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Published: December 10th 2007
Trying to book flights from Newark to Manila is hair-raising, especially for one who chooses to keep his hair cut short! Instead, I opted for a nonstop flight on Thanksgiving Day 2007 to Hong Kong for a weekend stopover before ultimately reuniting with family in the Philippines Sunday afternoon.
A favorable exchange rate is one of many nice things about traveling from the US to Asia. Regardless of how expensive shopping can be in HK, one can still enjoy the city without dropping a lot of coin. Upon arrival, I traded in some extra Euros and Canadian dollars I've accumulated over the past few years for some Hong Kong dollars.
Unfortunately, I wasted some of those dollars by taking an airport shuttle bus (HKD140) directly to my hotel, in which the ride took almost 90 minutes. For an hour less, I should have purchased a 3-day tourist transit pass for HKD220 to take the faster Airport Express train from/to Causeway Bay by way of MTR in Central, but, hey, another lesson learned, right?
I stayed in Metropark Hotel Causeway Bay, walking distance from the Tin Hau MTR stop and away from most of the touristy stuff. From
Aboard the Star Ferry
approaching Kowloon side of Hong Kongthe hotel, I had a nice view of some of the city's athletic fields as well as Victoria Harbour. And, the rate was reasonably affordable. First night: I didn't sleep due to trouble adjusting to the time difference.
Lack of sleep aside, I only had one full day in HK so I made the best of it. Out and about, I made my way toward Central where I ultimately wound up on the lower deck of the infamous green-and-white Star Ferry which took me on a 10-minute ride to the other side of the Harbour to Tsim Sha Tsui. Considering a trip costs only 22 cents, these rides are always a bargain.
Upon arrival to the Kowloon side of HK, I walked alongside the promenade, where I captured my obligatory set of skyline pictures of the Hong Kong Island side of the city. I then spent two hours wandering the HK Museum of Art (HKD10 for a standard pass). I was most impressed of its collection of polychrome ceramics, which appeared to be well before its time. Don't quiz me on the eras covered. It's amazing enough I remember admiring the ceramics!
Afterwards, I walked along Nathan
Road, which I remember most fondly for the friends I made in the Sheraton Kowloon bar nearly five years ago (not so fondly for getting ripped off on my digital camera purchases). Anyway, it was hot outside so I immediately sought shelter in the MTRs and took the train to other stops on the way back to Causeway Bay. At Wan Chai, I walked along the covered pedestrian skypasses - very welcomed considering the heat. And, by the way, what's the deal with the stickers for sale in exchange for donations? Help me understand.
After a short break at the hotel, I signed up for an afternoon group bus tour that took me to the New Territories. Having been in HK a few times, I realized I had never been outside the city. Granted, there's probably more to the New Territories that I saw in a few hours, but the trek was fun nonetheless. Our first stop was the Chuk Lam Sim Yuen monastery where we observed Buddhism and monks. Its many hanging curtains supposed symbolized forgiveness of sins... so I made sure I walked underneath every one of them. Do I believe in Buddhism? Does it really matter?
Next, we proceeded to Kam Tin Walled Village, where everyone had a last name of Tang. Here's the premise. Mr Tang marries Ms Smith. Ms Smith assumes married name of Tang. Mrs Tang (nee Ms Smith) moves into the village. Miss Tang marries Mr Smith, assumes married name of Smith, and must move outside the village. Questions?
Third, we went to Lok Ma Chau lookout, near the border patrol station and with a nice view of mainland China. Apparently, there was nothing to view as recently as twenty years ago.
There were two other stops on this tour, but neither are worth mentioning. Avoid the Kaiser Estate group of jewelry outlets/shops. Why does every tour in HK end up at these places?
Amazingly enough, this trip did not include dim sum. What a travesty. A trip to Ironwood Bakery in Causeway Bay on Sunday morning did yield two tasty BBQ pork buns...
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Ray Chang
non-member comment
Great trip report!
What a great 2 day trip! Thanks for sharing. I have been to Hong Kong before in the past and I can't wait to go back sometime...