HK & Macau Day V - Walk round Hong Kong Island

喝早茶 was a common Chinese practice. In Hong Kong this was already part of their centuries old tradition. 點心 and 茶 were common for breakfast.

So today we woke up at not that early hours compared to local to have our breakfast. We intended to avoid the crowd. We chose to have our 點心 in the Hong Kong super famous dim sum restaurant, 蓮香茶樓. This place seemed familiar to me. I must have seen it in one of the many Canto dramas and movies I have watched. Anyway, this restaurant was really old. It preserved its 80s setting...no aircond, wooden furniture, ceiling fan and old calligraphy and paintings.

see how we have to pushed through for our dim sum

We arrived at about 10.30am and this place was still so packed up. We have to wait behind others while waiting for them to finish their foods and drinks. We have to squeeze to fit 8 in a small round table which was normally used for 4. And worse was we have to squeeze ourselves passed the crowd to get to right in front of the trolley and get our food. If not you will ended up paying for an empty bill. Anyway....I didn't find their 點心 that delicious. It was expensive and uncomfortable to sit there any longer...Ming Court in Ipoh and Fu Shan in Butterworth would be a far better choice, more varieties and way cheaper and better environment to drink tea and hang out with friends...however this was still a must in Hong Kong especially one is looking to experience and understand the local culture.

starting point of the trail...Travel Through Time

After the brunch, we went round separately. I followed the Travel Through Time Central & Western Trail recommended by Tourism Board of Hong Kong as in their Hong Kong Walks publication. My trail started from the Sheung Wan MTR station. My first destination of the day was Western Market and Sheung Wan Fong. It was an Edwardian Style building which used to be a market but now housed stalls selling mid and upper level specialty targeted for tourists.

well maintained and good restoration work of Western Market

Then I walked along the Wing Lok Street. This was a street known for its ginseng and bird's nest. They have all product of all price range, size and quality. All ginseng were exhibited on the glass panel. I continued walking into the Des Vouex Street which was known as the Dried Seafood Street. Their products varieties were impressive. I could see abalone of the size as big or perhaps bigger than my fist stored in glass jar on their shelves. And my favourite scallop was largely available there too and of course they have those of really good quality....some dried scallops have diameter larger than our 50 cents coin...how wonderful it would be if I could spend graciously on these dried seafood.... :-(

bird's nest everywhere

kuli...not really...they are all the traders

Next street that I walked past was the Ko Shing Street. This street really gave me a shock. In my past years, I have never seen tortoise shell being sold. I have always thought the famous 龜苓膏(guai lin gou) was made of pure leaves and root type herbs only until I saw hundreds of tortoise shells in front of me. They were laid on the floor along the street to be dried. There were also dried squid along the path.

see what is that...

tortoise shell

dried squid along the way

Then I was walking along the famous Bonham Strand West Street, 文咸西街. This was the setting for a famous Canto drama. I was trying to find exact shop in which the drama was filmed but I just could not differentiate them. Anyway I could still identify the garden which was commonly seen in the drama. Really an eye opening experience walking through these streets. Have seen a lot of rare and valuable dried herbs and seafood.

shark fin on the background

the setting of the drama

I continued to Hollywood Road, passing the Possession Street and Lok Ku Street where I saw their Jockey Club for the 1st time. There was still crowds in it even though it was still early noon.

lucky number of the week

Hollywood Road and Upper Lascar Row housed many antiques stalls. They sell wide range of antiques and replicas. However bargaining was neccessary especially at those stalls in Upper Lascar Row. Nice souveniors were sold here at very reasonable price.

place for antiques?...old uncle can still be very productive at work in Upper Lascar Row...

antiques and replicas of Chinese Revolution

the 3 inches shoes

Then I moved on to visit the Man Mo Temple, 文武廟. This temple was structured similar to many old temples in Malaysia. The temple was divided into 3 sub-building and each with a an open space in the middle for a better ventilation. And the specialty of this temple was, there were many young devotees. They were here in the hope of better academic achievement...Nowadays people are surely more concern about their 文 more than the 武.

文武廟...place for the academiciansthe great carvingjoss-sticks...and words of prayersdid you detect thick smoke from the past photos? this was really a great preventive measure.Ladder Street?...next to Man Mo Templethey mean the steps....introducing the Ladder Street

I was suppose to head for Central-Mid Level Escalator but another sign attracted me and diverted me to a long stairs path. I saw sign pointing to Dr Sun Yat-Sen Museum and there were signs along the way saying 'Dr Sun Yat-Sen Historical Trail'. Climbed up the long staircase to learn that the trail was very very long. So I decided to leave the trail and continued back to my original plan. Then on my way, I past by SOHO, a lot of great restaurant serving all variety of food here...you can find from French, Mexican, Italian and other great fusion. Surely a great dining place!

steps to climb....Dr Sun Yat-Sen Historical Trail...long way to gothis was how living quarters in Mid Level looked like

I continued my trail on the Central-Mid Escalator till Robinson Road. Then I walked along the walkway to the Kom Tong Hall which has been restored and now housed the Dr Sun Yat-Sen Museum. A lot of photos of 孫中山 and Modern China Revolution were displayed there but I was more keen of the interior and exterior of the Kom Tong Hall. I have bought a 3D puzzle of the building back as souvenior for my cousin brother.

Dr Sun Yat-Sen statue holding Chinese and English booksFrom the main hall of Kom Tong Hall

Continued sight seeing to Former Central Police Station Compound. The whole compound was located on a sloped hill. So from the lower ground, you can see the whole building. The Former Central Magistracy was located right behind of the police station....no wonder they have such an efficient system and low criminal stat...

the former Police Station Compoundthe Police Station was on the back of the bus...see how steep it was?

Then I walked pass a back ally into Lan Kwai Fong...hmm Lan Kwai Fong, well it was unlike expected or as seen on the dramas...perhaps not much crowd there as it was still under the broad daylight. Anyway the area was flooded with pubs and bistro...really nice if I could have a drink here in the evening.

Lan Kwai Fong in the daytime

Next, into another common dramas and movies setting, the Dudell Street. This street has been very popular with its 4 street steps and gas lamp. There was only 4 gas lamps left there. Further down the street, I took a short walk for about 10 minutes, passing the green Battery Path to enjoy the great view in the city of glass and high buildings. Then I passed by the Former French Mission Building. Now this was the Court of Final Appeal.

the gas lamp

Next to the Formal French Mission Building was the century old St John's Cathedral. Happy to see a lovely newly wed couple there...they were busy photographing with relatives and friends. The cathedral has very nicely painted glass panel with images of Jesus and Mother Mary...inside the cathedral, it was so peaceful....a nice place to spend sometime in this busy city...good place for reflection.

Formal French Mission BuildingSt John's CathedralGlass panel

After spending a little time at Cathedral, I walked over to the Hong Kong Park. Many brought their young and old for family picnic and some were there for exercising. But for me, I was there to visit their Museum of Tea Ware. I was taking my time enjoying the great exhibit, reading every explanation that they have there from the making of the tea leaves to the way of making various type of tea until I realized that it was closed to 5pm and I still have Bank of China viewing terrace to go.

at Hong Kong Park

So after asking for the directions to get there, we quickly jogged over. Sadly to realize that it was holiday and the bank building was not open. However I was lucky enough to discover the sales office of the Olympic souvenirs there next tot he main hall of the building. So here I bought a set of handphone deco...a set of 5...Bei, Jing, Huan, Ying, and Ni. All comes with birth cert....so in years to come, these cute deco may worth multiple times of the current price....yeah my 3rd complete set of them.

sculpture at the Bank compoundBank of China

As the sun was about to set and sky getting darker, I decided to go for a tram ride and buying myself a little time after a long day walking. I hopped on the tram to Causeway Bay. It was really interesting to be able to travel around like the locals...the upper deck provided a great opportunity to see Hong Kong in a different angle. The tram traveled along the busy street of Queensway into Johnson Road and Hennessy Road and into Causeway Road passing by the busy junction of Sogo. This was surely an interesting and cheap way to travel around on Hong Kong island.

on the tramfrom the tram looking on the opposite side tramthe tram I took to Causeway Bay

I disembarked the tram at Central, right in front of Legislative Council. Opposite of the council was the HSBC building with 2 soaring lions right in front of the building and next to council was the gathering place of foreign maids and domestic assistants, Chater Garden. Stayed there long enough for few shots only.

the Hong Kong lionremember these shots???....File of Justice starred by Bobby Au?

Then I was on foot to Wan Chai for the HK Convention and Exhibition Center and Golden Bauhinia Square. As the square seemed to be located not far from where I was, I made the wrong decision to walk there which I later regret about. It was exactly what people described as so near yet so far. It took me about half hour to walk along the busy road.

The moment I arrived was the time to be celebrated. Now I could proudly say that I have traveled long enough in HK...a fast walker in metropolitan HK. The view from expo area was marvelous. This was the nearest point to Kowloon from the island. It provided the best view over Central Hong Kong and Tsim Sha Tsui. The Symphony of Light was another great show of the day. The tourism has really put in a lot of effort to make it a success...a lot of money, time and effort just for the minutes of light...kudos to HK tourism.

great view by Golden Bauhinia Square...thanks to my bro's Canon G10

After the show, I took the ferry to Tsim Sha Tsui from the Wan Chai ferry terminal. Here I found the most extraordinary convenient machine. Looking at the advertising panel on it didn't give me an exact clue what it was in it? It say 香港心意 ,地道賀禮 which means Hong Kong courteous, local gift and brand's name was 雙妹嚜 or the twin sister. To my surprise, one can get local traditional brand of cologne and cosmetic product here at a very cheap price. I regretted for not buying some of those souvenirs...:-(

the teller machine

The ride on the ferry was another great experience I have here. The ferry was really very old...not sure if it still work on steam but it was surely older and smaller than those we have back in Penang. The ferry moves very very slow but it was good for the view and experience. There were lots of tourists on the ferry too...all taking up the side seats to enjoy the scene better.

Then I took MTR to Yau Ma Tei station and visited the Temple Street and Jade Market. There I ate a very smooth and satisfying black sesame dessert in a very packed up restaurant. I was seated at the furthest edge facing the wall with only 1 foot of platform 'table ' in front of me.

The Temple Street was really crowded with lots of sellers from Mainland China. This place was much like Petaling Street so you seriously need to bargain and bargain only if you are seriously interested. There were also many shops selling those wild animal meat...I dared not or rather not interested to eat these animals...There were lots of Fortune Teller at the end of the street....all sorts of ways, from the poker cards to face and palm reading to characters reading and magical bird...each stalls claiming that they have famous figures as their customers. And there were opera singing stalls too but I met some unfriendly people there who disallowed me to take any photograph.

few of those fortune teller stalls

While for the Jade Market, there were not many stalls or choices of Jade. Instead to my surprise few stalls selling sex toys and magazines in the open area...

Today was really a fruitful day in Hong Kong...I got to understand their culture better and walked at the same pace as them. There were much more to be explored and learned in Hong Kong.