Our ship arrived in Hong Kong on Monday morning at 9am. Soon after, Jessie and I made our way off the
gangway ready for a day of exploring. On
the plus side, we had a full day to go off on our own. On the negative side, it was cloudy and
threatening to rain. Despite that, I was
so excited to share the wonders of Hong Kong with Jessie because it’s been one
of my favorite Asian cities.
The first thing we did was take a ride on the Star Ferry to
the other side of the island. The Star
Ferry is an important experience in Hong Kong life because it’s been running
since the late 1800s. Once we were on
Hong Kong island, Jessie and I found the MTR (subway station) and took a ride
that led us to Lantau Island.
Lantau Island is a beautiful green area that houses the
world’s largest seated Buddha. The top
of the mountain that holds the Buddha and other attractions is accessible by
both bus and cable car, but Jessie and I opted to take the bus ride. It was about a 40minute journey but once we
arrived, we were surrounded by small quaint shops and cafes. It was nearing lunch time so we decided to
stop and get something to eat in the Po Ning Village. This was a large tourist area and the prices
reflected it. Jessie and I browsed the
menus but everything seemed ridiculous.
In the end, we opted to share a Subway sub and then eat something more
exciting when we got to the mainland.
After we refueled, we made our way towards the giant
Buddha. It’s made completely out of
bronze and there are beautiful statues that surround it. The Buddha sits on a platform that is above
about 255 stairs. We climbed those
stairs with fierce determination and soon were rewarded for our efforts. It was a windy and rainy day. The clouds were so low that we were immersed
in them. This gave the Buddha a very
eerie and mystical glow.
Walking around the Buddha was very nice. There were many shops located in the base,
and we took our time browsing through them.
The scenery around us wasn’t entirely visible, but what we could see was
enchanting. These views differed
tremendously from those I saw at the same place during my last visit in
September. It was very neat to see the
contrast that a small change in weather can make.
Descending from the stairs was much easier than climbing
them. We walked a bit further and
reached the Po Lin Monastery. This is a
famous temple and it’s absolutely beautiful.
On this particular day, there was a ceremony going on, so the
decorations were even more elaborate.
Jessie and I were able to climb up the stairs and enter the temple and
grab a few photos. There were many
tourists there who were doing the same thing as us, but there were also many
people who came to worship. This
included several monks. It was
interesting to view this not only as a tourist attraction, but also as a living
and working temple.
As we were leaving the Monastery, it began to rain. Luckily we both had the foresight to bring
umbrellas (unlike many of the tourists around us). Jessie and I made our way back to the bus area
where we were picked up and brought back to the base of the mountain. We walked around for a short while and then
got back onto the subway and headed to the mainland to go to Ladies Market.
Ladies’ Market is a huge outdoor market place filled with clothing,
bags, artwork, teapots and many more things.
When we arrived, I spotted one of my favorite juice shops. I treated myself to a mango smoothie with
coconut juice and glutonous rice balls (so delicious!). Jessie and I spent the next hour shopping around. She bought herself a beautiful painting and
tea pot. I decided to splurge on a
knock-off wallet.
At around 5:30pm, we left the market and headed to the pier
area because at 6pm, we were meeting our dear friend Alicia. Alicia is a teacher in Hong Kong, but we know
her from home. I stayed with her during
my last visit in September. I was very
excited to be able to see her again.
Jessie and I arrived on time and at 6pm we had a nice
reunion with Alicia. Our first stop
together was to grab dinner. We decided
on a little local looking restaurant in the bottom of a mall. It had a very nice charm to it and we had a
great dinner catching up. After dinner
we went and got dessert. We returned to
my favorite juice shop (which also sells dessert) and we each ordered a bowl of
mango goodness (served with various different fruit and rice sides). Such a great treat!
At 8pm, the Harbor front Light Show started and we were once
again amazed by the beauty of the high-rise buildings that boasted beautiful
lights and were choreographed to music.
It was a beautiful display.
Unfortunately, I had quite a headache and decided to run to the pharmacy
to grab a pill. By the time I returned,
the show was over.
Afterwards, we went for a nice stroll along the Avenue of
the Stars on the Harbor Front. It was a
beautiful night and we were joined by many other tourists. We were able to view both Bruce Lee’s and
Jackie Chan’s stars and the rest of the stars were unrecognizable to us.
When we finally made it back to the shuttle pick up
location, it was time to say goodbye. It
was such a wonderful day and made even better by the fact that we were able to
spend some time with Alicia. I’m looking
forward to a reunion in August when she returns home. All in all, it was a wonderful day in Hong
Kong!
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