China Ancient Trip, Day 3: Hong Kong

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The quick ride across the harbor
As we didn't plan to go to HK Disneyland, we checked out the Tsim Sha Tsui neighborhood. Err... Yup!! We didn't plan to have fun at Disneyland. One might wonder... :D, We went to Paris Disneyland in 2012 and since we only have two nights in HK, we saved Disneyland, maybe with a Macau/Shenzhen trip next time!

Right after breakfast, we took a taxi to the Victoria Harbour. It was not so crowded in the Star Ferry, as we managed to get seats on the upper deck. Maybe it was on the Sunday morning. A rather quick ride to the other side of the harbor offered a moment of reminiscence of previous boat rides or river cruises. But this one remains the most spectacular ocean crossing we had been through.

The early morning view of HK city
Reaching the other side of Victoria Harbour, Kowloon

The Avenue of Stars opened in 2004 (source: Google), modelled on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, to honor celebrities of the HK film industry. It is located along the Tsim Sha Tsui promenade, where you can find handprints and autographs of famous stars and the statue of Bruce Lee. It's quite difficult to take pictures as tourists flocked to this attraction.

The only travel map that we had
The Kowloon-Canton Railway clock tower was built during the colonial past.
Morning exercise by local and joint with tourist
We are among those stars

Err... Where are your kicks?

Grab a handy map in every MTR station to help you get out the right exit, as some could be far apart! We took the metro from the Tsim Tsa Shui station to Diamond Hill. A Chinese classical garden named Nan Lian is said to be designed according to the Tang Dynasty. See, I've started some ancient dynasty history! Bear with me; in the coming post I'll deal with more ancient Chinese history. Back to the garden, Nan Lian is in the Diamond Hill, next to the Chi Lin Nunnery. Wooden architectures in the garden were being built without any metal (read: nail) runs by the Chi Lin Nunnery. More details can be found here.

Which was the way out?
It is open to public for free...yeah

Let's learn Chinese word
A panoramic view of a pavilion
Knock! Knock!
Another gold pavilion with red bridge

Feeling energetic still, we spent that afternoon along Nathan Road. There was a small Muslim community in Kowloon and we expected halal food would be easily available. Luckily, we have been greeted by a Middle Eastern guy offering a halal food restaurant. It was a Pakistani restaurant, I guess, and it was a great lunch. After we had our prayers in a mosque located within the Kowloon Park, we strolled along the garden and visited the Hong Kong Heritage Discovery Center.

The Kowloon Mosque
Arts performance shows in the Kowloon Park
Too bright to be seen?
There were many Asean (read: Indonesian) in the park
We were back to the Sheung Wan station
Stopped by at the Western Market, Central HK

It was our last night in HK and we enjoyed our stay, though it was short. We definitely have to come back, pronto. There are still many things to do and places to visit. On the next day, we flew to an exciting, ancient city, Xi'an!

We were leaving the HK airport

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