Peak-a-boo

View from the Peak by Day 

Well it took me a full 4 weeks, but I finally made it to Hong Kong's #1 attraction: Victoria Peak, last Friday September 24th, with Mum and Dad.  It was an emotional day- thinking a lot about family, particularly Booster- but a visit to the Peak was a perfect way to celebrate the astonishing beauty of Hong Kong.  It was also a chance for me to reflect on how incredibly lucky I am to be experiencing life in this city and how fortunate it is that I was able to share the experience with my wonderful parents (who are now safe and sound back in Vancouver).

View from the Peak by Night

We met at the Peak Tram Terminus at about 3:00 and waited in an amoeba-like crowd (melting together in the heat!) for the next car to arrive.  I have to point out that for all it's organization and efficiency, Hong Kong does not seem to be a big fan of queuing in situations where the good seats are limited.  Perhaps it is the tourists who are to blame for this more than the city itself, but it seemed odd that after 30 minutes of lining up in an orderly fashion to buy tickets, visitors were all corralled into one large waiting area and those with the sharpest elbows emerged victorious in the race to secure a west-facing window seat.  That being said, I tend to slide under the radar of the pushers and shovers, even in Asia, and when the tram arrived I managed to slip past a good portion of the crowd and quickly claimed three window seats.

Dinner at Bubba Gump Shrimp Co.

Once we arrived at the top, we spent an hour or so taking in Hong Kong's expansive skyline to the north and breathtaking ocean vistas to the south then headed toward what we THOUGHT was the Peak Trail. Unfortuantely, each of us failed miserably at channelling our inner Magellan and after a 15 minute stroll, we found ourselves in the heart of a several very private gated communities and realized that we had taken a wrong turn before we even reached the trail!  We headed back to our starting point and quickly found the trailhead but we were only able to do a quarter of the trail before we had to head back to make our dinner reservation at Bubba Gump Shrimp Co.- delightfully tacky and fun.

Epic Food Chain Take Down

Despite missing the Peak Trail, the detour wasn't a total bust.  We got to check out some of Hong Kong's most prized real estate and we also saw a fascinating yet savage act of nature: a wolf spider the size of my palm taken down by a neon blue and yellow insect.  It started as a fair fight, but we suspect the insect poisoned his opponent, because after a few seconds, the spider became paralyzed and was dragged off into jungle by his hungry predator.  Quite a spectacle.

After dinner (for us, and apparently for our insect friend) we went back up to the observation deck to see the buildings all illuminated at night.  The sun had just set and the full moon was rising so Dad got some great pictures.  It's no wonder this is Hong Kong's number one attraction, seeing the city lights from above is something truly spectacular.  All I can say is thank goodness for the Lamma Power Station!

Fun Facts For Funicular Fanatics (alliteration) 



The ride up the Peak Tram is an attraction in and of itself.  The tram, which is currently operated by Hong Kong and Shanghai Hotels (the same company as the famous Peninsula Hotel in Kowloon), has been in commercial operation since May 30, 1888 and currently carries over 4 million passengers per year- that is approximately 11,000 visitors through the turnstiles every single day!

The track extends nearly 1.4km between Garden Road and the Upper Peak Tram Terminus representing an elevation gain of approximately 400 meters.  The initial purpose of the funicular was to transport wealthy families from central up to their homes at Victoria Peak or to the famous Peak Hotel.  Prior to the completion of the tram line, wealthy Hong Kongers relied strictly on Sedan Chairs for transportation up and down the mountain!

Transporting Sedan Chairs up the Peak

The Sedan Chair Charity Race is still an option for anyone who wants to experience what life was life before the tram was completed.