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Nathan Road |
The impression most people have of Hong Kong is that it's just another urban city . You're right and you're wrong . Hong Kong is indeed a very urbanised city but if you're willing to venture beyond the city confines , you'll find a 'green' Hong Kong that's overlooked by many tourists . I spent only 5 short days in this cosmopolitan city but in between i managed to squeeze in much sightseeing and here are my accounts.
I arrived at the Chek Lap Kok airport somewhere near evening together with Alice and Benny . At the airport , Alice was fascinated with the glass elevators which were featured in the Jackie Chan movie , Gorgeous . In the end she and Benny took the elevator shooting themselves with the video camera which Benny brought along . We arrived at our hotel in the late evening , just in time for dinner which we had along a small eatery near the famous Ladies Market and of course after that we went shopping along this market as well as the equally well known Temple Street market . The goods sold are of a wide variety but are mostly fakes sold at a cheap price . I couldn't resist trying out my cantonese with the stall owners but i didn't buy anything .
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Seal feeding at Ocean Park |
The next day we woke up early in the morning around 6am so that we could go to Ocean Park on Hong Kong Island . After breakfast , we took the MTR to Central and later switched to a cab which took us right to the doorstep of Ocean Park . Unfortunately , it was not yet opened and so we roamed the streets nearby passing by the Police Academy and the Hong Kong Driving School .
As soon as Ocean Park opened , we headed up towards the Headlands which were where all the rides were situated . However we stopped taking the rides after a dizzy turn on the Octopus which caused me and Benny to feel like vomitting while on the ride . After that we wandered around the sprawling expanse of Ocean Park which frankly wasn't that interesting . The bits worth noting are the dolphin and seal shows which were captivating . The faux Chinese Village was hardly appealing and the worst was that it started to rain .
When the rain ceased , we made our exit and headed towards Repulse Bay and Stanley where a bazaar is held . Something like Ladies Market but pricier . We had a late lunch at Delifrance which is like the only fast food outlet we saw there . In the late afternoon we headed back towards Central where we posed for pictures against the famous backdrop of the Bank Of China building and then walked towards Lan Kwai Fong where we shopped for a while before heading back to our hotel for what is to be the daily walk of Ladies Market and Temple Street.
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View of Hong Kong from The Peak |
Next morning , we woke up very early again and we took the MTR to Central again so that we could go up Victoria's Peak . After waiting some time , the free shuttle bus service to the base of the Peak arrived . To our pleasure , it was those upperdeck openair bus rarely seen these days . At the base of the Peak , we took the Peak tram up the Peak which climbed up the slopes at a very steep angle . At the Peak , we were in for a disappointment . The view down the Peak was shrouded in fog and we couldn't see the postcard images of Hong Kong from the Peak . Nonetheless , Benny brought up up a trail leading to a point where he said that productions often film at . However we didn't persevere all the way up as it was desolate and we decided to play safe after hearing Benny's stories of muggings , robbery ... However , Benny shot Alice and me singing the theme song of Gorgeous there .Down at the Peak Tower , we visited the Ripley's Museum where various weird exhibits are on display . It's definitely a refreshing change from the museums we're used to . And i finally saw a genuine (or so they claim) Jivaro shrunken head .
After that we went to Lan Kwai Fong for lunch at KFC and
thereafter headed to Hollywood Street where many antiques were sold . But it
wasn't our cup of tea . So we took the
Star Ferry across the
picturesque Hong Kong Harbour where the view was unfortunately marred by the fog
which hadn't dissipate .
Back at Mongkok , we decided to head towards the New Territories by the
KCR(Kowloon Canton Railway) but unfortunately we lost our way and found
ourselves lost in the middle of nowhere so we shelved our plans till ... the
next day .
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Pagoda at 10,000 Buddha Monastery |
As usual we rose early to catch the KCR to Shatin in the New Territories . The weather has been cool all along but today it turned hot and humid . At Shatin we headed for the Monastery of Ten Thousand Buddhas which is sited on the top of a slope and can be accessed via an escalator system . After this , we went to Che Kung Temple where both Alice and Benny consulted the fortune tellers . Then the next 2 hours was spent searching for the poorly marked Tsang Tai Uk which is an authentic Hakka village . What a relief to find it at last but then the time lost made us decide against going towards another walled village in another part of the New Territories . Tsang Tai Uk made us feel like we're in China as it feels so incongruent to the image we have of Hong Kong but then the New Territories are not that urbanised yet .
Back at Kowloon Tong , we walked around the Festival Walk where there is an ice-skating rink on the ground floor . However we didn't shop much due to the constraints of our budget . So after lunch we headed towards Tsimshatsui where we went into the Space Musuem which had many interactive games for visitors to play . We think it's value for money as the admission fee is quite cheap . Then we walked around Tsimshatsui and took photos along the waterfront promenade where we had a panaromic view of the opposite shore - Hong Kong island . Night was spent doing last minute shopping at (you guessed it) Ladies Market and Nathan Road . We were also debating whether to watch Shakespeare In Love or not but then we decided against it .
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Hong Kong Harbour |
On the last day , as both Alice and Benny didn't want to wake up early in the morning , i decided to head out alone towards Tsimshatsui . After a walk around Tsimshatsui where i walked past the Hong Kong Coliseum , i had breakfast by the Waterfront Promenade . Sitting by the harbour watching the ships and the occasional helicopter go past , i was deciding whether to go to Causeway Bay or not but in the end i head up Nathan Road where i took a 1 hour walk back to the Hotel where i met up with Alice and Benny and had lunch at the Tim Sum Restaurant at our hotel .
After lunch we then walked around Nathan Road where we tried to finish the last reel of film , doing last minute shopping and then headed back to the hotel where we befriended Rachael , a Filipino working as a nurse in Singapore . At the airport , as our flight was delayed , we had high tea complementary of the airport together with Rachel . Then it was on to the plane for the flight home .
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Tsingma Suspension Bridge |
© Jeremy's Domain , travel.to/jeremyk
