Hong Kong in one day

Note that this is a non touring addendum.

Hong Kong Airlines had a promotion allowing bicycles to be checked for free. I emailed the call centre, as required, but never got confirmation that my specific flight was able to accept bicycles. Fortunately they accepted it at the check in desk without hesitation.

After arriving at Chek Lap Kok airport, I retrieved my bicycle and assembled it in the car park. When I tried to ride out, I didn't get far before being blocked by no bicycle signs. (In retrospect, I should have tried the route that Garoid Pierse wrote about on CGOAB. Or tried Google Maps with walking directions)

So I went back to the airport and looked for bicycle or motorcycle parking. There wasn't any and the staff confirmed it.

The Metro train allows bicycles. So I took it to Hong Kong Central.

Accommodation is so expensive that I decided to spend the night at McDonald's. With no restrictions on the Internet, I was able to update Facebook and my apps as well as back up my photos at Google. Occasionally tourists on layovers showed up and I chatted with them.

Around 8 I headed to Victoria peak. OpenStreetMap didn't know which roads were closed to bicycles, so I asked Google Maps for walking directions.

I crossed many busy roads on elevated walkways. Some had elevators, but in a few cases I had to carry my bicycle up the stairs.

When I got a bit higher, I found a paved path to narrow for cars.

Fog covered the peak, but I'm glad I went just for the achievement of cycling in such a hostile environment.

Riding down was much easier because I could keep up with the cars and take the full lane.

Card payments worked so well that I didn't have any Hong Kong dollars. This caused a problem when I wanted to ride the Star Ferry at the bottom. I solved it by offering a tourist yuan in exchange for the HKD 18 I needed.

In Kowloon, I visited the remains of the Walled City - A densely populated village that the Hong Kong government could not service. It was torn down and replaced with a park in 1994.

Then I crossed the Shatin Pass. There are signs prohibiting bicycles, without any clear reason.

On the other side was a nice cycleway all the way to Shueng Shui. The train station didn't accept card payments. This time some locals exchanged me the HKD 26 I needed.

Back in China, it was time to rest in a much more affordable hotel.

Total for the day: 129 km

So many people are sleeping in McDonald's that this customer had to sit on the stairs.

The remains of the South Gate of the Walled City

Densely populated Kowloon. Hong Kong Island in the background.

I don't know that it means, but I was too close to Shatin to turn around.

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