FRIDAY, MAY 26, 2017
It feels like I’m always planning my next trip, haha. Getting back to Taiwan from Sydney, I was on a travel high. I couldn’t wait for my next trip. So, for Dragon Boat Festival weekend, I decided to go to Hong Kong and Macau. It’s a four day weekend and the flight from Taiwan to Hong Kong is relatively short, leaving plenty of time for me to explore.
I arrived on Friday night and stayed at YHA Mei Ho House.
EXPECTATIONS OF HONG KONG
After I booked my flight to Hong Kong and started planning, I began asking everyone if they’ve ever been to Hong Kong or if they had any advice or tips. The general response was that they didn’t like Hong Kong. Some said that it was too crowded, or wherever they went it was a two hour wait in line. So, I mentally prepared myself for the hordes of people and the long wait in lines that I might and most likely will encounter.
GETTING AROUND
I mostly got around Hong Kong using their public transportation. They have an Airport Express Rail, an MRT, trams, and buses. I got the Octpus Card at the airport and used it to get around the city. Hong Kong does indeed have a MRT system, but I didn’t think it was that great of a system. Probably due to the large population, the traffic at these stations are clearly controlled. There is only one way in and way out on each side. You had to walk pretty far at transfer stations which I felt I was constantly doing. I don’t think I’ve had a single ride on their MRT where I didn’t have to transfer. All in all, I prefer Taiwan’s MRT system. Getting anywhere takes at least 30 min and that’s if I stayed close to the city center. Normally, I’m not opposed to walking a lot, but when you have a sprained ankle, it certainly changes your perspective.
THE KINNET CAFE
I briefly looked up places to eat before I got there and this place really attracted me. Given, it’s not ethnic Hong Kong local food, but I’ve been wanting something western. This cafe was actually really nice. I was the only one there for a while, so not a lot of other customers. When the waitress handed me the menu, I literally sat there for 10 minutes trying to figure out what I wanted. I just couldn’t decide and I was on a bit of time crunch being that it was already 9:30am. I was eager to get my day started and didn’t want to spend too much time eating. As a result, I ordered both the Mixed Berries French Toast and the Avocado Eggs Benedict. Who says a girl has got to choose? I got the best of both worlds and had something sweet and something savory for breakfast. I was pretty full by the time I ate half of each. This is when I wished I had two stomachs. I wish I could have finished it, but sadly I admit defeat.
VICTORIA PEAK
My first stop in Central was Victoria Peak. I read online that it was best to get there early. Like before 10am to avoid long lines. I got there around 11 and there was certainly a long line, but as I moved up in the line, the line only got longer. I waited about 30 minutes to buy tickets for the peak tram and then maybe another 20 minutes after I got my tickets. If you ever go to Hong Kong, Victoria Peak is a must. I really lucked out with the weather and it wasn’t too foggy. The sun was shining and temperature was in the 80s. At Victoria Peak, you get a great view of the city from above. Naturally, I had my own photo shoot up there and probably asked no less than 8 people to take my picture. By the way, asking people to take pictures for you IS A SCIENCE, one I haven’t quite mastered, but I think I’m getting close.
POTTINGER’S STREET
Pottinger’s Street is a street in Central, Hong Kong. It’s also known as Stone Slab Street because of the granite stone steps. I didn’t walk far on this street, but I liked it. I loved the colors that you’ll see on Pottinger’s Street. The stalls are all selling different things. There’s lots of costumes, jewelry, souvenirs, flags, wigs, and more.
LIN HEUNG TEA HOUSE
By this time, I was getting hungry, So, I stopped by a local dim sum place. I was told Hong Kong has great dim sum and this was one of the places recommended. It’s very local in that you share tables with strangers and instead of ordering from a menu, you take your order card to the dim sum carts floating around the restaurant. Pick which ones you want and they stamp under small, medium, or large.
Side Note: Cantonese and English are the main languages in Hong Kong. I thought Chinese (Mandarin) and Cantonese were similar or close, but the pronunciation is completely different. I found more locals who could speak and understand English and not Chinese, because Hong Kong used to be a British territory.
So here’s where my mistake was. I went into the restaurant using my Chinese, but I should of stuck with English. If you go to this dim sum place, you HAVE to order tea. I didn’t want tea. I just wanted to drink my water, so that’s what I told the waiter. He said that if you don’t order tea, you can’t order dessert. I asked how much the tea was and it was $12 HKD per person. Eh, I didn’t want to spend money on tea I wasn’t even going to drink. At this point, the waiter looked frustrated. He said if I didn’t order tea, I couldn’t order dessert. But I told him I didn’t want dessert anyways. So everything’s okay right? But no. He gave up trying to communicate with me and took the dim sum ordering card away. I’m confused and I needed the order card to get dim sum.
Luckily, there were two ladies sitting next to me at the same table and they kindly explained that the chinese word for dim sum is not limited to desserts. Desserts and dim sum are the same word in chinese, or rather the chinese word encompasses both desserts and dim sum. But I only knew dim sum by “yum cha” which I’m guessing is the cantonese word for it? Okay, so after that was sorted, I called over another waiter, ordered tea, and all was right.
I ate around 3pm, so the choices were few and limited. It’s not peak eating hours and they close at 4, so they probably didn’t want to make too many leftovers. I just ordered beef balls and was satisfied with that. I had a big breakfast, so I didn’t need to eat too much. The beef balls were good, but I didn’t see the usual shrimp dumplings or shau mai that you can usually find at dim sum places.
MAN MO TEMPLE
After getting a little food in my system, I made my way to Man Mo Temple. This temple was beautiful. Also located in Central District, Man Mo Temple is dedicated to the God of Literature (Man) and the God of War (Mo). These are gods are whorshipped by people looking to succeed in civil examinations.
Walking in, I remember a strong smell of incense, which I later learned came from the large incense rings hanging from the ceiling. I loved the way the sunlight shone through the incense rings.
STREET ART
Central District is all about old meets new. You’ve got the old slab stone steps of Pottinger Street, antique shops and booths, and two hundred year old temple. One of the signs of “new” is the street art spotted at random places around the area.
WESTERN DISTRICT PCWA
Finishing my walking tour of Central, Hong Kong, I traveled another 30 minutes to the Public Cargo Working Area (PCWA). PCWA is a pier that has an amazing view of the city skyline as well as a great spot to watch the sunset. I got there around 5pm and took lots of photos as I waited for the sun to set. This was actually one of my favorite spots in the city. The views were great and I was able to sit down and rest from walking all day. I find it peaceful just watching the ocean and the boats go by as the sun sets. The weather was perfect. Despite wearing a strapless jumpsuit, I wasn’t cold and it wasn’t too hot either. Beware of lots of photographers.
