At the beginning of the week, I went with two friends on what was only my fourth hike since moving to Hong Kong this past May (due in large part to rain -- and we're talking monsoon rain here! -- having led to the cancellation or postponement of more than one planned hike). Although the three other hikes have been enjoyable enough, have to say that this past Monday's was the best by far thus far; and really has whetted my appetite for more Hong Kong hiking. Now if only I can regularly possess sufficient time and energy to do so...
To wit: Today sees me being more inclined to take it easy in order to recharge my batteries. But hey, should I ever be in danger of losing my inclination to go out into the wilds of Hong Kong every once in a while, the following sample photos will serve to remind me of the kind of views, scenery and related attractions that I'd be missing if that were to happen... ;)
Proof positive that we indeed are in Hong Kong,and that early on in this hike,
we really weren't that far away from
the fabled Hong Kong of high rises! :)
And, yeah, it does take some(at times quite gruelling step) work
to get away into the wilds of Hong Kong... ;S
But then, before too long, you're pretty muchcompletely into the greenery! :)
One possible reason why Violet Hill(whose highest point stands at 436 meters --
and we ascended as part of our hike) is so named
...and another! ;b
One of those outstanding panoramic viewsof the Tai Tam Reservoirs that made
all that (step) climbing feel oh so worthwhile :)
Another scenic view --this time, one that partly looks out to sea
as well as gives a good idea of what
some parts of our hiking trail look like
To get some idea of how far we hiked:Look at photo #6 in this photo-essay
and then realize that this is a more close-up shot
of one of the Tai Tam Reservoirs! ;o
And yes, rest assured there most definitely are more photos in this series to come...! :)
13 comments:
Wow, that blueish tinge on the first one suggests an early start... Was it a "Synch watches, fix bayonets, over the top at the crack of dawn" sort of thing ;) ?
Oh dear, violet, along with various hues of purple, is one of my favourite colours... Must be a view indeed to see a whole hill of it :).
No doubt you've witnessed a lot of it yourself, but isn't the sight of mountaintops rising out of the clouds, or mist, also inspiring in a similar way? Must admit I drove, or took lifts and gondolas on the way, instead of climbing myself, for the most part, though ;b.
- NK
Hi NK --
"Wow, that blueish tinge on the first one suggests an early start..."
Looks can be deceiving. We actually started the hike at 1pm!
"Must be a view indeed to see a whole hill of it :)."
Haha, don't worry, despite the name there were just occasional glimpses of violet! But then, occasional glimpses can feel more precious... ;)
guess who started a blog?
oh man, I feel like I cannot form a coherent thought anymore!
40 is rough.
Well, the good thing is that my blog can have short posts and random thoughts.
Can I link to your blog?
Feel free to link to my blog. I will try to write something worthwhile soon.
True enough both, ytsl, especially if I, ah, deciphered them more or less correctly ;).
Aw, take it easy man, looks like you're doing well enough, pretty cool, Glenn, "Never Disappointed", right ;) ? And, if it ain't fun anymore, you can always stop, like you didn't know :). Yeah, I'm usually close to blind drunk when I send off these kinda things, talk about coherent, LOL...
- NK
Hi Glenn --
Hey,cool re your joining the blogging community! And sure, you can link to your blog -- and I'll go ahead and link yours to mine after I finished responding to the comments on this thread! :)
Hi once more NK --
Blink drunk? You could have fooled me -- after all, it's not like your comments are full of typos and fractured grammar! ;b
Thanks and thanks for the link.
Any advice you can give this new blogger would be welcome.
It's like all my years in web publishing are forgotten as I feel like an old man as I update my blog.
I'm sure I will learn as I go along.
Now, to find interesting topics to post on!
All those steps, oh I feel weak at the thought:) Yes that first shot is exactly how I picture Hong Kong, or used to before I read your posts:)
Familiarity with the situation, for one ;(. I have a bad case of insomnia, ytsl, it's either the bottle or the pills for me, and the bottle does seem a bit more natural, at least ;b.
Having thought it out to an extent while still (relatively) sober also helps -- you might mull it over when you first see the post/comment, leave it on the back burner and move on to other things, come back, see if anyone else said something interesting too, and think about whether you came up with anything else in the meantime, then send the final version...
But still, if there's some strange word choices, frequent repetition of the same phrase(s), long and complicated sentences (counterintuitive, but, yes -- think stream of consciousness ;)), some leaps in logic, and things like that, that's probably a symptom ;).
Past a certain age, a., there's also a certain "I know this is going to hurt tomorrow..." feeling too, I think :).
- NK
Hi again Glenn --
Hmmm re giving advice since I'm a relatively new blogger myself since my blog's not even 1 year old yet! ;S
Hi A. --
Those steps were pretty awful. Don't know if you noticed but that particular photo's rather blur because I think I was shaking too much from the exhaustion. Fortunately, as I told my friend, the hike leader, I did feel it was worth it later when I saw all those wonderful views that those steps led us to! ;b
Hi again NK --
Speaking of being blind drunk: I might not have been that but it seems that I was a bit tipsy when I wrote my response to your previous comments. Otherwise, I'd have not written blind as "blink", would I?! ;(
You see, I didn't even notice that "k" until you told me, ytsl, which just goes to show that I was never cut out to be a proofreader or an editor or something like that ;). Now I can rest in the comfortable knowledge that I did not miss out on what might have been a calling...;).
- NK
Hi again NK --
Sorry for the delay in responding. It's been hellishly busy at work over the past few days (and nights). Re proofreading and editing: They're definitely not my first love but, well, I guess they have some kind of calling for me as I've ended up doing that for the past few years! ;S
Well, when I was a kid, I'd see a plane flying overhead and think I might be a fighter pilot some day (LOL -- I wasn't even good at those computer games -- "Tally ho!" "I got him!" "Hier Wotan Bodenkontrolle. Feindliche Flugzeugen..." -- try any side ;)), and as a teenager, if I heard any music, I'd think I might be some sort of musician one day :). You're probably closer to the mark than that ;).
- NK
Hi again NK --
Hmmmm, not sure. Yes, I did want to be a writer when I was a kid -- but I thought of books or for "National Geographic" rather than a free entertainment magazine out here in Hong Kong! Also, other childhood ambitions included being a firefighter (Anyone remember "Emergency" the TV series?), teacher/professor and astronaut. So... ;b
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