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Jeni and her boyfriend Pete visited Hong Kong - read about their experience here
When Pete and I visited Hong Kong the weather was perfect - nice and warm like an English summer! The evenings were cooler but you only ever needed a light jacket or a jumper to hold off the cool breeze. The people are all friendly, everywhere is easy to find and the buildings are incredible. Not only is almost every building a multi-storey, but some of the hotels even have car-parks and mini malls built in. There are underground levels as well - it's very strange going to an underground Pizza Hut that doesn't have windows!
Because there is so much to do in Hong Kong I decided to tell you about our top 3 experiences.
1.Cheung Chun Island
After a short trip on the Star Ferry from Hong Kong island we arrived on Cheung Chun island. This place is beautiful and everyone rides on bikes! There are motorised vehicles but these are mainly used for businesses and are only allowed to be used until 5pm, so after that it's all man-power. There is an incredible beach with golden sand and sparkly blue water - and there is a special roped off area that makes it safe for swimming.
A lot of the locals don't speak English so it can be fun trying to ask them how much things are in the window without resorting to charades - however persevere especially if that Hello Kitty bowl and chopstick set would look incredible in your kitchen! On Cheung Chun island there are lots of open air market stalls that sell live fish and other types of seafood - on the seafront you can even see some of it being dried. There are also stalls that sell cooked meats that are ready to eat - after deciding that we should be adventurous we bought a chicken satay and a meatball stick - both were extremely yummy!
After lunch we took a sampan ride to West Bay which is a small fishing village. There we were shown Cheung Po Tsai cave - this is the rumoured hideout of the 19th Century pirate Cheung Po Tsai or the Prince of Pirates. The famous cave starts from one side of the island and goes right through the hill to the other side - I got into the caves small opening, but as expected it was pitch black so I didn't attempt to wriggle through, but if you visit and fancy exploring it make sure you take a torch and keep an eye out for any treasure!
Our guide told us some pirate tales as we walked to the Tin Hau temple. This temple is dedicated to the Goddess of the Sea. We were told that the people who live on this island are deeply religious so they visit the temples regularly and ask for guidance. Apparently during some festivals you are not allowed to eat meat and if an older person sees you buying meat (even if you don't intend to eat it until after the festival) they will scold you in public! We were also told that when you visit the smaller islands you should always ask before taking photographs of people because some of them believe that if you have your photo taken your soul is stolen - I think its just polite to ask though!
I loved visiting these islands because they seemed so unaffected by us being there, also their temples are divine - absolute works of art!
This is situated on Hong Kong Island and is easy to get to. The park is perfect for all ages as it has fun things for everyone to do; from rides you can play on to animals, fish and birds you can interact with and learn about.There are quite a few rides - mainly roller coasters that whizz you about and almost throw you over cliffs, but the best thing about this park is the animals. The shows are great - you can watch a show full of brightly coloured parrots and dark mysterious owls, you might even be lucky enough to be picked to hold them! You can also watch the dolphins and sea-lions put on a show with their trainers!
Although this is fun I found watching the dolphins in the Dolphin University much more exciting. Here the dolphins see you watching them and they "play to the crowd", you get to watch the trainers feeding them and teaching them tricks. At one point when we were watching the dolphins and the trainers decided to feed them, except one naughty little dolphin wouldn't come when his trainer called him over and carried on playing with his inflatable ball. After being ignored three or four times the trainer decided to try a different approach and signalled an older dolphin to help him. Off the older dolphin swam, he dived over the younger dolphin, stole the ball and nudged it to the trainer! It was great!
Another thing not to be missed when you are at Ocean Park is the famous Giant Panda Habitat where Le Le, Ying Ying, An An and Jia Jia live. Pandas are so gentle and beautiful that once you've seen them close up you will never forget them!
The marine life exhibitions are incredible as well - you get to see a shark tank with various types of sharks swimming around, thousands of jelly-fish and a deep aquarium that has hundreds of different fish and turtles in - this you get to see at three different depths which makes it extra special!
3. Symphony of Lights and Avenue of Stars
The Symphony of Lights is shown in Victoria Harbour every night from 8pm and as from 2005 it holds the Guinness World Record for being the "largest permanent light and sound show". The show consists of lights coming off 44 different buildings along the harbour and Hong Kong island and is accompanied by music.
The light show celebrates the energy, spirit and diversity of Hong Kong. This show is fabulous and the atmosphere it creates with the spectators is amazing.
After the show has finished take a stroll down the Avenue of Stars and see how many famous actors and actresses names and hand-prints you can spot - Jet Li, Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee are among them!
Want to visit Hong Kong? Then take us up on this offer!
Fly with Air New Zealand to Hong Kong from an amazing £404.00pp (includes taxes) accommdation available.
Call us on 01603 488664 and we can arrange your memorable Hong Kong holiday!
Travel must take place before 13th March or between the 31st March and 19th June, 16th August and 30th September or 1st November to the 30th November.
Flights must be booked by 14th February, other terms and conditions apply