It was three years ago that Chow Yun-fat brought Carina Lau on her first hike, since which time she has become thoroughly infatuated with Hong Kong’s great outdoors. Before then, Carina would go for the occasional jog on the Peak, but only on flat roads and never on a trail. That first time they went hiking together, it was at the famed Dragon’s Back trail which, to Fat Gor (as he is colloquially known) was a mere trifle, but presented a real challenge to Carina.
Once she overcame the challenge though, Carina was able to see another side of Hong Kong that she had never encountered before. “It was beautiful!” she says. “To fall in love with Hong Kong, you only need to hike its mountains.”
She continues: “Hongkongers should be grateful that we have beaches and mountains all within half an hour’s travel, and all the mountain ranges are connected – or at least that’s the case on Hong Kong Island. We’ve got the best of both worlds – great restaurants and bars, as well as beautiful mountains and the sea.”
In the short span of three years, Carina has hiked all over Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and the New Territories. When asked about her favourite trail, she names stages 4 and 5 of the Maclehose Trail as well as Pat Sin Leng. She thinks the latter is especially stunning, despite the hike easily taking 4-5 hours to complete.
Carina also appreciates the opportunity to experience the changing of the seasons out on a trail. While she didn’t have the slightest inclination to exercise when she was younger, as she has grown older she has realised the pure enjoyment and positive energy she gets from exercising in nature, as well as the potential to rejuvenate her mood and to discover previously hidden truths.
Even while on holiday, Carina will make a point to embark on a hike. Case in point: her hiking trip to Hokkaido last year, where she hiked every day and bathed at an onsen at night, which she remembers as a supremely satisfying break. For these kinds of excursions, Carina will usually aim to go in the autumn for breezy weather. On the contrary, she has no such requirements for hiking in Hong Kong year-round, at an average of 3-4 times a week. She doesn’t mind hiking in the summer either as it’s the best time to sweat out the toxins.
It’s common knowledge that Carina has been spending most of her time and effort in recent years on her various business ventures, which cover a broad range of interests – somewhat like a lifestyle brand. She admits that she is most invested in the fashion aspect of things, and as such she has been working hard on her own women’s fashion label, ANIRAC.
Having read fashion glossies since she was young, Carina feels that although you can easily find no shortage of fashion content online, she will always revert to print magazines as they are the only medium capable of the incisive and eye-opening stories that she so loves to slowly digest. Because of Hong Kong’s international standing, Carina sees it as a necessity for the city to have a title that is representative of its culture, as well as one that is able to lead the trends. No other magazine, she says, is better suited to this role than Vogue Hong Kong.
Photography: Stanley Wong @anothermountainman
Styling: Lois Leung
Hair artist: Ken Hui
Makeup artist: +0
Editor
Peter WongCredit
Translator: Gavin Yeung
