72-Hours in Hong Kong in April

continued from A Four-Day Roadtrip through Malaysia

Greg rallied, and we boarded our Malaysia Airlines flight to Hong Kong. The “pilots” did not want to fly on Malaysia Airlines (they are well aware of the mysterious disappearance of flight 370), but our options from Kuala Lumpur to Hong Kong were pretty limited. It was Malaysia Airlines or an airline with a name similar to “Scoot Scoot Boom Boom”. Upon take-off, we crossed our fingers, and away we went.

We landed in Hong Kong just after 1:30 in the morning on Easter Sunday. The Airport Express had closed at midnight, so our only option was to take the city bus. PSA: I strongly encourage you to download, and purchase the Octopus Card (on your smartphone) before you arrive in Hong Kong. If you do not have a smartphone (like my husband and kids) you are kinda screwed at two in the morning. Thankfully, a nice Chinese man took pity on us and purchased Doug bus ticket. The bus driver allowed the two kids to ride for free.

We eventually made it to the Crowne Plaza Hong Kong Causeway Bay. The first thing we did the next morning, was go straight to the MTR station and purchase Octopus Cards for Doug, Greg, and Roy.

Dragon’s Back Hike

The Dragon’s Back Hike is meant to be one of the most popular trails in Hong Kong. It is known to be family friendly (not too steep) and have impressive views of the coast. To get there we took the “Island Line” to Sai Wan Ho. Then took the 9 bus from Shau Kei Wan to Shek O. The journey took us around 90-minutes.

It was mostly cloudy when we arrived, so much of the view was obscured, but we started up the hike anyway. Shortly thereafter we realized that the kids had lost their respective Octopus Cards. We subsequently went back down the trail, found one card, then headed back up the trail again wondering how we would get the other child a bus ticket. Good times.

After reaching the peak, we started our descent, following the signs to Hong Kong’s surfer paradise — Big Wave Bay. The hike down took a lot longer than we expected, and we were never really sure if we were on the right path, but it all worked out in the end and we celebrated with a fresh coconut.

From Big Wave Bay we took bus 9 back to Shau Kei Wan. When we got back to the Central Station, we stopped to check out some of the open air markets. We got the opportunity to watch a fish get plucked from a tank and gutted, and then stood by as several women ran their fingers through an incision on a pig carcass determining who knows what. Mind you, it was 90+ degrees, and humid. No longer hungry, we moved onto the colorful rows of fruits and vegetables as they were a lot, uh, easier on our eyes.

Dandy’s Organic Cafe

It was now dinnertime, and we hadn’t really eaten much aside from almond butter sandwiches and nuts since we left San Francisco a week prior, so we were pretty famished. Doug located a place called Dandy’s organic cafe in Sheung Wan that advertised a full gluten-free menu, with no chemicals, hormones, or GMOs. Music to Doug’s ears. Greg and Roy got burgers. Greg had been campaigning for a burger for days, but we weren’t really sure what burgers were made of out here, so had been denying him. We sampled natural sodas made of fresh fruit and sparkling water, and even shared a dessert. It wasn’t cheap, but it was the best food we had on the entire trip. We promised to return again before we left. And did.

Kowloon and The Star Ferry

After dinner we took the Star Ferry to Kowloon. Star Ferry boats have been transporting passengers from Hong Kong Island to Kowloon and back for over a century. They offer a unique vantage point on the city’s harbor, particularly at night. While the weather was overcast, the view was still pretty great. Oh, and the Octopus Card works for the Star Ferry as well so there is that.

We disembarked the ferry (it was chaos, even at 9PM at night!) and walked the 30-minutes or so to the Temple Street Night Market in Kowloon. Kowloon has changed a lot since I was last there. It has become very cosmopolitan with lots of designer shops and flashy cars.

The bustling Temple Street Night Market was full of energy and of color. Many of the stalls offered “delicacies” like fish balls and snake soup, but we were, fortunately, full from dinner. The kids became fixated on the cotton candy vending machine as we don’t really have those in the US. After exploring the market we decided to take the MTR back to our hotel (instead of the ferry) as we were all pretty exhausted.

Lantau Island and the Big Budha

Our second full day in Hong Kong involved an excursion to Lantau Island to see Tian Tan Buddha (a.k.a. “Big Buddha”). Ngong Ping, is the mountainous home of the Big Buddha. It has long been known for its monasteries and refreshing highland climate. The Big Buddha is a 34-meter bronze statue that is known to be the largest outdoor seated Buddha statue in the world.

To get there, we took the Island Line to Central, and then boarded the ferry to Mui Wo Ferry Pier. From there we took the 1 Bus to the Tian Tan Buddha. The journey was long, close to two hours, but we got to use every form of public transportation imaginable, so the kids were pleased.

When we arrived, the Buddha was shrouded in clouds and remained that way for the rest of our stay. The wind was pretty intense as well. We took the steps up to get a closer view of the him. Then roamed the grounds and ate a vegetarian lunch at the Po Lin Monastery.

Tai O Fishing Village

The other “must see” on Lantau Island is Tai O. Tai O is a fishing village and home to the Tanka people who have built houses on there on over-the-water stilts. This location is meant to bring back the nostalgia of an idyllic fishing village.

We took the bus to Tai O from Tian Tan Buddha. Instantly we were hounded by the locals to purchase a boat tour to see the pink dolphin. We declined, and chose to walk through the stalls of fried cuttlefish, “big, big, very big fish balls”, and pufferfish jerky. The seafood in Tai O looked and smelled pretty foul. The place is famous for its salted fish and shrimp paste, with much of this “curing” out in the sunlight for us all to run our hands through. Yuck.

This village was great for a quick “look see” but we were not about to stop and eat anything here. We had made it this many days without food poisoning, we were not going to start now.

Victoria Peak and The Peak Tram

We had hoped for clearer weather for our final day, but had no such luck. Our flight was in the evening, so we had a leisurely morning, then checked our bags at the front desk and took the tram to Central. This tram has been operating since 1904 and is the first large-scale transportation system in the city. Hong Kong holds the Guinness World Records title of the world’s ‘largest double-decker tram fleet in service’ with its 165 tramcars.

Arriving in Central, we then made our way to The Peak Tram. The Peak is often dubbed as Hong Kong’s most spectacular destination. It offers wonderful views of Victoria Harbor and the rest of the skyline. The journey (on the tram) takes approximately 8–10 minutes and is an experience to remember, as skyscrapers glide past at what appears to be impossible angles while the tram makes its ascent.

We opted to only purchase the tram tickets as we did not feel the need to visit the Sky Terrace on such a cloudy day. We took our customary pictures, strolled around a bit, and then headed back down to go have lunch at Dandy’s Organic Cafe.

Before heading to the airport we stopped at the Hong Kong Museum of Medical Science. This place was interesting enough, but not something I would have gone out of my way for. (It was down the alley from Dandy’s). The biggest lesson from the museum was that if you want to avoid a SARS outbreak, do not eat bats or other exotic animals. Got it. Check.

The 12-hour flight home to San Francisco was a piece of cake compared to the 17-hour flight to Singapore. Albeit with a fair share of turbulence over the Pacific!