a new year in hong kong
With a very early morning flight from Manila, I arrived in Hong Kong on a cloudy day. I was a bit nervous but everything went so smoothly.
I had to find the booth to rent a pocket wi-fi which required a hefty deposit but I was certain I had enough money for the whole trip.
I loaded the Octopus card I got from my dad which still had some money left in it (even though it was from so many years ago) and got on the train to Hong Kong Island.
Leaving the main train station, I was surprised to see so many Filipinos sitting around the station on their mats. I thought they were homeless or something but I asked my aunt and she said that they were just maids on their day-off as it was the New Year’s but didn’t have anywhere to go.
Still kind of sad and there were so many of them everywhere!
I was able to find my hotel, iClub in Sheung Wan, just fine and left my things after checking in.
First order was to take care of was food, excited to try Hong Kong cuisine again, I found myself in a pretty fancy restaurant and was surprised that they didn’t serve any cold drinks but only hot drinks which was part of the Chinese belief about how hot drinks are better for digestion.
I planned on doing the Dragon’s Back trail today out in Shek O Country Park so going through the network of stations, I got on the bus that took me all the way to the trail head.
the dragon's back
The hike was beautiful right from the get-go. Plants I have never seen before accompanied me on the way up which was quite gentle.
I overtook a lot of people, excited to see why this trail was known as one of the best urban hikes in Asia according to Time Magazine.
It was soon made apparent to me as I got high enough to catch some views of the sea. There were amazing rock formations all around and these two neighboring islands at the coast below.
I actually went the wrong way as the summit was in the otherside but it was well worth it, the views were phenomenal.
Continuing on, the hike was still pretty chill. It was such a unique hike because I was able to appreciate both sides of the mountain, one overlooking the sea and the other towards Hong Kong.
Seeing those skyscrapers in the middle of all this greenery was quite surreal. I was able to reach the summit without much issue and continued downwards which actually took longer as I was going the opposite side.
petroglyphs at a beach
The descent was longer I would say, though it was gentle and I eventually made it back down and started to make my way to Big Wave Beach.
I passed by a quaint seaside town which had a pretty laidback vibe. The smell of the ocean was quite refreshing and I was happy to take off my shoes and walk on the sand.
I made my way to the end of the beach where there were some ancient pteroglyphs. These strange rock carvings were really unique and it was pretty cool something like this was just hanging around the beach.
a winter dip
From there, it was another long walk towards Shek O beach. I was having doubts if I should skip this or not as I still wanted to catch the sunset up in Braemar Hill but I still went with it because I wanted to take a dip to refresh myself.
It seems like the weather and water was too cool for everyone as they were just hanging around by the sand. Without the sun, it did seem like it. It really made me miss the tropical beaches of Sanya.
I still went ahead and the freezing water felt amazing and totally revitalized me! I changed back and went to the bus next and then to the metro and then another bus. I was having trouble finding the third bus but after some luck I got on.
braemar hill
The hike to Braemar Hill was a bit short as I skipped the most of them just because I was already a bit tired from doing the Dragon’s Back.
The bus took me somewhere near the summit where I could simply go up after a 15 minutes or so.
They also called it Red Incense Burner Summit, and it was crowded with a lot of young people. There wasn’t much room and people were shifting all around these rocks and boulders to try and claim their space.
Sadly there wasn’t much of a sunset to see but the cityscape of Hong Kong was still a sight to behold.
Watching the city come to life slowly for the night as lights started to flicker all around was really memorable.
I wasn’t staying til dark though so I went back down and went back to my hotel, eating at the same restaurant that I ate lunch at just because it was so good.
tai o fishing village
Using the underground metro network, I made my way all to the other side of the island for a day trip to Lantau Island.
Passing by Disney Resort, and heading out to find the right bus proved to be quite difficult. I was going around in circles and wasting a lot of time as I couldn’t find the one going to Ngong Ping.
Change of plans then, I decided to hop on the bus going to Tai O instead, one of the few remaining traditional fishing villages in Hong Kong.
I was supposed to do that after Ngong Ping but might as well just go for it.
Along the way, I started to get motion sickness due to the winding road and being at the back of the bus. I was really glad to finally be able to get off the bus and found myself in the quaint village of Tai O.
Wanting to catch my breath and regain my bearings, I went to the docks and sat down for a bit before heading into town. Passing through the markets and deeper into town.
I admired how seamlessly the temples and the seaside blended with the overall ambiance of the village. Fishing boats were anchored by the bodies of water and houses made out of sustainable materials stood on top of the water.
I was just following the path that somehow led me to a hike. With my legs still a bit fatigued from tackling the Dragon’s Back, I pushed onwards.
It was well worth it as the views of the sea were breathtaking, the bridge running towards the horizon added another layer of depth to appreciate.
At the foot was the more outback part of the village with an even more amazing view of the surrounding mountains and the stilt houses.
I proceeded back into town to finally catch the correct bus heading to Ngong Ping.
ngong ping plateau
Arriving in Ngong Ping, the first order of business was to find some food but it seems like the restaurant was still deeper into the plateau so I went where my eyes took me.
The imposing giant Shakyamuni Buddha statue, the founder of Buddhism, the central figure in Theravada Buddhism in Southeast Asian countries. One of the main sights to see in the whole of Lantau Island.
Climbing up the stairs required a lot of extra work especially after I had just finished hiking the day before and just a while ago, I was also able to snag a food ticket to cash in at the Po Lin Monastery where they had a restaurant.
I hiked up and took in the amazing view of the surrounding mountains and appreciating the intricately made Buddha statue, it was a crowded holiday but I had fun, I enjoyed seeing these tiny lotus ponds on the way up.
I went to the Po Lin Monastery’s restaurant before exploring some more as I was so hungry already, they served an all vegetarian meal with hot water again.
It did it’s job and I was stuffed and ready to do some more exploring. At that time, there were two exhibitions on the life of the Buddha, in one of the booths it said that simply reciting the mantra “Namo Amitabha Buddha” within a temple’s premises can already make it so that you escape Samsara.
The monastery itself had really ornate designs and covered a huge area, with plenty of Buddhist deities to pray to.
After exploring the temple compound, I made my way to the backside where there was a forest path leading to Lantau Peak, I had originally wanted to hike up this one today but it seems like my body wasn’t up for it nor did I have the time, it was also cloudy anyways, I’ll go for it next time.
The one I wanted to check out was the Wisdom Path near the trailhead. It had these wooden planks in the shape of infinity with the parts of the Heart Sutra written on each. The Heart Sutra is an important Buddhist text wherein Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara (or Guan Yin as she is known in Hong Kong and other Chinese countries) expounds on the concept of emptiness in understanding the nature of reality.
It was also very crowded here with plenty of people going over the fences.
I found a pretty good spot from behind that I had to climb up a huge boulder for and the views were absolutely perfect.
stranded
Going back to Hong Kong Island was the issue as the line for the bus was already a kilometer at that point I think.
I was checking Google Maps and it seemed like there was another bus I could take that went somewhere else in the middle and I could switch one that took me back to the main station.
There were several problems with this idea, the first was the bus went pass the station I had wanted for several kilometers and I had to spend a half hour backtracking.
I waited for the bus to take me back and this was also a mistake as it seems like all the buses ended up passing me over as it was already full so I was stranded again in the middle of nowhere.
The original bus I was on would have taken me to the pier and I could have taken the ferry back to Hong Kong Island but that ship has already sailed so I backtracked a bit more to a station where more buses were heading back, there were several people there so it was a bit of relief but the buses were still passing us by.
The only consolation I had at this time was the beautiful sunset.
Eventually, I did make it back to the station thanks to a miracle bus that stopped over for us and off I went back to the same restaurant near my hotel before retiring peacefully for the night.
temples and waterfalls
The last day in Hong Kong was going to be a bit of a doozy, after two days of being in nature, it was actually time to explore the city!
As I was waiting for the bus, I realized that one of the temples I had planned to see was really near my hotel and I had almost forgotten about it.
I backtracked and up a lot of stairs to reach Man Mo Temple. It was a very visually aesthetic temple with a lot of incense and tags hanging above the ceiling.
Inside was a golden deer statue which reminded me of the story of the Ramayana.
It was also very small but it had amazing contrasts with the red lanterns and the darkness. I went back to catch the bus again going to Waterfall Bay Park.
I wanted to see the idol graveyard located here but I couldn’t find it at first so after a lot of backtracking, I gave up in search for the waterfall.
As the name implies, there was a waterfall here but to reach it, I had to cross over a lot of blocked routes which was apparently normal to do as the locals were doing it all the time to see the waterfall below.
the idol cemetery
It was actually pretty beautiful and so strange to see a waterfall in the city but there it was. I went back up but didn’t want to give up so I tried one more time to find the idol graveyard and I don’t know how but I did end up finding it and it was magnificent.
Idols from all religions, Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, and even a lucky cat! I felt so blessed to be in the presence of so many deities. Would this be considered as religious syncretism, I wondered.
It seems like it’s bad luck to dispose of idols so the locals just started to leave them here. It was a nice resting place for them as they were all facing the ocean.
colors of kowloon
Finally satisfied, I got on the bus heading to Kowloon.
On the way, we got stuck and I got a bit impatient and just took the nearby metro instead.
I first stopped by the famous Monster Building which was an apartment complex of five other nearby estates. The people here weren’t exactly living in good conditions, but it was a really good experience to see this other side of life in Hong Kong.
Moving on, I went to Choi Hung Estate to find the very photogenic rainbow colored building. It was empty bar for a granny playing basketball which made for an excellent shot by luck.
I went to the nearby Ping Shek Estate next to try and snag that wonderful “look up” shot.
namo amituofo
A bit hungry after so much walking, I pushed on to Nan Lian Garden to see a beautiful greenery reminiscent of Japanese Zen gardens.
It was a welcome oasis in the middle of the city.
Nearby was the Chi Lin Nunnery, this is where I realized that the mantra being played this whole time was really the Namo Amitabha Buddha, or Namo Amituofo in this case.
It was really mindblowing for me and I felt a huge sense of reverence as I went around the temple, paying respect to the deities enshrined there.
My last stop in this part of town was Wong Tai Sin Temple, it was a unique temple because it’s a syncretic blend of Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism. Having all three belief systems in one temple really proves that it’s possible for people of different walks of life to coexist in harmony.
blessings from ten thousand buddhas
I was contemplating if I should still go for the Ten Thousand Buddha Monastery which was a bit further up the city but I still had so much time before my flight so I just went for it.
Arriving at the station near the monastery, I was so hungry I ended up ordering two dishes at the nearby Cantonese restaurant.
It was one of the most amazing meals I’ve had so far! Energized, I pushed forward to find the monastery which required another long hike.
At first, I thought I was going the right way and I was able to see a lot of interesting places as there were a bunch of temples and Buddha statues but it turns out I was in the wrong part of the mountain and I had to go back down before finding the correct trail.
This trail seems about right as there were golden Buddha statues from both sides that accompanied me all the way to the top. There were a lot of interesting sights up there but the highlight was the main temple with ten thousand Buddhas on each side of the wall.
Finally, I hiked back down and made my way to the bus stop that had the airport bus.
missed
It was still for a while so I had time to wait, I sat down for the longest of times only to realize last minute that the bus arrived earlier than expected and shot pass me!
Oh man, I was in a state of panic as I realized I missed my only way to the airport and as I checked Google Maps, all other routes would equate to me missing my flight.
I didn’t have anymore money to afford a taxi (I sure could have used that deposit by now!)
My thoughts were rapidly forming possible solutions, maybe go to a bank to exchange my dollars? I tried to download a taxi hailing app but it required a phone number.
I was really at a loss and every minute that passed made it even more dreadful. I was trying to find a local cab as well but I didn’t know where to find them.
I was able to flag one down with an old man and with my broken Chinese, I asked him if I could use a credit card or my dollars and he said yes, at that point oh whatever let’s just go!
At the end of the day, I did lost a couple of dollars but the old man was a blessing to have taken me all the way to the airport and accepting foreign currency.
All’s well, ends well!
