Gambling in Macau!

The day I landed in Hong Kong, I took a day trip to Macau.  Since it was such a short trip and I didn't have a lot of time to plan, I wasn't sure which ferry would be the best to take, so my dad and I just hopped on one and paid the fee, haha.  I'm not sure which one it was, or how much it cost, but we were just happy to have found one.  Since ferries to Macau are so frequent, we only had to wait about 15 minutes to board the boat.

The ferry leaving the harbor in Central.

Sitting on the ferry was quite similar to being on a plane.  Everyone had assigned seats which were quite comfy, and there were about five rows of three seats each so a lot of people were able to fit on it.

The Peak

The tracks of the peak tram at the beginning.

The view from the tram
Look at all those high-rise apartments!

One of the most popular attraction is Hong Kong is The Peak (aka Victoria Peak or 太平山). There are several ways to get to the top of The Peak, yet the most popular method is by Peak Tram. You can walk from various parts of the city or take several buses to the Peak Tram which is located not far from Central Station, but my dad and I rode the Mid-Levels Escalator to the end, then followed the clear signs which point all the way to the Peak Tram area.

Nan Lian Garden & Chi Lin Nunnery

Nan Lian Garden,
heaven right in the middle of a concrete jungle.

Hong Kong is, by far, the most happening city I've visited. It's noisy and constantly bustling. Sometimes, it feels like you can't escape the noise and crowds of people, but in reality, there are some places where you can, like Nan Lian Garden and Chi Lin Nunnery; the nunnery is located inside the garden. It's a gorgeous area, and best of all, it's peaceful. A stroll through the garden only takes about an hour, but you can spend up to two hours there if you stop frequently, which I suggest everyone do because it's worth it.

The area is easy to access. Just take Kwun Tong Line (green) to Diamond Hill Station .  I don't recall which exit to take, but if you look at the exit information, you will see the garden and nunnery on the list. Admission to the garden and nunnery is free, yet there are some restricted sections that are not open to the public.

Chi Lin Nunnery.

Central Mid-levels Escalator

Faye Wong in Chungking Express.

Recently, I went on a short day and a half trip to Hong Kong and Macau with my dad.  We saw as many of the sites as we could, which I'll share in detail later in other posts.

Naturally, we rode the insanely long Mid-levels Escalator, the longest outdoor escalator in the world! Before I went to Hong Kong, I knew I had to visit the Mid-levels escalator.  Why?  Well, the Mid-levels escalator was where part of Chungking Express was filmed, an amusing movie with one of my favorite actresses/singers, Faye Wong.

Going up! Let the ride begin!

The escalator is not a useless tourist destination; it has practical purposes.  Hong Kong is an extremely hilly city, and densely populated.  Needless to say, rush hour can be a nightmare there! So, the escalator was built to facilitate the movement of the rush hour crowd up and down the mountains.  Unfortunately, there were insufficient funds to build a two-way system.  Therefore, from 6am to 10am the escalator goes down, and from 10:30am to midnight it goes up.