Victoria Peak, Millenium Park, and Hollywood Road – Hong Kong Day One

Monday, December 1st, 2008. We struck out early on our first day in Hong Kong with a visit to Victoria Peak. We rode an old cog railway up the very steep side of Victoria Peak, stopping along the way to let passengers on and off. Victoria Peak is a popular place to live for the well-to-do, and at $75 HKD (about $10 USD) the Peak Tram is a quick and relatively inexpensive way for these people to get up and down the hill. At the top, we visited a 6-story shopping mall with a roof-top terrace. The views were incredible. Hong Kong is mostly mountains, and all of the development occurs on the narrow strip of relatively flat land between the mountains and the ocean. It’s incredible – imagine the skyscrapers of Manhattan mixed with the mountains of Colorado and you’ve got a good idea of how Hong Kong is layed out.

It’s hard to grasp just how vertical Hong Kong is from these photos, but you can see how narrow the strip of “flat” land is between the ocean and the mountain here and across the bay.

The wife.

Next, we came back down the hill and visited Millennium Park. Like many parks in Asia, the gardens and water effects here were incredible. Large man-made waterfalls (carved from huge pieces of granite), serene ponds, and carefully cultivated gardens served home to a variety of wildlife (especially quite a few turtles). Millennium park also houses a world-class aviary. There’s nothing quite like visiting a wildlife sanctuary with skyscrapers looming overhead. Say what you will about big city life, but Hong Kong has done an admirable job of preserving a small piece of nature amidst all the buildings.

One of the many skyscraper views from inside Millennium Park.

We visited quite a few tourist spots as well. Walking down Hollywood Road, we came upon Man Mo temple, Possession Point, and a large number of trendy shops and art galleries. We also visited Antique Row, a collection of cheap knock-offs that tourists love. We stumbled across a fortune teller who charged $100 HKD (about $15 USD) to answer ONE question. I was tempted to pay the $100 HKD and ask “How do you sleep at night charging $100 to answer one question?”

One of the biggest events of today, aside from all the sightseeing, was a heart-to-heart that I had with Sara. During the past 8 weeks of travel, there were moments where my anger and frustration got the better of me. I know this doesn’t make me special – far from it – but it was a big moment to talk with Sara about how I deal with these feelings. It was very helpful, and I’d like to publicly thank her for listening, helping, and putting up with me during this trip. I think I’ve grown a little as a person.

Thanks baby.

On the way back to our hotel, things got a little rough…