HONG Kong is all about extremes - buildings, money, cars and what Singaporeans know best, shopping.

But few know the other extreme of Hong Kong - mountains, countryside and remote villages steeped in tradition.

There are 32 peaks over 500m high, 40 per cent of Hong Kong is protected country park, 40 per cent is rural land, and its crowded city with a population of seven million people make up the remaining 20 per cent.

This was why we picked Hong Kong for the recent Health Promotion Board's iwanttoquit smoking charity hike, to engage smokers who want to drop the habit, those who have done so, as well as supporters of the smoke-free cause.

Of the 23 participants, about half were ex-smokers and smokers.

The hike over three days took in the mountains of Lantau Island, villages in the New Territories and pristine beaches of Sai Kung - areas where most tourists never tread.

The first hike from Ngong Ping to Tai O, a small fishing village, took just over five hours and covered around 12km.

It was graded as the hardest of the three hikes, and we discovered how far we could push ourselves as we ascended to over 900m. The climb proved hard, but lunch at the top of the mountain made up for it.

Tai O gave us a chance to experience Hong Kong in its rural form, with a display of dried seafood and snacks prepared in the traditional way.

The second hike from Wu Kau Tang to Plover Cove in the New Territories was more leisurely.

We explored more of the countryside and villages. We hiked through hills and valleys where we met roaming cows, fellow hikers and villagers - wildly different from the barren walks of the previous day.

The final trek in Sai Kung East in the New Territories was designed as a reward. The initial part, which lasted slightly over two hours, took us to some of the most amazing white sandy beaches in Asia.

These places were also deserted, which made them even more special.

We had lunch in a small cafe on the beach and enjoyed the clear waters and crashing waves, a well-deserved prize and rest for the tired legs and aching bodies.

The finale was a very serene boat ride to our pickup destination and back to our accommodation. The journey gave us time to reflect on how we had overcome our own fitness challenge.

In the spirit of adventure, we stayed in youth hostels, where luxuries are minimal.

Sleeping on bunk beds in dormitories meant that we shared our space and rediscovered the art of face-to-face interaction, a skill sometimes lost in this day of e-mails and mobile phones.

The writer is project director of RedCard, the marketing team engaged by the HPB to spearhead the iwanttoquitsmoking campaign.

For information on hiking in Hong Kong, visit kayak-and-hike.com