SUNDAY, MAY 28, 2017
BREAKFAST
After unsuccessfully trying to get up early, I ate breakfast at the hostel. My booking included breakfast and to save both time and money, I ate some scrambled, sausage, croissant, mushrooms, and corn.
I actually have a travel buddy today, yay!! I had invited another FET, Vicki, to go to Hong Kong with me, but she didn’t decide until the very last minute to join me. She arrived in Hong Kong last night, so today is our first full day together.
CHOI HUNG ESTATE
Vicki had a late start, so I did some exploring on my own before we met up. Choi Hung Estate is a residence building. I know it’s kind of weird to go see a residence building, but I considered it getting to know the city. Choi Hung Estate was built in 1960s and is one of the oldest public housing estates in Hong Kong. At the time it was the largest public housing estate, housing nearly 43,000 people. The estate is also really pretty with the hues they used on the outside of the building.
Choi Hung Estate is a famous spot in Hong Kong. I swear, photographers flock to this building. Shortly after I got there, a group of 15 people arrived, each with their own cameras. It wasn’t too hard to find someone to take a picture for me. Honestly, I think we all walked away with the same picture. Haha.
NAN LIAN GARDEN
I was really excited to visit Nan Lian Garden. It looked absolutely beautiful. I met up with Vicki and together we explored the Garden. The weather was absolutely beautiful. The guide said if you were to walk around the whole place, it would take about 2-3 hours which we found at the end to be accurate of our visit.
The place is filled with bonsai trees and it’s got this peaceful vibe. I felt like I just stepped into a completely different world. It was crazy to think that just outside the fence of the garden were skyscrapers and the hustle and bustle of a big city. At the center of the garden is a beautiful pagoda that is representative of classical Chinese culture. The garden’s architecture and landscaping was done beautifully.
Connected to the Nan Lian Garden is the Chi Lin Nunnery. Chi Lin Nunnery is a large temple complex of wooden architecture, Buddhas, and lotus ponds. Inside the wooden buildings were large, golden statues of Buddha.
I loved exploring the Garden and the Nunnery. Both are beautiful and it was a good change from the city environment I’ve grown accustomed to.
TIM HO WAN
By the time we finished exploring the Garden and the Nunnery, it was around 2:30. We went to the closest Tim Ho Wan which was a 10 minute walk from Shek Kip Mei Station. Because we went in the late afternoon, the wait for seating was not too long.
Everyone had told me to go to Tim Ho Wan. They have locations in Taiwan, but people insisted that the locations in Hong Kong were better tasting. Vicki didn’t know where I was taking her. I just told her dim sum and she was so surprised. She thought the one in Taiwan wasn’t good at all.
Well, we gave it a try and although there wasn’t a big difference, the difference was still there. Vicki and I both agreed that Tim Ho Wan does indeed taste better in Hong Kong. I suppose it’s the same story with Din Tai Fung. The original shops and restaurants always tend to be better.
I highly recommend going to Tim Ho Wan for dim sum. I mean, nothing beats the crispness of their BBQ pork buns.
BREAK/REST
After filling our stomachs with yummies, we went back to our accommodations. I wanted to get my camera charger and rest my leg. Vicki meanwhile went back to her hotel and also did some shopping along the way.
ROYAL PLAZA HOTEL
This is the hotel that Vicki was staying at and it was pretty nice. She even got upgraded to the executive floor. Vicki had given me her key card earlier so I went to the pool and lounged by the pool for an hour. I was so mad at myself for not bringing my bathing suit with me to Hong Kong. I considered it briefly when I was packing, but nothing in my itinerary was going to suggest that I was going to go in the water and I Vicki had not decided if she was going to join me. So, in an effort to not be one of those people who over packs, I left my bathing suit at home.
SYMPHONY OF LIGHTS
At 7pm. we took a shuttle bus (provided by Vicki’s hotel) to the pier to see the Symphony of Lights. Hong Kong does a light show every night at Tsim Tsai Promenade. It’s a super touristy thing to do and Vicki and I wanted to see it for ourselves.
My expectations were low. My friend Ariel had gone to Hong Kong last year and her impression of the light show was that it wasn’t that great, even though it’s one of the things highly advertised to do in Hong Kong.
I would say the view is worth going to see. See the city light up at night and watch as the boats go by, but I have to agree with Ariel. The Symphony of Lights was not that impressive. It wasn’t much. You could see what they were trying to accomplish, but it kind of fell short. Nonetheless, I got some great pictures.
HARBOUR CITY
After the light show, we went in search of dinner. You wouldn’t think this task was hard, but apparently it was. My ankle was really bothering me, so I really didn’t want to walk far, so we ended up at a shopping mall called Habour City. This shopping mall was huge! After basically walking around the entire mall, we decided to eat at a restaurant called, Crystal Jade La Mian Xiao Long Bao. Yeah, it’s a really long name. Anyways, I thought their sweet and sour chicken was pretty good.
I may have lots some of my Chinese, but I know enough to know that a place ending with the name "Xiao Long Bao" isn't a place to get sweet & sour chicken! 😛
haha You're probably right lol