I arrived into Hong Kong airport at midday on 5th January. After checking in at my hotel and having a nap I headed out for some food. I caught the MTR to MongKok with the intention of finding a restaurant but as it was a Friday night everywhere was super busy and there were no seats anywhere. I went into Langholm Place mall which had a really good looking food court but again no spare tables! After an hour and a half I was so hungry I had to settle for a takeaway McDonalds. Unlike malls in the UK there were also no benches anyway around the mall and it was raining outside so I had to take my meal all the way back to the hotel so it was cold by the time I got round to eating it. Not the best start to my trip!!
Saturday morning and I got up and travelled to Kowloon Walled City Park. I had a littler trouble finding it as it is literally in the middle of a housing area! This is likely the reason that it was super quiet and I practically had the park to myself which was great for taking photos. I loved the park with all its different parts
including ponds, bridges, pagodas, rock displays, Chinese zodiac characters, bonsai and lanterns. You can also see some of the original wall foundations which is interesting as the park has a lot of history which is worth reading up on befo
re you visit. The park is really beautiful and scenic and well worth travelling just that bit further to get to. I'm not 100% certain but I think if you go on a morning It will be quieter. They also do guided walks as well. Upon leaving the park I caught the MTR to Wong Tai Sin station to visit the famous temple of the same name. On my last visit to Hong Kong I hadn't actually seen any advertisement for this temple of even heard about it until It was on a TV programme. The temple was really busy with people leaving offerings of fruit and other foods as well as burning incense. The details in the temple were incredible and it was decorated in different colours. I found when I visited mainland China the temples were elaborately patterned and boasted bright blues, reds and golds which was similar here. There was also a pond and garden which were pretty to look around. The great thing about visiting temples is that you really get to see a part of the culture but they also don't charge an entrance fee. I left the temple and headed towards the next door mall to grab some lunch. Back on the MTR and I headed to Nan Lian Garden & Chi Lin Nunnery. I hadn't had time to visit this spot on my last trip to Hong Kong so I made a point to go this time. Again the entrance is free which makes it all the better! Hong Kong is possible on a budget! You first enter the garden which is packed with bonsai tress, flowers, shaped hedges and the centrepiece is a Golden Pagoda surrounded by water and a bright orange bridge.
Then you can walk up to the Chi Lin Nunnery which has fantastic views over the garden and city. There is also lots of ponds with lily-pads symmetrically on both sides of the nunnery. I walked up the steps to look inside of the main building and had a panoramic view of the scene below. It was one of the best views I have ever seen. The grounds were so well kept and it was fairly quiet which made my visit even better. Further on through the garden there is also a restaurant (vegetarian I thi
nk) that is built behind a waterfall and a pond filled with Koi. Eventually I left the garden as it started to rain although I could've walked around it all day! Another mall snack later and I made my way towards the market area of Kowloon. Most of the markets are situated in nearby streets so it is easy to get from one to another. First I walked through the Ladies Market then on to the Goldfish market which was a bit bizarre. They were selling fish very cheaply out of bags like you would get at a fair and there were even turtles in tiny takeaway-style boxes. There were also rabbits, cats and dogs in small boxes. It is something that you would not see in the UK due to laws we have in place! I also had a quick look down what they called Sneaker Street before heading back to the Langhalm Place mall for my dinner. I had read about a restaurant called Yum Cha which apparently did the best Dim Sum in Hong Kong. I took a seat and ordered some dishes including 'Pig' pulled pork steamed buns complete with ears and snout, spring rolls and fried prawn balls.
Day three started with a visit to Che Kung Temple where many locals were praying and burning incense on a Sunday morning. There was a large golden figure standing inside the main temple building, towering over visitors. I then walked over the river to the Hong Kong Heritage museum where there was a special exhibition on Pixar. It went through all of the Pixar films showing sketches, photos, paintings and figurines of the animations including Up, Toy Story, Cars and Monsters Inc. I also looked around the Bruce Lee exhibit in the museum before leaving and getting the MTR to get some lunch at a mall. After a nice place of rice and curry, I went to find the 10,000 Buddha's. Not very well signposted but I got there eventually! I could not have done the walk up the hill in the summer as it was humid enough for me in January! It was not what I expected but interesting to see nonetheless. The walk was steep and all the Buddha statues had different facial expressions which was funny! When I got three quarters of the way up the hill I got to the main temple which was very impressive. It was beautifully decorated in golds, reds and blues with many statues and a tall pagoda. There was also a great panoramic view of the city. The temple building was covered in hundreds of tiny golden Buddha's and bright lights. A hasty few steps further up and there was another smaller temple and a large white goddess figure. Although it was a steep walk, it was worth it for the view at the top. It wasn't what I expected and at the start of the trail there was a lot of rubbish bags, it was a little dirty and the Buddha's are slightly tacky but the actual temple is really nice. Shortly after my walk down I found a mall for a quick visit to IKEA for meatballs and juice. I then went back to my hotel for an early night.
My final day in Hong Kong and I was meeting the guide from my previous visit. Starting with a traditional breakfast of dim sum we ate fish, dumplings, spring rolls and custard buns. I rarely eat breakfast so I was stuffed by the time I was finished! As we were on our way to visit Sai Kung my friend got called to take someone to the airport so we travelled back for around 40 minutes to Whompoa to complete this errand. I looked around some shops while I was waiting as it was raining badly. We met up again and went to head to Sai Kung but again my friend got called to work. By this time it was maybe 3pm so I went off by myself to explore once again. I walked around MongKok as it is a busy area that is always interesting to see. Unfortunately the rain got really bad and I got soaked so I went back to the hotel for a warm shower while the rain eased off. As it was my last night I decided to go and see Victoria Harbour in all of its night-time glory. The European carnival was in town so there were lots of bright lights and funfair rides. I took some nice photos of the harbour and the central pier before going to bed.
The morning before my flight, I had one more walk down the harbour before going to the airport for my flight to Tokyo.
Saturday morning and I got up and travelled to Kowloon Walled City Park. I had a littler trouble finding it as it is literally in the middle of a housing area! This is likely the reason that it was super quiet and I practically had the park to myself which was great for taking photos. I loved the park with all its different parts
including ponds, bridges, pagodas, rock displays, Chinese zodiac characters, bonsai and lanterns. You can also see some of the original wall foundations which is interesting as the park has a lot of history which is worth reading up on befo
re you visit. The park is really beautiful and scenic and well worth travelling just that bit further to get to. I'm not 100% certain but I think if you go on a morning It will be quieter. They also do guided walks as well. Upon leaving the park I caught the MTR to Wong Tai Sin station to visit the famous temple of the same name. On my last visit to Hong Kong I hadn't actually seen any advertisement for this temple of even heard about it until It was on a TV programme. The temple was really busy with people leaving offerings of fruit and other foods as well as burning incense. The details in the temple were incredible and it was decorated in different colours. I found when I visited mainland China the temples were elaborately patterned and boasted bright blues, reds and golds which was similar here. There was also a pond and garden which were pretty to look around. The great thing about visiting temples is that you really get to see a part of the culture but they also don't charge an entrance fee. I left the temple and headed towards the next door mall to grab some lunch. Back on the MTR and I headed to Nan Lian Garden & Chi Lin Nunnery. I hadn't had time to visit this spot on my last trip to Hong Kong so I made a point to go this time. Again the entrance is free which makes it all the better! Hong Kong is possible on a budget! You first enter the garden which is packed with bonsai tress, flowers, shaped hedges and the centrepiece is a Golden Pagoda surrounded by water and a bright orange bridge.
nk) that is built behind a waterfall and a pond filled with Koi. Eventually I left the garden as it started to rain although I could've walked around it all day! Another mall snack later and I made my way towards the market area of Kowloon. Most of the markets are situated in nearby streets so it is easy to get from one to another. First I walked through the Ladies Market then on to the Goldfish market which was a bit bizarre. They were selling fish very cheaply out of bags like you would get at a fair and there were even turtles in tiny takeaway-style boxes. There were also rabbits, cats and dogs in small boxes. It is something that you would not see in the UK due to laws we have in place! I also had a quick look down what they called Sneaker Street before heading back to the Langhalm Place mall for my dinner. I had read about a restaurant called Yum Cha which apparently did the best Dim Sum in Hong Kong. I took a seat and ordered some dishes including 'Pig' pulled pork steamed buns complete with ears and snout, spring rolls and fried prawn balls.
Day three started with a visit to Che Kung Temple where many locals were praying and burning incense on a Sunday morning. There was a large golden figure standing inside the main temple building, towering over visitors. I then walked over the river to the Hong Kong Heritage museum where there was a special exhibition on Pixar. It went through all of the Pixar films showing sketches, photos, paintings and figurines of the animations including Up, Toy Story, Cars and Monsters Inc. I also looked around the Bruce Lee exhibit in the museum before leaving and getting the MTR to get some lunch at a mall. After a nice place of rice and curry, I went to find the 10,000 Buddha's. Not very well signposted but I got there eventually! I could not have done the walk up the hill in the summer as it was humid enough for me in January! It was not what I expected but interesting to see nonetheless. The walk was steep and all the Buddha statues had different facial expressions which was funny! When I got three quarters of the way up the hill I got to the main temple which was very impressive. It was beautifully decorated in golds, reds and blues with many statues and a tall pagoda. There was also a great panoramic view of the city. The temple building was covered in hundreds of tiny golden Buddha's and bright lights. A hasty few steps further up and there was another smaller temple and a large white goddess figure. Although it was a steep walk, it was worth it for the view at the top. It wasn't what I expected and at the start of the trail there was a lot of rubbish bags, it was a little dirty and the Buddha's are slightly tacky but the actual temple is really nice. Shortly after my walk down I found a mall for a quick visit to IKEA for meatballs and juice. I then went back to my hotel for an early night.My final day in Hong Kong and I was meeting the guide from my previous visit. Starting with a traditional breakfast of dim sum we ate fish, dumplings, spring rolls and custard buns. I rarely eat breakfast so I was stuffed by the time I was finished! As we were on our way to visit Sai Kung my friend got called to take someone to the airport so we travelled back for around 40 minutes to Whompoa to complete this errand. I looked around some shops while I was waiting as it was raining badly. We met up again and went to head to Sai Kung but again my friend got called to work. By this time it was maybe 3pm so I went off by myself to explore once again. I walked around MongKok as it is a busy area that is always interesting to see. Unfortunately the rain got really bad and I got soaked so I went back to the hotel for a warm shower while the rain eased off. As it was my last night I decided to go and see Victoria Harbour in all of its night-time glory. The European carnival was in town so there were lots of bright lights and funfair rides. I took some nice photos of the harbour and the central pier before going to bed.
The morning before my flight, I had one more walk down the harbour before going to the airport for my flight to Tokyo.
Comments
Post a Comment