Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Day 170: Hong Kong Island

My original plan was to dive right into the visa battle this morning, but after learning the express service fees aren't really that bad and just feeling worn out from yesterday I decided I didn't feel up to getting up really early and rushing around all day. Instead I decided to do things at a more relaxed pace and get prepared so that things tomorrow will hopefully go smoothly. I got all my visa photos done for both visas and went through a sample of the application to work out the details I need for everything.

In addition to all that, I did a pretty thorough exploration of Hong Kong Island. For those that don't know, Hong Kong is split up into different regions, of which the main two are probably Hong Kong Island and Kowloon. I got a hostel on the island because it's close to both buildings I need to visit for visas, but visiting the other parts of Hong Kong is still easy to do and something I'll definitely get around to given the two weeks I'll be here. I walked along some of the busy main streets, but eventually worked myself partway up the hills to where things were less chaotic.

Up away from all the buildings I came across a really nice aviary, and zoo/garden, both of which were free. The zoo was almost entirely primates, but had a few other climbing animals like sloths - all of which were very fun to watch.






My goal was to find a way up the mountain to Victoria Peak, but I just couldn't find a road/path that led up far enough. I'll get up there at some point. On my way back I decided to use the subway so that I'll know what to do tomorrow when I go try to submit my visa application. Finally though, here's some more photos of the Hong Kong cityscape.






There's something about bamboo scaffolding that I just find incredibly cool...

4 comments:

Linda said...

Good luck with the visas.

Katie said...

I can't remember if there's a way to walk all the way up to the Peak, but there's always the cable car.

Also, if you want to go hiking, I remember Lamma island being a really nice place with some beautiful trails. (I also think this was the island that had a restaurant that served pigeon if you're feeling adventerous!)

iphynx said...

Awesome! I made it to the peak today (by tram), but will definitely check out this Lamma island at some point.

Maureen said...

I know what you mean about the bamboo scaffolding. It blew me away when I was there.

I've been to the aviary you're talking about! Found it by accident. :)