I know it’s been a while, I kinda lost my motivation to write (or to travel).

Anyways, I went to HK with my parents, my brother and his wife for short 5 days trip in early September this year.  It was late summer, still hot and humid, rainy days.  Well, the weather wasn’t quite friendly that time, maybe that’s the reason I kept stalling writing about the trip too.  And many didn’t go as planned.

Why Hong Kong? Well, my brother wanted to visit this Watch International Fair, so I thought we should go there for couple of days.  This time no travel agency involved, I booked and planned everything myself.  And because of that too, I felt sorry for my parents, the seemed very exhausted and tired.  They’re too old for this.

Anyways, we stayed in AirBnB small apartment in Kowloon area, nearby Austin Station.  location was perfect.  So, we went to a lot of malls, a lot of shops.  This is when I realize that my brother and I have different preference when traveling.  He and my in-law are so much into shopping, they would walk hours, day and night for it.

Long story short, it has been months ago, I won’t lie, the memories started to fade away.  I’m just gonna sum it up in one post and write about few places that I visited there.

Day 2

Tian Tan Buddha is located at Ngong Ping, Lantau Island.  Also known as Big Buddha, it is large bronze statue of Buddha Shakyamuni.  It is named Tian Tan Buddha because its base is a model of the Altar of Heaven or Earthly Mount of Tian Tan, the Temple of Heaven in Beijing. Surrounding it are six smaller bronze statues known as "The Offering of the Six Devas" that are posed offering flowers, incense, lamp, ointment, fruit, and music to the Buddha.– (Wikipedia)

We went there by MTR then we take Bus.  It started to rain cats and dogs just before we actually got to the Piazza.  Like I said the weather was not friendly.  It ruined my itinerary.  We waited for the rain to stop at the souvenir shops just across the Big Buddha, then I realized that it wouldn’t stop, so I just walked thru the rain and took those steps to the Giant Buddha.  Because I gotta at least have its picture! 

We’re supposed to visit Po Lin Monastery (right across the Big Buddha, Bodhi Path and some Chinese Landscape Garden), but the rain just became more unbearable, instead we went back to the bus stop and waited for 40 minutes.  

Now, this is the fun part.  The bus came, drove us back to Thung Chung Station and suddenly it stopped!  Guess what?!! Longsor!! (Landslide) And of course the bus can’t turn around because it’s two-sides road.  It’s a big bus.  so we waited for 1 hour until the help came, but not didn’t help that much.  So, we, all the passengers went down from the bus, and walk about 3-4km until the next bus station, at which the new bus already waiting for us.  

I could bear the walk, it’s my parents I felt guilty for.  I felt tremendously sorry for getting them into this unfortunate mess.  It’s still raining, our pants, our shoes were soaking wet.  Ughhh!!

So, after 30 minutes bus ride we arrived at Thung Chung Station, we decided to have lunch in Citygate Outlet.  We were starving, who wouldn’t?  It’s past lunch time and we had walked for about 4 miles! After that we looked around some shops which was not in the itinerary.  Anyways, my parents and I went back to the apartment leaving my brother and his wife who were still shopping.  Man, we’re spent!

In the evening, we just walked and walked to the Tsim Sha Tsui area, more shops.

Day 3

It’s a little rainy in the morning.  This time my brother and his wife went to HK Exhibition Center, and of course, I’d rather go to some cultural place.  My parents and I went to visit Nan Lian Garden to find our zen which was lost in yesterday’s event.

It’s still in Kowloon area, it took less than 20 minutes by MTR, easy to reach, the signs were very helpful.  You won’t be lost.  Take the MTR to Diamond Hill, take Exit C2 and just follow the signs. 

Nan Lian Garden is artificial Chinese garden, built in the style of the Tang dynasty. The garden is really pretty and tranquil, very nice for morning or afternoon walk.

After visiting Nan Lian Garden you can walk across the street to Chi Lin Nunnery, a large Buddhist temple complex.  “The temple halls have statues of the Sakyamuni Buddha, the goddess of mercy Guanyin and other bodhisattvas. These statues are made from gold, clay, wood and stone” – Wikipedia.

Since the MTR Station is below Jetco Plaza Hollywood, we just had to pay a visit before we went back to the apartment to rest.  Yes, I was tired and it’s just our 3^rd day.  In the afternoon, we went to Causeway Bay, malls and shops again, gaaahh.  Then we went to The Peak.

It’s a long way to reach this place!!! God!! We took MTR, then we walked about 3 miles to the Peak Tram Station, the signs weren’t clear, I had to ask some security guards and receptionist but they all were very helpful, they all speak English, thank God! 

When we got to the Peak Tram Station, my oh my, the line is already long.  But thank you, Oyster Cards, we got into the fast line! Yeah! So they separate those, Oyster Card holders get to the fast line. The one way price was HKD32.

It took us almost 3 hours to get to The Peak from our apartment in Kowloon.  That’s faaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrr!

We got there just before the sunset, I took some pictures of Hong Kong sky line, my brother didn’t bother because it’s his 3^rd time there.  There are a lot of restaurants, we decided to have dinner in Tsui Wah Restaurant.  It's Hong Kong tea restaurant and apparently quite famous.  It's owned by Tsui Wah Holdings Limited and it has over 26 branches in HK, Macau and mainland China.  I’m not going to lie, the food was really good, at least all that we ordered.

Getting to The Peak was one thing, going home was….well, the line for the tram was super long, so we decided to take a bus to the city then take MTR.  It worked better, I mean faster.

Day 4

Okay now, it’s 10 thousands Buddhas Monastery, but I skipped it.  Noone wanted to go there, they’re all exhausted and the place is quite far.  So yeah, I disappointed with myself.  I always googled the destination prior traveling and I know it’s an interesting place, I was even excited for it. But the others were worn out, so we decided to go to Tsim Sha Tsui to see Avenue of Stars, and guess what, after walking a long road! It’s closed due to maintenance, all of it, all the way from Victoria Harbour, Clock tower to Tsim Sha Tsui Promenade.  Wie ein Pech!

So we went to Times Square (it’s a mall, yes) in Causeway Bay, suddenly it’s raining so hard.  So we spent a long time there.  I think, it’s my brother happy place, because he shopped a lot of stuffs there. 

Yes, after lunch we went to the famous Ladies Market.  I honestly still don’t get what the fuss is all about.   I didn’t enjoy it here, I’m exhausted, I’m bored looking stuffs and shops.  This isn’t my scene.  It’s not that I don’t like Hong Kong City, I just don’t prefer this kind of environment when traveling.  I mean, I’m from Jakarta, there are malls, malls side by side, across each other. Malls everywhere, so when I travel I want to experience something different, something cultural or natural.

Oh, why don’t go to Disneyland? With my parents? Really? No.

In the evening, I couldn’t even recall where I went.  Haha.

Day 5

Last day! Finally! We checked out around 10 a.m. and went straight to Thung Chung Station near the Airport, because yes, we paid another visit to Citygate Outlet to buy some souvenirs and snack.  Only that, nothing special.

Oh some people say Hong Kong people are a little bit rude or unfriendly, well, luckily I didn’t get that treatment.  To me, when the locals are helpful with directions and stuff, it’s more than enough, I’m grateful.  Although, they are some people who don’t speak English at all, yeah it can be frustrating talking to them.

Last one, the leather is absolutely a no-no during that season, don't let the cloudy sky fools you.  It's hot and humid, just no!