Alternative Hong Kong sports: Jogging is for grannies. We want this adrenaline buffet instead

Paragliding

Forget about Victoria Habour and the Peak. No better way is there to see Hong Kong than swooping down from 2,500 feet hills with wind in your hair and nothing but a harness between your armpits.

“Paragliding is great here since the sites are really easy to access and the views beautiful. In other parts of the world, people have to travel for two hours to get to flying sites. Here you’re a half-hour cab ride away,” said Alec Barnes, 4-year glider and chairman of the Hong Kong Paragliding Association.

Hong Kong may be sardine-packed and tiny to boot, but it’s also home to eight spectacular paragliding spots.

“Shek O and Ma On Shan are the two most popular sites here. I personally prefer the Ma On Shan site. From there you can see the Sai Kung township and the gorgeous High Island Reservoir,” the frequent flyer said.

Other locations include the Pat Sin range, Lantau and Pak Tam Au. Flights last from 30 minutes to three hours. In Hong Kong you have to be licensed by the Hong Kong Paragliding Association to fly. To qualify, Paraglide HK offers 8-lesson courses from HK$7,200.) The HKPA also recognizes oversees pilot licenses.

Aviating

Fly your own jet, without a license , for the price of a couple of iPods. Nope, we kid you not.

For a paltry HK$2,417, flying newbies get to steer their own plane round the island for an hour at the Hong Kong Aviation Club. Helicopter flights are at a similarly shocking HK$3,249.

Of course there’s a catch.

These ‘Trial Introductory Flights’ are a one-off offer, available only to Hong Kong residents. And your good teacher will do a lot of sales talk to try to convince you to joining the Hong Kong Aviation Club, admits flight instructor Kenny Choi. But hey, with the chance to steer your own plane on the cheap, and ample Facebook photo ops, who’s gonna complain about a little talk?

If you get hooked on piloting, the aviation club does one-hour flight lessons from HK$2,210. But you’ll need to take 40 hours’ worth of classes, pay a staggering HK$35,000 membership entrance fee and pass a bevy of tests before you’re licensed to fly.

Private company Heliservices does 45 minute charter flights around the island and all the way to the Big Buddha for HK$10,000.

Racing

Aspiring Formula One racers go to Diamond Coast International Kart Circuit to become champions like Fernando Alonso, who also started training at a race circuit from childhood. The DCIKC grounds stretch a huge area of 40,000 square meters with a 900 meter-long circuit.

No driving experience is required, but you should be at least 11 years old. Newcomers need to watch a safety video, write an exam, and do a three-lap road test until they are qualified to release those breaks to maximum competing speed (120km). A weekend group deal (HK$600/person) allows you to go on three 40-minutes sessions on a 200cc go-kart. For a HK$200 surcharge each (HK$100 on weekends), you and a group of buddies can shred those tires in a mini-race that concludes with a fifteen-lap showdown.

Gunning

From difficult-to-please bosses to incompetent colleagues, there are days when the office feels like a live combat zone. Tai Tong Wargame Services Centre will help you release those office frustrations with M4A1 carbines used for S.W.A.T. training and 500,000 square feet of land to do the damage.

Master Kwok Leung Fung is known for being the first in Asia to open a wargame centre with custom-made team-building activities for companies, community groups, and schools. For HK$350, get the gun, 200 paintballs of ammunition, a uniform, safety gear, a coach ride to the center, and a Chinese buffet to get that energy pumping.

Dirt biking

You might want to keep your Armani shirt in the closet when you go to the MX Club.

It doesn’t matter if you’re a beginner or an expert at this extreme biking club; there’s bound to be a bike and a lesson that suits your level. Kids aged five to fourteen are recommended on the 50cc bike with parental guidance. More experienced riders can drive the bigger, more powerful 250cc one. Planning on getting a motorcycle license? Course training (four 2-hour lessons for HK$1800-2400) is available inclusive of safety gear and the amateur-friendly Honda 2005 CRF110F.

For HK$500, you can also take the one-hour trial course.