We both turned 50 this year and decided to treat ourselves to a holiday experience, instead of presents and parties. And what an experience it was…!
Let’s talk about the security situation first. We traveled late September to early October 2019. A few weeks before our departure we did have second thoughts about visiting Hong Kong at this particular point in time, because of the protests and other developments there, and the potential impact on our free movement. But after learning from two different sources that one could avoid areas where protests were planned, we decided to go ahead. We found this to be easy during the first few days but as the week progressed, the public transport network was frequently shut down in full or in part, which inhibited our ability – let alone desire – to explore the remaining places on our to-do list. While visitors are not targeted, you may just get caught up in the middle of something if you don’t pay close attention to what’s happening around you. We felt it best to not take pictures of individuals participating in the protests – they do fear recognition and may retaliate. Hong Kong folk are very friendly and helpful and on two occasions when the MTR (mass transit rail), buses and taxis shut down and we didn’t know how to get to our hotel, we acquired assistance from locals in the area who would walk with us to the nearest transport hub.
That said, we never felt scared and learned quickly that all remains fine until the police arrives – at which point emotions flare up and the tear gas vs petrol bomb battle commences.
Hopefully there will be a just solution put on the table shortly, so that this vibrant city may return to normalcy. Right now it is not quite itself.
Back to our holiday. The flight to Hong Kong was great and we arrived an hour early from a cold wet London into a humid 31 degree C Hong Kong. I pre-arranged a taxi through Booking.com by which we arrived at L’hotel Elan late afternoon on Saturday. Dropped our bags and after a quick shower we ventured out to get something to eat. I have to say that our first impressions when approaching the hotel were that the ‘hood was a bit run down – but we later learned it was being redeveloped from its former purpose which was light industrial in nature. The hotel was awesome and a mere 5 minute walk from the MTR (Ngau Tau Kok station). Very polite and helpful staff all around from the concierge and reception to the restaurant. At breakfast on Sunday morning, my husband asked for gluten free bread and when it was not available, arrangements were made to have sort it out from the next morning for the duration of our stay. Our room was large, clean and fitted with a beautiful bathroom and comfy bed and cushions.
If I had to describe my first glimpse of Hong Kong it would simply be ‘apartments… blocks and blocks of apartments’. Some beautiful and new but others needs a lot of TLC. If you take into account that more than 7 million people live on 1,106 km² of land you can understand why (almost) every square inch is built up.
Every morning before we went out we talked to hotel reception and they gave us much needed info on where protests were expected on the day, and if the MTR was operational.
Sunday morning ahead of our first full day of exploring we bought Octopus cards at ‘our’ metro station. This is the first item you should obtain when arriving in Hong Kong. With this contactless smart card you can pay for rides on the MTR, buses, minibuses, ferries and trams. Many coffee shops and small supermarkets also have Octopus readers and locals basically use it as a debit card. It comes with a refundable HK$50 deposit which covers the card cost and acts as buffer when you hit the bottom end of your funds.
We heard and read about the goldfish market but it’s still a weird sight to see thousands of bagged fish of all shapes and colors lining the walls along Tung Choi Street North. The various shops on either side are devoted to the raising of many types of fish, from bright neon tropical species to endless variants of goldfish. They’re mostly contained in small plastic bags, ready to be taken home. The reasons for this is that it is believed to bring good luck and a ‘feng shui’ harmony to the house, and the lack of space for cats or dogs increases the demand for keeping tropical fish as pets.
Next we visited the very interesting bird market on Yuen Po Street where mostly older men comes to show off their birds and their singing skills. They walk with their bird cages just as you would walk a dog and then hang the cages from the trees, and while the birds ‘socialize’ they meet to partake in a game of cards or simply sit around and chat. There are beautiful bamboo cages on sale too, and lots of small plastic cages stacked with birds from various species. I could not help feeling sad for them being so confined, but they did appear to be well cared for and healthy.
Walking through Hong Kong Flower Market is a real treat – an oasis of exotic plants, fresh cut flowers and uncountable fragrances. The variation in orchids seems endless and you can observe a colorful abundance of bustling vendors selling their cut blooms, potted plants, bonsai trees and garden accessories. Everywhere vendors are watering their plants which, with the air conditioners in the little shops offer visitors some respite from the humid, hot weather.
Sunday evening we were entertained by Laurence and his wife Quine, both of whom were born and bred in Hong Kong. They picked us up from our hotel and took us to the beautiful and contemporary Lab Eat restaurant in Mong Kok. The food was beautifully presented and very tasty, and the service and atmosphere was top class too. Importantly, the chef managed to serve all dishes gluten free – not common at all in this city where soy sauce is as abundant as water. At the end of the week we agreed that this was the best meal we had enjoyed during our stay.
Before our holiday we did do our homework about gluten free restaurants but most of them were on Hong Kong Island, and, at the time of our visit, we did not want to travel there in the evening due to the impact of the prevailing protest action on the public transport system. Luckily we found a Pizza Express closer to our hotel that served gluten free options… but having 3 x pizza dinners in one week was not exactly what we were hoping to achieve! Our other gluten free meals were at IKEA and then we had cold meats, cheese and crackers from Marks and Spencer’s. So, to conclude, if you are celiac, try to eat a very big buffet breakfast before leaving your hotel and buy gluten free snacks at the supermarket! (OK, maybe this is not completely fair – google will point you to GF restaurants, but as explained we could just not reach them at the time of our visit).
Monday morning, and we take the MTR from Ngau Tau Kok to Tung Chung station. We were on our way to see The Big Buddha and decided the most thrilling route would be to go via the Ngong Ping Cable Car. The 25 minute ride connects Tung Chung to Ngong Ping to give you a glimpse of the beautiful scenery of Lantau Island. And of course, you also get a sneak preview of the 24 meter high Buddha, which has some difficulty hiding!
Before reaching the 250 steps leading up to the Tian Tian Buddha, you walk through Ngong Ping Village. The village was built to accommodate the rush of tourists headed for the Buddha and adjacent Po Lin Monastery, and houses several interesting shops and restaurants clothed in a traditional Chinese architecture. I would never have guessed that one could pay up to USD1,000 for a pair of chop sticks… maybe these are easier to eat with?
The elevated outdoor bronze Buddha sits formerly atop the peak of Mount Muk Yue. The size of it makes this an interesting sight. It was cast with 250 tonnes of bronze and built over 12 years. At the level just below the main statue, there are 6 smaller statues of Devas offering flowers, incense, a lamp, ointment, fruit, and music to the Buddha.
Across the valley some 300m away lies the Po Lin Monastery – a beautiful and serene place to wander through and admire the ornate trimmings of the temple outside and inside. The roofs are intricate structures decorated in striking colours, and the carvings on the temple walls are something you just can’t miss.
From Ngong Ping Village we opted for a 15 minute bus ride to the Tai O fishing village. I have to say with all the fishy smells about, I almost did not survive Tai O! It’s a very interesting place to take photos at though, so make time to stroll through the small alleys and check out the strange dried seafood stalls and tanks with live fish. Everywhere you look there’s a dry or live fish looking at you. And plenty of people earning a living the old, traditional way.
We wanted to see the famous stilt houses up close, so we took a boat ride that first heads into the narrow canal with lots of small traditional-style old stilt houses on both sides. Great photo opportunities, but I am very glad I don’t have to live there. After the cruise through the stilt houses the boat ventures out to sea to look for pink (white?) dolphins – apparently very rare to see, but we saw two! One was white and the other more pinkish.
As no cars can drive in the small alleyways of this village you obviously need other ways of transport…………
I can definitely recommend the Buddha, Monastery and fishing village trip to anyone who goes to Hong Kong! Remember, transport is very cheap and efficient in Hong Kong. Just be sure to buy the Octopus card. Another tip – check your route before leaving a good wifi area. Luckily there are wifi hot spots at the MTR stations and also at most attractions. But once you get lost between the sky scrapers, your phone’s built-in GPS does the same. Fortunately, signage is posted everywhere in the city to point towards MTR stations and notable attractions in the vicinity.
Tuesday happened to be the 70th Chinese National Day, also celebrated in Hong Kong. Usually it’s a day of fun & fireworks but because of the ongoing protests, the fireworks display was canceled, and from midday onward most MTR Stations were closed too. We did not anticipate this, so decided to take the MTR to Shatin station and walk some 15min to see the 10 000 buddhas. A tip – try and do this very early in the morning as the snaking trail goes all the way uphill from the first golden buddha and it’s very tiring in the humid sun. All of the buddhas looks different and although they really need a lot of TLC, I just loved to look at all the different expressions on their golden faces. At the top we could see that there were some repairs underway at the Monastery and some of the buddhas too were already painted and repaired. Luckily there is a cafe available to replenish your water supply, but note the toilets are the squat type so if you are not used to this and didn’t dress accordingly, it can add yet another interesting dimension to your day.
After this tiring but exciting outing we passed a mall that houses an IKEA and decided to pause for lunch – at least they always have some gluten free options – and to plan the rest of the day. In hindsight, if we skipped this we would have made it in time before the Shatin MTR station was closed again… and the mall at the station too. With help from a conductor at the bus terminal we made our way towards another bus stop but the next bus never arrived. Instead, the roads soon became flooded by protesters. My husband summoned an Uber from some distance away, but he too got stuck due to road barricades – just like the taxis and buses. We ended up walking a long time accompanied by locals who took some interest in guiding us towards transport options further afield – this time to go back to our hotel, as clearly any further efforts to move around on the day were sure to fail. We never felt unsafe despite often being amidst hundreds of protesters, but we kept moving to get out before things turned ugly. One lady that helped us get to an operational MTR station said that the protesters would not do anything to us but advised us not to take photos of them since they feared recognition.
Wednesday morning we had our big buffet breakfast and then set out to Hong Kong Island to ride a tram and catch the ferry back to Victoria Pier to enjoy the sunset over the city, reflecting in gold off those impossibly tall skyscrapers.
You can opt for a sunset cruise in the harbor, in an authentic (looking) Chinese junk. We stayed on the Kowloon side – enjoying the view of these junks, which with their red sails introduced a spectacular contrast against the glass and steel backdrop.
Thursday morning we visited the Nan Lian Garden in the Diamond Hill neighborhood of Kowloon. It felt awkwardly blissful to enter this quiet place in the middle of all the high skyscrapers. This serene oasis in the middle of the city is fascinating and you can wander around and enjoy the marvelous rocks and perfectly shaped topiary trees. There are ponds with koi and the most stunning orange wooden bridges that lead to a wooden structure situated in the middle of the lotus pond – this is the Pavilion of Absolute Perfection.
On the same site just opposite the Nan Lian Gardens is the Chi Lin Nunnery – a large Buddhist temple complex. Very calm and peaceful and a good place to just sit and cool off for a while. There are some magnificent bonsai trees around, I wish I knew more but these must be some of the oldest and most exotic that I have ever seen. They are set in large tubs in the the first courtyard and also at the back of the temple.
This is a place that everyone should visit. Imaginative imitation of nature by man. We loved it!!
Thursday evening we went back to Victoria harbour to experience the Symphony of Lights show which is presented daily at 20:00. It’s a unique idea – the whole of Hong Kong island is lit in a laser and music show lasting 15 minutes – and you can enjoy it for free from anywhere along the waterfront. Because everyone makes such a big fuss about it we somehow expected even more glamour, but you cannot miss it!
Friday morning we got up at 3:45 to take an Uber up to Victoria peak. Jaco read about the perfect place for a sunrise photo. You have to take a 15 to 20 minute walk down Lugard Road, where you can capture the full view of Victoria Harbour. I have to say it was worth the trouble – the changing of the water and cloud colors as the sun rose and the ‘waking up’ of the whole city was just beautiful.
After great coffee with amazing views (Pacific Coffee) we took the Peak tram down to Hong Kong Island. This cable-hauled tram has been Hong Kong’s most reliable form of public transport between Central district and The Peak since 1888. The Peak Tram runs every 10 to 15 minutes from 7 am to midnight, and using an Octopus card to pay for the ticket will help reduce your queuing time. That applies to going up during the busy part of the day – since we were coming down at 09:00 already, we had the coach to ourselves!
If you are looking for anything camera related, take the MTR to Mong Kok station and go to Sim City. Three full floors of good old fashioned photography stuff. Best location to buy new and used camera gear and lenses in Hong Kong.
After our long stroll through camera heaven we headed to Marks & Spencer’s for some GF supplies to see us through the next 2 days. We spent the evening at the hotel as we heard that the better part of the MTR network was shutting down again.
Saturday morning, with the MTR still off limits, we walked 20 minutes to the nearest mall intending a last round of retail therapy – and got there just in time for the announcement that the specific mall was closing for the day – as were most others. HK was to have a very quiet Saturday…
Having found an open coffee shop nearby, we paused for a while before returning to the hotel to pack. Clearly, we had to make sure that we head for the airport in good time… if the pre-arranged car was even able to reach the hotel. In the end the car fetched us just fine, and we were carted off to the airport via a slightly longer but less disrupted route. Great security at the airport ensures that nobody enters the building unless they carried proof of traveling – so no disruptions there.
I really loved Hong Kong… the people are generous and kind and the weather, although hot and humid, makes every day feel like a holiday. There is so much to see and do and the contrasts between old and new make this a truly exciting destination!!
Travel Snaps and (Gluten Free) Snacks 