above: the paved trail crossing over a stream that becomes a small waterfall further down the trail.
We took a hike about a month ago that I have been wanting to share pictures of. It is the same trail that the "Doggie Day Trip" post covers, only the full scale version of it. The "Doggie" trip was just the first half hour of the full journey, whereas we had previously hiked the entire trail.
Anyway, we heard about this trail from a neighbor (our dogs play together sometimes). He said it was a great hike and it takes about an hour and a half. Of course, he and his family are physically fit.
That being said, it took Cybr and I about three hours. It goes over mountains, is paved with sidewalks or stairs the WHOLE way, is very steep and seemingly about 2/3 of the trail is UPhill. In our defense, we did stop to take pictures frequently throughout the journey so we aren't THAT out of shape. Okay, we are. But who is keeping track? It's not like we had mountains to climb back home in order to prepare ourselves.
I digress (very frequently, hehe).
Our neighbor told us where the trail entrance is and we were a little surprised at the location. We knew where it was, but we thought it lead to housing and had no idea it was a trail. He also gave us some much needed advice, saying that when we first begin on this trail it will seem as though we are walking through peoples houses. He says it IS the trail, so just keep going. Yeah, uh, it doesn't seem like you are walking through peoples houses...you ARE walking through peoples houses. If he hadn't advised us on this particular subject, we would have turned back. It seemed intrusive and kinda rude to us, but we plodded on per his advice. And it was good advice. The housing isn't exactly housing like we are familiar with either, it is squatters that live in very primitive homes with very primitive accommodations and many of them are of Philippine descent. Everyone we passed was kind and friendly and my perception was that this was not a bad way to live compared to how they lived before coming to Hong Kong.
Anyway, when I say that it is paved the WHOLE way with either sidewalks or stairs, it is really difficult for me to explain the scope of what that actually covers. I have not the words to describe it and pictures cannot do it justice. It is immense. It is grandiose. It is like nothing I have ever seen before, nor did I realize it was even possible. We would stop and just admire this paved trail that crosses miles of mountain terrain and say to each other "There is no chance of ever explaining this to anyone and have them actually visualize what we are seeing".
And the views from up top were beautiful, although it was a little hazy that day so my pictures don't do it justice.
Once we reached the downhill stretch it was all steep, narrow stairs going straight down. This was my favorite part, but I would guess it was a bit difficult for Cybr to maneuver since my feet didn't fit on the steps. Each step requires your attention or you plummet to certain death. It was cool!
The end of this trail brings you to a village called Mui Wo, also called Silvermine Bay. Cybr and I absolutely LOVE this village. It is so quaint and comfortable and the housing is so much cheaper. This would have been the ideal place for us to live over here with our dogs, had we known then what we know now. It has much more of a "local flavour" than Discovery Bay, where we currently reside. Too bad for us, we are locked into a lease.
Anyway, we heard about this trail from a neighbor (our dogs play together sometimes). He said it was a great hike and it takes about an hour and a half. Of course, he and his family are physically fit.
That being said, it took Cybr and I about three hours. It goes over mountains, is paved with sidewalks or stairs the WHOLE way, is very steep and seemingly about 2/3 of the trail is UPhill. In our defense, we did stop to take pictures frequently throughout the journey so we aren't THAT out of shape. Okay, we are. But who is keeping track? It's not like we had mountains to climb back home in order to prepare ourselves.
I digress (very frequently, hehe).
Our neighbor told us where the trail entrance is and we were a little surprised at the location. We knew where it was, but we thought it lead to housing and had no idea it was a trail. He also gave us some much needed advice, saying that when we first begin on this trail it will seem as though we are walking through peoples houses. He says it IS the trail, so just keep going. Yeah, uh, it doesn't seem like you are walking through peoples houses...you ARE walking through peoples houses. If he hadn't advised us on this particular subject, we would have turned back. It seemed intrusive and kinda rude to us, but we plodded on per his advice. And it was good advice. The housing isn't exactly housing like we are familiar with either, it is squatters that live in very primitive homes with very primitive accommodations and many of them are of Philippine descent. Everyone we passed was kind and friendly and my perception was that this was not a bad way to live compared to how they lived before coming to Hong Kong.
Anyway, when I say that it is paved the WHOLE way with either sidewalks or stairs, it is really difficult for me to explain the scope of what that actually covers. I have not the words to describe it and pictures cannot do it justice. It is immense. It is grandiose. It is like nothing I have ever seen before, nor did I realize it was even possible. We would stop and just admire this paved trail that crosses miles of mountain terrain and say to each other "There is no chance of ever explaining this to anyone and have them actually visualize what we are seeing".
And the views from up top were beautiful, although it was a little hazy that day so my pictures don't do it justice.
Once we reached the downhill stretch it was all steep, narrow stairs going straight down. This was my favorite part, but I would guess it was a bit difficult for Cybr to maneuver since my feet didn't fit on the steps. Each step requires your attention or you plummet to certain death. It was cool!
The end of this trail brings you to a village called Mui Wo, also called Silvermine Bay. Cybr and I absolutely LOVE this village. It is so quaint and comfortable and the housing is so much cheaper. This would have been the ideal place for us to live over here with our dogs, had we known then what we know now. It has much more of a "local flavour" than Discovery Bay, where we currently reside. Too bad for us, we are locked into a lease.
4 comments:
That definitely sounds like fun. Wow, I need to win the lottery or something so we can travel over there.
Very cool pictures! I really really wish we could travel to Asia soon. I would have such a different appreciation for the countries than I did when I was a teen. LOL Though, I loved it then too.
I wish you would come visit. We need visitors!!!
That is gorgeous! Very nice pictures. So glad to see you guys are really taking advantage of your new home. It looks well worth it!
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