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 Hong Kong at Night and the New Territories |
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Hong Kong at Night and the New Territories |
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| Having had a full day of sightseeing and enjoying Hong Kong it was time to return to the hotel and find Ken and Darla who should have arrived by now. We were looking forward to their arrival as we always have a good time with them. We have traveled to Europe and the British Virgin Islands with them and they share two of our favorite hobbies: visiting the world's exotic enclaves and good food. I knew with Ken and Darla present we would have some wonderful experiences especially in the eating department ahead of us. When we arrived at the hotel we found them almost immediately ... standing next to the panoramic window in the hotel. |
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With Ken and Darla now in tow and nighttime having arrived we headed first for that magical ride on the Star Ferry across to Kowloon where we walked and enjoyed the brightly lit streets from the canopy of neon signs that cover the area. Kowloon is known for its shopping district. You can find almost anything in the world you want there. But, unfortunately, one thing had changed in the ten years since we last visited. The prices had gone up dramatically. In 1984 everything was downright cheap. You could have custom made suits of good quality material for about US$ 175 and custom shirts for about US$ 20. Those days have obviously passed as the prices were much higher now. I have to admit that we weren't really in a shopping mood because we still had three weeks left to travel and I didn't feel like lugging a lot of stuff around with us from country to country. Having walked around Kowloon for some time we developed a healthy appetite and headed out to a restaurant for a good Chinese dinner. |
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Several years earlier Ken had worked in Hong Kong for several weeks and was familiar with the city and its restaurants. He also contacted a friend and got an A-list of the top restaurants to visit in Hong Kong. As you can see (right) our first dinner consisted of an exquisite Peking Duck entree at the Peking Garden restaurant. It was excellent. With Ken around there is one thing definite: You are going to eat and drink the best. After dinner, feeling a bit heavy, it was time to walk it off, another tradition following our big dinners. We headed to Victoria Peak for some night views of the Hong Kong Island and Kowloon.
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<< Anne, Ken and Darla at the top of Victoria Peak. For our next day's activities we had scheduled a private car to take us on a tour of the New Territories. The New Territories is the land lying between Kowloon and mainland China. This is something Anne and I had done in 1984 and thoroughly enjoyed. We were trying to recreate the magic of that trip and, I think, we were successful. On our list of things to do and see were several temples, a walled village, a fishing village and Lok Ma Chau which overlooks mainland China. |
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The Ching Chung Koon Taoist Temple is a large temple near Tuen Mun with room after room of different altars and immaculately groomed grounds. One of the attractions for Anne and I are the hundreds of dwarf shrubs that are there. << Anne and I standing under one of the gates at Ching Chung Koon Taoist Temple. A statue in front of an elaborate rock >> garden at Ching Chung Koon Taoist Temple. Enjoy the pictures below taken in the garden at Ching Chung Koon Taoist Temple. |
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| Anne by a Ming Dog statue | Beautifully ornate gate at Ching Chung Koon Taoist Temple |
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| Ken and Darla standing in front of a beautiful ceramic sculpture. |
A close-up of the ceramic figures on the sculptured wall at Ching Chung Koon Taoist Temple |
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<< Anne and I standing under yet another gate at the Ching Chung Koon Taoist temple. Having enjoyed roaming the grounds of the Ching Chung Koon Taoist Temple it was now time to move onto our next destination, the Walled Village of Kai Hing Wai and Lok Ma Chau. |
