Biking Around the New Territories

On our third day in Hong Kong, one of the staff from CLC took the foreign kids to Shatin to get us oriented with the closest civilization to campus.  While there, she pointed out that you could rent bikes in Shatin and ride them to different places in the New Territories.  Immediately, I wanted to do it, but summer didn't seem like the best time.  Of course, it stayed super-hot and humid for such a long time.  Once it finally got cool enough to go biking, everyone got hit with first semester's midterm exams.  Then, before we knew it, finals had come and the weather was too cold!  As y'all know from my previous moaning and groaning, it gets surprisingly freezing in Hong Kong during the winter.  Would y'all believe that even now it's in the mid-50s?  Well, I've waited and waited this semester and, finally, the weather warmed up enough for me to finally rent a bike.

From my research, I discovered that weekends are terrible times to rent bikes.  That's prime time for families with small children and the bicycle-impaired adults to hit the road.  Thankfully, I have no class on Fridays!  Therefore, I planned my trip for a Friday morning.  My research also indicated that the best scenery was not in Shatin, but Tai Mei Tuk, which is usually the final destination on the bike path.  Tai Mei Tuk literally means "the end" in Cantonese, although it had that name long before the Hong Kong government ever decided to endorse bike-riding across the islands by building tons of bike paths.  So, I decided to start my trip in Tai Mei Tuk in case I got worn out earlier than expected.  That way, I would have already seen the highlights.

Getting to Tai Mei Tuk was a little more involved than traveling to most tourist destinations in Hong Kong, but there were no problems with the transportation.  I took the MTR to Tai Po Market and walked to the minibus terminal.  From there, I caught the 20C minibus to Tai Mei Tuk.  Altogether, it took me maybe 45 minutes.

Since this is Hong Kong's countryside, there's not much to be found in the way of civilization.  At least that made finding the bike rental shop easy.  The salesman was extremely helpful, and made sure to adjust the bicycle for my short arms and legs.  In no time at all, I was ready to hit the road.  The path was surprisingly smooth, and the view unsurprisingly gorgeous:

The weather was also fair, though cooler than I expected.  It was foggy in the morning, but cleared up more come afternoon.  Through the fog, you can still make out the mountains:

In Tai Mei Tuk, I saw lots of dogs, bike rental shops, laundry hanging from apartment windows, and BBQ restaurants.  Definitely still part of the "fragrant harbor."

It took me a while, but from Tai Mei Tuk, I biked all the way to Tai Po, and then continued on my way towards Shatin.  Navigation was a cinch for most of the way since all I had to do was keep Tolo Harbour on my left.

My bike for the day (complete with nifty hand-basket):

The signs help very little with navigation if you're a HK newbie.  Most tourists know the words "Shatin," "Tai Po," and maybe "Ma On Shan."  If you tell them they're in "Ma Liu Shui," though, confusion seems to result.  At least that's the impression I got from talking to the few bicycle-riding gwailo I met.  Thank goodness I'm pretty familiar with the New Territories.  Just seeing "Science Park" let me know I was in the right place.

Another good location indicator--CUHK!  It's right up there on the mountain.  You know, the one I climb up and down at least 3 times a day?

Another reason to be thankful:  the Hong Kong government had the foresight to build several rest-stops.  Not everyone on the bike path is an athlete.  I know I'm not!  I stopped quite a few times, but I held up much better than I expected.

In total, I biked from Tai Mei Tuk, through Tai Po, to Shatin, took a detour to bike all the way around Ma On Shan, went back towards Shatin, took another detour to circle Che Kung Temple, and finally ended up at Tai Wai.  For those who don't care for the geography lesson, I biked about 15 miles in just under 4 hours.  In Tai Wai, I returned my bike to a partner shop of the one where I rented the bike:

I had a great time, even though I was sweaty, nasty, and a little sunburned (it would have been much worse without sunscreen).  After all that exercise, however, I was famished.  The Chinese bakeries that seem to exist on every street corner and shop in-between all called to me so, admittedly, I indulged my coconut tart craving.  When I got back, I immediately took a shower.  Taking a nap was also tempting, but I managed to resist.  All in all, it was a day definitely well-spent.  However, if you're not a big fan of the great outdoors, I don't recommend this as a tourist activity.  As for me, I love the wind blowing on my face and the smell of salty sea-air.  Biking around the perimeter of Tolo Harbour was certainly the experience I hoped for.

Lastly, in other news, I have another trip coming up soon.  It was decided a little bit at the last minute but, because it's not a big traveling season, there are no problems.  So, my next destination is Vietnam!  Specifically, I'm going to Ho Chi Minh City, formerly known as Saigon.  It's in the southern part of the country and the weather lately has been in the mid-90s.  Hooray for warmth!  (I miss it sometimes.)  My traveling buddies this time are Eleanor and Jennie, from Scotland and Sweden, respectively.  Jennie has an aunt and uncle who live in Ho Chi Minh City, and they have graciously offered us a room at their house.  They've also offered to pick us up at the airport and act as part time "tour-guides" on our trip.  Any ideas for how to express my gratitude are welcome!  We booked plane tickets today, and will be leaving the evening of March 17th (Thursday), and returning early morning March 21st (Monday).  So, that gives us 3 whole days to check out the city.  I do, however, need a visa to enter Vietnam.  Visa processing takes 3 business days so I'm going to the Vietnamese Consulate tomorrow morning.  I should be able to pick up the visa on Tuesday or Wednesday.  Wish me luck and a safe trip!