Every Year Hong Kong Day 4: Mclenhose Trail Stage 7

It was a blessing – we had been praying for sunny weather for the trip and God grant us sunny days. It was raining right before and after our trip.

We wanted sunny day bcos we wanted to do hiking. Two years back, we conquered the Dragon’s back with the kids. The feeling at the top of the hill was addictive. Now that the kids are older, we wanted to try something more challenging. Plus the fact that HKG is a mountainous country, it is an opportunity not to be missed.

After a lot of researches, we identified the Mclenhose trail as the ONE. The trail comes in 10 different parts or stages, with some being easier and shorter than other. I found this blog with extensive description of the 10 stages - https://royceto.com/maclehose-trail-section-1-high-island-reservoir/ - and decided that we would try stage 7 – Grassy and Needle Hill. Yesh, there are people who conquered all 10 stages and could write a blog post about them! Stage 7 is deemed as moderately difficult. We knew that the kids would generally be able to conquer the trail but expected a lot of whining. Our only worry was the weather; hiking in summer would be much taxing as compared to our last hike in winter. Nevertheless, we pressed on.

The Royce’s blog provided information about the trail length – 6.2km and the amount of time needed to conquer it (2.5 hrs). More importantly, it clearly describes the way to arrive at the starting point and gave a general idea of the different parts of the trail, providing some assurance and certainty amidst the fear of getting lost.

I knew that we had to start early and got simple bfast for the kids. Look at this huge mantou!

I finally remembered to take a picture of the bao shop that we had been patronizing for our tim sum and baos.

It was a mtr ride to Tai Po market. Never been to this part of HKG and didn't even know such a mtr station existed.

Then either a mini bus 23S or 23K to the Wun Yiu road, which is the last stop. Google map recommended 23K and we stick with 23K.

We have prepped the necessary water (5 litres), bread and snacks the night before. Daddy Lim thought that we had more than enough water given that it was only a 3 hr hike. I kiasu, the more I thought about it, the more I wanted to buy an additional 1.5 litre of water, which I eventually did before we boarded the mini bus. I rather carry the weight than panic bcos we ran out of water.

The 23k must be one of the more infrequent buses. There was no long q and the kids got bored while waiting.

Finally, our bus!

We didn't exactly know where to alight. Google map is so clever and is able to chart out the “bus stops” of 23K. Then again, we saw passengers informing the driver when they wanted to alight even when it wasn't an identified bus stop. After the last passenger alighted, the bus driver asked us where we were going and we replied the “final stop”. With that, he drove a little more, made a U-turn and declared that that was it. Really? There, the middle of nowhere.

The kids saw a playground and excitedly ran off while the parents tried to find out where's next. That was also where all the sunblock slapping and mosquito repellent spraying took place before we started our journey.

Accordingly to the blog, the Lead Mine Pass is the start of the stage 7 Mclenhose trail. To get there, there is a 2.5km Wilson trail that we 1st have to conquer. Ok, where is the Wilson trail? There was no road sign. Fortunately, a man walking his dog pointed us to the right direction. He said that it was a popular trail and many people do that trail. Sounds good; crowded trail = less chance of getting lost. Time check: 8.45am. A picture before we start and looking all energetic.

Finally, we came to the start of the Wilson trail. It took us 15 mins. I tried but couldn't read the map.

I did take a picture of the emergency phone though. Haha.

And the important sign to tell us that we were on the right track.

The Wilson trail started with stairs; endless stairs.

That turned to big rocks/ stones and dirt track.

At times, we had to use our hands to help with the climb.

At one part, it was like a mini waterfall. Was it bcos it was raining a few days back? Maybe not bcos the stones were covered in algae, a tell-tail that it is not a one-off flooding event. The kids loved the adventure.

I was worried that Zaky would wet his shoes or slipped and fall. Ended up, I lost focus and was the one who slipped and fell. Luckily, I had no injury. Henceforth, I know I should concentrate on myself. The kids were fine; they were doing great, probably better than I was. Lol.

I didn't expect any “waterfall” and kept wondering if we had derailed. It was only when I saw the familiar sign that I was assured that we were still on track.

It was seriously hard work. The 2.5km seemed like forever. There were so many steps to climb. Look how sweat soaked Daddy Lim’s T-shirt was.

We didn't see a single soul along the way. Didn't the uncle said that it was a “popular” trail? I was so excited when somebody finally overtook us that I had to sneak a picture. Daddy Lim had to cheekily asked if he was indeed a “soul”... 7th month leh. He made me double check my pictures. Zzzzz. Human lah, human.

Finally, the Lead Mine Pass! It took us 1.5 hrs to conquer the 2.5km.

We stopped for the toilets. Just when I was finishing my business, I saw huge butterflies/ moths flying at the ceiling. Save me! We also stopped for the bread that we brought and apply mopiko to the many itchy spots.

While resting, we saw other groups attempting the different stages. Ah, we were not the only crazy ones for sure. I was slightly disappointed to see that there was no water points to refill our water. No vending machines too.

Zaky was beat and had wanted to go home already. I hated to tell him that it was just the start of the Mclenhose stage 7 trail. He was whining so much. Lil Shauna was still feeling good until a “something” bit her on her back. She started sobbing and whining about how painful it was.

Despite the noise, there was no way that I would turn back and urge the kids to start walking. I know they would be fine once they start again.
Stage 7 was an easier walk bcos it was service road. Along the way, we saw a couple of rescue/ patrol car and I felt very safe. Haha.

The kids started self entertaining, looking at the seeds on the floor and picking them. They wanted to help the trees spread their seeds by planting them somewhere else. These seeds grow into bean spout like plants.

We also saw a toad, which is so well camouflage if it had been in the forest.

The intention was to conquer both the Grassy hill and the Needle Hill. However, with the whining kids, we decided to head directly for only the Needle Hill, without summiting the Grassy Hill. Zaky in particular needed so much encouragement to continue with the hike.

At the bottom (probably not exactly bottom) of Grassy Hill, it was a winding down hill road right towards needle Hill. Down hill = no good in my perspective bcos what goes down must go up. Fortunately, the incline wasn't too noticeable.

We were walking on the service road for a long time and had no idea where we were heading. Service roads were a lot easier than steps in my opinion. We saw a mountain faraway and Daddy Lim was jokingly asking me to google what that hill was and we would conquer it the next time. We could see tiny moving dots; there were people climbing the hill!

Then, we met a person coming our way. He told us that the faraway hill was the Needle Hill! Zzzzzzzz. There was no turning back of course. The way to this point was too scary to turn back.

Lil Shauna was really strong and had recovered from the insect bite. She led the way most of the time and also up Needle Hill. Here she was, declaring that we had conquered 200 steps.

We were still surviving too, just some distance behind her. At times, I had to yell after her to wait for us. Zaky wasn't too bad either. This was afterall the climax and the exciting part.

The views that accompanied the climb were breathtaking.

Another “dont know how many hundred steps” victory.

Look at how far we had come.

The sun was burning; it was 12.30pm. At one point, I thought we were almost at the top bcos I couldn't see any more steps only to have Lil Shauna telling me that there was another flight of stairs ahead. Zzzzzz. I wanted to die. We had to take multiple stops and give water to the kids. The last that we needed was dehydrated or heat injury. Daddy Lim was complaining that his shirt was just dried not too long ago and now sweat soaked again. Lol.

Finally, after 2 hours since we started stage 7, we conquered the Needle Hill! Lil Shauna said that it was over 850 steps to reach the summit. Coincidentally, we met a climber who helped us to take pictures. Yay!

The views were to die for and we literally almost died. Lol.

What comes up must go down. We couldn't stay for too long bcos it was too hot, we were baking and there was no shade. We started our descent only to notice that there was a smaller hill ahead to conquer. Lil Shauna started complaining and asked why did we go down (the hill) if we had to climb again? Yeah, I had the same question.

While going down required lesser energy, it was a lot more dangerous and we had to constantly remind the kids to take it slow. It would be ugly to roll down the steps.

We started feeding the kids water again bcos we were still sweating buckets from climbing the smaller hill. Our water was running out but we didn't dare to skim on the water for fear of heat injury. Only when we climbed the little hill did we go on water rationing, telling the kids to take small sips instead of gulps. The fear was real bcos we didn't know how much more to go and how long our water would last. I was so glad that I had insisted on an extra bottle of water. It was only after the trail that Daddy Lim told me how I panic when the water was running out. He said that my expression darkened and my tone changed. Yes, I was scared. It was afterall dirt track and no rescue vehicle driving by. We rarely see other hikers too.

The descent wasn't as enjoyable bcos we were out of steam and soon to be out of water. Even Lil Shauna’s energy level dropped. Climbing down the steps hurt our toes and knees and we had to take multiple breaks under the shade.
Most times, I left Zaky with Daddy Lim bcos he kept talking and stopping and I had not much energy left to entertain him. Lol. Daddy Lim did such a fantastic job.

Finally we could see the dam! That was supposed to be the indication of the ending point.

It was a narrow road and that seemed to go on forever. Why did the dam look so far away?!

It was music to our ears when another hiker came our way and told us that we were just 5 mins away from the dam. Woohoo! We eventually made it! Yeah! Cartwheels! Happy dance!

Unfortunately, that wasn't the end. We were told by another hiker that we had to walk for another 20 mins along the reservoir to reach the mini bus stop. At least we could finally get wifi signal and google map. We started our final walk again before shortly coming to a bbq area. Hey!

Vending machines! We got much needed sugar loaded cold drinks and chomp down the remaining bread and snacks. We were too tired to be hungry while hiking. I tried calling for an uber but wasn't successful. With the new founded energy and no other option, we continued the walk.

At one point, Google map pointed us down a long flight of stairs that seems to lead us back into the trail. I refused to follow google map bcos retracing the steps would mean javing to climb that nightmarish stairs. I insisted to ask a local with a fishing rod. He asked us to continue on the road and we ended up following him bcos he was heading to the same bus stop.

We finally saw monkeys along the way. Luckily, we were already done with the food.

We waited a long time for the mini bus. The sun was scorching and the mosquito biting didnt cease. I tried Uber again and wasn't successful. Then we saw the man whom we followed hailed a cab. I want that too! Eventually, we did fine one. Thank God! At the same time, we saw the mini bus coming. It is Ok, I needed to go back to the hotel and not mini bus to mtr. Hohoho. Our 1st taxi ride cost us about SGD20. I dont care.

We had a very much needed rest back at the hotel. We conquered 28k steps.

The kids still had energy to play!

The rest turned to a 3 hours’ rest and we only ventured out of the hotel to the Goldfish market in the evening.

Zaky bugged for new fishes and eventually got a new ornament for the fishes back home. That was seriously the ONLY thing that we bought from the land of shopping.

There were also plenty of pet shops.

We had an easy dinner at MacD before heading back to our room.

It was the only night that we were out until 9pm. Haha. Overall, we walked 33k steps for that 5 hours of hike. What 3 hours hike? Bluff people.

By the way, Daddy Lim plotted the hike on strava when we were back in Singapore and strava says that it was a 10.4km trail! We deserved a pat on our back.

Oh, Lil Shauna did get something from the trip... her favorite honey cakes!

Mummy Lim

Hong Kong Every Year Day 3: Ocean Park

As it was a short and possibly rainy trip, the kids had to make a choice between Disneyland or Ocean Park. It was pointing to DL initially, bcos Daddy Lim and Zaky wanted DL and I was neutral. The poll changed when Lil Shauna managed to convince Zaky that he had to go to Ocean Park and tried his 1st ever loopy loop roller coaster of his life. He is now finally tall enough. Lil Shauna can be a politician.

Again, we booked the tickets online at the very last minute, after making sure and confirming that the weather would be good.

We found klook and got a great deal. The usual tix cost HKD480 per adult and HKD240 per child. We got tix from klook at HKD403 per adult and HKD225 per child and the tix each comes with a drink and snack. We all know how expensive food are in OP. We also bought a tic and meal package at HKD446 per adult HKD263 per kid. Even with lunch thrown in, it was still cheaper than the tic directly from OP! That is a lot of savings. I still remembered the last time we were in OP, a very simple 叉烧饭 cost us SGD20. Woohoo! I like getting bargains.

As usual, I tabaoed bfast for the sleepy heads and we were soon on our way. With the new mtr, it was so easy to go to OC. No son, who was monekying around. What's new?

We managed to smuggle in some bread and snacks - these are much needed to keep the kids going when energy gets low. OP!

We were 15 mins early and joined the q, excitedly waiting for the door to open. Just then, we saw that the Dragon was closed for maintenance.

That is exactly the loopy loop roller coaster ride that Zaky had wanted to take; the 1st ever loopy loop ride of his life! He was devastated. The other loopy loop roller coaster needed a min height of 140cm and we suspected that he wouldnt be able to make it. He was given a few mins to grieve before we distracted him with other excitments.

The door opened and we were on the way to "excitment". Bubbles!

The cable car was also under maintenance but it didnt bother us. We headed straight for the Ocean Express, to the mountain top for the exciting rides.

The 1st ride was the Whirly Bird - think swinging chair/ dumbo elephant ride but at a much higher height off the ground. We also took a similar Eagle ride later in the day and I concluded my dislike for such rides. I dont have a fear of height but I feel very vulnerable at that height, trapped in that machine/ ride. Any creaking sound or sudden jerk sends my over reactive imagination into a mad frenzy of images of carriage/ seat dropping from the sky. Zaky also shared my fear. He has my genes. Haha.

Daddy Lim took the pic while in the sky. Yes, we were that high up plus the ride wasnt in the newest condition and was making a lot of noise. My poor heart.

Now that the kids are tall enough, we tried so many rides that we didnt previously. In fact, Lil Shauna is eligible for every ride and Zaky too except for the Hair Raiser - the other loopy loop roller coaster. Our 2nd ride was a merry go round but one that went at top speed.

I had thought that I could ride it with Daddy Lim...

Until we were told that one of the kids had to be 12 to be on their own. Chey! But it was for safety reason; the kid came crashing on us soon after the ride started bcos of the centrifugal force. There was a lot of laughter.

Lil Shauna wanted to try the Hair Raiser and was super upset when I denied her request bcos Zaky was upset that he had to miss his 1st loopy loop roller coaster ride and couldnt ride this one. Ge is probably about 135cm now. Aiyo, how come so many upset children?

Eventually Daddy Lim convinced the boy and Lil Shauna was excitedly heading to the Hair Raiser, only to find out that it was closed for checking. The staff couldnt tell if it would be opened later in the day. Given that there was still a chance of  riding it later in the day, her mood lifted. We headed for the other all time favourite - the land mine.

Daddy Lim is not a fan of roller coaster ride and gladly waited for us. I took the ride at least 3x with the kids. They have the VR version but the kids needed to be 13 to do that.

Then, they went for a few more times without me! Just the last theme park visit, the kids were only going on baby rides without us, now they are on big roller coasters on their own!

Viking! The other all time favourite.

The kids said that we had to ride it 7x. I rode 4x with them and turned green and the kids went the remaining on their own. No sweat.

We did stop for a show.

And attempted to hide in the aircon exhibits; the kids were just full of energy and asking for more rides and more rides! The show and exhibits were boring to them. They simply obliged to "entertain" the parents.

My proudest moment must be the Abssy ride. I am never a fan of free fall rides (forget bungee jumps too) and the last one that I took was in Genting when my heart was bigger and stronger at 21 yo. I remembered how I was lifted off my seat at the highest drop - not fun. Lil Shauna wanted to try, so much so that she went ALONE!!!! My baby is all grown up! I was totally discouraging, telling her how scary the ride is,  while Daddy Lim was urging me to let go and her to go.

I was busy taking pictures and videos to capture this milestone.

Zaky was tempted but hestitant bcos his mummy was so squirmy about the ride. Lil Shauna got off the ride victoriously and declared that it wasnt scary. Zaky got encouraged and wanted to try to. I couldnt let the youngest baby try too without me and I too got onto the ride even though I was truely terrified. I was clinging on to the safety harness with my dear life. How come so loose? Can tighten a bit more or not?

Of course we conquered the ride. Then the kids tried on their own. Yes, once is more than enough for their poor mother's heart.

Zaky eventually went on his own bcos jiejie got sick of the ride and his poor mother cannot make herself do it again.

My babies are really all gown up! Soon, they wouldnt need us to accompany them on thrilling rides anymore.

As you can tell, Daddy Lim, who isnt a fan of theme park, missed many of the rides. Haha. He even commented that he could afford to miss the next theme park trip and saved some money. Lil Shauna said that he cant.

Bcos he is the Map Man. Lol.

We eventually found the Hair Raiser in operation and Lil Shauna must ride it. She said that she had been waiting for this ride her whole life. Lol.

It is actually similar to the Humans vs Cylon ride that we had never rode in USS largely bcos Zaky wasnt tall enough. I just found out that the height requirement is only 125cm for the ride and will soon be making arrangement for USS so that the boy can finally has his 1st loopy loop roller coaster ride.

The Hair Raiser was so good, even I enjoyed it alot! I would have gone on it a few more times if Zaky was able to come along. Since he couldnt, I made a pact with Lil Shauna to exaggerated how scary the ride was so that the little boy wouldnt be too upset. The ride was really, really good.

The last few rides were water ride so that we wouldnt have to stay wet in the park for too long.

We left the park slightly before closing at 6pm so as to beat the crowd. Daddy Lim would have loved to look at the jelly fishes or the seal and the aquarium but there wasnt enough time. I know right, such "exciting" stuff. Haha.

It had been a really enjoyable trip with great savings on entrance tickets and food. The snacks and lunches were sold at SGD10 and SGD20 each. The crowd was thin as well and we didnt have to q more than 5 mins for any of the rides. Though hot and sunny, at least there was no rain. Most importantly, I saw how the kids are now so much more independent. That is another taste of how teenagers are like, right? I feel a tear coming.

We took the mtr back to Mong Kok and found a porridge place. We had great porridge the last time we were in HKG but this experience disappoints us.

The porridge looked good but we had much nicer tasting ones the last time. Thinking that the kids would eat better with soup and rice, I ordered some pork soup only to recieve a palsy overpowering bowl of soup with a lot of greens and tofu. I had to fish for the pork. That was still ok until we keep finding hair in the soup. No joke, we found 3! Enough said.

We all had an easy night after a long day of fun.

Mummy Lim