To Hong Kong (Day #1)

My second trip to 香港 Hong Kong. The first was in March 2004, to attend Brother Michael's wedding. That was a relatively short trip, only 4 days, so I did not get to see much. So, I decided that this time, I will try to cover more areas. This time, it was with my ex-housemates.

Our day began at 8:30am, with a trip up 太平山 Victoria Peak. Since the apartment we stayed in was in 跑馬地 Happy Valley, which is practically halfway up to the Peak, we decided that it did not make sense for us to go all the way down to the base of the hill and take the tram up again. So instead, we hailed a taxi from right outside Wendy Apartments.

It was a really hot morning up on the Peak, and reports state that we were experiencing the clearest skies ever witnessed at the Peak in 9 years! I took quite a few pictures at the vantage point, and took a nature walk along the 2.8km circular trail around the Peak. I even bought myself a new pair of long-shorts at Giordano (I only brought one pair of long-shorts, as I was not expecting the weather to be so hot).



(L-R) At the lookout point of Victoria Peak, along the hiking trail

The afternoon was spent in 九龍 Kowloon area. The primary agenda was for two of us to buy our climbing ropes and other rock-climbing accessories (according to my climbing buddy, rock-climbing equipment is generally cheaper in Hong Kong than back home in Malaysia). However, in the process of traversing from one shop to another on foot, we managed to cover a large portion of 九龍 Kowloon area.

Food-wise, we had a simple lunch of 腸粉 ch'eong fun in some small eatery, followed by egg tarts purchased from a roadside stall in 旺角 Mong Kok area.


(L-R) 腸粉 Ch'eong-fun for lunch, and egg tarts for dessert... yummy!

We finished off our Kowloon walking tour with a stroll through 廟街 Temple Street, browsing at stalls selling cheap trinkets and souvenirs.


Along 廟街 Temple Street

Then it was a quick dinner at a small restaurant serving fish ball noodles. The contrarian in me opted for beef spare parts noodles.


(L-R) 牛腩麵 Beef spare parts noodles and 炸魚 deep-fried fish

After dinner, we adjourned to 尖沙咀 Tsim Sha Tsui to watch the 15-minute Symphony of Lights display along the harbour front. It was a spectacular display of lights from the major skyscrapers on Hong Kong Island's side. Not the kind of display a point-and-shoot camera can capture - you just have to be there to see it with your own eyes.


Symphony of Lights, viewed from 九龍 Kowloon side.

What a tiring day. My feet are sore from all the walking. Thank goodness, it will not be another early day tomorrow. I think I will rest early tonight.