Hong Kong Itinerary

This trip was the first (and last) part of a 9- to 10-day trip that began in Hong Kong, then went to Okinawa, before stopping over in Hong Kong again on the way home.

Focusing on just the Hong Kong part, it was actually less than 6 days (more like 4 or 5 days), but it took a couple of additional calendar days due having to cross the international date line on the inbound red-eye flight.

Even though the last day in Hong Kong was disjoint or discontinuous with the rest of our time in Hong Kong, it very easily could have been combined as a singular trip to just Hong Kong. Except in that case, it wouldn’t be a long layover but just making use of the last day at the airport before taking the red-eye flight home.

Thus, I included that last day in this itinerary write-up for Hong Kong given this flexibility with the scheduling.

Anyways, the big difference with this trip to Hong Kong versus the 3 days we had back in April 2009 was that we finally got to pursue some waterfalls (and not just solely focus on the metropolis of the city centre).

I felt that made this trip more memorable and well-rounded, and hopefully, you’ll see that in this itinerary write-up…

Trip Map

Trip Highlights

Silvermine Beach – this was kind of an unexpected surprise, especially considering that we weren’t really that aware that Hong Kong actually has a strand of beach! That said, I also found the public transportation options to get to Mui Wo Ferry Dock (which we had to take to get to this beach and beyond) to be atmospheric, especially when we had to take the elevated walkways from Central Station to Central Pier. Moreover, the Mui Wo Waterfront Promenade was peaceful, which contrasted mightily to the bustling city centre.

Silvermine Waterfall – this was the first waterfall that we visited in Hong Kong, and it also resulted in our incidental encounter with the Silvermine Beach before reaching this split waterfall. Again, during our visit, we really enjoyed the relative peace and tranquility that contrasts mightily to the bustling part of the metropolis (particularly around Victoria Harbour). Oh, by the way, there was also an entrance to the sealed off Silvermine Cave, where the main trail also eventually led up to the Pearl Waterfall (though we didn’t get a chance to do the latter).

Victoria Peak – if you want that signature view of Hong Kong, then look no further than the birdseye view you get from the viewing pavilions and platforms at Victoria Peak. Of course, these attributes are also why this place is a heavily-visited tourist attraction (as just about all Hong Kong visitors get up here at least once on their visit to this special autonomous region). On this trip, instead of doing this on our own, we did it as part of a half-day tour, and we were given about a half-hour to enjoy this area. I wished could have been longer, but it sufficed, especially when you consider that we also got a waterfall visit out of our time here because…

Lugard Falls – this is the waterfall that’s conveniently close to Victoria Peak. Yet most of the visitors to the peak don’t even know about this waterfall, and thus it offered a relatively peaceful contrast to the crowds jostling over limited space to take people shots or to try to get their views of Victoria Harbour. I did wonder to myself how we ever missed this waterfall in the first place (back in April 2009) when we weren’t as time constrained because we went to the peak on our own.

Tai Kuwn Prison Yard – this former prison complex and police barracks was built in 1860 and decommissioned in 2006. Now, it became an ambitious restoration project that ultimately yielded a bustling centre for urban arts as well as a commercial centre in prime real estate in the Lan Kwai Fong part of Central Hong Kong. In addition to impressive skyscrapers surrounding a large public square, we also got to go up a long series of elevated travelators (not really the world’s longest escalator as some might proclaim) for a rather unique public walking space experience to get up here. It’s one of the ingenious ways that Hong Kong manages to make use of its limited space to allow people to move around.

Man Mo Temple – this temple along Hollywood Road in Central Hong Kong is said to be largest one in Hong Kong. It’s a temple that pays homage to the gods of literature and war, and it’s a multi-chambered, incense-smoke-filled, dark complex that is bustling with worshippers as well as visitors alike. It’s quite the experience particularly since this was our first time in a temple like this in Hong Kong (we completely missed them on our first visit to Hong Kong in April 2009).

West Kowloon Station – I normally don’t consider public transportation stations as a highlight, but in this case, there was a very impressively large space with some artsy curves and support pillars that provided this sense of grandeur (much like how we thought of the JR Kyoto Station in Japan), but this place felt less hectic. We actually went through this place on our way to one of the Tim Ho Wan dim sum restaurants on our organized tour, which I thought was a classier way to experience this chain of dim sum restaurants as opposed to waiting in line for a “hole-in-the-wall” spot where it all began for this chain.

West Kowloon Waterfront Promenade – this is the famous walking area that has the Walk of Fame for Hong Kong’s celebrities, statues (including a Bruce Lee one), views across the Victoria Harbour towards the skyline (which can also be experienced at night with the Synphony of Lights), a real posh K-11 Shopping Mall, and lots of people providing energy to this really happening part of the city.

Ng Tung Chai Waterfalls – this could very well be the most impressive waterfall (or really a series of waterfalls) in all of Hong Kong’s Special Autonomous Region. It consists of at least 4 named waterfalls while there were also a couple more unofficial waterfalls, including one next to Man Tak Yuen Temple. Granted, I definitely had to earn it with my visit as it took me about a half-day to do it, and this includes a bit of an adventure using their MTR system along with a bus to even get started. But it was also one of my most rewarding experiences in Hong Kong.

Ngong Ping Village and the Tian Tan Big Buddha – this attraction involved going on the Ngong Ping 360 Cable Car from Tung Chung, which also went over the Nei Sham Stream Waterfalls. It’s certainly one of the popular attractions in Hong Kong though for this one, it made sense to do it from the Hong Kong Airport since it was most towards that side of Lantau Island. Anyways, this wasn’t the cheapest excursion, but it was certainly one of the more scenically-pleasing ones though you’ll definitely be sharing the experience with thousands of other people…

Trip Advice

Although this was our second visit to Hong Kong (15 years after the first), there were definitely things that changed as well as some new experiences. So here are some lessons learned that I thought would be worth sharing in this section…

Busy Mass Transit: I was actually quite surprised that even on the rural lines (e.g. the East Rail Line), the train was standing room only – and we’re talking about 7am on a Sunday morning! Same goes for the bus that I took for Tai Po Market to Ng Tung Chai when I did that waterfall adventure. That goes to show you just how densely populated Hong Kong is, but it also shows how well-used (and how useful) their mass transit system is. So that’s definitely something to keep in mind, especially if you’re worried about catching a bug from someone else, and it’s a good idea to wear one of those N95 masks just to help minimize the chances of getting sick while on precious travel time (while also not being a jerk to others by spreading it).

The Octopus Card: While it seems like everyone recommends using this card for public transportation, it’s really more about convenience than it is about saving money. In fact, when you get one of these cards, there’s a minimum balance to start with (a percentage of what you don’t get to spend), and you don’t even get all of your balance back when you’re done using the card. So you’ll have to chalk that up to service and convenience fees.

So you might ask why bother? Well, it comes down to the fact that Octopus cards are accepted for all modes of public transportation – MTR subways/trains, buses, and even ferries! Heck, you could even use them to spend on snacks or other convenience store goods. So at the end of the day, this is really a time saver, and time is a precious commodity that you don’t get back when you’re on travel. Moreover, our daughter was too young to be handling her own currency or have her own credit card (which carries its own identity theft risks) for direct payment, and the Octopus card was the way to go for her.

Finally, when it comes to adding more money to the Octopus card, you have to do it in cash. So that means that Hong Kong is not as cashless as you’d think for such a modern metropolis with so many people! Indeed, you’ll definitely want to make sure you have some Hong Kong dollars ready and not assume that you can get by with just your credit card…

Ngong Ping 360 Queues: One thing we had to contend with, especially on the return journey from Ngong Ping Village back to Tung Chung Station was the huge lines to get onto the cable car (the standard one more specifically). Heck, we saw a queue that was said to be at least a 45-minute wait, which was unacceptable when we had to return to the airport (since the clock was ticking on our stored luggage fees let alone checking into our flight on time).

So the solution? Well, we paid the extra money to upgrade our ride to one of the crystal cars over the standard car, which had its own queue and turned that wait into something closer to less than 15 minutes! It was kind of like our own little last-minute fast pass or flash pass equivalent (if you go to Disneyland or Six Flags Magic Mountain theme parks, you know what I’m talking about).

Travel Itinerary

Days 0-2: Red-eye flight from LAX to Hong Kong, then exploring Hong Kong and Mui Wo

Overnight: Hyatt Regency Tsim Sha Tsui (Hong King, China SAR)

This was a travel day that started with a red-eye flight Wednesday night from LAX, then landed early in the morning (two days since departure due to the international date line) before we had a day at leisure to explore Hong Kong. We wound up spending the day eating dim sum and roast goose, but we also took the ferry to Mui Wo to pursue the Silvermine Waterfall.

Day 3: Full Day Exploring Hong Kong

Overnight: Hyatt Regency Tsim Sha Tsui (Hong King, China SAR)

On this day, we spent all morning doing an organized tour of Hong Kong that included Victoria Peak (with a detour on our own time to Lugard Falls), the Tai Kwan Prison Yard, dim sum at West Kowloon Station, and ending off at the waterfront on the Kowloon side. The afternoon was spent on our own though I wound up wasting a couple hours trying to pursue the Waterfall Bay but never finding the correct bus to get me there.

Day 4: Full Day Exploring Hong Kong

Overnight: Hyatt Regency Tsim Sha Tsui (Hong King, China SAR)

On this day, we divided and conquered where I spent all morning pursuing the Ng Tung Chai Waterfalls while Julie and Tahia stayed in the city centre hanging out at the K-11 Shopping Mall while also watching Wicked. We then had dinner with a relative before calling it a night.

Day 5: Transit day from Hong Kong to Sesoko Island in Okinawa

Overnight: Hilton Okinawa Sesoko Resort (Motobu, Okinawa, Japan)

On this day, we had a 3am wake-up so we could get to Okinawa, which started the second part of our Thanksgiving week trip. However, if we didn’t go to Okinawa, then this could have been the last day in Hong Kong, where we would take advantage of the long layover to take the red-eye flight home while having another day exploring Ngong Ping Village (see below).

Day 9: Return Home with Ngong Ping Village Visit

This was a full day of traveling where we had to catch a flight from Okinawa back to Hong Kong. However, since we had such a long layover at the Hong Kong Airport, we fit in a visit to Ngong Ping Village and the Tian Tan Big Buddha (with an aerial view over the Nei Sham Stream Waterfalls) before returning home on another red-eye flight.