Round The World and other travels
A frequent flyer's collection of trip diaries
This is: Far East 2009
Old and New in Hong Kong
I'd spent 11 hours in bed - all of it, apart from a gap of maybe
a bit over an hour, in a deep and therapeutic sleep. I felt that I'd
managed to get over both the previous night's lack of sleep and the
jet-lag, all in one. A glance outside confirmed that it was going to
be a glorious day, so I was raring to go. That said, by the time I'd
attended to everything, it was approaching 1000!
I decided to spend the morning seeking out some less well-known sights in Kowloon that I hadn't seen before. I really didn't want to spend the entire visit going back to things I'd done previously. I visited the Tin Hau temple, just off Nathan Road, and the Walled City Garden at Lok Fu before realising that it was lunchtime already.
The main objective of the day, however, involved going back to somewhere that I already knew, but by a brand new method. I'd visited the Po Lin monastery and 'Big Buddha' of Lantau Island before, including in the course of these pages, but wanted to go back on the new cable car system. I took the MTR out to Tung Chung and changed easily onto the new system, noting the provision for handling huge queues of people, these thankfully not being required on this occasion. (Out of season tourism definitely has its advantages!) I shared the gondola-type car with just one other person for the spectacular ride to Ngong Ping. The ride involves two changes of direction and an over-water section, and gives amazing views of Chek Lap Kok airport in all its immensity.
I was amazed upon arrival to find that the area had been transformed from a relatively undeveloped site into a full-blown tourist attraction, the walking route from the cable car terminal to the monastery having been transformed into a real tourist village. I admit I took full advantage and popped into Starbucks for a coffee and cheesecake snack. A Starbucks branch high in the (once-)remote hills of Lantau Island - quite unbelievable, but not necessarily unwelcome! I enjoyed a quick visit to the temples before catching a bus to the fishing village of Mui Wo, where a fast ferry took me back to Central Hong Kong, leaving just a final Star Ferry ride to return me to base in Tsim Sha Tsui.
After a pause back at the IC, I headed out for dinner in one of the local shopping / food malls just as the so-called Symphony of Light performance was getting underway at 8pm - it's basically a display of lights and lasers on the various buildings around the harbour area.