How to go there

From Man Mo Temple in Hollywood road, Jeff and I took a bus going to Wan Chai, then we walked going to the Golden Bauhenia Square. 

What to See

The Symphony of Lights show is basically just a showcase of  lights and laser displays from Hongkong’s buildings, accompanied by music and narration. There are designated areas for viewing the show – one in Golden Bauhenia Square, and the other in the Avenue of Stars. We watched the show from Bauhenia Square.

The Golden Bauhenia flower from the Bauhenia Square

We arrived in Bauhenia Square at about past 6, too early for the 8pm show. But still in time for me to pee, hehe. We went inside the building in front of the Golden Bauhenia statue which is the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. The Centre also participates in the show by changing it’s lights in different colors – from red, violet, blue and green. It’s so pretty it made me want to pee more..haha. I wasn’t able to do that there though, there were no public bathrooms there, but there is one located near the viewing area.

Hongkong Convention Center in Red Lights

After which, Jeff and I took some pictures at the golden flower, which at the time were already flocked by other tourists and local photographers offering their services.

One know-it-all photographer came to us, and we thought he wants to take our picture with his camera, we kept saying no, until he just took the camera from Jeff. Apparently, he thinks Jeff is doing a poor job, and he wants to set my SLR to night mode shooting… but it had no effect at all.

At about quarter to 8, a narrator would announce how many minutes till the symphony of lights show starts. There are speakers and benches at the bay for those viewing the show. At 8, the show starts..beginning with a mellow music and subtle movement of lights….going to extra glamorous, until all the lasers and the lights are in full show.

Green Lasers

The show has four parts which we didn’t really bother to know..hehe. Here are the events of the show from tourism.gov.hk

The first scene “Awakening” begins with flashes of laser lights that give life to a nucleus of light-energy which gradually illuminates participating buildings using an array of dancing lights and rainbow colour. This scene symbolizes the genesis and powerful growth of Hong Kong.

The second scene “Energy” is represented by the display of rising colour patterns and the sweeping of the lasers and searchlights energetically across the night sky, signifying the vibrant energy of Hong Kong.

In the third scene “Heritage”, traditional lucky red and gold colours are displayed across buildings on both sides of the Harbour, complemented by the introduction of music using Chinese musical instruments, symbolizing Hong Kong’s colourful heritage and rich cultural traditions.

The fourth scene “Partnership” features a display of laser beams and sweeping searchlights scanning across the Harbour, representing an illuminated connection with the opposite side. Beams reach out to symbolically connect the two sides of the Harbour into one greater and unified partnership.

The finale “Celebration” brings out a powerful rhythmic display of swirling, kaleidoscopic patterns of lights and beams dancing lively across the Harbour. The exciting final scene signifies the celebration of the close partnership between the two sides of the Harbour and represents an even brighter future for Asia’s world city – Hong Kong.

Tips and Traps

• According to our research, Bauhenia Square is one of the best place to view the show, but from what we can see from our side, it looks like it’s best to be viewed at the avenue of stars.

More pictures of Hongkong’s Symphony of Lights here:

(click on the picture to view the album)

man mo temple in hk

How to go there

From the longest travelator, there are signs pointing on the tourist spots and landmarks in the area. We went to the exit where Man mo is.

What to See

Man mo temple, located on Hollywood road, was built in the 1800′s honoring the two gods of ancient China: Man and Mo.

At the entrance, you’ll immediately take a whiff of the burning incense lighted by the devotees of these Chinese gods. There are incense vendors at the sides of the temple, in case you want to light one up yourself.

At the center of the temple, is where you’ll find the main altar. Devotees offers food and incense here to wish fortune and attract the Gods Man and Mo.

On the sides of the temple is another room dedicated for the dead, where they offer food and flowers to them. There are also fortune tellers on this side of the temple, for those who want their fortunes read.

Tips and Traps

• Opens from 8 am to 6 pm daily

More pictures of Man Mo and Hongkong here:

(Click on the picture to view the album)

Here is a video of the longest travelator in the world

The Longest Travelator is also known as the Mid-levels Escalator, this is what you’ll find on the street signs pointing to this tourist spot. It’s not actually a long travelator, but just a series of travelators and stairs. We came there in the morning, and found that the travelator only goes up, apparently it runs down from 6 am to 10 am, and runs up from 10:20 am to midnight.

The travelator lies on the sides of Victoria Peak. We went on the entrance from Hollywood Road going up Victoria Peak.

Giant Buddha in Hongkong

One of the highlights on our tour in Hongkong was Ngong Ping 360. Where it houses the largest Buddha made out of bronze in the world and a very cool cable ride…

How to go to Ngong Ping Hongkong

Ngong ping is located in Lantau Island, HK. The nearest MTR station to get to there  is through the Tung Chung station.

From our hotel, which is just in front of the MTR station – (North Point station in Hongkong Island). We took the MTR and transferred to other trains to get to Tung Chung station in Lantau Island. There is no direct train ride to get there from North point, so our MTR trip was divided into two (2) legs:

Our first stop was the Central station, and from there we bought tickets to get a ride going to Tung Chung station. The MTR route going to Tung chung is called the “Tung Chung” line.

It’s quite a walk transferring from Central station to the Tung Chung line.

Cable car ride going to Ngong ping

What to See – Tourist Spots in HongKong

Upon arriving at the MTR Tung Chung station in Lantau. We went to where the cable ride for Ngong Ping is.

We didn’t book the activity prior to our trip. We bought our tickets right there which is a ‘packaged-tour’ ticket inclusive of

• 1 round trip ride to the cable car,
• one ‘walking with buddha’ ticket, and
• 1 ‘Monkey’s tale’ theater ticket.

Other than the ride, the two other tickets are just theater shows.

The one-way cable ride is a good 30 to 45 minutes ride, where you can see a view of Hong kong. There are even pathways for those who likes to walk rather than take the cable car ride. It’s so long, we only saw like 2 people take the walk.

The Giant Buddha seen from afar

Things to do : Visit Ngong Ping Village

At the end of the cable ride, is the very cold hill top of Ngong ping village. It’s a commercialized place where only stores and restaurants occupies the place.

At the cable ride station, you’ll be able to see the tiny looking giant buddha from afar.

The giant buddha in hongkong

Things to do : Visit the Giant Buddha

This place is swarming with tourists. We actually went picture crazy again there, that every step we take, we took pictures. (So annoying, hehe) Its actually not exhausting going up, cause like I said, we take stops often times to take pictures. By the time we went near the Giant Buddha we were “pictured-out”. Plus the sun was scorching that time and tourists were blocking every camera views so we didn’t bother taking pictures anymore.

Inside walking with Buddha.

Things to do : Watch Monkey’s Tale and Walking With Buddha show

This we didn’t know what was about the first time we went there, we thought it’s some place. Only to find out that it’s just a show. It’s not a total waste of money but we wish we didn’t go there to save a few bucks. Bottom line is the show was made for kids. In fact, they made the inside of the theater to look like a forest, where the seats were made to look like logs, there were fake plants and vines hanging from the ceilings and walls. It’s very much like Snow-white’s forest.

If you have kids with you, they’ll definitely enjoy that show.

Walking with Buddhas on the other hand, I think is more for adults. Its basically a show about how Buddha came to be, interpreted through a mini cartoon movie, slides, and show rooms depicting of Buddha’s life.

There’s also a lot of audience interaction in the show, and is translated in different languages which was really cool.

Picture taking was not allowed on both shows.l

What to eat in Hongkong

Before going to Ngong Ping, Jeff and I had brunch already. So all we need then was a little snack.I have seen so many kids in Hongkong eat this black thingie desert, which turned out to be black bean soup. It costs around 25HKD. It tasted like champorado with a different twist.

Eww that black bean soup looked like mud!

Fares and Fees of the tour in Hongkong’s Ngong Ping Village

MTR Fee : Around 28HKD/person (See detail above)

Entrance Fee to NgongPing :  About 120HKD/person (Jan 2009)

More pictures of Hongkong’s Ngong Ping here:

(Click on the picture to view the album)

Jeff with Bush and Clinton

How to go there

Madamme Tussauds, is located at the Peak in Hongkong. Check this post, for the directions there: The Peak

What to See

How else would I describe this particular post but in tons of pictures. We all know what to see in Madamme Tussauds anyways.

Jeff and I had a blast on this particular tour. We took pictures with every single wax figure in the area. A lot of tourists passed us by, cause we were taking so long at each area. While they, on the other hand only took pictures with the wax figures they know. So what? The chance we’re going back there again, is very slim anyways.

Jeff was really good at posing, which made me put my game on and beat him at making awesooome poses. But still, he won, he’s a poser.

Just outside Madamme Tussauds is a preview of the wax figures inside. Outside the store is a figure of legend Bruce Lee:

Bruce Lee and Jeff in Madamme Tussauds

We had pictures with Indiana Jones, Eddie Chung and James Bond:

Indiana Jones, Eddie Chung and Pierce Brosnan as James Bond

Most of the wax figures has backdrops, and settings in them for photo purposes, including this one of an asian star which I dont know the name.

Backdrops and setups

They also have costumes for kooky people who wants to take pictures with the wax figures. Check out my tutu costume on this picture:

costumes

and here with Marilyn Monroe, complete with the blond hair, and of course the steam. The costume doesn’t come with Marilyn’s white undies though, hehe.

With Marilyn Monroe

We also got to pose with the king of pop, Michael Jackson. I don’t know what went on with our crotches in this picture though. haha.

What the heck are we doing? haha

More pictures of Madamme Tussauds here:

Check out our other wacky pics in our gallery.

(Click on the picture to view the album)