The Peak, Hong Kong

                 On our last day in Hong Kong our first stop was The Peak, the highest point in Hong Kong island. We had already figured out how to get there as a result of the previous day’s misadventure when we took the wrong tram and ended up somewhere else.It turned out that there's a specially designated tram that takes tourists to the Peak and its station is near the HSBC building in Central, Hong Kong.Before the tram arrived we had our pictures taken at the tram terminus where an old tram and a machine of some sort that probably ran the tram in the early days were on display. The fare was a lot more expensive compared to the HK$2-regular tram , but it’s worth it because it offered a different kind of ride. The way up to The Peak was so steep , it looked like a 45-degree slope. Every now and then on our way up, the tram would halt leaving us practically hanging. The thought of the tram sliding off the mountain scared the wimp out of me. Although based on records there has been no reported accidents from the time it started operating more than a hundred years ago .   

           We got to The Peak unscathed. We went inside the Peak Tower which is basically a mall. There was a nice souvenir shop full of interesting trinkets. I liked the items a lot for "pasalubongs"( gift ) but they’re expensive so I decided to do the shopping in Mong Kok which would be our next stop anyway. Aside from souvenir shops there were also fancy restaurants at The Peak Tower. The Madame Tussauds wax museum was also located there. The ticket to the museum was ridiculously expensive. I don’t get why one would pay HK$185 to see wax figures of celibrities. No freakin’ way ! I just had my photo taken beside Pierce Brosnan’s figure displayed outside. Visitors could also go up to the viewing deck for an additional fee to get a glipmse of the harbor and the skyscrapers below. “Puritas” or poor tourists like us just contented ourselves with doing the sightseeing at a lower level outside the Peak Tower. The view was spectacular. Hundreds of tall glass buildings , gleaming under the sun made it look futuristic. I had not seen anything like it. I felt like I had been assigned to watch over the  goings-on of a modern world beneath.