Day 4 – Can't get enough of the view from the Harbour

I woke up soo early today (around 5 I think) and couldn’t get back to sleep. So I left the hostel, headed towards the harbour again to catch sight of the sunrise. Again, I brought my tripod with me to take photos of HK island at dusk, and as well as of myself (I haven’t found the opportunity to pose and smile since it’s always packed!). It’s funny really, when I got on the harbour, I was probably the only tourist there. Locals come in the morning to do some Tai Chi exercise. Some jog, fish, and or just come to take a stroll. And here I was, posing on the statues and on any touristy part of the Avenue taking remote controlled pictures of myself.  Haha.

 

After my heavy breakfast at KFC, I headed back to the hostel to get a few minutes of rest. I have thought of going to Disneyland today as they have recently lit up the castle which made it look like glass. I had very budgeted cash left due to the damage done by my camera accessories shopping the other day and spending another $350 to see Mickey and his friends didn’t seem like a good plan.

 

I thought of spending the day to see more cultural stuff, The Han Tombs, and boring museums with a one of my hostel mates, Zach who spent his first night in our room the night before sleeping on the floor.  (The hostel reservations system really sucked too!)

 

We boarded the ferry, then the train to see the Golden Bauhinia Sculpture on  the Expo Promenade, outside the Hongkong Convention Center in Wan Chai. The golden sculpture marked the most significant occasion in HK history- the return of HK to China and the establishment of HK Special Administrative Region last 1997.

 After which, we took the train again to see the Han Tombs in the New Territories. It was a Sunday that day and the museum didn’t open till 1 pm so we thought of going around the area to look for ceramic vases Zach’s aunt wanted back home. The New Territory streets weren’t on the tourist map anymore so straying away from the area seemed scary. The area was clearly residential, and of 10 or so people we asked for directions, only one understood us. Well, not because he understood English, but rather because we were good with sign language! For $24HKD, we were able to eat a hefty lunch of 2 viands, rice and a can of Coke in this somewhat decent Chinese restaurant blocks from the Tomb site.

 

Adjacent to the Han Tomb Museum is a very small yet peaceful park where we retired for a few minutes while waiting for the museum to open.

We were exchanging stories about crisis in my country etc. Later on I found out that he was with the media, makes his money through video documentaries of political crisis wherever they are in the world, that’s why he travels. Fancy. He’s just stopped off at HK for a few days and will be heading to Yangoon, Burma next to check on Burma’s political aftermath.

1pm came and we got in the Museum.

Lei Cheng Uk Han Tom Museum  is a branch museum of the HK Museum of History. It was a ctually just originally discovered in 1955 during the construction of a resetlement estate. The tomb is a cross shaped brick structure and dates back 2000 years ago. Items such as pottery and bronze pieces were also discovered in the tombs. I was expecting that we could actually enter the tombs which was adjacent to the small museum but then it was sealed and temperature controlled, so one can only peep through the glass encasing to see the tomb entrance. Phew, the long walk and wait just for the peep?  :(

Finally back at HK Island we ended up visiting the Hongkong Museum of History at Chatam Road on Tsim Sha Tsui and spent the next 2 hours there (at $10HKD per adult) before heading back to the hostel to take a long awaited nap.  (I was so disappointed! the history of museum had the exact replica of the Han tomb in New territories! Grr.  Well, ok, at least i got to see the original one..)

Tonight's my last night at Hongkong as I will be taking the ferry to Macau in the morning. So when I woke up at 7, Zach, Marie (my Danish hostel mate), and I thought of watching the Symphony of Lights again at the Harbour all together. So off we went to see the ever spectactular show, I savouring my last night on the bay, wondering when I was ever going to come back to see it again.  I guess travellers always think about the same thought whenever leaving a country.

..  We stopped to eat at this Chinese restaurant at Tsim Sha Tsui and exchanged travel experiences for 2 more hours before heading back. Well I could say that one of the pro's about travelling alone is having to meet new people and really make friends. There's always something new to know, not just about the places your new found friends have been to but rather, about your new friends' views of life. :)