Little Sai Wan H3 #2517

It has been 26 years since the last (and only) time I have hashed in Hong Kong. Back in the 90s, the internet was just starting to blossom, and the only way to get updated info on the weekly hash trails here was to go to the Wanch Bar and look on the chalk board. It was a Thursday afternoon back in 1998 when I rolled into town, and wasted little time on making my way to the Wanch. I was dismayed upon arrival, that the chalk board was completely bare . . . feeling disappointed, I ordered a beer and sat wondering what to do. Not 10 minutes later, a gentlemen walks in and I notice he has a hash shirt on! Glory be, could this be a sign? I immediately walked over and introduced myself, and asked what was up with the weekend of hashing . . . so this was the first time I met Obelix. He tells me he is actually just stopping for a beer, and is on his way to the hash. I am still in street clothes (blue jeans and collared shirt, with flat leather loafers), but have no time to go back and change. Sooooo, off I go to the hash. If you are familiar with Hong Kong, you know that the Royal South Side H3 runs on Thursday evenings. So tagging along with Obelix, we get to the start, and I buy a hash shirt, so I at least look like a hasher, and run the trail that went up and around The Peak. It was great fun. That weekend, I also took the ferry over to run with the Taipa - Macau H3 to fill out the weekend.

Anyway, fast forward 26 years, and here I am, back in Hong Kong for the 24th All China Nash Hash. The last time I was in China was 2002 in Beijing, for the very first All China Nash Hash (which coincided with the Beijing H3 1000th weekend). Having just wrapped up with the Mekong IndoChina Hash in Pakse, Laos, I wasted little time getting over to Hong Kong to take in a few hashes both before and after the ACNH. First up was the Little Sai Wan H3 (my first visit to this club). We had over 20 hashers join in, meeting in a park south of Kowloon Bay. Off we go on trail, and almost immediately we started to climb, and climb, and we would continue that theme for the next hour until we reached the top of Braemar Peak which sits at just over 200 meters. Overall, the trail enjoyed nearly 600 meters of ascent and descent on this A to A trail in the dark . . . it was an absolutely great trail.

We enjoyed a couple beers in the park before heading on in for the après in a local restaurant. After enjoying a family style Chinese dinner, we had a short circle that recognized the hares . . . who were also both celebrating their birthdays. Along with a third, it turns out 3 of the 20 or so hashers were all celebrating as you can see in the photos. Since we started at 1900, and trail took over 90 minutes, by the time we finished up everything, it was after 2300 and the streets were getting quiet, and it was raining . . . so jumped in an Uber and called it a day (a great day that started with a flight from Bangkok to Hong Kong, and then quickly scampering out to the hash). On the way back to the hotel, I received a text that a possible T8 H3 might take place on Thursday morning . . . that is a hash club that only runs when a severe storm is inbound (a T8), but upon waking this morning the damn thing had veered, so now relaxing in bed and writing this tale. Tonight will be my return to the Royal South Side H3 after 26 years of globetrotting. Get Some!Read more