One thing I learned in our jaunt to this particular place: having a spare battery for your camera is no good at all if YOU LEFT IT BEHIND AT THE HOTEL ANYWAY. So imagine me squeezing the remaining battery life of my camera to the very end until it died completely after I took a couple of shots from the Peak. (And then relying on my poor-quality phone camera for photos inside Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum. *wryyyyy*)
I’m talking, of course, about Victoria Peak, the highest mountain in Hong Kong, with a height of 554m. On top of this peak is a flourishing CBD of sorts, with shopping areas, cafes, restos, and the Peak Tower. The highlight of a visit to The Peak involves going up to the top of the Peak Tower, at the Sky Terrace, and getting a spectacular view of the Victoria Harbour.
My advanced apologies for the lack of any “relevant” photos in this post. One, there were too many people to get any decent shots in, and two, the camera battery issue.
So, after visiting the Big Buddha (which I blogged about here and here), we proceeded to take the bus so we can get the ferry back to Central. This is the bus stop, and notice how we are the only ones there. Most of those who visited Ngong Ping likely preferred to go back using the cable car as well.
The road reminded me so much of the sharp curves at Kennon Road, only this was a downhill slope. The bus ride roughly took 45 to 50 minutes until we got to the Pier, where we took the 30-minute or so ferry ride to Central. Again, the ferry only had a few people.
Upon arrival at Central, we got off the ferry and headed to the Central Bus Terminus, at the spot near Star Ferry Pier 8.
We waited for about 5 minutes until the Peak Tram shuttle bus No. 15C arrived. This is the ride that will take us we immediately boarded the bus that will bring us straight to the Lower Peak Tram terminus.
When we got there, we almost turned back. Haha!
The crowd was soooo thick! Apparently, this is a normal sight in this area!
The cable tram is the easiest and fastest (and most popular) mode of transport to get to The Peak. There is also a bus option, but it takes longer, and not as fun. In fact, it could be said that a huge part of the whole Peak experience is to get to it via The Peak Tram. And we were all for getting the whole experience.
AGAIN, there was a very long queue that wound way up and down the block. We were never great fans of long queues, especially during chilly evenings, but we were already there, and we came here precisely for it, so it made no sense to turn back (and keep regretting it afterwards).
So we lined up, walking around the block to the end of the queue. I think it took more than 30 minutes until we got to the Ticketing area. This was already early in the evening.
Finally, we got to the Ticket Counter and got our tickets. We got The Peak Tram + Sky Terrace 428 pack because, well, it wouldn’t be a visit to The Peak without checking out the view of the Harbour, right?
You would think that, after having secured our round-trip tickets, it would be smooth-going.
No, not really. There was a crowd, and there is only one cable tram. 🙂
Perhaps that is why they set up a gallery/museum area right before the area where you are supposed to ride on the tram.
Unfortunately, the thick crowd does not permit a leisurely walk around the gallery to check it out. So what we did was stick to one side, edge our way around one side of the gallery. At least we get to see one area instead of none at all.
I think the wait from the Ticketing area until we got to the platform took another 20-30 minutes.
Patience. is. a. virtue. Haha!
Finally, it arrived.
And yet another mad scramble.
The Peak Tram is the steepest funicular railway IN THE WORLD, going as steep as 27 degrees. This mode of transport has been in operation for more than 125 years, having been built and started its operation in 1888.
I wish I could have taken a photo of the interior of the tram, but it was filled with people anyway, so I did not bother. My impression: it was not as modernized as the MTR trains of today. In fact, you could say it was slightly antiquated (by Hong Kong standards), retaining the beauty of this more-than-a-century-old mode of transport. The seats can be quite uncomfortable, but that is not a problem for me since the ride was relatively short, maybe just around 8 minutes? I’m not sure.
I don’t think it had A/C either. Not that it needed one, since the windows can be opened. You can see glimpses of the city below getting smaller and smaller as the Tram sped upwards. The cold wind was also whipping through the windows.
I was just amazed how this ride is still maintained and operational to this day. Great job, transport people of HK!
And then we arrived at the Peak Tower. We walked up through floors and passed through numerous souvenir shops.
Lest you be tempted to blow your pocket money for souvenirs here already, I’d suggest you skip it, especially if you plan on hitting any of the famous night markets of HK anyway. The stuff you’ll find here will also be found in the night markets, and at a MUCH CHEAPER PRICE, TOO!
On our way to the Sky Terrace, we passed another HK attraction found at the Peak Tower, Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum. There, right outside the Museum, is the wax figure of THE DRAGON, Bruce Lee.
We decided to visit the museum later, and immediately headed up to the Sky Terrace 428, the highest 360-degree viewing terrace in Hong Kong.
It was sooooooooo cold, so we only walked around as much as we can (and that did not take long!). We just checked out the video, shivering and all, and took a couple of photos (as my failing camera would permit us).
It would have been better if we arrived at The Peak in the late afternoon, or just before sundown. That way, we could have gotten a view of the Harbour in the remaining daylight, then waited for the sunset, and THEN checked out the night view. Alas, we overshot our travel time, because we did not expect to take too long at Ngong Ping, partly because of the queue to the cable car, further aggravated by the queue for The Peak Tram.
Well, I suppose that is another reason to visit HK again, eh?