The Peak is a place that both Hazel and I have been to before back in 2007. We will quite underwhelm by the view last time since it was all foggy and such and we were really hoping to get a much much better view at the top this time round. Based on the foggy experience at Ngong Ping, we are really not hoping for the best. It just looks like it is going to be another foggy night.
We went by bus up to the peak previously and thought that we should give the peak tram a try this time round.
We took the MTR to the Central Station and walked all the way to the Peak Tram Terminus. What was really interesting to us was that the area just outside of the Central MTR station was full of people from a certain nationality, much like how different nationalities gathered around in different places in Singapore.
It was not a very far walk to the Peak Tram Terminus but a rather steep upslope walk it was. The terminus was just about 10 mins walk from the Central MTR station.
What greet us was the QUEUES again. REALLY?! This time around we were a little "smarter", Hazel went all the way to the front to check if there is a separate line to get packages. And there is. If you choose to buy the Madame Tussauds tickets + tram tickets, you will be ushered into another MUCH shorter queue. Of course, we took that option since Madame Tussauds was also part of our plan. We also got the tickets to the Sky Terrace 428, a viewing platform to check out the sights. The price for this package was HKD$250 per pax.
It was really really annoying how the queue system works after getting through the gantry. Well, there is basically NO QUEUE. There is no means of any barriers or guides to ensure that the people are not really just one big bunch of meat and the most ungracious person who pushes their way through will get right in front. It also seems to me that the person in charge that who allows the people to move in front after the tram is loaded does not do any head counts to prevent overcrowding. Basically, I assumed that he/she will just allow enough people to fill the space up front and she stops the rest of the people from coming in. Primitive and really lousy way of managing the crowd.
This is really how it looks like when the tram is here. In fact, I was knocked around while taking this photo that my camera almost dropped. Once the tram doors open, it is a mad rush to PUSH everyone inside. You will feel people from behind pushing you and if you are not careful, accidents will and definitely can happen. In fact, there was this one lady who basically rammed her way through to get to the front and pushes people around. It just makes that particular nationality look really bad. Even if you are carrying a baby, like what Hazel is doing, you will get pushed. I was really really annoyed by this. Totally lack of people and crowd management from the Tram Service Provider. I will NOT take this Peak Tram Terminus anymore unless they upgrade or revamp their policy of managing the crowd. It is totally unsafe and I STRONGLY advise parents carrying young children or infants to avoid taking this peak tram to go up. There are other means of transport, which is to take the bus 15 from the Exchange Square bus terminus from the MTR Hong Kong Station. We bought the return tickets for the tram and guess we have to do this again later but I have already made a mental note of this then.
Here is a shot while we are in the tram. We were really really lucky to snag a seat.
A meal was definitely the first thing on our minds. I saw advertisements by this restaurant in the tram station and not knowing what to eat, we just went up here to have our meal. The meal was quite average. We ordered two types of fish with rice so that Jayden can also eat. Boy, he did eat quite a lot of the fish.
That is the Sky Terrace 428….
And this was the view that greeted us that night. Awwww. Another foggy view as expected. Really such a waste to come here twice in different times of the year and get to see a foggy scenery. Perhaps we should come here during Hong Kong Winter Season.
Next stop. Madame Tussauds.
More to come. Stay tuned!
This post is part of a series that I did for our Hong Kong Trip in 2012. You may check on all posts related to this trip by clicking on the "Hong Kong Trip 2012" tag. Only minimal photos are posted on the blog. There are much more photos that are posted on our Facebook Page at Daddy NiVleK. Click on here to get to the album. Support us by clicking on the "Like" button now!
