Day 10 - Peak Tram and Happy Valley Race Track

Our adventure today was to go to the Peak Tram and then take a hike back down. For those not familiar, this is a tram that takes one up the tracks and to the top of the “peak” of Hong Kong. There are spectacular views from the peak and this is the most popular spot for visitors to see the whole city views from up above. We went here on our last trip, but unfortunately lost our photos due to a bad memory card. But with 2 phone cameras, we are ready this time! We took the tram up to begin our journey – it is fascinating to look at the views while on the tram car. When we reached the top, I remembered how truly unreal the views are from here. This is a beautiful way to see the city from all angles!

Most people ride the tram car back down. However, in our effort to reach our 8 mile a day goal (not mine, by the way), Rich decided that we should hike down. We took the Hong Kong trail to the reservoir. The Hong Kong trail is a total of 30 miles and winds down various areas of the mountain. The reservoir trail is apparently not the route that most folks take down, as the trail was pretty isolated. But it was actually an excellent urban hiking trail, with concrete paths and steps down. It was a total of about 4 miles, and I would call it an easy trail. Yay, Hong Kong for maintaining a fitness trail for locals!

We rode a bus back a (our first bus experience), and then chilled out at our apartment. I ate the leftover chorizo bread from last night's dinner for lunch. Excellent!! I must say that we are now leaning towards taxis instead of trains for getting around. My legs can only stand so much walking. On another note, I want to comment on the safety of this city. Both Rich and I feel that we are always comfortable walking around in crowds of people here. We never worry about getting mugged, shot, or kidnapped. I have a lot of respect for the people here, and for their less aggressive culture. Very refreshing to me!

Tonight we headed to Happy Valley race track. My stepson, Tash had mentioned that this was a nice way to spend an evening. (thank goodness we have a younger person to inform us about the fun things!) It was indeed quite a spectacle! The night lights of the city are behind the race track for horses. There are apparently quite a few racing enthusiasts here, as the place was packed. The area is very large, with a private jockey club as well as a large outside area for the commoners like us. The common area has live music and entertainment while you are watching the races. This is certainly an international setting as well, with locals as well as the usual Aussie tourists to get the party started.

This is a great people watching scene, even if you are paying no attention to the horse races! But there was definitely some serious betting going on as well. The drinks and food are cheap, so it really is a nice escape from the usual.

This was one of those nights that I desperately needed a dessert, so we ended up at the Starbuck's right across the street from our apartment. I must say that I am a Starbuck's fan, and it is comforting to see so many of that American tradition here. The desserts are somewhat different here, but the molton chocolate cake that I had was superb, and Rich liked his blueberry cheesecake. This was a fun day and night. Still 3 more days to go before we leave on Sunday. I am getting so used to the place that I will be putting down Wan Chai as my permanent address when we return to the states!