Visiting Hong Kong with purpose

I will admit, when I first started travelling I did it solely with the intentions to party. When you’re young you just want to have fun like most people your age do, it’s only normal. Initially when I had planned to travel in Asia, partying was still on my mind until I set out for my trip. I found I had more fun just exploring sites and shopping that I didn’t care to go clubbing. I actually had a moment where I realized I didn’t care about getting drunk and partying, I cared about actually getting to explore this place I’d only be in for 5 days. Here are the places that I visited on my trip:

Lantau Island

Home to the Hong Kong’s largest airport, Lantau Island is the largest island and has a variety of attractions. On this island you find find Ngong Ping Village, Tian Tan (Big Buddha), Po Lin Monastery, Tai-O and many other places. Ngong Ping Village isn’t much of a site. Ngong Ping village has a bunch of stores and restaurants catered to get tourists to spend money.

Big Buddha

Big Buddha is a large bronze statue of Buddha Shakyamuni, which sits on a lotus flower. Big Buddha sits on top of a hill, so you need to walk up the 268 steps to get there. It took three years to build the statue. It is free to visit the statue but if you want to go inside you have to pay.

Climbing up the stairs to Big Buddha

Po Lin Monastery

Po Lin is the Buddhist Monastery on Lantau Island. It was built in 1906 and originally named Tai Mao Pung. The Monastery has very vibrant colours on all of it’s buildings. You will see Monk’s wandering around so be mindful of the photos you take.

Wandering around Po Lin Monastery

Tai-O

Tai-O is on the west side Lantau Island. It is a small fishing village with stilt houses that sit in the river. Bus 21 from Ngong Ping takes you to the village in about 15 mins and was only 6 hkd ($1) by bus. Make sure to take a boat ride for only 25 hkd ($4) to get a closer look at the stilt houses and possibly pink dolphins.

Exploring Tai-O

10,000 Buddhas Monastery

10,000 Buddhas Monastery is in the new territories so it’s a bit far from Hong Kong Island, but it’s very easy to get to. There is no entry fee to visit the Monastery so it’s definitely a must visit. Along the 431 steps to the Monastery the pathway is line up with different golden Buddha statues.

Meeting 10,000 Buddhas

Mong Kok

Mong Kok is a major shopping area in Kowloon.It was actually in the Guinness World Records as the busiest district in the world. There are many different night markets so you check a few out every day. Check out Gold Fish Street and ladies Market!

Shopping in Mong Kok

Nan Lian Gardens & Chi Lin Nunnery

Nan Lian Garden is located in Diamond Hill, Kowloon. It is a Chinese garden in the heart of the city. It is surrounded by high rise buildings, however the garden is very peaceful. This garden is very scenic and has lots of unique rocks and plants. Entry to visit is free, so there is no excuse not to visit! There is a souvenir shop, vegetarian restaurant, a Chinese tea house and a multi-purpose function room for events.

Pavilion of Absolute Perfection at Nan Lian Garden

Macau

Macau is a special region in the southern coast of China. Here you will see a large Portuguese influence as it was a Portuguese colony until 1999. Macau is part of China but it has it’s own legal system, currency, customs and immigration policies, etc. It is one of the richest cities in the world and also the world’s gambling region.

Walking towards St. Paul’s Ruins

Victoria Peak

Going to Victoria Peak at night will get you the most beautiful pictures, but you also need to be really careful on the day you pick. I had a bad experience going up to the peak at night on a day where it was really hot and I ended up with horrible pictures. There are two ways to get up the mountain– walking or the tram.

Tsim Tsa Tsui

Tsim Tsa Tsui is an urban area in Kowloon. It is not on the island of Hong Kong but directly across from it. Lots of people come here to get the infamous Hong Kong skyline pictures. Come at night to get the best pictures.

Snapping pictures of the Hong Kong skyline