Tag: Hong Kong

Bright Lights and City Sights

I’m linking up this post with Natalie’s Weekend Coffee Share and Public Art Challenge.

We arrived back in Perth very early Thursday morning, around 1 am and I’ve been busy ever since. Especially today as it’s Munchkin Monday and have been run ragged by my two adorable grandchildren. The plan was to see Santa and choose a Christmas decoration each. They both declined the visit to Santa, Rosie being particularly scared and anxious, she is only two. Anyway I didn’t push it and we just stood and had a look at the scene before us. We had a pitstop in a cafe, coffee for me and smartie cookies for them. Back to the house for some Christmas baking, more cookies and then chocolate cake for hubby’s birthday. A huge sugar hit today, hope they sleep okay!

Below are some photos of Hong Kong at night.

Let City Lights guide you home

One thing for sure about Hong Kong, it really knows how to dress up at night, Christmas especially. Walking around the city that never sleeps there’s always something to catch your eye. Brightly lit skyscrapers, shop windows and side streets.

Tram riding at night

  • Cobbled Lane
  • Christmas Disco Ball
  • It’s a holly jolly Christmas
  • French style mural

Oohing and aahing at every corner!

John “Rudolph” Travolta

Even the trams get a sprucing up, just captured this as it trundled by in a blur!

This is just because! I turned around walking through this shopping centre at night and just liked the clean lines and the diagonal pattern it made.

Just like to say thanks to Natalie for taking on the PPAC challenge after Marsha, something I’ve always enjoyed. This is also my first time for Weekend Coffee Share, although I’m a day late.

Hong Kong – Streets, Alleys and Quirky Sights

Over the past couple of days we have been traipsing around the streets, reacquainting ourselves with our favourite areas of Hong Kong. Central is one area that we have always enjoyed walking around, from here you can join the Central-Mid-levels escalator to access the streets of Soho, namely Elgin Street and Staunton Street. The escalator was built in 1993 and at that time was the longest in the world. Old and new buildings exist along side each other creating unique scenes.

The Old Hong Kong Police Station, Hollywood Road and Jardine House, Central
Stone Slab Street and Shelley Street

The two guys above are both wearing safety harnesses that aren’t attached to anything! No helmets but to be on the safe side they have their masks on.

We stopped for lunch at a tiny Italian restaurant just off one of the levels of the escalator, one which we had been to many times before. We were happy to see that it wasn’t a Covid victim.

  • Spaghetti Marinara

Just outside Anthony noticed a girl painting a mural, so I asked her if I could take her photo.

The damp grey walls could all do with a bit of paint. She was doing an excellent job. Take a look at the murals in the slideshow below.

The smell of fresh pine leaves outside this shop brought back so many memories of our Christmases in Hong Kong. We would always have a real tree, since moving to Australia we just have a fake one now.

Anthony’s favourite food, animal intestines. Sadly I don’t share his taste in food and I’m not a fan of Chinese or Japanese food.

I mentioned before that there are many wonderful sculptures in Hong Kong, I love the ones below.

  • Sitting Couple by Jill Chadwick
  • Silver Fighting figures

  • Two ladies taking their babies out
  • Sweet Potatoes and Hot Chestnuts

Thanks for coming along for the walk around Central. There’s always something to see that’s odd or quirky and you can always find so much artwork around. It’s great how Hong Kong are renovating all the old buildings and holding onto the history. There is a place for everything here.

♦️♦️♦️♦️♦️♦️♦️♦️♦️♦️♦️♦️♦️♦️♦️♦️♦️♦️♦️♦️

~ Hong Kong – Day Trip to Cheung Chau Island ~

Finally we have reached our day of freedom so that means we can eat out in restaurants and cafes. Today I decided we should leave the urban jungle behind us and head to one of the outlying islands. I last visited Cheung Chau in 1989 and unbelievably Anthony had never been in his 45 years of living in Hong Kong.

We caught the 11.15 ferry and grabbed a seat on the outside top deck to enjoy the sea air and sunshine. The slow ferry takes around an hour and no need to buy tickets as we could use our Octopus Card which is used for all transport in Hong Kong.

  • See you later!
  • Western Harbour Tunnel Entrance
  • A sneaky mask free selfie
  • “where are you Jack?”

Hong Kong is a country of contrasts; steel, glass and concrete skyscrapers dominate the skyline with dense green hills and mountains behind. Many visitors are surprised by the abundance of greenery and countryside that Hong Kong has to offer. It is a great place to hike in the cooler months.

  • A busy harbour
  • Hei Ling Chau Prison
  • Tug Boats pulling a ferry load of cement trucks

There are no cars allowed on Cheung Chau, the narrow alleyways are not big enough for vehicles to pass through. There are mini fire engines, ambulances and police cars for emergencies. I did see an ambulance and it was very tiny, if you were a tall person I think your feet would be hanging out of the doors! Everyone rides bikes here and bells are ringing from every direction and you have to be on your lookout as they speed through the alleyways and around corners.

  • A Cemetery on the hillside
  • Coming into Cheung Chau
  • First glance

After disembarking we walked along the harbour front looking for a place for lunch.

  • Boats, Bikes and Benches
  • Drying fish and meat
  • My Austrian eating an Austrian lunch
  • Eggenberg Cafe

Anthony was very surprised to find an Austrian cafe serving pork knuckle, one of his favourite dishes.

I had looked on the map before getting here and thought it might be nice to walk to the Mini Great Wall. A leisurely stroll is what I had in mind! Almost an hour and a half later, up many stairs and steep hills we ventured back into the village. It was one of those walks where I thought we can’t walk much higher and with Anthony up ahead saying we have to keep going.

Cheung Chau has many sandy coves and beaches, even though it is December we saw a few people swimming. It is home to around 20,000 people and has apartment style buildings designed for school camps. I remember both my children went to Cheung Chau for their year 4 camp when they were 8 years old for four nights.

  • The start of the hike
  • Looking down upon the Praya
  • Fire beaters – there are many hill fires during the dry months
  • Not quite at the top yet
  • Mini Great Wall
  • “Come and join me”

Above are images of the different rock formations dotted around the island. Also part of the “mini Great Wall”.

There are many houses up in these hills and we were wondering how difficult it would be for the occupants to bring shopping up. Not just that but how furniture is delivered and how on earth they were built in the first place. There were also many abandoned buildings.

Finally making it down again we walked back to the ferry through the labyrinth of streets and alleys.

Below are some more photos I have taken of various murals, small shops and stalls.

It was a fabulous day exploring Cheung Chau and a great place to visit if you have an extra day or two in Hong Kong. There is a completely different way of life here, where a more leisurely pace is encouraged.

Cheers and thanks for reading – have a great Sunday everyone!

~ Hello Hong Kong, It’s Been So Long ~

Finally after three long years we are back in Hong Kong. But first a brief stopover in Singapore. We had so many hoops and hurdles to jump through and over to get here and I’ve never filled out so many forms and scanned so many QR codes.

We flew Scoot to Singapore and then Singapore Airlines to Hong Kong. In January we said never again would we fly Scoot! Seems like we have memories like goldfish. When we arrived at Perth Airport the checkin line was huge and could see that the flight would not depart as scheduled. The plane finally left at 10.15 pm, 45 minutes late. Arriving in Singapore at 3.15 am I didn’t realise that we had to fill out an immigration card online! I have to say that I was very impressed with my dear hubby who actually managed to do his on the phone. We eventually got into bed at 4.30 am. Luckily our flight wasn’t until 1pm the next day so we managed a few hours sleep.

We stayed at Yotel Hotel located just outside Terminal 1 for convenience. It turned out to be a very expensive few hours sleep in a damp and mouldy room the size of a shoebox.

I wasn’t expecting anything large as I had seen photos and reviews, but this was smaller than a cabin on a ship. It was overpriced and needed a good refurbishment.

  • Someone who is confused or unclear about a situation
  • Image from Sushi restaurant
  • Christmas Decoration
  • Christmas display

After not much sleep I was definitely “blur sotong”.

It would be easy to spend a few days just in the terminals at Singapore airport. If we had been there longer I would liked to have walked around the huge fountain and waterfall.

Hong Kong – Day 0

Our first day in Hong Kong is classified as Day 0 and when we arrived at the airport, we were whisked away for a PCR test. I can’t imagine that there is any unemployment in Hong Kong judging by the amount of people there telling you which way to go. Maybe people can’t read or follow signs so you are herded onto elevators and walkways to the appropriate places. It was all very efficient and we were in our hotel by 6.45 pm. We ordered room service, no other choice, which we will have to do for the next two nights.

The view from our room on the 19th Floor

Day 1

After a fairly good night’s sleep we had breakfast (or I did) in the room and then headed out to the Immigration Department.

A grey day from our window. Looking out towards Kowloon

One of the reasons we are here is to renew our HK ID cards, very important to Anthony to maintain having lived in Hong Kong for 45 years before emigrating to Australia. This was a fairly easy process and we were finished within 30 minutes. We walked into Central from Wanchai which was around a 20 minute walk.

Everywhere is now fully decorated for Christmas and with the weather being fairly cool, it was starting to feel a lot like Christmas.

Christmas displays inside and outside every shopping mall

Picking up a takeaway lunch we headed up Battery Path to the park outside St. Joseph’s Cathedral. Not too cold to sit outside and eat.

Even though this is an urban jungle there are many small parks around surrounded by towering Banyan Trees.

Everywhere you look there is art and it’s all free! Such incredible sculptures and murals are found on walls and outside buildings.

There’s no better way of seeing Hong Kong than riding on the top of the tram, even better if you can get a seat at the front.

Anthony has been in his element all day, in a bit of a daze really. It’s been a stop start kind of day with him pausing all the time to look in all the shops. For me it’s a fantastic photograph opportunity, and I hope to be posting more in the next few days.

Such a contrast between the old and the new buildings. It’s hard to believe that there are people living in the apartment building above. Anthony pointed out that they are also likely to be paying a high rent as it’s bang in the middle of Central.

At the end of the day I had walked 13,000 steps, time for us to head back to the hotel. After a quick rest for Anthony he has headed back out again for another walk around the shops, for me I’m going to have dinner without him.

Hong Kong is a special place for both of us as this is where we met. I was on a two month working holiday and met him after five weeks and the rest as they say is history!

I hope you’ve enjoyed the first day back with me

🎄 Christmas Trees in July 🎄

Many Australians celebrate Christmas in July as it is our coldest month. Here is a gallery of past Christmas Trees for Becky’s Squares

  • Bali

All from Hong Kong except one! Nowhere does Christmas trees like Hong Kong. So opulent and many of them real.

🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄

All Dried Up

Lucky last for Becky’s SquareUp. I thought the pot had gone dry, but then had an epiphany!

Dried goods stores in Hong Kong. Selling Chinese sausage, dried squid and shrimp
Goji berries, ginseng and other tasty morsels

Dried fruits in Hyderabad
  • Jamon store in Seville
  • Drying fish in Iceland
This canopy of trees looks very dried up

Many thanks Becky for an enjoyable and challenging challenge! I think now I’m truly done and hope by April I will have new stock.

Night for One Word Sunday

Hong Kong at Night

From a few years back in Hong Kong. Taken from the window of our hotel in North Point. An unusually empty freeway.

One Word Sunday hosted by Debbie at Travel with Intent

Sai Kung, Hong Kong – where East meets West

Sai Kung is a place like no other it’s as if time has stood still.  There is an old village with a network of alleyways and lanes, a town square and a harbour front.  It is located in the New Territories in Kowloon and can be reached by public transport from Hong Kong Island.  You can escape the hustle and bustle of city life and while away an afternoon in this oasis of peace and tranquility.

Most people when they visit Hong Kong don’t get the chance to leave the city as it’s usually just a two or three day stopover.  They leave thinking Hong Kong is just made up of high rises and skyscrapers, whereas in fact there are so many country parks and beaches.

During our week in December we spent the afternoon in Sai Kung, showing our friends the village where we used to live.

We walked through the old village first, where you’ll find small grocery and hardware stores amongst private residences.

Tin Hau Temple

 

Walking through the old village

Along the waterfront there are many small boats and sampans waiting to ferry you over to the islands surrounding Sai Kung.  Here you will also find many seafood restaurants with huge tanks with live fish.

An old man tending to his pots held up by ramshackle planks

Customers can buy any type of seafood and take it along to the local restaurants to be cooked how they like

There is a small square where there are many European restaurants, which is why Sai Kung is so popular at the weekend.  There are huge traffic jams on a Sunday evening when all the islanders drive back.

We had dinner at a place called Big Fish, as you can see there were other things on the menu besides fish!

A sculpture on the waterfront

Getting here

There are several ways to get to Sai Kung.  On the MTR from Central you can either alight at Tseung Kwan O MTR  and take a mini bus or from Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon to Choi Hung MTR and also take a mini bus.

We had a wonderful time living in Sai Kung for many years. I love going back to visit to see how time has stood still with many of the restaurants and shops we visited still going strong.  Obviously some things have changed but not as much as so many other places in the world.

 

A review of Hyatt Centric, North Point, Hong Kong – formerly Hotel Vic

This is the second time we have stayed in this hotel but first time for a review by me!  It was in December so there was a great Christmassy feel to the hotel.
Hyatt Centric is located in North Point on Hong Kong Island.  North Point is becoming more popular as a place to stay.  We like it here because it’s not as busy as Central or Kowloon.  Everywhere is easily accessible from here, the MTR and a ferry terminal are within five minutes walking distance.  There is also a tram line nearby.

The hotel is split into two towers, East and West.  The west tower has the restaurants situated in it, the Cruise Bar on 23rd floor, The Farmhouse cafe on the 2nd floor and a coffee shop.  In the east tower there are the rooftop infinity pool and fitness centre.  There is an open air area on the 23rd floor for drinks and nibbles with fantastic views of the Hong Kong skyline.  I would say this hotel is a good four star hotel, if you consider the Marriot, Grand Hyatt and The Icon are five stars.

The rooms are fairly spacious for Hong Kong hotels and all have floor to ceiling windows with views across the harbour.

The lobby is airy and spacious and checking in and out is a breeze with friendly and helpful staff.

The first three floors are taken up with shops.  Designer shoes and jewellery and all the high end cosmetics.

There is a lovely waterfront promenade just outside the hotel where you can see the local people doing their exercises and tai chi.

North Point is the hub for many Chinese and Asian restaurants.

The views from the room across the harbour

 

The bathroom is on the small side but everything is well appointed and they have thought of everything!  Even a great make-up mirror.

The amenities drawer

The lobby and surrounding areas of the hotel

 

The Farmhouse Cafe

We had a buffet breakfast here every day.  There is a fantastic hot food section where eggs are cooked as you like.  Also fresh fruit, cereals, all kinds of bread, cold meats and cheeses are served.

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Magnificent Ginger Bread House in the Coffee shop

Up on the 23rd floor there is a roof top bar with open seating area, plus Cruise restaurant which has a diverse Asian menu.  It’s a great place to start your evening, overlooking the harbour with a cocktail.

 

Some of the dishes on offer at Cruise Restaurant

Sweet and sour Pork
and
Snapper in Banana Leaves

 

The rooftop infinity pool 

It’s always nice to stay in a hotel with a pool especially in the summer in Hong Kong.  There aren’t that many hotels with decent outside pools, so this is a bonus!  Well, unless you can afford the high end five star hotels of course.

We will definitely be using this hotel again during our travels to Hong Kong

A December Week in Hong Kong

Despite the current turmoil and upheaval in Hong Kong, we still decided to visit this diverse and wonderful city.  Having lived here over ten years ago, this time we had brought along our good friends and neighbours from Perth.  We only came across one protest during our stay, although we did see evidence of the destruction that has been caused.

Hong Kong – a city with a population of over 7 million is home to many different nationalities making it a truly international city.  Located in Southern China and surrounded by the South China Sea.  Most of the population live either on Hong Kong Island or Kowloon, although some live on the outlying islands of Lantau, Cheng Chau and Lamma.

From the airport there are many ways into the city, we took a taxi, but there are airport buses and an express train.

The trees below are all real and also the poinsettias.

Arriving in the early morning from an overnight flight
Crossing over the bridge
A blurry shot from the taxi of the bridge!

There are so many things to do in Hong Kong and we only had a week to do it in!

We stayed at the Hyatt Centric formerly Hotel Vic in North Point (a review of this hotel to come).

Hong Kong in December is a great time to visit.  The weather is cooler with no humidity and all the buildings are dressed up to the nines with Christmas lights.  Everywhere you look there are Christmas trees and decorations all competing for attention.

 

One morning we took a ferry just outside the hotel over to Hung Hom, Kowloon and then walked along the new promenade to Tsim Sha Tsui East.  It’s a lovely walk and was surprisingly very empty for a Sunday.  We realised later this was due to a protest being organised somewhere else in Kowloon.  A sunny but hazy day.

 

The Hung Hom Promenade

We saw many of these small tents along the way and these are what the domestic helpers use on a Sunday to enjoy their day off.

This promenade takes you right along to the Avenue of Stars on Tsim Sha Tsui East waterfront.

Bruce Lee and Anita Mui both famous Hong Kong actors, sadly now passed away

Anthony enjoying a little shopping spree!

Later that evening we took an evening cruise around Hong Kong Harbour on the famous Duk Ling Chinese Junk.  Built in Macau around 1955, it has been refurbished many times over the years.  It’s a great way to see the harbour and the Hong Kong skyline.  Tickets can be bought online or at the harbourside and include a guided tour and free drink.

 

 

Below are photos of the former Hong Kong Prison which is now an arts centre.  What an interesting place to visit, full of history and quirky shadows videos depicting how the prisoners were treated.  Located on Hollywood Road, Central.

 

Getting around Hong Kong

It’s extremely easy to travel around Hong Kong Island and over to Kowloon.  Just get yourself an Octopus card from an MTR station and you’re all set.  Public transport is not expensive in Hong Kong.  It can be used on the MTR, trams, buses, mini buses and ferries.  Top ups can be made at any 7-11 or MTR station.  The train goes all the way to the border with Shenzhen.  Octopus cards can also be used to buy small purchases in 7-11 and Watsons.

A designer decorated tram!

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Oil Street and Electric Street –
Many years ago this building in Oil Street used to be the old oil terminal and is now an Arts Centre.  The Government Printing works were also situated here.

The former Marine Police Headquarters, Canton Road

Pottinger Street Market – also know as Stone Slab Street – named after the first Governor of Hong Kong, Henry Pottinger – 1858

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We also spent a few days outside of Hong Kong in Lantau, Macau and Sai Kung – posts to follow!

My peaky blinder enjoying a late night cocktail

Until the next post!