Hong Kong Day 1- The Start Ferry & Lan Kwai Fong

After the Symphony of Lights show we planned to take the Star Ferry across the water to Hong Kong Island.

My good friend Amy warned us to expect very choppy waters on the trip across to Hong Kong Island. If you get sea sick easily I recommend avoiding this experience or taking something for motion sickness. Needless to say we choose to take a taxi on our way back to Kowloon. One ride across on those choppy water was more than enough for Chris and my husband. This meant no junk boat cruise for us!

 Looking out at the Hong Kong Island shore

 Looking back at the Kowloon shore

 We arrived in Lan Kwai Fong after wandering the street in the wrong direction. This area was littered with bars, restaurants, a handful of night clubs, and many young people.

 Saw these guys while we were lost looking for Lan Kwai Fong

 The first bar we decided on had an odd odor coming from their AC vents so we went up the street to this spot.

 Our friend Chris enjoying an icy brew. He regretted choosing to wear jeans that night after our trek uphill to get to this place.

Hong Kong Day 1- A Symphony of Lights

When I was doing research on things you should do and see while in Hong Kong everyone was raving about the multimedia light show. It runs every evening at 8pm for 14 minutes and involves 44 buildings on both sides of the harbor.

You can listen to the shows music and narration nightly along the Tsim Sha Tsui waterfront between the Avenue of the Stars and the Hong Kong Cultural Centre, the waterfront promenade on the Wan Chai Golden Bauhinia Square, or a Victoria Harbor Cruise.

There are five scenes in the show. The first is Awakening, followed by Energy, Heritage, Partnership and lastly Celebration. You can read more about it here.

I recommend getting to a vantage point early as people begin to gather quickly. We arrive about 20 minutes prior to the show and it was already fairly crowded.

I recorded video of the entire show, and since it is 15 minutes long I can only share the a small portion of the show with you all. This is the last bit of the show.

 I loved seeing all the colors form the buildings reflected off the water

A little video of the show I found online

Hong Kong Day 1- Self-guided walk around Tsim Sha Tsui

We did a lot of walking during our entire trip and this was the same case on our first day in Hong Kong. It is one of the best ways to get a feel for any new place that you visit. We noticed that most people either took the train, taxi or walked. Luckily the public transportation system is very well established in Hong Kong. Most residents here did not own or even know how to drive an automobile.

Here are some photos from our walk around Tsim Sha Tsui:

 Most buildings were dotted with air conditioning units outside the windows

 I loved these taxis, the standard in Hong Kong

 We walked through an indoor souvenir market to find an alley with this bamboo scaffolding. Apparently it is used everywhere across Hong Kong

 There were signs everywhere overlapping one another

We were bombarded by this group of people in costume marketing an alcoholic apple cider beverage called Somersby. We came to find out that they were handing out free samples of this beverage to anyone that looked old enough.

 Once the sun started setting the crowds of people multiplied quite quickly on the streets

 My first purchase was made at this super cute boutique. It was tucked away on the 2nd floor in a small building. I wish I did not have my eyes closed in this photo with the owner. She was very sweet.

Hong Kong Day 1- Hong Kong Museum of Art & Cultural Centre

During our first day in Hong Kong we visited the Hong Kong Musuem of Art followed by a walking tour of the Cultural Centre. We were drawn to the museum by the massive advertising of the current exhibition on A Lofty Retreat from the Red Dust: The Secret Garden of Emperor Qianlong.

The Museum is located near the Hong Kong Cultural Center, Salsbury Gardens, The Space Museum, the Avenue of the Stars and the infamous SOGO Department store.

Each floor of the museum housed a different exhibit from historical chinese art and furniture to my personal favorite with the art of Feng Zikai.

Feng Zikai was an educationist, man of letters and artist who excelled in painting, Chinese calligraphy, music and architecture. During the 1920s and 30s, he created cartoons using a style that was a hybrid of Chinese and Western techniques, with subject matters drawn from everyday life. They exude a humanistic concern through heartwarming insights into the most ordinary things. Feng had taught art and music in several schools, where he diligently inculcated the concept that “With life comes compassion; and with compassion, art”. The humanism in his art and his many publications on art education have inspired generations of artists and educationists. (source)

After our visit to the museum we visited the Clock Tower, and the Avenue of the Stars. You get to experience a  piece of history along with amazing views of the Hong Kong Island skyline. I highly recommend visiting this area of Tsim Sha Tsui.

 All this walking around in the heat and humidity had us longing for some nourishment and a place to cool off.

The Space Museum and the Hong Kong Cultural Centre Building

The signage that drew us into the museum

Part of the Avenue of the Stars

 Entrance to the Feng Zikai exhibit

We were not allowed to take photographs inside the exhibits. I was lucky enough to sneak a quick one of this intricate headdress when the docents were not watching with my phone. Pardon the poor quality.

 Loved this little fishing boat 

 Some views of the Hong Kong skyline 

 The Clock Tower