hong kong by day

one of my favourite sensations is arriving a new place at nighttime and then waking up to a whole new world. we got out to see the city quick! we made our way through the already bustling streets and hopped on one of these charming double-decker trams that rattle along the main roads of hong kong island. it was exciting to take in the views from the upper deck.

we got off at “central” and happened upon a street wet market – bursting with produce, fish, flowers and busy locals.

we made our way to the man mu temple above the wet market. it was full of coils spewing incense and holding a red hand-written wish. pretty neat.

we walked through steep streets to get to the central escalator, which runs all the way up the hill in the middle of the city. i was a little obsessed with it!

next we took a trip up to the 43rd floor of the bank of china building (hong kong skyline’s most iconic structure). my brother eli told me we could check out the view there for free. these pictures give you a good idea of what the weather was like the entire time we were in hong kong – overcast, misty, rainy, foggy, cloudy, humid (hence the nice shine on my face)…

we figured out how to get to the bus stop we needed for our next destination, stanley market. on the way we crossed a bridge that gave us this view (below on the left). that brown building with the steeple is the church of jesus christ of latter-day saints!

we went pretty quick from cityscape to seaside!

the windy road to the town of stanley took us past repulse bay and hong kong island’s beaches. i wish i could have gotten a better picture – it was beautiful and mystical with the fog, mountains and sea.

stanley market is full of cheap-o souvineers and keepsakes. it was fun and funny to browse. the little village on the coast is sweet and it was neat to see the other side of the island.

when we got back to downtown, i decided to go check out some other buddhist temples in kowloon across victoria harbor. it was a fantastic little solo adventure.

eli told me to check out the “10,000 buddhas temple” and i think there were actually literally 10,000 buddhas there. it was a crazy place. i walked up this super steep hill lined with statues – each one totally unique – to the temple high above the city.

the view from the top made the hike quite worth it.

it started raining as i was coming down the mountain, so i quickly hopped back on the subway to meet up with jane to go check out the famous view from atop victoria peak. to be continued…