Exploring Hong Kong by road: three routes that show city's best views
Using a car, whether it's your own vehicle, a hire car, an Uber car or a taxi, lets you reach some places the city's efficient public transport doesn't serve. Take these routes and you'll appreciate Hong Kong even more
When the road you're aiming for vanishes on your car's GPS navigation system, you know you're in for an adventure. Sandwiched between trucks heading to the landfill at the end of Wo Keng Shan Road near Fanling, we missed the turn onto the road leading up to Robin's Nest and had to double back.
We eventually found the road, a two-way affair that's barely the width of one car. We gingerly negotiated the steep and winding 3km track until finally we reached a dead end just below the 492-metre peak, very near the border with China.
I scaled the dirt trail to the summit on foot. As I looked out towards the hazy Shenzhen skyline, surrounded by a vast sea of green and waves of silence, I reflected on how fortunate we've been to have a car at our disposal for the past few months.
I never saw the point of having a car in Hong Kong, what with the perpetual traffic jams, impatient drivers and sky-high parking fees. And the city's efficient public transport system generally does a great job of getting you around.
But having our own wheels has helped us discover more of the city - its geography, history and culture - and deepened my affinity for it. Especially with a baby, having a car makes travelling easier and has sparked our sense of exploration.