Mixed Terain Run at Mui Tsz Lam after Dragon Boat Race

Today is the Tuen Ng (Dragon Boat) Festival. After the mixed team race at aSai Kung in the early morning, I went back to my office to have some overtime special work.

After work, I ran along the Shing Mun River to Mui Tsz Lam Trail. Dragon Boat races could be found everywhere in Hong Kong today. Sha Tin is one of the race spot too. From the photo, the dragon boats were left at the Shing Mun River after races.  

Shing Mun River is an artifical river which the original purpose is for drainage but now it turns into a nice river after the government's effort of purification. For many years, Shing Mun Riverside is a hotspot for Hong Kong runners. Sometimes we may enjoy the breeze along the river. There is also a cycling track in parallel with the jogging trail. The Hong Kong Sports Institute is right there near Fo Tan. There is also a swimming pool, a rowing centre as well as dragon boat centre nearby. Hence, it's easy runners to arrange their cross trainings.

 There is also a seafood boat restaurant on the other side of the river.

From here, you may run from Sha Tin to Ma On Shan. This is the nice view of Ma On Shan Waterfront, which is also a good place for running.

But this time, Siulek turned right and go up to the hillside. Soon I reached the Mui Tsz Lam Road. It's a slope to go up to the village. Fewer cars so it's good for runners and cyclists.

Siulek also met some runners and a cycling team this afternoon.

At the top of the road, a notice board with map is provided. From here, we can go uphill and join the trails of Sai Kung Country Park. There are also short country trails. Today, Siulek will go to Mui Tsz Lam and Fa Sam Hang.

Actually, Mum Tsz Lam means a plum tree forest. So I turned into a path with many trees. I found that the old path was ocuppied by the villagers and turned into private site. The Sha Tin District Council had provided an alternatives with well-paved path.

After an hour, Siulek reached the top and a signage showing way to Fa Sam Hang. A middle-aged man was doing exercises there. He introduced me to another uphill path but as it was closed to sunset time, I would try the new route the next time.

It's a long way for going down. As "Hang" in chinese means "Pit" so the path was a bit wet. It's good for Siulek to experience the wet path too.

On the way, I also met 2 wild dogs with one of them was barking at me. Fortunately, they didn't follow me after I showed no response to them. It's really a big problem for running alone on the trails.

 

At the bottom of the trail, I reached another village and joined the road connecting to Kwong Yuen Estate. It's the road run for around 1.5km and from there, it took me around 3 km to run back to Shing Mun River.

 

I tasted a bit more trail run this time and expect to take more the next time!