I am so happy to be back to civilization! After getting off the plane in HK I could immediately sense that I was no longer in China, p...

Hong Kong

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I am so happy to be back to civilization! After getting off the plane in HK I could immediately sense that I was no longer in China, people waited in line, let you go first, and asked you if you needed help… in English!!!!! Ah! It feels good to be understood!




From the airport I got the bus that took me right across the street to my hostel (which by the way is THE MOST expensive hostel so far at $40/night in a 9 bed dorm! Crazy!) located in times square HK!

If Shanghai and NYC had a baby it would be HK!
It is as busy as NYC, loud, and lights everywhere but then it has the views and feeling of Shanghai!

My 4 days in HK were very busy trying to see and experience everything in my few days there.

I strolled around the Golden Bauhinia Square overlooking the other side of HK, and ended up in a park full of anime figurines.




 Walked all over to the Hong Kong observation wheel!

And had lunch with my friend Jamie, whom I met while traveling in Europe last summer. I always love to meet friends around the globe and catch up!

Hong Kong is big on shopping and although I am not I had to go check out the famous HK market. I went to the ladies' market and then to Temple street market. Both of them were pretty standard markets with lots of souvenirs, cheap clothes, phone cases and cables, and lots and lots of fake purses and accessories. I just walked through them and observed people bargain to lower prices... It was kind of fun.





By the time I finished with the markets it was already night time so I walked over to the water front to watch the very famous light show!


For the light show a bunch of buildings in HK have lights and some have laser lights on the top and then turn on and off according to the music being played. The show was nice but nothing really spectacular.



That night for dinner I went to have some dim sum... yummy!





I was so lucky to have my friend Hannah come meet me from Taiwan for the weekend. Two of her friends joined us and showed us around Hong Kong and introduced me to HK food and showed me a great time and made me love the city!

First things first... traditional HK breakfast... some kind of soupy noodles with squid (I think.)

and then off to see the big Tian Tan Buddha!!!!! 
There are 2 ways of getting to the Buddha, one is by a gondola and the other one by bus. The decision was easy, the bus was ¼ of the price of the gondola so off we went on a bus!


Cows here are like the deers in Nara... they are everywhere!


And then we saw... the big buddha!




Hannah trying a jump shot... And me looking at her! haha


As always... taking pictures!




 Visiting the temple...
Inside they had an impressive room with a thousand! I think those are the most Buddhas I've seen... ever!


Since I couldn't take a picture, I took a picture of the picture!
After the temples it was time for a snack...

How cute is that dumpling?


When our tummies were full we walked to the Path of wisdom.

And off we went to Tai-O fish village.
From the bottom of the temples there is a bus stop that takes you straight to Tai-O instead of going back down on the cable car.
Tai-O is a small fishing village in Lantau island; it has houses on stilts in the water, lots of dry fish in the market, and yummy food!



Dry everything for sale!
 Even dried Oysters!

And... dried sea horses! apparently they add them to soups!
I would die if I ever find a dead seahorse in my soup!



 Snack time again... this man was making a traditional sweet; it tasted like pancakes!



Ladies at the market selling lots of dry fish!


My favorite part was looking at all the houses and the structures on the island, the mountains on the back made it even more beautiful.  








While walking we even saw an outdoor kitchen! It was right on the walk way! 
They had put a big piece of wood for burning, the wood was being held by three stacked stools and a bucket! The smoke from the stove got out through the metal pipes that they have installed with ropes! 
That thing could burn the whole village in minutes if something goes wrong!


Some people live in tin houses!

I kept seeing lemon skin drying up so I asked my friend what it was for and she said that it is used for clearing the throat... I think Chinese people should use this!

 Those big blue buckets are filled with shrimp paste! Apparently HK cuisine uses a lot of dry shrimp paste!

Sunset at Tai-O


We ended up the day eating at a local restaurant. I am so glad to have local people to explore the city with! It really makes it a lot easier and a lot more fun to go around with people who know the place! I am so grateful for Frances and Douglas!!!



The last day we started bright and early!
First thing first... FOOD!

We got together at the Kennedy town metro station and went to the 3rd floor of the Smithfield market and cooked center for a traditional congee breakfast! 





With our tummies happy we then went to the western district.



Now off to my first ride in one of the famous HK tram!!!



After our fun tram ride we visited a temple that had soooo much incense, it was crazy! And the building behind the temple was soooo tall!







The rest of the day was spent walking through the mid level escalators, a hill full of escalators going up, Pottinger street (an old stone street), and just walking around town.

It had been a long day so then we headed over to Lin Heung Tea House, one of the oldest tea houses in HK, for some dim sum!

The restaurant was as crazy as it looks in the movies, a woman would come out with a cart and people would gather around her and get fresh dim sum off the cart. Every group has a piece of paper and once they get a dim sum from the lady she stamps it.  Every time a  lady came out people went crazy over the food, and stuck their little piece of paper in front of the woman.
Eating vegetarian was for sure a challenge but I managed to eat a bun with something like sweet potato and had some shrimp dumplings.








And for dessert we had some sweet bread.

When we were done with lunch (late lunch) we went to take the tram to the peak. We stood in line for probably a little longer than an hour but the view was worth it!



My short stay in HK was beyond amazing thanks to the people I met and were so kind to take me out and show me around their town.

On my way to the Philippines it was the super moon and I saw an amazing sunset with a huge moon out of my window. This photo does it zero justice but trust me, it was beautiful!



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About Post Author

Hi! It's me... Andrea! In 2016 I decided to drop everything and take a year to enrich my life and travel around the world. It turns out the world is just too big for 12 months! Still on the road and sharing my experience as a solo female traveler around the globe!

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About me




Hi! It's me... Andrea!

In this blog you can live vicariously through my journey around the world!

Please feel free to share tips or places to go!
Contact me: andreaheartstraveling@gmail.com