Reluctant rider easily swayed as Ngong Ping cable car relaunches

There's something slightly disconcerting about cable cars. They're too quiet.

You step in, the doors quietly lock you in, and then you're hoisted silently into the air. It's just you and the elements, and, of course, a wonderfully unobstructed view of where you'll land if something goes wrong.

So it was not without a little trepidation that I accepted an invitation to ride on the newly relaunched Ngong Ping 360 cable car yesterday.

Actually, accept isn't really the right word. Apparently the invitation had been passed around the newsroom and I was the last to be asked. Memories of childhood soccer games flooded back.

So I was surprised to hear from my gondola buddy, Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Frederick Ma Si-hang, that he was there not by dint of drawing the short straw at the last Exco meeting, but because he loves cable cars.

Of course, there's only so many times you can hear something described as 'wonderful' and 'fantastic' and 'smooth' and 'stunning' before it begins to rub off on you.

And the ride is pretty neat. There was a bit of adrenalin, caused mainly by what, even with the pollution, was a stunning view across South Lantau.