Hiking Up and Down Mount Johnston

About to ascend Mt Johnston in Ap Lei Chau

This afternoon my friend and I went back to Ap Lei Chau -- and tackled Mount Johnston, and what a glorious day to do it. The sky was so blue, and we only saw one cloud in the distance. 

We started off at Kennedy Town again and walked up Victoria Road, and this time bypassed going down to Cyberport and kept walking along Victoria Road until we hit Pokfulam Road and then down to Aberdeen where we had a quick stop at McCafe to have coffee and snacks before crossing the bridge to Ap Lei Chau.

Going down the other side of the mountain

This time we were mentally prepared for climbing up the steep mountain that thankfully had ropes to help people up and they were very handy, though very dusty. My shorts and windbreaker were becoming dusty too from me holding up the rope waist level. 

Finally we reached the top (196m) and it's a very flat and has a fantastic 360-degree view of the south side of Hong Kong, Ocean Park, and Lamma Island in the distance.

Mount Johnston, also known as Yuk Kwai Shan is named after Alexander Robert Johnston (1812-1888), who was a British colonial officer who served twice as Acting Administrator of Hong Kong from 1841 to 1842.

After admiring the views we had to get down the mountain on the other side to a tombolo -- a small island attached with a narrow sandy beach. It was there, my friend said that we could catch a sampan back to Aberdeen...

Looking back up Mt Johnston from Ap Lei Pai

So we tried to descend on the other side. It didn't look difficult... Again we had to hold onto ropes to get down and my friend suggested walking backwards to avoid sliding too much. I dropped my water bottle twice! Next time need to carry a knapsack and wear gloves and better shoes.

We got onto the thin sandy strip and walked across to the "tied island" for a break. The water was so clear there. However, we didn't know if we could make it over the other side of this smaller island to catch a sampan which was supposedly HK$50 per person. So we decided to go back where we came.

Going back up wasn't too bad, and yes those ropes were very helpful again. There was less sliding. A mother and her son were in front of me and she kept encouraging him to keep going or to take a break if he needed. I told her it was my first time here and she said it was for them too.

For kids this hike is pretty tough if they are not fit! Using the rope definitely involved a bit of core and lots of balance.

Looking at Ocean Park and a new hotel there

Going back down the other side was a bit easier now that I had some experience for the past few hours! When we finally made it back down to Lei Tung Commercial Centre, my legs were kind of like jelly. We took the MTR back home and my socks, runners, windbreaker and shorts were covered in dust!

What a day!

Scenic Southside Walk

An old battery at the U of Chicago campus

 

Today we played urban tourists and walked over 12k from Kennedy Town all the way to Ap Lei Chau! This is not a route most people would go, but it was time to visit the south side of Hong Kong Island.

Looking at Bel-Air in Cyberport from Victoria Rd

At the start of the walk we visited the University of Chicago campus that was designed by the late Vancouver architect Bing Thom. His signature clean lines, incorporating the building into the heritage site as well as the natural landscape was clear here.

He is remembered with a replica of his drawing carved in stone that says "Tree of knowledge" on it, referring to the campus offering an education to students and faculty. 

The site also includes a battery to hold a gun emplacement looking out to the sea. But the weapon has been long gone, and instead a large deep circular pit is left behind. 

A sculpture of a dragon boat

We then walked to Cyberport for a quick pit stop, a mall in the middle of no where, but offers a hodgepodge of food options for people living in the area. Nearby the grass at the park was downright deplorable, completely dry and dusty. 

Pressing on we walked up a gentle incline back up onto Victoria Road before it merged into Pok Fu Lam Road. We passed by Wah Fu Estate and then soon we were in Aberdeen. The promenade there is short but nice, a bit touristy with a model of a dragon boat and some bronze statues depicting life in the area centuries before that are related to fishing.

Then we found the entrance to the bridge to go further south to Ap Lei Chau and South Horizons. We made it to Lei Tung and then my friend pointed up to a giant hill called Yuk Kwai Shan or Mount Johnston to climb! I was not prepared for that with not enough water and we had already walked 12k! I also had a time crunch to be back in time to eat at 4.30pm (linner or dunch) before the restaurant closed at 6pm.

Lots of boats docked around Aberdeen

So we turned back and caught the bus back to Causeway Bay. Guess we head up to Yuk Kwai Shan next time but perhaps without the prologue of walking all the way there!

BBQ in Aberdeen Country Park

Meats roasted in various stages including my char siu about to be cooked

We take a break from protest programming to describe an outing we had last Saturday.

Now that the weather has cooled down considerably, my relatives came up with the brilliant plan of having a barbecue -- at 10am.

We all met at Aberdeen Centre and from there took a short mini bus or a taxi ride up to Aberdeen Country Park where there are barbecue pits free of charge. For me it was the first time taking the no. 58 mini bus from Kennedy Town to Aberdeen Centre, which took about 20 minutes.

The country park has a nice (developed) setting for barbecues

One of my uncles who lives near there went ahead earlier and occupied one of the pits which is the perfect spot: under the trees for shade protection and next to a picnic bench. Nearby are public toilets and even a commissary should you need extra snacks and drinks to supplement your barbecue.

This uncle had already placed newspapers on top of the picnic bench, then a big plastic sheet over the table top and held it down with string in three places. So professional.

My other uncle and his son started the fire by arranging the charcoal bricks like a Jenga tower but with spaces in between. This turned out to be completely unnecessary once the fire started going and the charcoal became white and the tower collapsed.

They had also brought marinated meats along, like chicken wings (two kinds), thin pork fillets in a char siu marinade, and a selection of offal, like liver. There were also processed meats like sausages and even fish balls and squid balls. And being Chinese, we also had a container of pickled vegetables, fresh cabbage leaves, corn, and sweet potatoes that we placed in the pit to roast.

Walking along the path to the Upper Aberdeen Reservoir

Once the fire toned down and the charcoal started turning white, that's when the real barbecuing began and it was quite fun sitting around shooting the breeze and slowly cooking our food. In the background I knew there were clashes going on at Hong Kong Polytechnic University, but this was a good way to get our minds elsewhere.

When I was pretty full, I asked my relatives where I could go for a walk and they gave me directions to walk to the Upper Aberdeen Reservoir. 

It was about a 15 minute walk up a gentle slope, where there are more barbecue pits. However they seemed to have attracted a family of wild pigs! The mother led her five piglets away from the barbecue pits and into the hillside and for me it was my first encounter with wild pigs so close up. The mother didn't seem to mind us humans, otherwise she would have been defensive in protecting her piglets.

A family of wild pigs near a barbecue site!

I walked passed them and kept going until I hit the upper reservoir, and it was quite an impressive sight. There were also lots of butterflies everywhere, enjoying the sun.

The Upper and Lower reservoirs were built to supply water to the west side of Hong Kong Island. The project began in 1929 and finished two years later. The Upper Reservoir stores up to 820,000 cubit metres of water, and together with the Lower Reservoir have a total capacity of 1.23 million cubic metres that served 850,000 residents.

From here I turned around to go back and again encountered the same wild pig family, that seemed to like to linger in the area... I wonder why...

When I came back the fire was perfect for roasting marshmallows and helped my cousins get that golden brown, slightly crunchy on the outside, and wobbly gooey inside. I couldn't help eating a few myself!

A scenic view of the Upper Aberdeen Reservoir

We finished in the late afternoon and needless to say there was no need for dinner except for some fruit! But it was also a good mini escape from the stress of the protests and enjoy a bit of nature (and food).

By-Election Blues

An Au Nok-hin supporter earlier today

Today is the by-election for four of the six seats in the Legislative Council vacated by those who were disqualified for making improper oaths of office.

Despite rigorous campaigning, voter turnout seems blase about the event. By 9.30pm, an hour before polls closed, a total of 840,070 voters had cast their votes in the geographical constituency, an overall turnout rate of 39.97 percent. This compares to a 52.27 percent for the same time during the 2016 general elections.

Granted this is a by-election and not a general election, still it's important for the pro-democrats to try to regain ground in Legco. However, it seems voters may be jaded and feel there's no point in trying to vote for someone who represent their interests because the Hong Kong government, or rather Beijing, will find a way to disqualify them, or make it harder for pro-democracy lawmakers to do their work.

Pro-Beijing loyalists butt heads with Joshua Wong and Au

There's also still simmering tensions between pro-democracy and pro-Beijing parties. This morning at around 9am in Aberdeen, a group of middle-aged Beijing loyalists surrounded pro-democracy candidate Au Nok-hin along with Joshua Wong Chi-fung, Nathan Law Kwun-chung and Agnes Chow Ting.

"You are a traitor who betrayed your country! Why don't you go to Taiwan instead?" the pro-Beijing group shouted at them, along with some swear words.

The tensions also extended to former senior officials who had differing opinions on the state of politics in Hong Kong. Ex-chief executive Tung Chee-hwa said quarreling should end, saying advocates of Hong Kong independence and self-determination would cost a heavy toll.

"We should elect some people who are constructive, pragmatic and true-heartedly serving Hong Kong into the Legislative Council," he said.

Tung Chee-hwa says he wants Hong Kong to move forward

Don't we all want that? We know independence isn't going to get anywhere but what about at least upholding "one country, two systems"?

Meanwhile Tung's former No. 2 Anson Chan Fang On-sang had a different view.

"Hongkongers should never give up... we should vote to express our zero tolerance to the constant interventions in Hong Kong affairs and the devastating damage to the 'one country, two systems' principle by the local and central governments," she said.

"Tung called on citizens to vote for those who genuinely work for Hong Kong," Chan continued, addressing his earlier comments. "I believe voters have the wisdom to judge who truly represents the values of Hongkongers."

Anson Chan hopes votes reflect Hong Kong's sentiment

We will see in the next few hours what the results are and in what direction Hong Kong will be going in... we can only hope for the best.