Chapter 35. THE PEAK TRAM (VICTORIA) HONG KONG

The Peak sign

This monument is at the foot of the hill. I think its near-impossible to miss it as one walks towards the Tram station. We walked from the Central Pier and it took us about 15 mins to reach there.

Signs were available occassionally, and gone the next instance. (Like a maze) So by word of mouth we finally reached. Luckily never go Holan.

Peak Tram approaching

Another iconic trademark

As mentioned before, The Tram is as, or even more famous than The Junk as HK's icons. Sadly it had been raining cats and dogs so we weren't sure if we could see anything from The Peak.

Even the driver of The Junk advised us to go the next day as we could see a thick layer of fog covering The Peak during the Junk ride.

Peak Tram Logo

We were lucky we never heeded the Junk driver's advice, for the next day was the 120th anniversary of the Peak Tram and tickets were sold at HKD 0.30 each, the same price as when it first started in the 80x.

"Why lucky when its cheap?" Well that's because the queue to take the tram was 5 hours long when we heard the news on radio in the morning.

Spacious

The tram cabin was quite spacious, ensuring a comfortable ride all the way to the top.

Starting off

Even before disembarking, the tram is already at a inclined angle. As it moves further up the rail, the inclination angle seems to increase, almost like a roller coaster ride.

There's no AC in the cabin, no need as the natural ventilation breezed through the open windows.

Check out how steep it is

The entire journey up to Victoria Peak takes about 10 mins. In the old days, there were a few stops along the way which passengers could embark and disembark. as the tram was the only way up to The Peak.

Nowadays with roads leading up, The Tram is more of a novelty ride rather than a mode of transportation.

It costs HKD 30 for a return trip, but we paid HKD 150 (inclusive of entrance to Madame Tussauds museum).

Check out the video.

This is Hong Kong

Sadly the view was too foggy to make out much of the HK skyline. A lot had changed since my last visit. We used to be able to come off the tram and enjoy the view from an open space area.

The view from Burger King

Now they've constructed a multiple storey shopping center and a Sky Terrace, where people can gaze at the amazing HK skyline, for a fee.

I'd much prefer the old times, where you could come with your date, enjoy the view and pakto, so romantic. It's too commercialized now. ;o( (Just wanna make money)

This is the best pic of the night

We wanted to enter the Sky Terrace but the lady at the ticket booth suggested otherwise. It would be too foggy to make out anything, she said.

See see view view

So we ended up outside Burger King, where there was a small railed area to take in the view, for free. There were a lot of people there, and we had to take turns to at least take a photo of the view for remembrance.

I had wanted to show The GF how mesmerizing the view on The Peak is. I had also brought the tripod, new camera, fresh batteries to capture all the beautiful scenery. But everything was destroyed by the fog. ;o(

A far cry from the magnificent view from my last trip (clear skies)

Maybe next time then. I'm quite sure we'll be back.

The view on the way down isn't half as bad either. Check out the video.

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