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We woke up at 4:30am in Macau to catch an early ferry back to Hong Kong. Our flight home wasn’t leaving until the evening, so we wanted to maximize our last day. We checked our bags at a train station and headed off to explore Lantau Island. {Note: Disneyland is also on the island, but we didn’t venture over there. Maybe next time!}

There are two ways to get to the top of the island… bus or gondola. Of course we chose gondola!

It is 3.5 miles long and takes about a half hour to get there. One of the most scenic gondola rides we’ve ever taken!

As we rose higher and higher, we started to see her! The Big Buddha! The World’s Tallest Outdoor Bronze Seated Buddha. Haha

We timed it out perfectly so we got there when it opened! 

From the top of the hill that she stands on, you can see the Monastery in the distance.

We thought this sign was pretty funny.

We realized at this point that we had been carrying three different camera lenses around for two weeks and had yet to swap them out! I put on the macro lens and got this picture…. hahaha whoops!

I proclaimed to Irving that I just needed to get down lower in order to get it in the shot… and that’s how I accidentally ended up with this gem of a photo. Quite artistic, no? Oh man, we had a good laugh about that.

I really wanted to eat at the Monastery. I’ve heard great things about it, but Irving was a little skeptical since it’s vegetarian. But he agreed to give it a try anyways. 

I ordered the noodles and they were to DIE for!!! Irving happily enjoyed half and we both agreed it was pretty amazing. A+ to the monks! This picture makes me hungry. It was as good as it looks!

Then it was time to say goodbye to Lantau and head back down the mountain.

The mist made her look even more dramatic. 

You can see the Hong Kong airport down below! We’ll be there in a few hours!

I think they are making the island bigger by adding land into the bay. They were dumping lots of sand. This area has so much growth to do, we found it fascinating.

Once back to Hong Kong, we got lost and ended up in a mall searching for some lunch. We grabbed some quick things at a food court and ate standing up in the mall. ha!

[After this, we made our way back downtown to try to make it back up the Peak Tram… it was rainy and foggy when we were there a few days ago, so we wanted to try one more time to see if we could make it to the top. But the two hour line, plus the heavy fog that was still there told us it just wasn’t in the cards. We grabbed some coffees before the it started to downpour. At this point I was done with the rain and just wanted to go to the airport.]

We retrieved our bags from the train station and checked them into the airline right there! That’s right, you can check your bags in from downtown Hong Kong so you don’t have to deal with them at the airport! How cool is that?! That would never fly {no pun intended} in the States, but we took advantage of it here!

We got to the airport really early, with a few hours to spare. I read my book and relaxed. The flight home went fast. We had a tough time adjusting to the time difference, it took us both about a week. Maybe it’s travel from West to East, but it was a tough one. Worth it though. What an amazing experience. I’d go back to China in a heartbeat. Thanks for reading along and traveling with us! I have a few wrap-up posts in the works and then it will be back to pictures of Adele again. =)

Ha, that title pretty much sums up this post! I left you after lunch in Hong Kong, here’s a recap of how we spent the rest of our day. Our tour guide took us to an iconic part of the city. A glimpse into ‘old Hong Kong’. Or perhaps ‘traditional’ Hong Kong. Most of the city is very developed and modern, but it was fun to visit this area as well.

The colors were so fun. Especially with all the umbrellas added as well. 

It had all the pieces of a ‘big city’ with the advertising and bustling people on cell phones, but still had old charm as well. 

After a failed attempt at shopping in some of the touristy kiosks, we used some free time to experience “The World’s Longest chain of escalators“, totally a half-mile total. And we rode the whole thing. haha.

Of course riding the escalator all the way up meant walking the stairs all the way back down. It took a while, but it was fun and it’s in a buzzing part of town with lots of stores and restaurants to look at along the way.

I loved the reminder that they drive on the other side of the road here! It must be an issue with tourists and mainland China visitors!

Here’s a map of how far the escalators take you! From here to here!

Wow, really does feel like home here!

Finally back at the hotel, we met back up with our group to attend our farewell dinner and the Hong Kong light show! Here’s our trusty tour guide, Alex!

On our way, we sped past the Peninsular Hotel. This used to be an iconic place for the wealthy to stay and dine. They’re famous for their “High Tea” which is so authentic, you feel you’re back to England! Next time, Hong Kong!

First up was the light show! We sadly missed the show in Shanghai, but this one more than made up for it. It was very cool to experience. Music plays on the viewing platforms we were on and the entire skyline lights up and animates to the sounds. Here’s a plethora of photos and a video at the bottom!

A video of the show!

A Selfie with our local guide, Gain, before dinner!

The last included dinner of the trip was at a British Pub. Fitting for Hong Kong, but we all sort of wished it was Chinese Food instead. But it was fun and delicious.

Bread pudding for dessert!

After the dinner, the tour was officially over. We’d be on our own for the next three days while we explore Lantau island and Macau! The adventure continues!

We woke up to the sound of rain outside. A quick glance out the window revealed a very grey, cloudy day. The rain literally chased us around China during this trip, but we were quickly cheered up after seeing how amazing the breakfast buffet was! I can’t believe I forgot my camera on this day, because it was huge…Vegas-sized! A+ to the Harbour Plaza Metropolis Hotel. I think it’s mostly a business hotel that caters to Westerners.

We boarded our coach bus and headed first thing to the Peak Tram. Because we were part of a tour, we skipped the line and quickly boarded one of the world’s oldest funicular railcars up to the top!

We were excited because the views at the top were rumored to be spectacular. It leads up to one of the highest peaks in Hong Kong that used to be home to rich Westerners living in Hong Kong. 

After a quick, fun ride to the top, we were excited to take in the views!

Oh, look! Another “Mail a postcard to the future” store in the visitor’s center!

Ok, back to those incredible views we were about to see…… Uh oh…. Nothing but fog and clouds! WHAT?!

See this view here… this is what we saw. Grey all around us. I’m not even kidding. We couldn’t see 10 feet in front of us!

For comparison’s sake, this is what the view was supposed to look like (borrowed from our friend, Ed, who went back a few days later for a better look!) What a difference, right?!

Haha I love this picture of what we’re supposed to be able to see… 

I laughed and said, “Let’s get a picture of us in front of the skyline!” And here it is: 

We braved the rain to walk around for a few minutes before finally ending up in a Starbucks nearby.

This place will come back to haunt us a few days later when we try to visit again… only to be caught in the rain AGAIN! Oh well. It just wasn’t meant to be this time. Guess I’ll just have to come back some day 😉

From there, we got back on our bus and drove to our next destination. The drive was really pretty (yes, rain and all). Here’s a drive-by shot of the Hong Kong Cricket Club. We also passed one of Hong Kong’s only golf course. It opened in 1889 and rumor has it that it cost hundreds of dollars to play there.

We stopped to take a Sampan boat ride through a bay that housed really expensive yachts alongside really old fishing boats. Old Hong Kong meets the new. So neat to view something like this from the water. 

I think this is the world’s largest floating restaurant.. (Another “Worlds Largest” superlative!)

You can picture what it used to look like when Hong Kong’s fishing industry was at its height. 

We went from boat back to the bus to head to Stanley Market. A quiet neighborhood situated along a beautiful bay. This was our lunch spot today.

Hong Kong belonged to Great Britian up until 1997. The Chinese have British accents and they drive on the left-side of the road there. The whole city looks very European, which is probably why I loved it so much.

Here’s a little history lesson about Stanley, courtesy of our friend, Wikipedia.

After the annexation of Hong Kong in 1842, the British made Stanley the temporary administrative centre, before moving it to the newly founded Victoria City (present dayCentral) on the north shore of Hong Kong Island.

Stanley Fort was where British and Canadian troops mounted a last stand during theBattle of Hong Kong. The survivors surrendered to Japanese forces in December 1941. The fort, which was the former British Army barracks in Stanley, is now occupied by the People’s Liberation Army following the transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong to thePeople’s Republic of China in 1997.

We had a few lunch options here, most of them had Western food. It was between a few British Pubs and this Italian place. (Which we later found out was a huge chain in Hong Kong, who knew!)

I had the most amazing gnocchi and Irving had a bowl of tomato soup. Perfect for a rainy day.

On the drive back to our hotel, we passed this mountain. If you look closely, you can see a giant gondola, 1 mile long, that goes up and over the hill. On the other side is Ocean Park, a huge amusement park. Some friends went the next day and loved it. Have to add it to my “next time in hong kong” list. 

Here’s a closeup of the park in the distance!

See the gondolas here?

I’ll save the rest of this day for another post. These days were very full and exciting, indeed!

We arrived into Hong Kong quite late. We checked into our hotel quickly and turned back around to have a late dinner and experience the night life a bit. Even though we were exhausted, we were also very hungry, so we joined a small group from the tour and set out in search of food. Luckily we didn’t have to look far, our tour guide had the perfect place in mind for some delicious Hong Kong noodles. Enter: King’s Noodles & Dumplings.

This place was perfect. What was supposed to be a quick, nothing-special meal, turned into an amazing people-watching experience that lasted about two hours. They definitely weren’t ready for a group of 20 hungry English-Speaking Contiki folks. They had a system of numbering everyone’s seat, giving everyone a piece of paper and a pencil, and a menu with everything numbered. All each person had to do was make a list of what we wanted. But then they got confused on who was which number and who ordered what and did they want that tea hot or cold. It was pretty awesome to watch. The dishes were coming out of the kitchen faster than they could carry them and they were all yelling at each other to move faster which made them get even more confused. And then the drinks came out well after the meals did and people forgot what they had even ordered. Oh man, we were all so tired (it was 11pm at this point) it was just so funny. The food was amazing though. My first authentic Hong Kong noodles. LOVED them!!!

After that, we hailed some taxis over to the Ritz Carlton (fancy, right?) to visit the World’s Highest Bar: Ozone! (I’m a sucker for superlatives. I’ll visit anything that is “world’s biggest”, “world’s tallest”, “world’s whatever” places. Of course I had to see this place!

We didn’t stay that long… and we actually didn’t even grab a drink! Talk about a missed opportunity! But we were happy to look around, take in the atmosphere and check it off the ole’ bucket list. It was an awesome bar.

Of course, the views were incredible as well. You could see the skyline in the distance.

Soon after, we took another taxi back to our hotel. We were so impressed with the taxis in Hong Kong. They are all regulated so you know what the price will be before you even get in. 

Get ready for an exciting (and rainy) day tomorrow in Hong Kong! Rain and all, I’d have to say this city is on my top 10 list. Perhaps my top 5. Our time here wasn’t long enough, but we made the best of it and really enjoyed it!