There’s nothing quite like the excitement I felt when I woke up in the morning and found our 100% rain forecast had given way to sunshine and blue skies. In my excitement, I sort of forget it was 7 am and started shaking my mom and Anna awake. At least it was for good news.

Before heading out we stopped at the laundry shop across the street to wash the memories of our last hotel off our clothes, and then continued to the corner to pick up fruit, breakfast sandwiches and water.

 

We really wanted to enjoy a view of Victoria Harbor since it had been so foggy the previous night. Our hotel was a brief walk to the waterfront where we hopped aboard the Star Ferry. The ferry is only $2 HKD per person on weekdays and $2.80 HKD on weekends.

It takes off from pier 7 and travels towards East Tsim Sha Tsui, making a roundtrip connection between Kowloon and Hong Kong Island. The ride is short but you get stunning views of the skyline on both shores.

We wanted to make the most of the sunshine so we hopped on the metro at the East Tsim Sha Tsui station and rode it to Sha Tin.

The stop dump out into a mall, where we stopped to grab food, but the Sha Tin Park is just across the street.

We followed the signs and quickly found the bike rental kiosk that we had read about when looking for bike paths in Hong Kong.

The path runs along the Shing Mun river and we biked north towards Tai Po.

We passed the Hong Kong Science Park and eventually stopped at the Pak Shek Kok Promenade. There are stunning views of the misty peaks in the far-off distance and pastel skylines closer by.

Eventually we got back on track, whizzing past little drink stands and into pedestrian subways (underground sidewalks for bikers and pedestrians). We wound our way along the river until we reached the Tolo Harbor.

We decided to finish our ride at the Tai Po Waterfront Park, but the path continues past it. From the waterfront park, it was a pretty long walk but we eventually found the Tai Po Market station.

We wode the MTR back to Sheung Wan, and then set out to find dinner. Along our walk we noticed a street cart in a side alley off Hollywood. Lots of people were sitting down and eating so we decided to join them.

The food wasn’t all that great, but the experience was exactly what we had been looking for. Plus it was nothing a local beer couldn’t fix.

We wandered back to our hotel, full of rice and tired. We found a large  fruit stand on the way and picked up some cherries for breakfast.

I would definitely suggest taking a bike ride out of the city if you get a sunny day in Hong Kong. It’s a great alternative to the usual downtown activities.