Goodbye, Hong Kong (At Least for a While)
Alex and I have probably been to Hong Kong a dozen times (and twice from the U.S.). Even Baby M has been to HK three times (four, if you count in utero)! It’s only a three and a half hour flight from Seoul and we always stay with my mom (upside: free, we can spend lots of time with my mom; downside: an additional two adults — plus a porta-crib — make already cramped quarters even more cramped).
Baby M loved all of Hong Kong’s big dogs
March 1 was Independence Movement Day in Korea, a holiday, and coupled with the fact that Alex had to use his remaining vacation days by the end of February, we were able to take a five day holiday in Hong Kong. This trip was especially bittersweet because we know that it’ll be quite some time before we make it back to Hong Kong, and it’ll be just a little harder to see my mom.
This trip started off with a fantastic bus ride. Just kidding: it was the worst bus ride ever. It started with the bus driver parking in the FAR LEFT lane (making us cross 2 lanes of traffic with a ton of luggage) and me hitting the driver in the leg with the stroller (or maybe he walked into it? Who knows). He sat down on the sidewalk, clutching his leg, cursing at me. Alex said when he looked back, he saw me kneeling on the sidewalk, awkwardly petting/rubbing the driver’s leg. It was about 80 degrees F on the bus, and we were stuck in traffic, and for the first time ever, Baby M threw up. All over the carseat that we had borrowed from a friend. This almost prompted a chain reaction of vomiting… And, unfortunately, the last thing Baby M ate was homemade mac-n-cheese, and the last thing she drank was milk. So, that made for an especially unpleasant smell.
So, that bus ride (and subsequent flight that was delayed) was the lowlight of our trip. Here are a few of the highlights:
Peak tram and view from top
Alex and I used to hike up to the peak (from the mid-levels) and enjoy the best cup of coffee (Pacific Coffee) with the best view (of Victoria Harbor and the HK skyline). But, up until this trip, we’d never taken the tram up to the top. Despite the 45-minute line, the tram ride was quite enjoyable (and a little scary). At some points, we were going up at a 45-degree angle! It was fun passing the little path we used to take while hiking up.
Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens:
Zoological Garden
A year ago, we took Baby M to Hong Kong Park, which is adjacent to the Zoo and Botanical Gardens. It was our first time going to the Zoological and Botanical Gardens, and I was really impressed! Not only are there nice views of a few iconic skyscrapers (since this park is set up on a hill), there were lots of animals (Baby M really enjoyed the monkeys and lemurs, and so did we — there were a couple monkeys showing off on the uneven bars and it was mesmerizing to watch!! “This is better than the Olympics!” exclaimed Alex), and playgrounds, which Baby M loved.
Ten Thousand Buddhas Monastery:
Ten thousand Buddhas
My mom’s been to this monastery on a hill in ShaTin, but it was Alex’s and my first time. While my mom pushed a napping Baby M in her stroller at the base, Alex and I took the (many) steps up. All along the way, there were gold buddhas, in different shapes/sizes/positions. It was quite peaceful at the top, where the actual monastery is. On our walk down, we encountered wild macaques (our least favorite monkey… they are SO aggressive). Luckily, they ignored us. Afterwards, we walked around (probably) the world’s smallest IKEA. For all of us IKEA lovers: you know when you walk around IKEA’s (amazing, inspiring) showrooms, and each room has the total square footage proudly displayed, and you always wonder, “When the heck am I going to have to furnish and decorate a whole bedroom the size of a shoebox?” Well, Hong Kong is that place where IKEA showrooms actually make sense. Every square inch counts!
Observation wheel and skyline
I had been bugging Alex to take me up on a ferris wheel for the last two years. There was a ferris wheel in Sapporo. One in Nagoya. He thought it’d be lame (yeah, well…) but I thought it’d be romantic. Well, I finally won because we paid 100 HKD (~12 USD) each and rode the Hong Kong Observation Wheel on our last date night in the city. The view was pretty good, and we got to go around three times. After the ride, we took the Star Ferry to Kowloon, got some McDonald’s soft serve, and rode the ferry back to Hong Kong. For a little more than 2 HKD (25 cents USD!), you get one of the best views of the Hong Kong skyline. It really can’t be beat!
Everyone knows that you go to Hong Kong for the food! I never leave Hong Kong weighing less than five pounds more than when I arrived!
Little Bao: Our foodie friends, who don’t have kids, highly recommended Little Bao. “Um, I think a stroller might fit?” Nope. Alex and I came to this restaurant in Central at 9 PM (after putting Baby M to bed), thinking that we’d be able to just walk right in. Nope, again. There was an hour wait. At 9 PM. I normally don’t do lines. But, Alex convinced me to get a drink first, and then head back at 10. Yes, the food is pretty good. The pork belly bao (a Chinese steamed bun) was really tasty (can’t go wrong with fatty pork). We didn’t think the Szechuan Fried Chicken bao was that great. And whoever “highly recommended” the truffle fries on TripAdvisor completely led us astray. It was much too greasy. And I don’t like soggy fries. The salt ice cream with caramel dessert bao was good. In summary, Alex and I thought this little restaurant was a little pretentious. The food arrives within a few minutes after you order it. Why was the wait so long?! And why wouldn’t they take reservations? And why can you only do takeout on dessert? It’s like they are purposely trying to keep the lines long!
Baos at Little Bao
One Dim Sum Chinese Restaurant: We walked past another (perfectly good, but empty) dim sum restaurant and waited in line for 30 minutes for One Dim Sum. The reviews online were amazing. The food was really good (but, then again, I’ve never had ‘bad’ dim sum before). One of the waitresses was very patient with Baby M (who, at this point, was fed up, hungry and ready for her nap), giving her candy (which Mommy immediately confiscated), and pencils and paper for drawing. Per usual, Alex and I ordered too much food.
Delicious dim sum
Yat Lok: Alex and I had 30 minutes to eat dinner, before meeting my cousin’s fiancé for drinks in Central. We were immediately seated at a counter (without Baby M, all sorts of seating arrangements were available to us!). Alex ordered the roast goose over noodles, and I ordered one over rice. Delicious. I LOVE the crispy, fatty skin. I’m salivating right now, just thinking about it. And, this experience was much less stressful than when we came with Baby M and my mom six months ago — then we had to worry about a squirmy Baby M and no high chair (and no strollers allowed inside).
Roast goose and sushi
We also enjoyed good, quality sushi at Itaemae Sushi at Tsing Yi’s Maritime Square, as well as all sorts of good Chinese food (including XLBs — Xiao Long Bao or soup dumplings).
XLBs etc.
Alex and I have always said: we don’t like living in a city, but if we HAVE to live in a city, that city would be Hong Kong. Farewell, Hong Kong. See you again, someday.
“Hey, that looks like our neighborhood in Seoul and the Lotte World Tower… oh wait. It IS!!” We saw this advertisement wrapped around a building in Central Hong Kong. Why would they advertise for an uber-expensive highrise in another city?! “Oh the apartments are too expensive in Hong Kong. Ooooooh look! I can buy a 4 million dollar (or more) luxury apartment in Seoul, even though I live and work in Hong Kong!” said no one, ever. Also, they need to change the word “climax”…. “The most extraordinary climax of prestige life in Seoul, South Korea.” Um, what? Konglish?
Advertising Lotte World Tower apartments in another city…
To read about our previous trips to Hong Kong:
Eating Our Way through Hong Kong
montgomerys in boise 
Damn, I really liked Hong Kong and I hope I will have another chance to see it again someday. It would be great to stay longer than two days as I haven’t done all hiking I wanted 😀
As for Victoria’s Peak – I got there three times and every time I got there on foot. I like the path when I went through Barker’s road, unusual path as one approaches peak from east.
By the way, apart from the popular viewpoint around upper tram station, I really enjoyed walking around the park close to the very peak of Victoria’s Peak – park and ‘Governor’s Walk’. Much calmer with only a few people being there. Someday I will be there again 🙂
Also thanks for pointing out this Ten Thousand Monks monastery. I missed it during my trip so I have another good reason to go to Hong Kong 🙂
The Dragon’s Back hike is on my list of things to do, someday. Wish I had known about it before Baby M (when I was more in shape!!). Have you done that one?
We used to walk up around 7 am and get to pacific coffee around 730. It was amazing, to sit there in the (relative) quiet and enjoy a cup of coffee with THAT view!
Be careful of the monkeys at the 10,000 buddhas! 😉
Oh damn, I also had no idea there was such a awesome hiking path in Hong Kong. This makes like additional day for hiking there in my future trip, thanks! 😀
I can imagine that scenery, enjoying coffee and beautiful scene. Yes, I need to go there again, maybe this year if possible 😀
A silly question from my side, when would be the best time to visit Hong Kong? I was at the beginning of November and one day there was heavy rain while the other was really good (hot and humid).
Wild monkeys? Not the first time for me meeting them ‘in the wild’ but as always when dealing with wild animals one has to be extremely cautious 🙂
Hmm… best time to visit… We’ve been end of December, January, February, March, June and August. Definitely avoid during the summer months — it’s unbearably hot! I think Jan/Feb are great months because it’s pretty dry, and warm enough but not hot yet. I would guess the same for Sept/Oct?