Danger Lurking In The Hills

I've always felt pretty safe hiking in Hong Kong's country parks. Apart from the occasional snake and a few aggressive macaques, there didn't seem too much to worry about.

But I learn today there is something more sinister lurking in the hills around the Shing Mun reservoir. A policeman approaches me near the end of Wilson Trail section 6 and reports that there have been five or six holdups recently on the section of trail I've just finished. "He's wearing a black leather jacket and carrying a big knife; we think he might be from the mainland" the friendly cop tells me.

From the mainland, huh? I wonder how I'd go trying to talk my way out of a holdup with my very basic Mandarin? Peggy didn't teach us how to deal with bandits on her very useful Youtube Mandarin lessons.

Why would a wayward mainland bandit rob hikers, I'm thinking to myself? Surely there'd be much better pickings in town? Then I realise I'm listening to pod casts on an iPhone 4; wearing a solid gold Omega watch and have a (genuine) Louis Vuitton wallet stuffed full of cash in my back pocket. Maybe the bandit isn't so dumb after all. Thank god I left my diamond encrusted Cartier walking stick back in the vault at home.

Might be time to fish out the old Casio watch and a cheapie Nokia phone. Probably smart to leave the wallet at home as well. Be careful out there people.



Caught the number 81 bus on Nathan Road. Got off at the Kowloon Reservoir bus stop on Taipo Road (Start of Wilson Trail section 6).
Walked section 6 and most of section 7.  Left the trail between markers W078 and W079 and followed the Pineapple Dam Nature Trail back to the Shing Mun Visitor Centre.
Caught the number 82 minibus back to Tsuen Wan MTR station.
Using the Countryside Series North East & Central NT map (Edition 4, 2009)

1983 Restaurant, Happy Valley

Over on Tsoi Tak Street, above the Wellcome supermarket, a noisy renovation has been keeping pedestrians on their toes for months. Recently, the scaffolding was removed and all the trucks illegally parked on the footpath moved on. A fancy, modern looking establishment emerged. It has a stylised Chinese sign (as above) discretely placed on the outside wall.

Decoding regular Chinese characters is hard enough but it really bugs me when graphic designers get involved and make the characters almost unreadable. I gave up in disgust and thought no more about it, until today.

Our regular restaurant was bursting at the seams so I suggested to Mrs. Valley that we try the new one with the unreadable sign. She hesitated but eventually caved in when we couldn't find a seat elsewhere. The mystery restaurant has a huge set of imposing solid wood brown doors that look like they've been borrowed from the Summer Palace in Beijing. Inside the decoration is nicely done in retro Chinese chic and I got the feeling it might be expensive.

I quizzed the waiter about the name. He reckons it is 1983 - a lucky number in Chinese, of course. We ordered Dan Dan noodles, dumplings, spring rolls and a big clay pot of tofu and vegetables. Mrs. Valley liked the food, the service and the decoration - that was lucky. I liked it as well. More Shanghainese than Cantonese. Crowd was mostly older folks dressed up in their Sunday best. A quick look at the wine list reveals an interesting list of 1983 vintage French reds reasonably priced (some even under HK$1000!), a funky cocktail list and a Grant Burge Shiraz as the house red. Not bad!

This would be a great place to impress visitors especially if you've had a few winners at the track.

1983 / Hong Kong Cuisine, 2/F 2-4 Tsoi Tak Street, Happy Valley, Hong Kong 289 33 788

Lunch for two with tea - HK$268 + 10% sevice charge.

Winner!

I just received an SMS from +44 7404 607750 saying I've won the lottery;

"APPLE iPHONE UK YOU WON $1.5 Million POUNDS IN THE ONGOING APPLE NEW YEAR PROMO. FOR CLAIMS EMAIL YOUR NAME, AGE & COUNTRY TO
appleiphoneslots@hotmail.com"

What's even more amazing is that I didn't even put an entry in.

So far this year I've "won" multiple competitions but have yet to see any cash.

Thanks

Monkey Business

I'm not sure what the message this poster is trying to communicate? Perhaps don't feed cute little monkeys extra large bananas?

And should we be even using cute cartoons to discourage the feeding of wild animals? Walking along Wilson Trail section 5 today, the monkeys  (technically Rhesus macaques and Longtailed macaques) I saw weren't cute little things poking their pink tongues out at me. Perhaps the government could consider using a scarier picture to discourage humans from feeding them - I would suggest a big scary monkey with razor sharp teeth, chasing a human child.

The "Don't Feed The Monkeys" message doesn't seem to be getting out: I saw mounds of waste food dumped along the trail. One aggressive monkey, clutching a couple of slices of white bread, came at me with teeth bared and hissing. A quick swipe at him with my walking stick kept him at bay but I guess he was just defending his dinner.  He should be more worried about obesity and diabetes associated with his new western diet.

If you're keen to see the monkeys, head for the Kowloon reservoir on Taipo Road. Walk along any of trails around the reservoir and the monkeys will find you soon enough.  

More about the monkeys on the AFCD website.

   

Hard to Find?

If you were a visitor to Hong Kong or a first-timer on the Wilson Trail, the start of section 3 must be extremely hard to find.

I recall wasting time last year trying to find it. And today I just realised again how difficult it must be for newbies. There are no signs or markings until you are actually on the trail - slightly ass about I would say. From Yau Tong MTR station you have to wind up though a housing estate and a shopping mall until you find Lei Yue Mun Road. Continue East on Lei Yue Mun Road until you are at a huge roundabout.

The roundabout is all fenced in and makes it very hard to cross the road. Turn left uphill at the roundabout and then turn right up a steep private road towards the Chinese Protestant Cemetery. The two large, blue "Private Road" signs and a little guard house can be a little intimidating but just ignore these and walk up the hill. Finally at the crest of the hill you should see a sign pointing towards the Wilson Trail.

This is an interesting section of the Wilson Trail once you finally get onto it. A few extra signs pointing towards the trail could help others from wasting time circling around the concrete mess that is Yau Tong.

Wilson Trail Section 3 is mapped out pretty well (aside from the start) on the Sai Kung & Clear Water Bay Countryside Series map. You can buy these Countryside Series maps (HK$62 each) by visiting the Survey & Mapping Office (23/F North Point Government Offices, 333 Java Road, North Point,Hong Kong 2331 3187). If you dont fancy making the trek out to North Point, local hiking shops seem to stock these maps as well. I buy mine from RC Outfitters in Causeway Bay (2/F, Kin Tak Fung Commercial Bldg, 467-473 Hennessy Road, 2390 0020)