China 2019 - Part 9

Flying To Hong Kong

Tuesday - June 11th 2019

Today we left Hainan for Hong Kong. After we got up and had breakfast, we took the taxi to the airport. Apparently our driver wasn't aware of some closed roads, but a detour later we finally made it to the airport. Sanya Airport is rather small and so security, customs and check in wasn't open yet. So we got a coffee at Starbucks until it was time to check in. Once we passed security, we still had some time to kill and that's why we checked out the Sanya Garden Bar and got two freshly brewed beers. Finally it was time for departure. Although our Hong Kong Airlines flight was a little bit delayed, we arrived on time in Hong Kong.

Hainan Airport

Hainan Airport

Hainan Airport

Sanya Beer

Airport Garden Bar

Hong Kong Airlines

When we arrived in Hong Kong our first stop after immigaration was at Pret-A-Manger. It was so great to get veagn food around the corner. Next we had to figure out how to get to our hotel in Kowloon. At first we wanted to teke the metro, but a very helpful employee directed us towards the bus terminal. The bus was much more convenient, because it stopped directly in front of our hotel. The bus ride was really fanstic, since we got a wonderful first impression of the huge city. In Hong Kong we stayed at the Holiday Inn Express Kowloon with our room being on the 36th floor from where we had a great virew over the city. After we checked in, we headed to a nearby vegetarian restaurant for dinner. Later we checked out the local shopping center until we returned to our room.

Snack at Pret A Manger

Our Room

Our Bathroom

Dinner

China 2019 - Part 10

Exploring Hong Kong

Wednesday - June 12th 2019

Our first day in this fantastic city started with breakfast at the hotel. Afterwards we took the subway to Hong Kong Island. For today we had planned to visit the Peak, but unfortunately the tramway was closed for refurbishment. Instead there was a bus running, but due to the demonstrations against the government the busses were also canceled. So we just walked around the inner city, checked out some shopping centers and got a coffee at Starbucks. Hong Kong is such an impressive city with its amazing skyline and skyscrapers. Between all those huge buildings were lovely parks, churches and other old buildings that made clear that Hong Kong was once part of the British Empire.

The View from our Hotel Room

Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Hong Kong Cathedral

Hong Kong Cathedral

Hong Kong

HSBC Building

Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Around noon it started to rain and so we headed into the next Pret A Manger to get a vegan sandwich for lunch. In the meanwhile we were hoping that the sun would come out again, but it didn't look like that would happen very soon. So we decided to get some drinks at the Hard Rock Cafe. Once we finished our beers the rain stopped and we were on our way to Kowloon on the other side of the bay. To get there we took the ferry from which we got a breathtaking view of Hong Kong's skyline. In Kowloon we paid a visit to the world famous Peninsula Hotel and took a walk along the waterfront.

Hard Rock Cafe

Hard Rock Cafe

Hard Rock Cafe

Hard Rock Cafe

Hong Kong

Kowloon

Hong Kong Ferry

Hong Kong Skyline

The Peninsula Hotel

Kowloon Clocktower

Hong Kong Skyline

Kowloon

Back at Kowloon East we spent some time at the nearby waterfront promenade. There we enjoyed a couple of drinks at a lovely bar until it was time for dinner. Like yesterday we went to the same vegetarian restaurant. A delicious meal later we headed to the huge shopping center next door where we spent the rest of the evening.

Kowloon East

Waterfront

Waterfront

Waterfront

Waterfront

Dinner

Dinner

China 2019 - Part 12

Exploring Hong Kong

Friday - June 14th 2019

Another day in the fantastic city of Hong Kong was ahead of us. Once we had breakfast we were on our way to The Peak. We knew beforehand that the tramway to the Peak was closed due to refurbishment, so we headed straight to the bus stop. Luckily we arrived pretty early, because the line for the bus got pretty long quickly. Thankfaully we caught one of the first buses and nearly an hour later we finally made it to the Peak. The bus ride to the top was an attraction of its own, because out seats were on the second floor of the doubledecker bus and the street was very narrow with a steep hillside. I'm not afraid of heights, but here I wasn't very comfortable all the time. Today we were really lucky with the weather and so we got an amazing view over Hong Kong Island and Kowloon. After checking out the small shopping center we took the bus back into the city.

Kowloon

View from the Peak over Hong Kong

View from the Peak over Hong Kong

View from the Peak over Hong Kong

View from the Peak over Hong Kong

View from the Peak over Hong Kong

The Peak

The Peak

View from the Peak over Hong Kong

View from the Peak over Hong Kong

The Peak

The Peak

Back in the city we stopped at Starbucks for an iced coffee and to figure out what to do next. Since it was already noon we decided to get something to eat and chose to eat at Veggie SF. However, chosing the restaurant was so much easier than finding it. In Hong Kong restaurants might be on the 26th floor with just a small sign right next to an elevator and Veggie SF was no exception, but we finally found the restaurant. Apparently the owned was a big fan of the United States with all the decorations paying tribute to Las Vegas or California. So it was no surprise that the food was also a mixture of Chines and American cuisines. A delicious lunch later we headed back out again. The rest of the afternoon we spent exploring shopping centers and the government district until we took the metro back to Kowloon. In the evening we went to the shopping center next to our hotel, bought some souvenirs and got a couple of drinks at a Spanish restaurant and bar.

Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Veggie SF

Lunch

Lunch

Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Hong Kong