A Hong Kong cycling tour in summer may raise eyebrows, but it’s one of the best ways to discover the city, heat and humidity included, Gary Nunn writes.
For starters, it’s very muggy. Locals walk the streets, and even air-conditioned malls, carrying open parasols. The helpful Hong Kong tourist board, when I explain my plan, gently asks: “Do you have flexibility to travel late September instead? The conditions will be better for cycling – it’ll likely be hot, humid and possibly rainy in mid June.”
Unfortunately, it’s my only window – Hong Kong is a transit, recuperating stopover to break up the long-haul flight from the Southern Hemisphere into Europe’s summer. At 11 hours from New Zealand, it’s perfectly positioned for this purpose – even if the timing isn’t ideal for the climate. That said, it didn’t rain once. But they weren’t exaggerating about the humidity.
A few days before my bicycle trip, when I take a funicular-style tram up a steep Hong Kong hillside to what’s called “The Peak”, the excursion leaves me so breathlessly sticky that I need a lie-down. I skip the packed, famous onomatopoeic “ding ding” tram home, and opt for a taxi. I need to sit very still in my hotel’s aircon before I even think of heading out again. Luckily, the Hong Kong Island Shangri La pool, nestled between skyscrapers, is the perfect place to cool off so I’m not holed up in my room all day.
Ascending The Peak alerts me to another reason cycling isn’t the first idea for most visitors in Hong Kong: the sheer gradient of the hills is hellish. And, when the streets are flat, yet another reason emerges: the roads are choked with cars, coaches, taxis and ding ding trams.
I, however, remain defiantly determined. Nobody has ever persuaded me there’s a better way of seeing any city – even one that seems almost impossible to traverse by bicycle – than on two wheels.
Fortunately, this all means you’re not paralysed by choice when booking a bicycle tour in Hong Kong. I opt for Baja Bikes, which promises a different side of Hong Kong in a region less visited by tourists, which is quieter, flatter and safer. It sounds perfect.
Except it nearly doesn’t happen. My heavy Australian plug adapter falls out of the socket during the night, my phone dies, and I miss my alarm. I leap out of bed and realise the fairly long public transport trip I’d meticulously planned to Yuen Long MTR station, where the tour begins, isn’t going to happen. I hop in a pricey but speedy cab instead, and finally, the against-all-odds bike ride can begin.
Mercifully, the tour route is almost completely flat, and all on cycle-friendly pathways, with only some road cycling. It’s so hot, you can smell the pavement. At one point we cycle alongside a long river, and as the breeze picks up, I feel foolish for ever doubting my decision. It’s sublime; lily pads rush past on one side and, thrillingly, the border with China zooms slowly into focus.
We cycle right up to the border and, dominating the skyline, is the world’s fifth-tallest building: the Ping An Finance Centre in Shenzhen, China’s fourth-biggest city with a population almost three times that of New Zealand: 13.8 million. The 115-floor skyscraper’s glass shimmers as we approach.
It’s just me and my excellent local guide, Tony, on the tour. I cycle over a rickety drain immediately after he does, to reassure him I’m behind him with the repeated tudum sound. I ask how he copes with such humidity. “I don’t, really!” he says, laughing, adding that he’s used to it. If that’s the case, he hides it well, giving me an enthusiastic insight into life outside the familiar bustling metropolis of Hong Kong. We cycle through small villages, visit a temple adorned with colourful, dramatic artwork and traverse the river on a wee tugboat.
I learn that local tradition still dictates families are afforded the privilege of buying a house free of duties and taxes if they have baby boys, and we see several such patriarchal houses.
Even in the humidity, the cycle is pleasant and Tony’s right;you acclimatise. He’s packed extra bottles of iced water in his cool bag backpack for me, and water has never tasted so good. These weren’t electric bikes, so by the end, I feel a sense of accomplishment at the challenge. It’s been almost four hours, and my body needs two things: food and rest; both feel well-earned. Tony recommends an authentic local restaurant he frequents in the gloriously air-conditioned mall, then it’s off to the Island Shangri La’s wellness for one of the best massages of my life.
The traditional way of seeing Hong Kong is by ferry, funicular, tour bus or ding ding tram. Step away from the usual, and a personal bike tour guide will unveil the side tourists rarely see.
Halfway through, tour guide Tony even pointed out different bird species along the delta.
“Hong Kong is on the migration route for many birds,” he says.
It’s the same for this human; time now to migrate to Europe, feeling replenished and enlightened about a corner of the world I’ve newly discovered.
Details
shangri-la.com/hongkong/islandshangrila
bajabikes.eu/en/hong-kong-bike-tours/
The writer was a guest of the Island Shangri La and the bicycle trip was provided by Baja Bikes.