Lantau Island
From Tung Chung, I planned to catch the Ngong Ping cable car to go see the Ngong Ping Village. Since I was rather jet lagged, when I made it to Tung Chung, it was only around 9 AM so the cable car was not yet opened. While I was waiting, I walked around the shopping center at the station which felt oddly nostalgic although I could not recall any specific memories of visiting this shopping center before.
When the cable car opened, I headed up and purchased a ticket for a crystal car, meaning that it would have a glass floor. The views of the airport, surrounding mountains, bridges, and the Buddha statue were amazing. I thought it would be funny to try recreating some old photos of my dad from when we were all in Hong Kong as I feel that I look very similar now to how my dad looked back then. While I was doing this, I noticed that there was a new bridge behind me near the airport that had not been there last time. Eventually, it occurred to me that this was the new bridge that had been built connecting Hong Kong, Macao, and Zhuhai, which depends on the definition of a bridge (as it goes underwater in two places using manmade islands to let ships across), is the longest bridge across open water in the world.
When I arrived in Ngong Ping Village, I walked through the village towards the Tian Tan Buddha statue. While walking through the village I noticed many shops which I remembered, including a 4D cinema where we watched a film when my family visited. I felt that this time I could much better appreciate the natural beauty and impressive design of the statue and surrounding areas. The stairs up provide amazing views that get better the closer you get to the statue.
After visiting the Big Buddha, I walked around the Po Lin Monastery which was quite pretty and had a rather relaxing incense-filled atmosphere. I then walked around the many souvenir shops in the Ngong Ping village before taking the cable car back to Tung Chung. When I got back the queue for the cable car was so long it must have been at least a 3-hour wait. Luckily I was early because when I originally went on it there was no queue at all.
Exploring Kowloon
After going back to my hotel room for a bit, I went out to walk around Kowloon. I walked around the parks near my hotel, Hong Kong Polytechnic, and up to Kings Park taking in the sights and feeling quite nostalgic along the way. Something I noticed was that Hong Kong was significantly cleaner and less polluted than the last time I was there.
Causeway Bay
Next, I caught the MRT under the Victoria Harbor to Hong Kong Island, where I would go and visit Causeway Bay. When I arrived on the island, I walked towards Causeway Bay not quite remembering the significance of this area. After walking through Victoria Park to get to the shopping district and seeing many people practicing Tai Chi, I saw a familiar sight… the double-decker trams. I remember this from my last visit. I enjoyed walking around the shopping malls seeing the Hong Kong Times Square and oceans of people flowing across the streets every time a pedestrian light went green. I also had a ride on one of the double-decker trams when I was heading to a restaurant for dinner.
The restaurant I went to for dinner was called Kams Roast Goose, which I found online. When I arrived, there were so many people outside waiting to go in, so I thought it must have been good and got a number to wait in line. My number was 767 which is 七百六十七 (qi bai liu shi qi) in Mandarin, which was helpful for me to know as they were reading out the numbers in Mandarin for some reason (despite the main language in Hong Kong being Cantonese). It was a good opportunity for me to practice my Mandarin listening skills. The wait took very long, around 2 hours in total, as it turns out the restaurant was Michelin-starred. When I finally made it inside, I ordered a quarter roast goose and a century egg with rice and a coke with lemon. The main event, goose had a unique flavor. The cooking technique brought out this unique taste which at first, I was not so sure of, although it grew on me through the meal. It was a very rich taste and an experience that I enjoyed. The century egg was also quite delicious.
