Touring Hong Kong

People think of Hong Kong as a concrete jungle with crowds of people, vehicles and tall buildings. It is that, but it is also so much more that most people are not familiar with. There are jungles, monkeys, pink dolphins, Buddhist temples and lots of other interesting places to visit.

Although now it is technically part of China, Hong Kong is very different from the rest of the country. As Hong Kong used to be a British colony, they drive on the left. The rest of China drives on the right. Canadians and tourists from some other countries can visit Hong Kong without a visa but a visa is required to visit other parts of China. There is a border crossing between Hong Kong and mainland China similar to that of a border between two countries.

My Thatched Hut travel tip: If you want to travel from Hong Kong to mainland China, you do not need to get a visa before leaving home. You can get it in Hong Kong. Ask a travel agent for directions to the visa office. Allow three days.

The main city in Hong Kong was originally called Victoria by the British in the 1800’s but today it is known simply as “Central”

First, you will want to tour the city before getting off the beaten path to see the rest of Hong Kong. I suggest you spend one day just wandering around the city, doing some sight-seeing and window shopping and trying some authentic Hong Kong restaurants.

Eating in Hong Kong

Won Ton soup in a Chinese restaurant in Canada is mostly liquid and served as a side dish. Won Ton soup in Hong Kong is full of long, thin, noodles and comes in a large bowl. I was quite full after eating it. Eating the noodles was a new experience. They are quite long and you do not get a knife to cut them. You eat with a porcelain spoon in one hand and chopsticks in the other. Some noodles are held on the spoon with the chopsticks and brought up to your mouth so that you can bite off some and the remainder drop back into the bowl. It was fun as it was all new to me. We sat at a table with a lady that we did not know. It is common here to share a table with strangers as there are many more customers than tables. Duck (photo) and pigeon are popular food items.

The Chinese restaurants that we have in Canada do not exist here. I have learned that Chop Suey, Chow Mein and other so-called Chinese food are in fact North American food and do not exist in China. You do not order a complete meal but many separate things. We ordered chicken, pork, vegetables, fish, rice and a few other things. All this is placed in the centre of a round table and each person takes what they want. You get a spoon and chopsticks. No knives or forks. Napkins are not provided, even at very nice restaurants, so people bring their own.

The Peak

Take the tram to a place called the Peak, for a magnificent view of Hong Kong. This little train is pulled up the mountain on rails with a cable.

From the peak you can see all over Hong Kong Island from Central on one side to Kowloon on the other side of the harbour.

Kowloon

Take the ferry across the water to Kowloon. Walking along the waterfront in Kowloon is a popular Hong Kong pastime. Here you will find street performers, street venders, good food, and other things of interest. But the best thing about Kowloon is the view of Central on the other side. Be sure to stay in Kowloon for your evening meal and the view of Central after dark. You can return on the subway or ferry.

The Real Jungle

Hong Kong is not all concrete jungle and crowds. There are places where you can walk in the forest and meet a pack of Rhesus Macaques. Do not try to eat anything or display any food. This is not a good place to stop for a picnic. The monkeys can be aggressive and you could get mugged for your sandwich or cookie. They have large, sharp teeth and you could get seriously hurt. However, having said that, I stopped to photograph them and although they were unafraid, they did not bother me. I think as long as you do not display food or get in the midst of a group of them, you will be fine. If any monkeys approach you too closely, just walk away. It is really worth while going to see them. Look for them at a place called Shing Mun Reservoir.

Fung Ying Sin

There are many Buddist and Taoist temples around Hong Kong. You would not want to visit all of them but you should definitely go to see a couple of them.

We visited a Taoist temple called Fung Ying Sin. Taoism and Buddhism are very similar. Neither of them believe in a god that created the planet and humans. Both of these religions believe in several gods, such as the god of wisdom, god of compassion, god of fire, and so on. Both religions worship statues although there are more of them in Buddhism than Taosim.

The main belief in Buddhism is that desire leads to suffering. Therefore you will have a better life if you don’t desire anything. Buddhist monks live a life of self-imposed poverty. Taoist believe that life is good and you should enjoy it. They don’t see any problem with desire.

After death, Buddhist believe that a person goes through several reincarnations and that in some of these reincarnations you could be punished for wrongdoing. Eventually, if you were a good person, you end up in a place called Nirvana. The Taoists believe that your soul rises from you body after death, like Christians do, but the soul goes off travelling through space and not to heaven.

Buddhists believe in devas which are something like angels. Taoists do not believe in angels.

Many Buddhists are also Taoists and vice versa. Some are also Confucians. Neither of these religions see any problem with belonging to more than one religion.

It is possible to purchase a tiny box in a wall at these temples where, after you die, your ashes can be interned and the box is sealed with a photo of the deceased person. These boxes can sell for $14,000 to $40,000 (Cdn).

Yuen Yuen

We went to see a Buddhist temple called Yuen Yuen. This temple has a lot of interesting buildings and a pagoda.

One of the buildings is lined with Buddhist saints. The main temple has their three most important saints at the alter.

Many of the buildings feature the swastika on them. The swastika has been a Buddhist symbol for hundreds of years; long before Hitler adopted it has his party emblem.

The buildings are beautiful works of art in themselves with intricate designs and colourful paintings.

Chin Lin

The Chin Lin temple is very pretty and photogenic. They have a wonderful gift shop where you can get exquisite souvenirs that I did not see anywhere else.

10,000 Buddas

The temple of the 10,000 buddas is a fascinating place and something you really must see on your tour of Hong Kong. Too much information and too many photos to include here so I will make it a separate post. Check back soon.

Lantau

Central is located on Hong Kong Island. We travelled to Lantau Island. The two islands are connected by a huge double-decker bridge. Vehicle traffic goes across on the upper level and the subway train uses the lower level. We went on the subway. The lower level of the bridge is enclosed so you cannot see out.

After getting off the subway train, we travelled by cable-car up into the mountains to a tiny village called Ngong Ping. The cable car is a marvellous ride from the city of Tung Chung up and over several mountains for a total distance of 5.7 km which takes about 25 minutes. You get a great view of the city on one side and the international airport on the other.

There is nothing much to see at the village but the place is famous for the Buddhist temple of Po Lin which has a giant statue of Budda. The Budda is 23 metres tall or 34 metres if you include the base. There are much bigger Buddas. There is one in Sichuan province that is 71 metres tall, but still I was impressed with the size of this one. We climbed the 260 steps up the mountainside for a visit with the Budda.

There are many hiking trails in the area including one that goes all the way from Tung Chung to Ngong Ping instead of taking the cable-car. We didn’t go on any hikes. We didn’t have the time nor the energy and the area is inhabited by the deadly Bamboo Pit Viper.

Pink Dolphins

After seeing the Budda, visitors can take a bus or taxi down the other side of the mountain to a little fishing village called Tai O. The village is an interesting place and worth a visit but the main attraction here is getting a boat ride out to see, hopefully, the Chinese Pink Dolphins. These dolphins range from the southern coast of China to the northern coast of Australia. It was one of the things that I had hoped to see on my visit to China but my expectations of seeing them were low, but we were lucky. Very lucky. We not only saw the pink dolphins but they were jumping out of the water all around the boat. It was wonderful and will be one of the highlights of my time in China. I enjoyed seeing the dolphins so much that I paid for another trip and went out to see them again but the second time we were not as lucky.

(Dolphin photo courtesy of Hong Kong Dolphin Watch).

Summary

So you see, there is much more to Hong Kong than a crowded city. There are lots of interesting and beautiful things to see and do. I highly recommend a holiday in Hong Kong.