Hong Kong with Laurent

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I had to work Saturday but doing that got me Monday and Tuesday off work. Laurent and I had a hotel in Hong Kong booked for the weekend and were leaving Saturday evening.

Saturday day was another sad one, last Saturday Val left and this Saturday Fiona and Laura left, the Irish left me too. They were going back to Ireland. Destry and I met them for lunch to say good bye.

After work on Saturday I met Laurent and we went to Hong Kong, we didn't arrive until late so after getting some food we went straight to bed.

We had already planned the things we wanted to do while in Hong Kong so on Sunday we got the tube to Tung Chung where there is usually a cable car ride to Ngong Ping but it was shut for construction so we had to get a bus. Once we got to Ngong Ping we had arrived at the attraction we wanted to see the Tian Tan Buddha, also known as the Big Buddha. It is a large bronze state of Buddha Shakyamuni and was completed in 1993. It was built to symbolise the harmonious relationship between man and nature, people and faith. Walking up the steps to the Buddha you started to understand just how big the statue is (34 meters, 112ft). We looked around and were able to go inside the Buddha and look around the museum reading about how the statue was built.

When we had finished we went to Po Lin Monastery. The Monastery was established in 1906 and was lovely. The details in the building work was incredible. We got the bus back to the tube station and went to Kowloon Island where we rode the Hong Kong Observational Wheel. The wheel is 60meters tall and was opened in 2014. Compared to the London Eye the wheel isn't that big but seeing Victoria harbour and the surrounding area during the night was a lively way to spend 15/20 minutes. On the way back to the hotel we had fish and chips on the water front.

The next day we headed to Kowloon. We started with the mid-level escalator system which is the world's longest outdoor escalator and opened in 1993. It is over 800 meters long and rises 135 meters. It consists of 20 different escalators and 3 moving walkways, the ride one way (up) takes around 20 minutes. The escalators were a wonderful way of seeing a different part of Hong Kong, we saw a part that wasn't all touristy. We got on and off the escalators as we went to look around some of the streets and shops.

When we reached the top we walked towards Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens, it was quite a walk but we knew the escalators were not near anything else we wanted to do. The gardens had a free small zoo inside. The zoo had a range of monkeys; apes, lemurs to name a few. It also had turtles and a wide variety of birds. After looking around the zoo and the botanical green house we went to the tram way. The tram is a way to get to the Peak. We joined the line to be told the wait was over two hours. We decided to come back earlier the next day when the wait wouldn't be as long. We were next to Hong Kong Park so we decided to go there. The park was rather big and even had a free aviary. It had over 600 birds and 90 different species all from the Malaysian Rain Forest.

After walking around the aviary and the rest of the park we headed back to the star ferry and to Hong Kong Island where we walked to the Sky 100, Hong Kong's tallest indoor observation deck. It was opened in 2011 and is the worlds 10th highest observation deck at 393 meters above sea level. When we arrived it was about an hour till sun set, we stayed in the observation area until after the sun had set. Seeing the view in three different lights was great. Day time, sun setting and at night it was beautiful.

After checking out of the hotel we went straight to the tram. The tram opened in 1942 and is a 1.4km funicular railway. It travels 396m above sea level and the sharpest incline on the steep journey is 45 degrees. When we reached the top of the tram we looked around the peak centre and stopped for lunch at Bubba Gump Restaurant, a small chain based on the film Forest Gump. It was great, we had a table by a window giving us a view over Victoria Harbour and the food was great. Once we'd eaten we entered the Sky Terrace 428. It is Hong Kong's highest viewing platform at 428m above sea level and gives spectacular views over Kowloon, Victoria Harbour and Hong Kong Island. After looking at the view we went over to Peak Gallery where there is a free viewing area. It wasn't as good as the Sky Terrace but was still nice to see. After walking down from the peak and getting a bus we headed back through the boarder and back to Shenzhen.

Even though it's small Hong Kong really is an amazing place.

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