Walking route - Causeway Bay to Wan Chai

Walking around Causeway Bay you'd be forgiven for asking yourself "Hey! Where the hell's the bay?!"

It's a fair question. The waterfront here is now hidden behind a wealth of shopping centres such as Sogo and the WTC. But for the more adventurous who take the time to seek out what must have at one time been a very peaceful harbour, you will be rewarded with a promenade which is good for a walk all the way back to Wan Chai almost to Admiralty, with great views over the harbour, the city, and even with a little bit of history thrown in for good measure too.

Start the walk off in Victoria Park, where there are fountains and gardens and nearby cafes for grabbing something to eat either before you get going or to take on the walk with you. At the bottom end of the park down by the water there is a bridge which will get you over the monster of a main road (follow signs for the Noon Day Gun), and once on the other side you come out on a wide harbour-side promenade right next to the Typhoon shelter. From here there is a great view down the island back towards Wan Chai and Central (pictured above) and views across the harbour to Kowloon.

For the more adventurous, there is the typhoon shelter itself to discover. Turn right after coming off the bridge and you'll see steps leading down to the water. At the bottom little sampan boats will be waiting to take you out into the harbour to boats selling seafood and the like. Now, we have not tried this (as the smell of the harbour does not get my appetite up, I'll be honest!) so we can't recommend it. But, as we said, for the more adventurous, the option is there!

For those of you not willing to risk an evening on the toilet and who want to stick to the walk the views of the boats and the city is more than reward enough for heading out here. Head down the path towards the big pointy spire of Central Plaza in Wan Chai (Fact of the Day: Central Plaza is the world's tallest building made from reinforced concrete, apparently!). After a few hundred yards, just past the end of the shelter, you'll come across the Noon Day Gun: a small cannon owned by the Jardine company which is still fired every day at noon. Jardine, Matheson and Co was one of the first big companies set up in Hong Kong, and after setting up their warehouses in Causeway Bay they installed a cannon to protect their waterfront. The story goes that this cannon was always fired to celebrate the return of one of their ships, but one day this event coincided with the arrival of a new Governor, who was so shocked by the sound of this cannon fire as he entered the harbour that he ordered the gun to be fired at midday from then on for ever more. It isn't a spectacular sight in itself, being stuck behind bars and often covered in tarp, but it is one of the few historic relics knocking about in HK. A plaque at the site explains the story, and also tells you that the site behind you across the road was the first patch of land bought in Hong Kong and is known as Plot One. However, seeing as the coastline was considerably further back when the gun was first used (and even when the plaque was put up) it's unlikely that what you're looking at really is the historic Plot One.

From here you can carry on the route or head back into Causeway Bay via a nearby tunnel which comes out at the WTC shopping centre. If you carry on this stretch heads right by the road (not so pretty) for a few hundred yards, then you have to turn right and follow the path past the Hong Kong yacht club on a patch of land that juts out into the harbour, and used to be a small but separate island.


Past the yacht club you go through a gate on your right that leads onto the Wan Chai stretch of the path. Here you'll see people fishing, sitting by the waterfront reading books, couples sitting together admiring the view, and lots and lots of very proud dog owners walking their pride and joy. Dog lovers will have a field day.


All in all it's a pleasant walk on a sunny afternoon, with great views of the harbour, and a much better alternative to getting into Wan Chai down the choked Hennesey Road.


Once you reach Wan Chai your choices are to head into the centre through the Harbour Centre, which has a couple of good cafes and restaurants (LostInHK top tip: try the chocolate cheesecake at Main St Cafe in the Harbour Centre. You get views over the harbour and the best cheesecake this side of Germany!), or you could catch the Star Ferry from the Wan Chai Ferry Pier and continue your journey on the other side of the harbour along the Avenue of Stars (ferries are generally every 6-12 mins, cost approx $2.30). The Star Ferry of course is one of the highlights of Hong Kong in itself, and while most people go for the Central-Tsim Sha Tsui route, the Wan Chai crossing is longer and the boat turns side-on to offer better views. Sit on the far side of the boat as you get on for views of the Central skyline. Don't go in the end compartments, you'll see nothing. Get a seat in the middle of the boat.



Alternatively you can walk past the ferry pier and continue along the harbour front past the Wan Chai Conference and Exhibition Centre, a relatively new addition to the harbour skyline. The path leads along to the right again to Bauhinia Square (pictured right), which sits in front of the CEC and commands great views of Tsim Sha Tsui and Central. It was here that the British officially handed Hong Kong back to the Chinese in 1997. Two statues stand here to commemorate the occasion: The Golden Bauhinia, which is the symbol of Hong Kong; and a big black obelisk type structure that the Chinese erected to show they had arrived. A plaque on this statue describes the occasion from a Chinese perspective, and offers an interesting take on how the new rulers were greeted on that day.


Also down here there are cafes, benches to sit and watch the boats or admire the skyline, and it is also one of the top spots for watching the Symphony of Lights (see the post of the same name for more info). A walk all the way around the building and across the road will bring you into a quiet park surrounded by the glass skyscrapers. From here you can get onto the elevated walkways that will take you into central Wan Chai if you head left, or into Admiralty and Central if you go right.

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Lantau Island 1 - The Big Buddha

I was going to put this post up as one for all of Lantau Island, but then realised how wrong that would be given that there is so much to do here!

Pretty much every visitor who comes to Hong Kong comes to Lantau, as it is the site of the airport at Chek Lap Kok. Those who come back here to do some sightseeing during their trip however come mainly for two reasons: 1) Disneyland 2) The Big Buddha (also called Tian Tan Buddha). In this humble scribe's opinion you can safely skip the former, but while the latter is somewhat of a major tourist magnet it is definitely worth the trip.

The statue itself is the world's largest outdoor sitting statue of Buddha made out of bronze (don't act like you're not impressed!) It stands at 110 ft high and sits on a platform which is reached by climbing 268 steps. It's free to get this far, but if you want to go inside (where there's an exhibition on Buddhism, the construction of the statue and access to the upper platform) you have to buy a food ticket (seriously!) The ticket costs about $4 and can be redeemed at the nearby vegetarian restaurant or one of the snack kiosks around the Buddha.

The views from both the lower and upper platforms over Lantau are great, and the statue is undoubtedly impressive, but unfortunately there's no real history to the statue in the same way as there is with other "Big Buddhas" across Asia. This project was only started in 1990, and completed in December 1993 at a cost of $68 million.

Next door to the statue, however, is the equally impressive but slightly more historic Po Lin Monastery. Founded in 1903 by three visiting monks from Jiangsu Province in North East China, the monastery is a fairly large complex with an incredibly ornate main temple, which includes three further bronze statues of Buddha. Approaching from the Big Buddha you enter via a garden filled with furnaces burning incense (as shown in the photo above), the smell and sight of which is rather moving. The monastery is walled off, and once entering through the ornate gates you emerge into a small courtyard with the temple ahead of you and flanked either side by the living quarters, with a small vegetarian restaurant on the left. Even with the crowds the whole thing is as peaceful as things get in Hong Kong, and while the cynical will be upset by the presence of numerous souvenir stands and snack stalls, it is still a impressive sight and one of the best temples to see in the region.

Whilst still at the top there are also a number of walks that can be taken, such as the Wisdom Path (an easy walk around the top of the hillside through woodland and complete with more Buddha statues), the walk to Lantau Peak (Hong Kong's second highest mountain), and the longer walk to Sunset Peak. We haven't done these yet, but plan to and will post on them when we have.

Just as much fun as being at the Big Buddha is the making the trip there and back. There are a number of ways of making the journey to the top either from Tung Chung or Mui Wo (Silvermine Bay), so the route we took is by no means the only option, but we reckon it's the best, that's why we took it!!

We got here by first taking the MTR to Tung Chung then getting a glass-bottomed cable car (called Ngong Ping 360) up the mountain. This is a great way to go, as you get cracking views over the mountains and the coast right next to Tung Chung. Then as you sweep over the ridge you see the big bronze head of the statue peering over the hillside at you on the left-hand side. It's a great introduction to the place, made even more magnificent on a cloudy day when the statue appears out of the mist right at the last second.

To get to the cable car come out of the MTR station into the big square with the fountains and head left towards the bus stop. You'll see the station from there. Bring money, as this trip is not the cheapest way up and, while you can pay on credit card, those who want to pay cash won't find an ATM up at the station, the nearest one being back down in Tung Chung at the MTR, and there's always a massive queue. A single trip (you won't need a return on this itinerary) will cost $63 in a normal cabin and $109 in one of the "crystal cabins" (glass bottomed). The opening times are 10am-6pm weekdays, 9am-6.30pm weekends and holidays.

After getting off the cable car you're greeted by the rather tacky Ngong Ping "Chinese Style" village. You can head straight through this unless you want a starbucks or a t-shirt with a monkey on it! The bus station is behind the village. Walk straight through and out the other side to get to the Buddha.

Once you've done looking round, the best way back is take a bus down to Mui Wo. The road winds down the mountain side with views over the coast and past the reservoir on its way into the small coastal village. Sit on the left-hand side for the best views. You'll need the No.2 bus, which departs Ngong Ping pretty much every 45 mins weekdays and Saturdays until 6.20pm ($17.20 one way), every 30 mins or so on Sundays and holidays until 6.45pm ($20 one way).

At the bottom there's not much to do in Mui Wo other than catch the ferry back. There's a bike rental place right by the ferry pier (where the bus drops you off) if you want to hang about. The beach extends out of town to the left of the ferry pier, past a few dodgy looking seafood stalls, as is decent enough for a short walk. Otherwise there's a short walk out of town to a waterfall near the old mine that gives the bay its English name. Follow the road back out of town the way you came in on the bus and you'll see the sign posts.

If you do get the ferry back, sit on the right hand side for views of the Central skyline as you come back in to Hong Kong Island. The ferries are every 40 mins and are mostly the fast ferry service which cost $25.50 Monday to Saturday and $36.70 Sundays and holidays. The slow ferry is about half the price but does not run often and takes about an hour.

All in all budget at least $500 for two people for the transport and drinks/lunch etc, and expect to spend the whole day out and about.

Po Lin website: http://www.plm.org.hk/blcs/en/index.asp

Ngong Ping 360: http://www.np360.com.hk/html/eng/front/index.asp

A Symphony of Lights

The neon-clad skyscrapers which are creeping ever closer to each other on both sides of Victoria Harbour are to Hong Kong what the Statue of Liberty is to New York. They are the sight most people have in mind when they think about coming here, and nearly every guidebook carries their image on their covers.

The ingenious folks at HK tourism are well aware of this, and after days locked in a meeting room deciding how they can make this awe-inspiring sight of glass, steel and neon even more, well, awe-inspiring, the conclusion they came to seemed kinda obvious...stick even more lights on the buggers!!!

But that wasn't enough. Not content with more lights that flash and laser beams that shoot out from over 70 stories high across the harbour sky, it was decided for the thing to be really spectacular it should be set to cheesy music.

And so every night at 8pm (barring a Typhoon or Rainstorm warning at any time that same day) the skyline from Causeway Bay to Sheung Wan on Hong Kong Island and from Tsim Sha Tsui to Hung Hom on the Kowloon side dances to the Symphony of Lights - a 15-minute laser and light show choreographed around the themes of "Awakening", "Energy", "Heritage", "Partnership", and "Celebration".

It's cheesy as hell, but well worth seeing, as the skyline is impressive enough by itself but really comes to life with the addition of flashing lights and laser beams. The top spots to go and see the show are The Avenue of Stars in Tsim Sha Tsui, by the Wan Chai Exhibition Centre next to Wan Chai ferry pier on Harbour Road, and from Victoria Peak.

At the first two places you'll get the musical accompaniment, and in all three you'll have to sharpen your elbows and nudge your way into a good spot among the crowds. The Avenue of Stars is where you'll get the classic view of the Central skyline (as shown in my photo), whereas the Wan Chai spot gives you an all-round harbour view. The show from the Peak can be a bit of a letdown, as some of the lights on the front of the buildings can't be seen.

An alternative to these three places (and the first of your LostInHK mega tips!) is to head to a rooftop garden near the Central ferry pier. Exit the IFC mall next to the CitySuper supermarket and follow the walkway past the escalators and round to the left. There's a small garden next to bar from where you can see all the lights in Central, Wan Chai and Tsim Sha Shui and there are absolutely no crowds. There's a bar up there, which often has live music (much better than the cheesy stuff served up for the show!) and you could even grab a cheeky Ben and Jerry's ice cream right by the exit to the IFC! Nice!

http://www.tourism.gov.hk/symphony/english/details/details.html

Lost and Found!

People in Hong Kong work a lot. They go to work at 9am and work through till 6pm, but then, because it's considered rude to leave work on time, most people keep going until at least 7. They rarely take holidays, both because most companies only grant seven days leave after the first year of service, and because they think if they spend too much time away from the company they will be viewed as dispensible.

The people behind this blog, however, do not work a lot. And we take plenty of days off. We work enough to be able to stay in Hong Kong then spend the rest of our time sightseeing and writing about it here.

If you want help planning a trip to Hong Kong we hope this blog will be the place for you. We have used guidebooks to help us with our jaunts around the territory, and where they have fallen short we will fill in the blanks.

Like for example, it's useful to know that when you ride the trams on Hong Kong Island, you board at the back and get off at the front, paying as you get off. There's your first tip, read on and dig out some more.....