tram. You can add on The Peak Lookout to the price of the ticket, but IMO, it's not the best vantage point and you're better off going for the plain ol' ticket ($22 one way/$33 RT).

The lines for the tram can be killer, but once on board, the motorized cable car does an almost vertical climb uphill. It has great views of the skyscrapers and the tropical foliage along the way. At the top, riders are dumped into a mall where they can shop for trinkets. Head outdoors, though for the view.

Bus
For a roller-coaster like adventure, score yourself a front seat on the top deck of the bus that heads up from Central. Take in the awesome views as you zip along the windy roads leading back to the city. Better yet, take the bus down. It's more thrilling coming down.

Hike
There are several ways that you can hike to The Peak, as well. From Central, hike up Old Peak Road and you'll find the trail from there. While the trek isn't for the meek, beginners and more advanced hikers can hack the trail just fine. At the top, reward yourself with the view-- and a beverage stop.

Jam Session at Peel Fresco

My brother-in-law, David, has mad skills on the drums. He was visiting us in Hong Kong and wanted to check out the local music scene. So we took him to Peel Fresco's open-jam night. They played everything from jazz to rock. Multiple musicians got up playing sax, piano, trumpet, guitar, bass and drums. It was a friendly crowd, as one would expect, and people were spilling out into the streets to get some breathing room as the room started to swing and sway as the night drew on and the tunes got louder and wilder.

P.S. - I've checked out this spot on weekends, as well, and the music is always top notch. My favorite jazz bar to date!

Night at the Races

Happy Valley may be a euphemism for the cemetery in the area, but it is synonymous with the race course here.

I haven't been to many of the races to date, but Brian and I did go down and check them out on Wednesday. Oktoberfest was going on, and while there may not have been many Germans, there were certainly a lot of gui-los getting their drink on.

We partook in some of the drinking, but the main action was the horses. I put my money down on a horse called A World full of Love. Man, he must get picked on in the stable. I figured I had to choose a horse that sounded like a bad love ballad. Unfortunately, luck was not on my side. Brian, nor any of our other pals really hit it big that night.

Beach Days

One thing I really like about Hong Kong is that summer doesn't end after Labor Day. In the Northeast, winter is about 6 months and summer is really only about two. But the tables are turned here. From what I've gathered, I got another couple of months of beach weather here.

For the past two weeks, we've been exploring some of the Hong Kong beaches.

Shek-O. I really love Shek-O town. The beach ... not so much. It's beach-blanket bingo, for one. And there's an entire flotilla of blow-up rafts in the water. It made me feel as if I was at a giant pool, not an ocean.

South Bay. Great vibe here. The beach is heavy on the expats drawn to the laid-back lunch bar. Some people even just camp at the tables. The one drawback is leaving. Taxis are few and there can be a long line for the buses, too.

Next weekend ... Big Wave Bay. What's your favorite beach?

Let's go to the movies ...

Going to the movies in Hong Kong is a civilized affair: they have assigned seating.

At first, I was put off by this idea, but after trying it, I liked not worrying about getting to the theater early to get a good seat since you choose your place when you purchase the tickets.

Word to wise: buy your tickets online in advance , since seats fill up fast as the movies don't stay in the theaters very long. Even popular films only stick around for about a week ... two at most! The theaters are all quite small, too, so don't worry about taking a seat towards the back.

One overarching complaint about HK movie-theaters is that they don't seem to take their sound systems seriously. This girl likes her movies loud. Oh ... and if you're a butter lover, you're out of luck: popcorn comes two ways only, salty or sweet.

Details: for theater listings and tickets, go to Cityline or Broadway Circuit.

Day trip in Cheung Chau

Although it only takes 30 minutes to get to Cheung Chau from HK Island, the difference feels a hundred years apart. Sampans dot the waterways; open air shops and restaurants densely line the streets in town; and to get around you'll need to walk; cars simply aren't allowed.

That's fine since hiking is a pleasure on the island. Go towards the main beach Tung Wan, and you'll see a winding path. It will lead you past the Mini Great Wall, temples, rock carvings and other pretty vantage spots on the island.

After working up a sweat, head back to the beaches. Opt for the smaller beach, Kwun Yam Wan, set back from town. The facilities are not as nice as at Tung Wan beach, but there is a small restaurant, and you can rent beach chairs and an umbrella for the afternoon.

When you're appetite starts raging after an afternoon of hiking and swimming, head into town where you can refuel at one of the many fish restaurants by the boat pier. They supposedly all have similar quality food, but it's always wise to choose one that seems popular. While a nice harbor-side seat sounds scenic, be warned that the water can be smelly.

Details: Pier 5 from Central every 30 min (app.). No transportation needed on the island.

Hiking in the shadow of the urban jungle

Since Peru, I've had the itch to hike. Then, I read that one of the ten best urban hikes (according to Time Magazine) was right in my own backyard: Dragon Back.

The online guides I found mentioned that the entrance was not easy to find. They were right. My advice is take a taxi towards Shek-O; jump out at the sign for the creamatorium; and then walk up the stairs towards the prison. (I can't believe these are directions on how to start a hike, either). The road near the prison leads you onto the trail.

The hike isn't a difficult one, but you do get some great views that put skyscrapers in the distance at odds with rocky seacoasts.

In all, it took about an hour to hike to the end of the trail. We then caught a bus into Shek-O and had lunch at the popular Chinese/Thai restaurant in town. If it's a nice day, take your swimsuit so you can hit the beach right there in Shek-O.

There are plenty of buses from town that you can catch back into town.