Friday, 23 March 2018

Day 6 - Victoria Peak & Andy's Chili Party !

Day 6 - Victoria Peak

For our last day in Hong Kong we decided to go to the tallest peak in Hong Kong, on Hong Kong Island and watch the sun set over the city. From Jordan where we were staying, we walked 20 minutes to the ferry, the ferry then took 10 minutes to cross the harbour to the Central Ferry Terminal, and finally a 40 minute bus ride up the mountain. Note: If you get any sort of motion sickness I would urge you not to sit on the second level of the bus.

Initially the bus drops you off at the Sky Terrace 428 complex. This complex contains lots of overpriced fast food, some shopping and a lot of escalators spread across 2 buildings. On top of one of these buildings is the Sky Terrace 428 which is a 360 degree viewing platform at 428 metres above sea level and is the highest viewing platform in Hong Kong. It was about 4.30pm when we got to the entrance and ticket area for the Terrace, after seeing the crowds and the price, we decided we would try our luck and find another view.
Here's how we did it - if you walk down the escalators to the bottom level, get out of the building complex and find a road just past the buildings (facing Hong Kong) called Lugard road, you have found the 'secret lookout'. Follow Lugard road which turns into a beautiful cement walking track surrounded by rainforest plants, rocks & a few small waterfalls, walk along this track for about 15 minutes keeping right at all the forks. The walk is a mixture of bamboo and ferns, is nice and cool and comparatively has no crowds. This track has several look out points across Hong Kong & the harbour, with many different viewing positions to see Hong Kong.

"This is one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen" - Tom.

So, yeah we definitely recommend it! After watching the sun set, we took quite a few night time shots of all the lights. With earth hour approaching (24th of March) I can't help but wonder in a city as big as Hong Kong how much energy is saved within that 1 hour. We made our descent down Lugard road & then took a bus back down the mountain at around 8.30pm.
We were starving!

To end our fantastic evening, we decided to spend our last night in Hong Kong eating at a fancy restaurant called Andy's Chili Party which is where I had my ass handed to me in a fancy restaurant by a dish of chilli. Neither of us being a stranger to hot spices, we shared a chilli starter & an entree, we then hooked into the main 'hot pot' when it arrived. After a few mouthful's I started to sweat, then I could feel my nose start to run uncontrollably & my eyes water, I then stupidly, ate a whole chilli.... After that I could feel my mouth, oesophagus & stomach squirming, my ears started ringing & I started to dry retch & panic! I skulled half a beer & raced outside for a breather. Thankfully I didn't spew but when I walked back into the restaurant I could see people staring & I had broken out head to toe in a bright red chilli rash.... there goes my dreams of being a chilli master in India. All I could pray was that it didn't hurt me again tomorrow.

 -Alli

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