Victoria Peak

It was another blisteringly hot day today. After doing some school work in the morning, we had lunch at the hostel and headed off to find Victoria Peak, the highest spot in Hong Kong. It was a steep walk from the subway stop to get to the tram. The tram ride itself was very exciting, and almost felt like a roller coaster ride. The tram climbed the mountain at a very steep angle, which made the buildings on the side look like they were leaning! Our ears even popped as we got closer to the top.

The Peak Tower at the top had a bunch of souvenir shops and restaurants, so we found our way to Lugard Road, which winds its way around the peak and provides great views of the city and harbour. It was quite a bit cooler up there because we were up so high and also because we had the shade of the trees on both sides of the path. We stopped a few times for snack and water breaks and to take some pictures. The views were great, but made you realize what a concrete jungle Hong Kong really is. At one point we saw a helicopter flying over the harbour, and it was below us! We could see the tops of the skyscrapers, which we had walked by on our way to the tram and which had seemed so huge from ground level.

We made our way back to the Peak Tower and had a look at the shops for a while. We wanted to stay until sunset so we could see the lights of Hong Kong from our vantage point. We had McDonald’s for supper (we could blame this on the kids, but in touristy spots, McDonald’s is a good option because they don’t inflate their prices 10 times!) and went for a walk to the lookout to check out the view. The lights are pretty cool, and different colours, and some buildings have lights that change colours every few minutes. After taking it all in, and taking some pictures, we decided to return to the hostel.

The ride down on the tram was also interesting because the benches all faced backwards. The way down is so steep that if the benches faced forward, we would all go flying out of our seats! We got down safely and found our way to the subway station. It was only a 15 minute ride back. We all had showers and the kids went to bed exhausted but happy.

NM