Sunset Station: Hong Kong Sight-Seeing, Part 1: The Peak

Hello boys and girls!

Today I thought I'll start a segment called "Hong Kong Sight-Seeing".
I will write about local locations, foods, events, etc. in Hong Kong, on the days I have little else to write about. It's fun!

Also a motivational factor here is that quite frankly most tourist attractions are actually crap albeit marketed well. Ever had the experience of going to some place which is supposed to be like ultra-cool and when you get to the actual location, you're like: "so what the hell is this crap then?"
I have that all the time and in many places (note: this is not just about Hong Kong, though I will be writing about Hong Kong locations) and I do not like it. It's a waste of money, time and life. Every time I visit a crappy tourist attraction I die a little inside; and I will never get that back. It's gone. It's lost.

To help others avoid my mistakes, I will tell people which places in Hong Kong are worth visiting, and which are not.

Today's topic is The Peak.

I've been to The Peak a number of times already because I've had to show plenty of visitors around Hong Kong, and it is one of those classic tourism-sights and a kind of a must-see to anyone visiting Hong Kong. Fully named The Victoria Peak, The Peak is a mountain located in the Hong Kong island, and gives a good panoramic view of most of the Hong Kong island, and much of Kowloon. This of course, is strongly affected by the weather as during a bad day the visibility can be total crap.

Instead of going into a sales-speech-more, I will tell quite straight what The Peak is and what it is not.

From The Peak you can see a lot of Hong Kong. You should see it because:
- It gives a hell of a view
- It gives a good idea of just how big Hong Kong is
- You get fresh air as it is usually windy
- There is a trail (called Morning Trail) which runs about 2-3km around the Peak allowing for a nice walk and good additional views and scenery
- It is impressive during day-time and totally kick-ass after dark
- If you're into tourist-crap (souvenirs and stuff), you can get some there, but it's a bit over-priced

Things I dislike about the Peak:
- It's a tourist attraction
- It's a tourist attraction packed with Island Monkeys and other Gweilo's
- It's not that interesting actually

Seeing the scenery from the viewing terrace of the Peak Tower is a good way to grasp Hong Kong's size and grandeur. However, it's just one scene and it takes maybe 1-2 minutes to "wholly grasp" it. So, you took maybe 40 minutes to get up (queuing in line for the transportation, going up escalators, etc.), you saw the scenery and now you want to go back. It's not really a good way to spend up to 2 hours of your day.

My recommendation: Take the Morning Trail also. It's a bitch of a walk during a hot day but definitely worth it. Just take a big bottle of water with you and it'll be ok. The trail will take additional one/two hours to walk, and will definitely pay off more than just the view from the Peak Tower. Besides, during the walk, you'll get to see even better views from Hong Kong so why settle only for one?

In Hong Kong you don't get to see many vast spaces due to the cramped up buildings. It is nice to rest your eyes on a wider landscape from time to time.

You can get to the Peak by using the Peak Tram (the classic way, using a cable-pulled tram that climbs the hill in what seems like at least 45 degrees angle), or with a bus or a taxi. For first-timers, the Peak Tram is the vehicle of choice, but for trips after, the two other modes are better since the Peak Tram tends to be damned boring, packed with tourists, expensive and just plain stupid.

So yes. Go see the Peak. It is a good place to see the city. It is one of the tourist things to do. Only go during a good and clear day to make most of the scenery and take the Morning Trail to make most of your time. Just going to the Peak for the city-view is a waste of time as such.Below a random Batman quote and some pictures taken from the Peak.

Dick: "Wow! The rings of Saturn! This is sure some fun, Bruce."
Bruce: "Astronomy is more than mere fun, Dick."
Dick: "It is?"
Bruce: "Yes, it helps give us a sense of proportion. Reminds us how little we are, really. People tend to forget that sometimes."
Dick: "Gosh yes, that's right. I'll bet I see those rings a little differently this time!"