I ordered a set menu containing truffle prawn dumplings, uni shumai, steamed rice chicken with abalone in lotus leaf, and lemon tea, as well as a quail egg shumai and a milk tea. The meal was so good, way better than the yum cha I had eaten in Australia. I especially enjoyed the prawn and truffle dumplings as the prawn taste was very strong.
Going to Victoria Peak
After breakfast, it was time to go to the tram which would take me up to Victoria Peak. I caught the double-decker tram to get there, before getting on the Peak Tram up the mountain. The tram ride was very nostalgic, and the views were amazing. I didn’t have to wait in line at all to buy my ticket and opted to get the ticket which gave me access to the sky tower at the top. When I got to the top I walked around for a little, taking photos of the amazing views of Hong Kong.
I noticed that there were some stunning houses nearby that were rather large and overlooked the Hong Kong skyline. I was quite impressed by these houses and remembered from a book I had recently read about Alibaba that the founder of this company owns one of these houses. I walked down to the street where they were all located to take a brief quick look at them admiring the architecture and spotting Jack Ma’s house, although I will not include images of it here to protect his privacy. I was merely inspired to admire the house after reading the book while I was in Europe.
I then walked around the shopping centers at the top, taking great photos from the terraces and also noting how quiet it still was at this time which from memory was around 10 am. I then went up to the sky tower which was a little underwhelming as it was much more crowded than everywhere else and had only similar views to the rest of the peak.
Before heading back down I went on a rather long walk around the peak which I think was about 5 kilometres in total. It was peaceful walking through the jungle path taking in the Hong Kong views from all different angles. I saw lots of interesting plants and wildlife on the walk, and the weather was so nice.
Central District
After finishing my walk, I caught the tram back down and noted that the queues for the tram at the bottom were no massive… another reminder that early starts are very advantageous in Hong Kong. My plan now was to go to Man Mo temple. It was around a 30 minute walk. It was a nice stroll through the central district admiring the unique architecture and steep alleyways. When I arrived at the temple I stopped for some quick photos before heading back through the Central District to Hong Kong Park, near where the Peak tram stop was.
Hong Kong Park
I did a full lap of the park visiting the Tai Chi Garden, SARS memorial, indoor plant section, man made lake, Olympic Park, and tea house. The walk was very peaceful, and I enjoyed the park quite a lot. There were turtles and fish in the manmade river. I also found the tea museum quite interesting, especially the artifacts and texts relating to tea ceremonies and different poems depicting attitudes to tea from different dynasties.
Back to hotel
After walking nonstop all morning I headed back to my hotel for a swim. On the way, I stopped by the Bruce Lee statue in the Avenue of Stars to recreate a photo of myself from last time I was in Hong Kong.
The pool in my hotel was on the roof, and was the exact same as it was last time I was there. Although there had been an extension – where there was previously a tennis court, the hotel had been extended upwards around 3 floors. I was able to confirm that this was correct and not just my murky memory. They were quite surprised to hear I had stayed there 14 years ago. After a brief swim and read in the hot tub I headed back out.
I caught the Star Ferry across the Victorian Harbor to take in some final views of the Hong Kong skyline and Causeway Bay shopping district. I walked around the shops for a while unsuccessfully looking for souvenirs but successful getting a great roast Char Siu 3 meats on rice from a rather authentic restaurant. I also visited the Hong Kong Brands festival that was on nearby to look at the products being shown off there. After walking for some time, I car the bus back to my hotel under the tunnel, walking across the foot bridge connected to Hong Kong Polytechnic university. By the time I made it back to the hotel my feet were extremely sore from so much walking. I broke my phones recorded step record today which previously sat at 32000 from the first day in Rome, reaching 39000 steps.
