Yesterday after a day spent in front of my computer, I decided to take Nealy’s advice and take the time to get out and get moving. I had to wait until about 5pm for it to be cool enough (pregnancy = rather a lot of sweating in the Hong Kong summer!) and then decided to take my favourite walk up to the Bowen Road trail. Pre-pregnancy I used to kind of power-walk along it (Maura and Natalie regularly run the path) but now I’m forced to slow down to quite a slow stroll with a few stops to sit down as I climb up the big hill that leads from Kennedy Road up to Bowen. The great thing about Bowen Road though is that whatever pace you’re going at, there will be someone doing the same thing – from mums walking with strollers and chatting, to old people doing Tai Chi in the little parks dotted along, to the super-fit who can run up and down three times in the time it takes me to walk the trail once!
I love how everyone you see is quiet and peaceful – it’s such an escape from the city even though you can look out over the skyline of Central, Wanchai and Happy Valley. Surrounded by greenery, the sounds of birds singing and amazing views of the city, this is a walk where you can fall in love with Hong Kong all over again.
The entire path is around 3km from beginning in the MidLevels at the intersection of Garden and Robinson Roads to the end at Stubbs Road in Happy Valley. I pick up the trail about a third of the way along – if you’re coming by taxi just ask to be dropped at Bowen Doh, and from there it’s almost totally flat all the way. Definitely recommended if you’re wanting to clear your head and shake off a bit of the island fever that sometimes affects all of us who live Hong Kong-side! Best of all, it’s free…
Hester – where exactly does the trail start? I can see where Garden & Robinson meet on the map, however, Bowen just seems like a regular road? Where is the path start? Sounds like a lovely trail…
I think it officially starts at Bowen Road Park, which is up Bowen Drive… Should be marked on google maps… But if you start from the end of Bowen Road and just keep walking, you will reach it too (just that it is not exclusively pedestrianized like the trail itself). Hope that helps!