16 - 22 Jan '24

This article continues from Part 1 of my Hong Kong trip in January 2024 which can be found here. The days after the trail run were quite relaxing. One of the highlights was the hike at Hong Kong's Lion Rock Hill. It is located between Kowloon and the New Territories.

We spent the day after our race in the Mong Kok shopping district. It was a relaxing day as we did not really have an agenda. We visited a couple of shops which specialised in selling running and hiking gears. In the evening, we joined the runners from our running group who would be taking part in the 100 km ultramarathon for dinner.

As our legs had recovered from Thursday's trail run, albeit still slightly aching, my aunt and I decided to hike at Lion Rock on Saturday. Fortunately, it was just 5 train stops away from Mong Kok MTR Station. After exiting Wong Tai Sin MTR, we walked along Shatin Pass Road, which had a gentle upward gradient. We reached the entrance of Lion Rock Country Park after around 25 minutes.

The hike up was relatively easy. It had well-paved steps and various lookout points. My aunt and I paused at various points to take photographs. At one point, we thought that we had taken the wrong route as it seemed liked we had started descending even though we had not reached the summit. All fears were laid to rest when we ascended once more.

After walking for another half an hour, we reached a junction with signages. Walking straight would lead to the neighbouring Beacon Hill while turning left would lead to Lion Rock. The turn left would lead to a series of steep stairs which eventually led to the summit.

So after hiking for around another 10 to 15 minutes, we finally reached the summit. The view at the top was breathtaking. We could see the Kowloon side of Hong Kong clearly with Victoria Harbour and Hong Kong island at the horizon.

So, here we are at the summit, posing for a few photographs. My aunt was a daredevil as she was not afraid to stand near the edge of the cliff. Okay, not that near to the edge as one might imagine but dangerous enough for me.

After descending Lion's Rock summit, we came across a signage which said that a neighbouring hill, Beacon Hill, was nearby. Since we were already there and having enough time to spare, we decided to hike the Beacon Hill too. So, we again walked on both paved and gravelled trails for a good 30 minutes. Coincidentally, Beacon Hill happened to be along the route for those running the HK100 ultramarathon. However, the runners were not expected to arrive at Beacon Hill till the evening at the earliest. The healthy dose of sunlight and clear blue skies made the hike enjoyable. The Beacon Hill lookout point was not at its summit as the summit housed a secure facility centre managed by the Civil Aviation Department.

Alas, just as before, all good things must come to an end. We descended Beacon Hill using part trail and part tarmac road. When we were out of the trail, we came across a nice private apartment project which I checked from a property listing website to be at least HKD 20 million and above (~SGD 3 - 4 million). 😄

From the main road, we took a bus to the nearest MTR station, Shek Kip Mei. The MTR station was even nearer, just two stops away from Mong Kok station. This sums up the hike at Lion Rock and Beacon Hill. Well, it actually sums up my Hong Kong trip this time. We spent the remaining time supporting the runners from our running group who took part in the 100 km trail run and doing some last-minute shopping before we flew back to Singapore.

My trip to Hong Kong this time was generally an eye-opening experience. During the trip, I learnt a bit more about myself and now I have set myself for even more interesting challenges ahead. Till next time, goodbye.