Hong Kong: 3

Damn you Blogger!

The site won't let me post four more photos. Here's the scoop for now:

On our last day in HK we checked out of our hotel and walked to nearby Kowloon Walled City Park. It was one of my favourite places we visited.


"The walls that enclose this beautiful park were once the perimeter of a notorious village that technically remained part of China throughout British rule, as it was never included in the 1898 lease of the New Territories. The enclave was known for its vice, prostitution, gambling and - yikes, Yanks! - illegal dentists. In 1984 the Hong Kong government acquired the area, rehoused the residents elsewhere and built pavilions and ponds filled with turtles and goldfish and planted exquisite trees and shrubs, including a long hedge coaxed into the form of a dragon. The park opened in 1996. Close to the Carpenter Rd entrance of the park is a renovated Yamen building, once an almshouse. It contains displays on the history of the walled city, with a scale model of the village in the mid-19th century. At the park's north side are the remnants of the original South and East gates."

The rain started to come down heavily, so park exploration was minimal. Part of the park was also sectioned off, so we wouldn't have been able to see all the grounds anyway.

We took a cab to an MTR station, then went to Tsim Sha Tsui. A lot of people just got off at the previous stop:


We looked for a place to eat breakfast but ended up not finding a suitable place. We did find the Hong Kong Museum of History though (it was on our list of desired places to visit).

A blurry shot of the Port of HK:

We checked out the permanent exhibit: Hong Kong Story. Folk culture, geography, the Opium Wars, Japanese occupation, birth of a region - what more could you ask for?

Post museum and breakfast-brunch-lunch we rode a double decker bus to the airport. It took nearly and hour, but we had great seats at the top and front of the bus. How perfect for someone, had they wanted to take a few pictures.


Then the rain came again.

Hong Kong International Airport:


A little duty-free shopping never hurt anyone. Well, maybe it has, but let's not talk about that.

We intended to get a drink because we were thirsty, but being people who like ice cream, ice cream thoughts popped into our heads. We all ordered a Hot Fudge Gay 90s (a real old timer). The rest of the menu names were normal, but this was hilarious. Pretty much had to order it.


The flight back took about and hour and a half. How incredibly short compared to a flight from Canada to Taiwan.

Entering Taiwan for the first time, I'd wanted to take a picture of this, but my camera wasn't handy. Now is the chance!

(p.s. Photos successfully posted.)