What to do in Hong Kong on hot summer days

At Lido Beach (underneath the Ting Kau Bridge)
one weekend afternoon this summer

View at one point in a hike up on
the Ngong Ping Plateau last summer

"What are you going to do this weekend?" is a question that my mother frequently asks me since I moved to Hong Kong. My usual response involves a combination of cultural activities (e.g., viewing a new film or an old movie, going to a classical music concert, dance show or theatrical play) -- normally on Friday or Saturday evening -- and outdoor activities (most likely hiking). But it's also the case that what I do over a weekend is very much dependent on the season and weather.

By season, I mean the cultural one as well as the natural seasons: with the former's high activity period being during the early part of the chronological year (with the Hong Kong Arts Festival taking place in the early months of the year and Hong Kong International Film Festival starting as the other arts fest is coming to a close) and quietest time being in the summer months (when many arts groups go on hiatus and vacation); and the latter speaking to sub-tropical Hong Kong's year being divided into our four seasons like in the more temperate climes.

As for weather: suffice to say that Hong Kong can get very hot as well as surprisingly cold considering its latitudinal location -- and also has its markedly dry along with super wet and humid months together with typhoon seasons.

This time of the year, it often gets so hot that a number of people try to minimize their time spent outdoors. And when they do something outdoors, it often involves going to the beach (to just hang out there and sunbathe or actually take the plunge and swim in the waters).

Since I'm not by nature a beach goer, I didn't go to many beaches my first couple of years in the Big Lychee. But after discovering the existence in Hong Kong of beautiful beaches like those at Cheung Sha and Sai Kung's Tai Long Wan, I've become more inclined to check out -- and spend time at -- various beaches in the territory.

For all this, however (and unlike many people I know), my preferred outdoor activity even during hot summer days still is to go hiking. At the same time though, the heat and humidity plays a part in making me more inclined to opt for easier hikes and/or hikes either at higher (and cooler) elevations in Hong Kong (like the Ngong Ping Plateau and the Victoria Peak area) or along more tree-shaded trails during this time of the year.

Put another way: While many people's instincts are to seek comfort in some air-conditioned indoor area (be it a cinema, shopping mall, museum or some place else) during hot summer days, my feeling is that time spent outdoors at this time of the year doesn't have to be unpleasant. Instead, it's the rain -- rather than heat or even humidity -- that's far more likely to drive and keep me indoors; hence my ideal being for it to rain on weekdays (when I have to work and thus am stuck inside an office) and then to be dry on weekends! ;b