The magic faraway escalator
Reader Alert:
Bite-sized posts are great for my time-starved friends, my family and the world in general. However, some experiences in life deserve more space. This time, I take a few paragraphs to share the story of a fascinating district in Hong Kong.
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An escalator. So what's the big deal?
In the distant past, my commute in London often involved hurtling down the escalators of Tube stations. On some days I was even courageous enough to purposefully climb up the moving steps. It is common knowledge that the longest escalator in London (barring T5 Heathrow) is at Angel station. I have had many occasions to use it, not the least to visit Sadler's Wells Theatre or to reach an erstwhile tea-house of interest (shout out to Mai Chai).
On a related subject, one of my favourite pastimes when using metros in new cities, is to speed-read advertisements along the escalators. A few years ago I noticed that paper posters had been replaced by digital screens at many places. In London, some of these digital advertisements were ingeniously designed. As one went up the escalator, a story played out in perfect sequence from one screen to the next, ending just as you reached the top.
Apart from these minor distractions, there is nothing too sensational about using an escalator. They are an ubiquitous part of urban life, fairly humdrum and designed to take you rapidly to your chosen elevation in a building. Till a few weeks ago, I might have rolled my eyes at anyone who thought that taking an escalator could be a journey of discovery. That was before my intriguing experience of using the Mid-levels Escalator in Hong Kong.
The long-planned HK trip
Interesting things often occur by chance. Try as I might, I cannot avoid this oft-used word that explains this situation well. Serendipity. Nearly 16 years ago my article on MTR, Hong Kong's public transport operator, made it to an industry journal of repute. It was based solely on desktop research of annual business reports as I lived thousands of miles away at the time. Some years later I missed joining a family holiday to Hong Kong, and subsequent invitations from friends. Finally in April 2025, finding myself just a short flight away, I decided to make an impromptu visit to this city-state of Hong Kong. One needs no reminding that, after 156 years with the British, it is now a Special Administrative Region of China.
While trying to outsmart the booking portals (or so one imagines, as there is little chance of doing so) I somehow managed to find reasonable accommodation. Reasonable, by Hong Kong standards, is a place where you don't need to pawn all your possessions just to pay for a hotel.
The location of the hotel was called 'Mid-Levels'. It was described as being close to Central station which, true to its name, is a really central place on Hong Kong Island. As always, I did some pre-trip reading. Mid-Levels is a district built on hilly terrain on the north-west side, not far from Victoria Peak, the highest hill on Hong Kong island. Reaching it was supposedly easy-peasy via the 'Mid-levels Escalators' that started near Central station and could take you up to residential areas, schools and other establishments at the top. Official sources stated that the escalators were uni-directional depending on the time of day. Umm okay. They went on to explain that there were a couple of them. Right - so was this a series of escalators? This only led to more questions in my head. How would you know where you were? Could one get off anywhere enroute?
All these queries were finally answered on arrival. For the next few days, each journey up or down these escalators was captivating enough to write a new post. But life is short, and the attention span of readers is even shorter. So here is a rapid history of the system and a snapshot of my experiences.
Planner, Designers and Engineers - our cities need them
The idea of outdoor escalators for hilly slopes in Hong Kong seems to go back to the 1930s. It finally came to fruition in 1993. The Mid-Level Escalators are in fact a total of 19 reversible walkways consisting of 3 inclined travelators and 16 escalators. They take you up the hilly slopes starting from Queen's Road Central at the starting level to Conduit Road at the top, cutting across 13 streets on their leisurely journey up. At the end of each walkway there is an option to join the street at that level.
The escalators are all one-way. They operate in the down direction from 6 AM to 10 AM and then in the up direction for the rest of the day till mid-night. There are stairs and slopes running adjacent or nearby, for those who need to go the opposite way. See the picture below from one morning, with the travelator in the down direction. On the left there are a few people using stairs to walk up.
Life passes by as you stand still
Some people walked briskly along the travelators and escalators. In the past that would have been me. However, I am a changed person now. This time I stood by calmly and let the machines do the work. There are some good reasons for this. Firstly, I had to conserve energy at all costs. This is because a LOT of walking is required, in mostly warm conditions, to get around Hong Kong like a pro. More importantly, I wanted to peek at everything I passed. So there I was, unashamedly craning my neck to look at the streets below, then to my left, moving slightly to my right and so on. And yes, I nearly tripped over a person or two on most days, wrapped up in my curiosity as I was.
The first evening, as we made a stately ascent, I was mesmerised by the changing scenery, wafting aromas, floating bits of conversation, clever advertisements and of course the people, both on the escalators and in my line of sight.
M&S saved me
Even before I had landed in HK, I was told about a Marks and Spencer outlet by the escalators. It has only been 1.5 years since my last stop at M&S in London. Yet, my delight knew no bounds when, about a third of my way up to the accommodation, I spotted M&S Food on my right. By the time I checked into the hotel it was nearly 10 PM. I was famished and there was little time to hunt for food. I knew exactly what I needed. The escalators were in 'up' mode as scheduled but I needed to go down! So I sprinted down the stone steps and the odd slope trying not to break a leg. I made it to the half-open door of M&S at 10:27 PM with three minutes to spare till closing time. The attendant looked at my wistful face and waved me in. I made a beeline for the sandwich section and knew exactly what I wanted (For the record, it was Mature Cheddar Cheese and Celery on brown malted bread).
Mission accomplished, I took my first bite in hours. And gosh, it tasted exactly the same as in the UK. Throughout the trip, I stopped by M&S on most days to try my favourite bakery items and sandwiches. With eyes closed I could have been back in London, at my desk during lunchtime. It was uncanny. Apparently I am not the only one who spotted this. There are internet threads on this.
World Cuisine
While the familiarity of M&S was heart-warming, it is fair to say that cafes and restaurants in the vicinity of the Mid-Level Escalators are truly eclectic. Over the next few days, on my way up and down, and through occasional detours at street level, I spotted the following: Greek, Italian, Lebanese, Spanish, Nepalese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Laotian, Thai and of course dim-sum places!
The pub on a Friday
A couple of years ago, one would have said there is nothing as British as the Friday evening pub ritual after work. Sadly, with remote working, this tradition is no longer quite the same back in London. It is fortunate that some traditions are kept alive thousands of miles away.
About half way up the mid-level escalators, at the corner of Staunton Street and Shelley Street, stands a gastropub and wine bar. It is predictably called ... Staunton's. It seemed popular on most evenings. However Friday night had a distinctive buzz, with half-tipsy people spilling onto the pavement and side streets. It brought back a flood of memories from our favoured haunts in SE1 London near the South Bank. As I walked past, I overheard floating bits of conversation, some in a British accent. One group was making a plan to hit the Nepalese curry place next door. My disorientation was complete.
Art
The area around the lower half is called SoHo (South of Hollywood Road). In more ways that one, it lives upto its namesake in London. One can spot museums, art galleries and boutique craft shops all within walking distance. Then there is the unmissable wall art that appears when you least expect it to, such as the one on Elgin Street below.
A micro-climate
With each trip up the escalators, it always amazed me how the Mid-Levels have their own micro-climate. In early April, I needed a jumper at the top as the wind was a bit cooler than at the bottom. The air felt remarkably fresh at these higher levels. One day, when the sky was a bit overcast, I looked up. The top floors of adjoining apartment blocks were no longer visible. As confirmed by erstwhile local residents, clouds can indeed float into your balcony at the higher floors (!)
Is it all cool?
Mostly yes. However it is not much fun in the rain, especially if you need to use stairs, slopes and street level crossings to go in the opposite direction to the escalator. Even when going in the direction of the walkway, good shoes are a must. Then again, this is Hong Kong, the golden city for public transport. There are big MTR buses, small green-coloured mini-buses and of course taxis everywhere. Each street has a strange blend of modernity interspersed with a unique old-world character that for some reason felt very 1960s or 1970s.
The Conclusion
When it comes to urban spaces, I often find myself torn with two diametrically opposite views. On the one hand there is a feeling comfort and stability as one walks down a favourite street and everything is just as it was last year, and the year before, and the decade before.
On the other hand, there are vibrant districts where new cafes, shops and galleries seem to appear overnight. These are places where one is constantly discovering new nooks and corners. The sight of this ever-changing patchwork is equally alluring. At least one would never get bored.
The Mid-Levels are somewhere in between this. I gather that some areas have stood the test of time while others have changed within the blink of an eye. I only hope this area retains some of its unconventional charm without gentrifying too fast.
This brings me to the title of the post. One of my favourite childhood book series was The Magic Faraway Tree. The characters in the book never knew what, or who, they would find at the top of the tree. This sums up how I felt when getting on the mid-levels escalators each time.
Would I like to stay in this district again? Most certainly. I've got my walking shoes ready.
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