kalderlake

It's been a while, and the current virus situation may have altered things, but I think it ran every half hour and I took the bus back down at 11:30 or so. It might run later. The #15 bus.

Lugard road starts just to the left (west) of the Sky Terrace, and goes around quite a bit of the island at the same level, so even if there are lots of people on it, you still can find any number of spots to enjoy the view in solitude. But on my visits it was never particularly crowded, even though the lookouts around the top of the tram were.

exp

Oh it's around the level of the Peak?

Then there should be buses running late but I would imagine the buses would be normally busy.

I thought from Google Maps it was some distance away and maybe a different elevation than the Peak. That means you have to hike to it from the complex where the buses roll through, near the Peak Tram station at the top?

kalderlake

Yes, you get off at the bus complex, walk up the road to the left and look for Lugard Rd taking off to the left at the top. Or if you take the tram, come out the door, turn right go down the steps and Lugard Road starts just to your right. And yes, it's at the same level as the look out.

Cryofern

"Not anymore" due to pandemic response or other reasons?

Hopewell Centre has a pair of panoramic (exterior view, centered on north) elevators that nobody stopped me from taking up and down
not all that recently though, so dunno

Pickles

After 9/11, but taking a fair number of years, as elsewhere in the world, most tall office buildings in Hong Kong curtailed access to building occupants or visitors that were given badges. Before 9/11, one could just walk up to any random elevator bank and take a ride. Some of these buildings are so tall that they have intermediate elevator banks with lobbies and viewing spaces. Bank of China, IFC2, The Centre, and Central Plaza were among these.

maalloc

Elevators are still open-access in Chungking Mansions... But the view is, oh, a wee bit different

allset2travel

Love to ride the tram from end to end. Many times, I used the tram as shelter from the pouring rain!

CMK10

I last visited in 2015. Three days of miserable weather in March (overcast, rainy and cold) made for unpleasant visits to the Peak and Lantau Island but I still had fun. The Star Ferry at night was a real treat:

exp

OK thanks, I knew there were walking circuits around the Peak but never got around to taking those. There was one out to a lake or reservoir too.

Someone also posted on the forum about the Stubbs Road Lookout, which I believe is further down the mountain from the Peak.

BuildingMyBento

Took these from the inner and outer bowels of Chungking Mansions from a weekend stay in 2006.

To say that the touts lining up on Nathan Rd. was my least favorite part of Hong Kong is an understatement. Sometimes, they'd follow me from the Star Ferry pier up to Mirador Mansions.
冚家鏟 to all of them, even if that's not the appropriate language...anyway, walk on a parallel street west, and it's no longer an issue.

Though, once through that rubbish, I'd head up to the 1st floor for some Turkish or South Asian food - occasionally further up for something West African - and used to exchange money on the ground floor, before learning about the places near Shun Tak Centre.

R2

I love it in HK how pretty much everything is in two languages; one that is completely incomprehensible to me and in English.

The _Banking_Scot

Hi,


Star Ferry and Victoria Harbour in late afternoon

Had a 10hr transit in HKG coming back from Tokyo to the UK in Nov 2017 and coming into HKG the weather was clear so went landside and went to Hong kong park then the Star Ferry ( about the clearest late afternoon weather I have experienced in HKG)

Regards

TBS

Nagasaki Joe

Back in the mid-90s, I was staying at the Hyatt Hotel on Nathan Road (I'm not sure if it exists anymore) in Kowloon. In the morning I exited the hotel's main entrance on Nathan Road, walked to the right, turned right on the first street I came to and after walking a block or two I crossed the street and while looking to my right I noticed a sign hanging in front of a shop with a very familiar-looking design. I walked toward it to get a closer look and it was a sign for the Bottoms Up Nightclub (on Hangkow Road), a sign that was prominently displayed in the James Bond movie The Man with the Golden Gun. Curious, I descended the stairs to its entrance. It was still too early for it to be open but I thought I might catch an evening show but it turned out to be closed that night, so I wouldn't be able to see it. The movie included a topless bartender scene that was supposedly filmed there, but I'm sure it was filmed in a studio, though the sign and street entrance were the same as in the film, so the exterior was clearly filmed on location.

Bloodsport was a good early Van Damme movie. I haven't seen it in a while but are there any Hong Kong locations in it (or Enter the Dragon) worthy of mention or worth a visit? Bloodsport reminds me of UFC 1, when the Gracies still ran it and there were no weight divisions, so you'd get matches like a 400 pound Sumo rikishi fighting 160-pound Ninjutsu stylist. What a hoot and a lot more fun to watch than today's matches.

BuildingMyBento

Coincidentally, just watched it again today.

The most unique location in the movie was Kowloon Walled City (where the "kumite" took place), but that was razed nearly 30 years ago. Other than that, prominent locations were the Peak and the Peak Tram, I reckon Aberdeen (when Van Damme was being chased on the junks), and Kai Tak Airport.

Nagasaki Joe

Fortunately, I visited all of those locations except the Walled City on one trip including the Jumbo Floating Restaurant (food very average but nice atmosphere) in Aberdeen (but what tourist hasn't been there).

Bloodsport was supposedly based on a true story of a Kumite won by a character named Frank Dux (there's a blurb at the end of the movie about him), who was a real martial artist and the fight choreographer for Bloodsport and Lionheart, but he is accused by many including military officials of falsifying his record of service and awards and was said to have never worked for the CIA. So how much of his story is true is up for debate, but at least it made for a fun movie. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Dux
He also wrote a book, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Secret_Man_(book), which I read, that makes a lot of wild claims.