Since moving to Hong Kong at the beginning of 2011 I’ve been slowly building a bigger picture of this multifaceted metropolis and the people who live here – it’s been a fascinating year and undoubtably one of the best. In the first since 2010′s instalment of this series here are some more Hong Kong Moments – from dusk till dusk.
Ankle deep in stagnant water the rancid air magnified the sense of claustrophobia I felt as me and 5 other Indian-Jones wannabes trudged through the 70-year-old tunnels the Japanese Imperial Navy forced locals to dig during WWII (1941-45) on Lamma Island (南丫島) in Hong Kong.
A few weeks ago before my life turned überbusy I visited the tiny island of Peng Chau (坪洲) located off the north-eastern coast of Lantau Island in Hong Kong for a bit of R&R. Around 6,300 people live on the island which, only being around 1 km², can easily be explored in a couple of hours.
Despite being one of the most built-up and dense cities in the world Hong Kong provides some of the best hiking to be found so close to a large urban center. Within half an hour you can be away from the skyscrapers and climbing rolling mountains or walking along pristine coastlines.
On my final day in Japan I visited the artificial island of Odaiba (お台場) in Tokyo Bay. The island was originally part of a number of coastal fortresses but was redeveloped in the early 1990s as Tokyo Teleport Town, a showcase for futuristic living. It suffered when the “bubble economy” burst but has since rebounded as a commercial and entertainment zone.
This post should really be title “One Day in Hong Kong” but it didn’t match the above photo (a junk sailboat which was cruising along Victoria Harbour at night) so nicely. It’s not a wonderful photo but I like the red colour of the sails against the skyscraper shoreline. Of all the skylines in the world HK is hard to beat… anyway, I digress… I hadn’t been to HK for a few months so on Saturday I crossed over the border for a day trip to explore the southern half of Lamma Island (southwest of Hong Kong Island proper). Starting from Shenzhen Bay I took the bus down to Kowloon and then a ferry from the central piers to the island, a trip of about…
During my trip to South Korea I spent four days on the picturesque island of Jeju (제주도) which is a famous holiday destination throughout Asia as it operates a “no visa” policy meaning Chinese can freely visit also. It’s quite a big island with over half a million inhabitants and a culture and language that are distinct from those of mainland Korea. Whilst I spent two of those days in the Lift Asia conference I did manage to squeeze in a little sight seeing. Jeju island was created entirely from volcanic eruptions approximately 2 million years ago and is dominated by Halla-san: an inactive volcano 1,950 metres high and the highest mountain in South Korea. I didn’t have time to climb the main peak but instead I…
One of the highlights on my previous weekend in Hong Kong was taking the Ngong Ping 360 cable car up Lantau Island (from Tung Chung). It nearly didn’t happen due to a thunderstorm which shut things down for about half an hour but on the plus side did shorten the queues considerably! The 5.7km journey takes about 25 minues offering spectacular views of the surrounding mountains and airport (which was built on reclaimed land). It’s a bit pricy, starting at 96 HKD for a standard cabin and 157 HKD for a crystal cabin (one with a glass floor) – even more on “special days”. We choose the latter, primarily because the queue was much shorter and we were on a tight schedule. Don’t look…
Last weekend I escaped the suffocating summer heat of Shenzhen to the southern island of Da Jia. After a rather hairy boat ride (see video below) we were greeted by beautiful beaches and warm waters. For China it was pretty clean and not too crowded. I’m pretty sure the boat driver had a death wish but for 10 RMB we were hardly expecting a gentle cruise! Hiking to the top of the island presented beautiful views out over the Pacific Ocean and some mysterious military installations which hinted at the islands former use. Being on the coast the area is popular for its seafood… Not being much of a seafood lover myself I wasn’t too thrilled by the lunch options but it was nethertheless interesting…
I spent the latter part of my Xiamen trip on the small island of Gulangyu, just 5 minutes away from the mainland by ferry. As a place of residence for Westerners during Xiamen’s colonial past, Gulangyu is famous for its European architecture and today is a popular holiday destination, although not strictly on the main tourist map. The focal point of the island is Sunlight Rock (above) which can be ascended by way of a rather more modern concrete staircase providing a wonderful panorama of the whole island (below). The island itself covers an area of 1.78 sq km and is home to around only 15,000 permanent residents. The streets are pedestrianised making it a nice place to get away from some of the hustle…