Hong Kong: Part V

I only had 2 days left in Hong Kong after my 2 days in Macau, so I really had to make the most of my remaining time across the Pacific.

Back in Hong Kong, I was greeted with this: crowds of Chinese people trying to get out of the ferry port (which was surprisingly quite poorly designed to deal with massive crowds). People were actually pushing each other to get onto the elevators - shameful. The photos are really grainy because I had to shoot at a high ISO since there was surprisingly very little ambient light inside.


On the subway ride back to my grandma's place. It might be repetitive, but it needs to be said: it puts the TTC to shame.


The view of the Kowloon side at night from my grandma's apartment, now lit up with neon light Christmas decorations on the side of the buildings (only comes around once a year!).

That night, I headed over to Nathan's place to chill out with him one last time in HK before I left, having a few beers on the rooftop of his building with some of his friends. It was my last time getting a view of HK from a rooftop at night (or at least for now). It's a completely different perspective, to the point where sometimes I forgot I was even in HK.

Inspired by the exploration of Macau, I decided to walk the streets of HK one more time the next day, with DSLR in hand.

At the Times Square mall - more quirky Christmas decorations.


At the Star Ferry area. It was a Sunday, explaining while there were so many Filipino live-in caregivers - they all like to get together and hang out here every Sunday (for most, their one day off). This itself is a uniquely HK sight (2nd to 4th photos) - a lot of them build their own little areas with cardboard box where they can hang out with their own friends and have a place to sit down (4th photo; tried to get a good shot without standing right in front of them and taking a pretty rude photo). The last 2 photos are of the IFC (Hong Kong's tallest office building...and that's saying something) and the attached IFC mall. And if you can believe it, HK continues to expand on reclaimed land (6th and 8th photos) - well, it's actually pretty believable hahaha.


With my last full day in HK, I decided to ride the hop-on-hop-off bus tour run by HK's public transit bus company, known as the Rickshaw Sightseeing Bus, to get a good view of another side of HK I wouldn't have been able to easily see by myself (I chose the "Heritage Route," since I had seen much of the "Metropolis Route" already). It's called the Rickshaw Bus because of the bus' design (you can see the pullover roof that rickshaws are known for at the end of the bus in the last photo), and because it's run by the same company that runs the public buses, it's a lot cheaper than the other tour bus companies that operate in HK.


More Filipino live-in caregivers hanging out together on the cardboard mats.


Some of the views along the drive. I actually really enjoyed the ride even though I never hopped off (it wasn't worth it for me to buy a day pass) because I got to see areas I wouldn't be able to see easily by myself. Some of the sights that passed by included the Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong (2nd photo), the Man Mo Temple (6th photo), one of many Pacific Coffee Company shops in HK (9th photo; think Starbucks), the Old Central Police Station (10th photo), the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Museum (12th photo), the University of Hong Kong (17th photo; east gate), the "Dried Seafood Street" (21st - 23rd photos; nicknamed because of all the shops selling dried seafood products along the street), and the Western Market (25th photo; HK's oldest surviving market building).


A look at the Rickshaw Bus, about to head off on its "Metropolis Route."


Watching a ferry pulling into the Star Ferry port.


Some more views from the Star Ferry area. It says "Season's Greetings" on the big video screen at the top of the building in the 3rd photo.


Back among the Filipino live-in caregivers at Exchange Square. There was a popular Filipino music star (I'm guessing because all the caregivers kept screaming in delight) putting on a small Christmas concert (2nd photo); they actually had security there(!). And while walking around inside one of the malls, there were only Filipinos inside (3rd photo; just to give you an idea of how many get together in this particular area on Sundays).


Ahhh okay, it finally makes so much sense (you can catch a glimpse of this place in the background of the 1st photo)...


A look inside Central subway station.

That night, my uncle Kevin took me, his family, and my grandma and aunt to my final dinner in HK, at Pizza Hut. Like Shanghai, they're much classier than the ones here (it's treated like a real "respectable" restaurant!). I don't want to know what the bill was, but it was definitely a feast (and quite a heavy one with all the thick sauce, pasta and dough), though quite a tasty one. Although there was some Chinese influence in some of the dishes, I found it surprising that for my last dinner in the Orient, I was eating Western food hahaha.

A HK region-specific pizza, which included abalone, chicken, red and yellow peppers, and onions as toppings! They also have a special crust of little finger-shaped buns stuff with cheese and sprinkled with white and black sesame - quite unique (why aren't pizza places more creative like that here in North America?).


The view of the street from our table.


Where we ate dinner.


At the airport the next day. The Christmas decorations were everywhere here too. I know I've taken similar photos before (especially the 1st photo), but it was the last time I'd be here for a while!


My plane home - the setting sun was quite appropriate.


A Chinese delicacy treat I picked up in HK, now enjoying back at home. In English, they're known as "Icy-Crispy Dragon Beard Candy" - the exterior is made of many extra fine maltose threads (watching them make it by hand was quite a sight to see), wrapped around a mixture of sugar, crushed peanuts, and sesame seeds (last photo). I bought 2 "big" boxes (each one has 21 pieces), one with white sesame and the other with black sesame (the one in the last photo is black sesame). To truly enjoy it, you're supposed to put it in the fridge or freezer for a while just before eating so that the first bite is really cool and crispy (hence the name). They're such delicate pieces of work that I almost didn't want to eat them, but they're so good! I still have an entire box left - they weren't cheap (about $50 - $60 CAD for both!).