Hong Kong Day 1 - Bouncing Across the Harbour

With only a few days in Hong Kong, we were up early to jam as much into the first day as possible. Just after 8:00, the three of us met up at the Star Ferry Terminal to venture across the Harbour and explore Kowloon. I had put together a map of about two dozen potential sights to see and a half-dozen restaurants spread out across the area. And with no real set agenda, we began our journey.

The Star Ferry has been running across Hong Kong Harbour since 1888—there are no bridges connecting HK Island to Kowloon—and offers a spectacular view of the city's skyline and Victoria Peak on the five-minute journey. And at just HK$2.8 (about US$.35/A$.50), it's a pretty incredible thing to do.

Looking across the Harbour toward the skyline on Hong Kong Island after getting off the ferry.

Once on the north side of the Harbour, we headed eastward around the Hong Kong Cultural Centre to take in the view back to HK Island. We then headed north, passing by the Peninsula Hotel—a grand old hotel made even more interesting to me due to the fact that my mom had stayed there on business a few times before I was born—and then up Nathan Road, the main drag leading away from the Harbour.

The Peninsula Hotel.

We wended our way through the streets, stopping for breakfast when we saw a small restaurant with a line out the door; after all, we figured a line meant it had to be pretty good. Turns out we were right in guessing that, as we all enjoyed a local breakfast—congee and sticky rice, washed down with yuenyeung, a traditional HK drink made with seven parts milk tea to three parts coffee.

My congee and yuenyeung.

After breakfast, we headed west en route to the brand new West Kowloon Station, which is served by high-speed rail to the mainland. On the way, we happened by the edge of Kowloon Park and wandered through Fuk Tak Temple (a Buddhist Temple), before stumbling upon the amazing new Xiqu Centre, stopping in to explore the theatre complex and amazing atrium.

Xiqu Centre.

When we finally arrived at the train station, we took time to explore the expansive rooftop gardens, which provided a spectacular view back across the Harbour, before heading inside.

Looking back toward HK Island from the roof of West Kowloon Station.

While the station is controversial due to a jurisdictional arrangement with China, overall it was a pretty incredible place, bustling with travellers. We only spent a few minutes inside (being observed by the thousands of cameras mounted on every surface—no surprise there, given who oversees the station), before heading down into the heart of Jordan.

Inside the station.

Wandering north, we explored a jade bazaar, Temple Street (home to a massive night market), and the city's wholesale fruit market. And while none of us were particularly hungry, we were around a restaurant that was known for its brisket. Not being a group to pass up the opportunity to try some amazing food, we ducked in for an early lunch at Sun Sin. Let's just say we were not disappointed.

Lunch of brisket a few different ways, and an interesting ginger drink with barley.

Once we were full, we realised we had plenty of time to explore further afield, jumping on a train at the nearest stop to head out toward a neighbourhood in the northeast called Wong Tai Sin. 

On the MTR heading out to Wong Tai Sin.

Once off the train, we headed out to the street and entered the grounds of Sik Sik Yuen, a massive Taoist Temple which was packed with visitors. We explored the temple grounds for some time before setting out on foot to the west to visit Chi Lin Nunnery and its expansive gardens. The complex, built in 1990, is one of the most accurate reconstructions of Tang Dynasty-style (600s-900s); utilising no nails or fasteners, the structures are built to last 1,000 years.

Within the first courtyard of the nunnery.

Once we had explored the nunnery and the large Nan Lian Gardens across the road, we headed to Diamond Hill MTR Station to catch the train back to Kowloon for High Tea at the Peninsula Hotel. While it was just after tea started at 2:00, there was already a very long line in the lobby; we ended up waiting for over an hour before getting a seat.

Inside the lobby while we waited for tea.

While the wait was long, it ended up being well worth it, with the experience illustrating the dichotomy of experiences on our trip. It helped that the food and tea were absolutely delicious as well!

High tea at the Peninsula, and the hanging sculpture outside of the hotel.

After tea, we headed across the street and caught the Star Ferry back to HK Island. From the ferry it was a 15-minute walk through Central at peak hour to the bottom stop of the Victoria Peak Tram to carry us up the steep, steep slope in time for sunset. We made it to the tram stop and under cover just in time for a huge rain storm, so we didn't really mind waiting in a massive line that took more than an hour to get through.

About halfway through the tram line to ascend Victoria Peak.

While the rain had mostly subsided at the top of the Peak, it was exceptionally cloudy, which unfortunately put a major damper on the view. And once we were outside on the observation deck the rain returned, so after snapping a few cool pictures in the fast-moving clouds, we headed inside to sort out our next move.

The Hong Kong skyline peaking through the haze.

Not wanting to leave the Peak before we could catch the city at night, we headed down from the observation deck into the adjacent mall and found a table at the highest restaurant: Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. While I have to admit that I was a very begrudging participant, we ended up having a nice time munching on a few shared plates while we waited for the skies to clear.

Once the clouds lifted a bit, we headed back outside to take some photos of the illuminated skyline.

The view from Victoria Peak at night.

With pictures taken, we headed to queue up for the tram ride down; after waiting for about 20 minutes we took the steep ride back down the peak. From the base station we retraced our steps from the afternoon, heading back to the Star Ferry terminal to cross the Harbour and take in the much clearer views at ground level.

Looking back to HK Island from the place we had also stood in the morning.

Back in Kowloon, we headed out to find Butler, a whiskey bar. As transport stops running early, after a drink we caught a train back to the Island as the ferry had already shut for the evening. On HK Island we wandered around the city for a bit on the way westward toward our hotels.

The Bank of China Building and HSBC Building at night.

While on the way home we decided to find a bite to eat, so when we passed a back alley with people crowded around tables we headed down to check it out. We were gestured toward a table and proceeded to order food, though I'm not quite sure exactly what we actually ordered. Nonetheless, the food and atmosphere were really great, and were quite the foil to our time at the Peninsula during the afternoon.

Dinner in a back alley.

Once we were done with our dinner, we said our goodbyes and headed off to our hotels. All in, it was an amazingly busy day; we walked more than 35,000 steps and covered more ground than I expected to! After just a day, I was definitely sold on Hong Kong.