Cities Can Be A Pain In The Neck

I remember when I first went to New York, the start of my trip was dominated by looking up, and consequently getting a stiff neck. Coming from the UK where much is built at ground level, or a few stories up, the WOW factor of the skyscrapers of Manhattan wove its spell around me. The same thing has just happened as I travelled from Melbourne which is a huge city geographically, but built at a low level, to Hong Kong which is compact but with a massive amount of high rise buildings. In fact, there is little space left in Hong Kong to build, so expansion pretty much has to happen upwards or underground. The high rise blocks are situated right next to each other, and there really is little space. If you're a couple of blocks from the harbour, it's doubtful you'll see anything of it unless you're on the 30th floor of a building. The down side of this is a terrible pollution problem, and when we were there, we both suffered  little from the poor air quality. The up side is the amazing architecture which constantly amazes tourists like Caroline and myself. Here's some pictures of some of those buildings which took our breath away, that is when the smog had left us any!

Standing below The Centre in the heart of Hong Kong

Kowloon restaurant shaped like a ship. Skyscrapers int he background

The clock tower by the Star Ferry terminal

A smoggy view of Hong Kong Island from Kowloon

The amazing Central Government Building behind Admiralty Train Station

A helicopter takes off from the exclusive Peninsula Hotel

The Peak Tower

Day view from the Peak

Night view from the Peak (a little blurred, but it was on my phone!)

Hong Kong Island, without smog, but overcast!

Being a Tourist in Hong Kong

The past few days have been exhausting as Caroline and I have tried to pack as much as possible into our time in Hong Kong. We knew we would have to be selective in what we could see as we only had a few days so we chose to explore both the cultural and the popular. We'd already visited Wong Tai Sin Temple and Flagstaff House in the first couple of days, and we added to the cultural extent of our trip with visits to the History Museum and the Chi Lin Nunnery.

The Hong Kong Museum of History is excellent, and we were lucky as our visit coincided with an exhibition of historical photo's detailing the history of photography in Hong Kong. The main historical galleries details a 4 million year timeline of the region which is currently Hong Kong. While the natural history of the region is fascinating, I think the most impressive part of the exhibitions were those which pieced together the historical development of man in the region from prehistoric times up until the 1800's. As someone completely ignorant of anything about Hong Kong, this was a great learning experience.

Pavilion of Absolute Perfection, Nan Lian Gardens

Another learning experience was at the Chi Lin Nunnery. This Buddhist temple complex and connected Nan Lian Gardens are well structured and beautifully kept. Compared to the Taoist Wong Temple we visited earlier in the week, this seemed more serene and austere, though no less beautiful.

Bronze Wishing Lamp in the centre of the Buddhist Halls of Chi Lin Nunnery

As tourists we don't just go to the educational sites. We've seen our fair share of touristy things (though we haven't bought a fridge magnet...yet!) including the Peak Tower view, Victoria Harbour Tour (we jumped on a junk that toured the harbour), Victoria Harbour Light Show (the buildings put on a light show at 8 pm each night), and just walking around the central areas looking up at the tall buildings. Here's a few photo's to show some of these things.

Peak Tower, great views from the top!

View from the Peak Tower

Chinese Junk, Victoria Harbour Tour

Avenue of Stars