Hong Kong

We finished the first full day in Hong Kong today. It was a very tiring trip coming here. 13½ hours to Tokyo then nearly 5 hours more to Hong Kong. We arrived about 10:15pm and by the time we were settled in our hotel it was after midnight. The hotel is a very nice Marriott and we have a club level room on a high floor.  We received a welcome gift of fruit and hot tea that was a pleasant surprise.

Welcome Gift

After getting a good night's sleep we started our day with breakfast in the club lounge where they had an extensive buffet including eggs cooked to order and fresh made pancakes along with a variety of Asian breakfast choices and the usual European breakfast selections.

Breakfast in the club. 

It was raining pretty heavily in the morning so we hung out in our room for a while after breakfast
but soon the weather improved and we set out for some sightseeing. Our first stop was the Wong Tai Sin Temple, a colorful Taoist shrine in the midst of the city on the Kowloon side.

Wong Tai Sin

Wong Tai Sin

Next we visited the Chi Lin Nunnery and Nan Lian Garden. The Nan Lian Garden is a beautiful public park built in Tang Dynasty style.

Nan Lian Garden

We've been finding our way around on the Hong Kong MTR subway system. It is easy to use and takes you close to all the places you want to go. There is even a stop accessible from the lower levels of our hotel. It reminds me of the system in Paris, except the names are harder to read.

MTR Train

Our next destination was the Tian Tan Buddha or "Big Buddha" which is 34 meters tall and sits on top of a high hill on Lantau island. You reach the Buddha from the Tung Chung MTR station where you can get a cable car that carries you up and across the hills to the Buddha. The views along the way are outstanding. It's then only a 286 stair climb to reach the Buddha.

Cable Car

Big Buddha

We returned from our visit to the big Buddha in time to view the Symphony of Lights show on Victoria Harbor. Many buildings on both sides of the harbor participate with music, lasers, and lighting effects on the buildings. I've never seen anything quite like it.

Symphony of Lights

We finished up our sightseeing with wine and a harbor tour cruise on a Chinese "junk" style boat. It was very relaxing. Then we rode the iconic Star Ferry across the harbor and hopped the MTR back to our hotel. We enjoyed a good dinner in the hotel restaurant and called it a night.