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FLRC Newsletter - July 2004 |
| Running in Hong Kong | |
Ever since I first heard Terry's stories about running in China as a 6'8" haoli, I've vowed never to be intimidated by a daunting foreign environment. Last week I spent four days in Hong Kong, though, and at first I chickened out. The hotel had a treadmill in an air-conditioned gym with a swimming pool; it was 85°F outside, and the streets nearby were lined with hanging unidentifiable beast bellies and sides of doggie. So I stayed indoors. As Terry wrote, Hong Kong (the island proper and Kowloon—the so-called New Territories close to the China border—have lots of parkland) is very crowded, and the island rises straight out of the water to a sheer peak called the Peak.
The third day was a Saturday, though, so thinking traffic might be a little lighter, I ventured outside and followed a route I had figured out from the Hong Kong RC website. After about a half mile straight uphill (our hotel was located toward the south of the island facing Kowloon, close to Hong Kong University), I reached an area called the Midlevels, where there are no more shops and little traffic. This is where the expats and wealthier locals tend to live. Beyond this band of about a quarter mile across and several miles north–south are the heavily overgrown and steep reserves of the peak.
This part of Hong Kong, once you get there, turns out to be a very good place to run. British colonial charm abounds (public loos, postboxes dedicated by King George), as well as some amazing architecture built right into the steep hillsides. There is a rear view of the bank of skyscrapers (several in the 80–90-floor range) built right along edge of the harbor to the west. The world's longest escalator runs from the Central subway station on the harbor for three-quarters of a mile up into the midlands. At one point in this stretch, I found myself on a little path in a heavily forested, even jungle-like area with no people in sight but a view of skyscrapers and the harbor through the bamboos. Cool, huh?
Running parallel to the harbor for much of this section is a Bowen road, which starts on the south as a one-way street and then becomes pedestrian only. It is the local runners' mecca, with the standard exercise stations, benches, and water fountains set out along the way. One could clearly live and run in Hong Kong, or run and live to tell the tale, something not so easily done in most of China.
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