All Summer Long

NB. I did quickly write this on our way from Hong Kong to Japan but we’ve been so busy since we arrived that I haven’t had chance to post it! Better late than never 😀

Our stay in Hong Kong was short, sweet and busy!! For a small place, it is packed to the brim of things to do so we just fit in what we could.

We wandered round the Business District to look at the iconic buildings such as the Bank of China and HSBC Headquarters as well as mooch about on Statue Square. We rode the Star Ferry a couple of times to and from Kowloon which in itself is one the best things to do whilst you’re there!

Hong Kong is pretty easy to navigate and we used our Octopus cards to flit about left, right and centre. We were also extremely grateful of being able to walk on pavements again!! Something we hadn’t done much of in Vietnam and even when we did, a scooter would still suddenly appear from a wall on a street! Anyway, back to Hong Kong…..

The parks here are fantastic. We managed to fit in Hong Kong Park, Botanical Gardens, Kowloon Park and Kowloon Walled City Park. The latter was fascinating as it was where the most densely populated city in the world used to reside and the images are unbelievable! It was only demolished in the 90s and the beautiful park that now occupies the site, has a few remains left and a very small museum. Definitely worth the short trip on the MTR to it as I had no idea how jam packed it actually was! Very interesting.

We managed to get a couple of brilliant views in by riding the Peak Tram to the top of Victoria Peak and the Cable Car to Ngong Ping Village to see the Big Buddha. The Peak Tram blows my mind as it’s really steep but the short journey to the top is fun and worth it for the views (if you’re lucky to get a clear day). The Cable Car ride to Ngong Ping Village is brilliant and we got a glass bottomed pod on the way there which wasn’t as bad as it sounds. The Big Buddha is wonderful to see and the walk up the steps rewards you with fantastic views! Both experiences are well worth doing but all tourists agree so be sure to go early enough to beat the crowds and avoid spending a big chunk of your day in a queue.

The Avenue of Stars (Hong Kong’s version of Hollywood’s Walk of Fame) is under construction on the waterfront so some of the exhibits have been moved temporarily to become The Garden of Stars. The Bruce Lee statue is there which is the main thing we wanted to see. We were also really impressed with The Garden of Comic Book Stars in Kowloon Park. The statues there were fab and we learned a bit about Hong Kong Comics. The laser show on the harbour front is also worth a watch as it’s easy to get to and only about 15mins long.

Finally, the food! We ate at 4 different Michelin Starred Restaurants in total and they were all amazing and cheap!! Hong Kong has a different outlook on Michelin Starred food as it doesn’t matter what the interior design of the place is like or how fancy it all is, it’s all about the quality of the food and it really was top notch!! We ate at 2 places that are famous for their roasted meats, 1 famous for dim sum and 1 famous for its wonton noodle soup. Amazing!!!

So, a busy 3 days completed and we’re now on a flight to Japan – our last destination and probably the one we’re both most excited about!! Can’t wait to ride on a Shinkansen again 😀