We arrived in Hong Kong around 6 PM, with just enough time to check back into Langham Place Hotel in Mongkok before dinner with more family.
This time, we were meeting my Dad's two older sisters and their families. We had dinner with one of the sisters (I call her Yi-Goo-Ma, which translates roughly to second older sister of my Dad in Cantonese), her son (my cousin) Raymond and Raymond's family on the first night. Yi-Goo-Ma's daughter, Rebecca, also joined us for dinner. The other sister (I call her Dy-Goo-Ma, which is oldest sister of my Dad) came flanked with most of her family (6 kids/my cousins and their respective families), so it was a big group.
We took the Tseun Wan MTR Line to the Tsim Sha Tsui station and walked to the Star House shopping mall in Kowloon to the restaurant called Jade China. Jade China is on the top floor, so it offers stunning views of the harbor area and serves excellent Cantonese dishes.
Dinner was fantastic, I met and re-met some of my family, and it was fun despite all the name games. After dinner, we took a stroll along the Hong Kong Pier as the restaurant was located across the street from the Star Ferry terminal.
Hong Kong is gorgeous at night, the buildings and the skyline across the water to Hong Kong Island are unrivaled.
We also walked by the Hong Kong Cultural Centre, which is also a beautiful sight at night:
After the evening stroll, we took the MTR back to Langham Place and snoozed away.
THURSDAY (11/6)
We were able to convince our family that we didn't need to start so early on Thursday so we could get some quality sleep. Also, after 4 days of impressive eating and little aerobic exercise (I don't really count all the walking during sight-seeing), I was in dire need of some quality gym time. Thank goodness the Langham Place hotel has a fantastic gym on the 41st floor with amazing views the Kowloon side of Hong Kong. Sweet!
Will and I took advantage of the gym facilities and grabbed lunch before meeting up with the family (Mom, Dad, Aunt Joanne and Uncle Peter) and heading off on the MTR. This time, we took the Tsuen Wan Line all the way across the harbor to the Hong Kong Island side and to the Central MTR Station. From there, we met up with my Uncle Cherk, Aunt Wai-Ling, and two family friends, Steve and Theresa, and then took the Tung Chung line all the way to Tung Chung MTR station on Lantau Island (the same MTR line you would take if you were going to Hong Kong Disneyland...).
Lantau Island
Our destination at Tung Chung was the Ngong Ping 360. The Ngong Ping 360 is a 5.7 km long bi-cable gondola lift system (or cable car as they call it) that transports you from Tung Chung to Ngong Ping, where the Po Lin Monastery and Tian Tan Buddha are located.
As you can see, three of the towers involve some sketchy heights over water, so thankfully, we had a calm non-windy day to cross the water.
At the Ngong Ping, there's Ngong Ping Village, designed to mirror and uphold the cultural and spiritual veracity of the Ngong Ping area. True to Hong Kong stylings, there's plenty of shopping and food.
Will wanted me to take this picture, a east meets west contrast with the Tian Tan Buddha in the distance and the Starbucks sign in the village:
The Tian Tan Buddha is located at Ngong Ping, and here's the description from Wikipedia:
- The statue is named Tian Tan Buddha because its base is a model of the Altar of Heaven or Earthly Mount of Tian Tan, the Temple of Heaven in Beijing. It is one of the five large Buddha statues in China. The Buddha statue sits on a lotus throne on top of a three-platform altar. It is surrounded by eight smaller bronze statues representing gods or immortals. Like the Daibutsu in Kamakura, Japan, the Tian Tan Buddha is an image of Buddha Amitabha.
- The Buddha is 34 meters tall, weighs 250 tonnes, and was the world's tallest outdoor bronze seated Buddha prior to 2007. It reputedly can even be seen from as far away as Macau on a clear day. Visitors have to climb 268 steps in order to reach the Buddha
- The Tian Tan Buddha appears serene and dignified. His right hand is raised, representing the removal of affliction. His left hand rests on his lap in a gesture of giving dhana. The Buddha faces north, which is unique among the great Buddha statues, as all others face south.
From the Tian Tan Buddha, we hailed some taxis to take us to the fishing village of Tai O, known as the "Venice of Hong Kong". The village is no longer sustained by a booming fishing industry, and is instead a common stop for tourists who gawk at the salted fish and fish paste storefronts along the small streets.
One of my Mom's favorite snacks growing up as a kid, little egg-based "chinese dough balls":
We all had dinner in a little restaurant in Tai O, and then took the bus back to the Tung Chung MTR station (crazy, crazy winding roads up insane steep roads with water buffalo hanging out all over the place) and then took the MTR back to Mongkok.
Back in Mongkok, Will and my Dad were down for the count, but I went out with my Mom, Uncle Peter and Aunt Joanne to check out the nearby outdoor night markets, specifically the famous "Ladies Market" along Tung Choi Street, just a few blocks from our hotel.
We also walked down "electronics street", which is Sai Yeung Choi Street, which is rumored to have the highest retail rent in Hong Kong and probably uses the most electricity based on the amount of neon signs:
FRIDAY (11/7)
On Friday morning, we revisited the hotel gym, and then were ready to hit the streets again for another big day in Hong Kong. We took the Tsuen Wan MTR line across to Hong Kong Island and transferred at the Admiralty MTR station to the Island Line to the Wan Chai MTR station.
For lunch, Will and I joined my parents at a small-ish lunch with a bunch of their high school buddies at a vegetarian restaurant called Tung Fong Siu Kee Yuen Ltd in the Wan Chai district. It is actually owned by one of their high school friends and was a pretty amazing meal. Who knew? I actually enjoyed all the vegetarian chinese dishes!
After lunch, we headed out with my parents, Uncle Cherk and Aunt Wai-Ling to check out Victoria Peak, otherwise known as "The Peak". Victoria Peak is a famous mountain that is the highest on Hong Kong Island, with fantastic views of Victoria Harbor, Kowloon, and most of Hong Kong. The best and most-tourist way to get up to the Peak is to take the Peak Tramway, which travels from the Central district to Victoria Peak over a distance of about 1.4 kilometres and a height difference of just under 400 metres.
At the top of the Peak is the Peak Galleria, which is, shockingly, a mall. We decided to get some fresh air and check out the Peak Circle Walk, an easy-going 2.2 mi (3.5-km) paved trail that starts at the Upper Tram Terminus, with views of Lantau Island, Lamma Island, and -- on incredibly clear days -- Macau.
The walk takes about 1.5 hours at a strolling pace (which is the pace that you do with parents, aunt and uncle in tow), and we timed it pretty well, as we ended with sunset in the distance:
Following the Peak Circle Walk, we hailed some taxis to take us down the mountain to the Star Ferry Terminal and so we could take the infamous Star Ferry from Hong Kong Island to Kowloon. The ferry ride takes less than 10 minutes, and costs only 2.20 HKD for "first-class" (~28 cents) one-way. But it provides the most amazing views (especially at night) of the Hong Kong skyline on either side of the harbour:
For dinner on this evening, we were joining my Aunt Wai-Ling's family for dinner at a restaurant called Star of Canton in Olympian City (yup, it's a mall over the Olympic City MTR station).
We ate like kings again, and it was fun to catch up with my aunt's family, who I actually knew from visits throughout the years (some of them also lived in the Bay Area for some time). We were going to be heading back into China the next day, so we had covered some good ground in Hong Kong, and more stories and pics to come from Hong Kong after the next China adventure...
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