Sleeping Beauty

It's been a cold first winter for this beagle. The cold weather has its advantages. I get to go on nice long walks with my humans to explore Hong Kong's country parks and other famous tourist places like the Peak.

However, it also means a change in the way I sleep. This is how I sleep:

during the day...


...and during the night


By the pictures, you would have thought that I'm in the Artic instead of Hong Kong. But don't forget that this beagle has spent 9 1/2 years in all-year-round tropical Malaysia where I used to be able to sleep on the bare floor!


Yawn! Looking at all these sleeping photos makes me sleepy...Time for some ZZZs, with the blanket, of course :-)

Discover Hong Kong with Kess - The Peak's Hong Kong Trail

Many visitors to Hong Kong don't know that the Peak is the starting point of the Hong Kong trail, a 50 km walking route that spans across Hong Kong island. In fact, my humans who used to visit Hong Kong regularly in past years never knew about this until we came here to live.

Exploring Stage 1 of the Hong Kong trail is a fun and free way to get a view of Hong Kong. Instead of forking out HKD30 to go up the Sky Terrace at the Peak Tower, you can get a view and some exercise by walking this easy paved trail. The trail which starts at Lugard Road, continues all the way to the Pok Fu Lam Reservoir. However, if you're only interested to get a 360 view of Hong Kong, you can turn off at Harlech Road and head back to the Peak.



This is exactly what we did on one of our past trips to the Peak. That time we drove up to the Peak and did this leisurely walk. My humans figured that hiking up to the Peak from our home and combining that with this one hour walk may be too much for this old beagle (I turn 10 this April).

At the start of Lugard Road, you will see a lovely colonial building which serves as the headquarters for the Peak Tram Manager.


As you keep going, you will get to see the Peak Tower in the background.


It was a cloudy morning, so the view of Hong Kong was pretty gloomy. But I would imagine that it would look pretty spectacular on a blue sky day.


Honestly though, this beagle wasn't as interested in the views. I much prefer checking out the scents. And boy oh boy, there were lots of interesting scents to sniff out - from other canines, squirrels and other little creatures...


Naturally, I could not resist leaving some scents of my own during our hour-long circular walk!
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So there you have it, a cheap fun way to see the island and get some exercise so that you don't feel guilty for pigging out during your vacation!

Discover Hong Kong with Kess - The Peak

A visit to Hong Kong is not complete without a visit to the Peak, the highest mountain on Hong Kong Island, at 552 metres high. There are many transportation options up to the Peak - buses, taxis and cars. A popular tourist option is via the Peak tram. You can catch the tram from the Garden Road Peak Tram Lower Terminus.

Unfortunately, dogs are not allowed on board the tram, so this beagle and my humans decided to hike up to the Peak via the Old Peak Road. As you can imagine, hiking up the Peak meant going up a very steep path.
After the 30 minute climb, we reach the Peak. What's at the Peak? Well, on a lovely clear day, you can go up the Peak Tower (dogs not allowed unfortunately), and see this stunning view of Hong Kong.


Apart from the gorgeous view, the Peak ia a cool place (literally as it's so high up, as well as figuratively) to hang out. There is a lovely old style brick cafe that could be in a countryside somewhere in Europe. Instead, it's located right here in cosmopolitan Hong Kong.

You can sit and watch the world go by, or in our case, catch our breath after our very steep climb...

You can also shop and dine. We decided to stop by Starbucks for a cup of coffee...well my humans had their cuppa whilst I had water and liver treats.

Rejuvenated by caffeine and a short rest, we head down the very steep path and back to home sweet home where this beagle has a well deserved rest.

A perfect way to spend the weekend, don't you think?