A Wandering Chameleon: Saturday Trip to Hong Kong Island

So here was my planned travel itinerary for the day:

Victoria Peak
Dr. Sun Yat-sen Museum
Hollywood Road
Upper Lascar Road
Man Wa Lane

This is where I actually ended up going today:

Victoria Peak (via Central Station)
Dr. Sun Yat-sen Museum
Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception
Hollywood Road
Upper Lascar Road
Man Wa Lane (via Sheung Wan Station)

Here are some photos I took today:

First, I took Minibus Route 11M from the HKUST North Bus Station towards Hang Hau Station.

The bus stand at the HKUST North Bus Station are very well organized. I didn't take pictures, but the routes are very clearly labelled and even the queues are labelled with the route number and destination. I didn't even need to research which minibus line to take (I took line 11M)!


There something about these bus stand signs that really attracts me - maybe its the uncanny resemblance to the Catbus (龍貓巴士) stop in Totoro...

Then, I got off the MTR (subway) at Central Station and started walking to my first stop - Victoria Peak. On the way, I happened to spot the Foreign Correspondent's Club (FCC), which is apparently an exclusive members-only club for media correspondents and diplomats.

Then, I started walking up to the Peak. Turns out that I didn't have Internet connection as I thought so I had to rely on a connection-less Google Maps app on my phone to navigate. Luckily, I was able to see the roads and my current location, so it wasn't too hard to find my way to the Peak. The hardest part was the walking - it was almost a continuous upwards journey to the top! Here is a view of the steep and winding jungle paths of Albert Path...

And after a trek of roughly one hour and many streets later, I began a long trek up the Old Peak Road. The sign at the start of the road said that it was a 30-minute walk to the Peak, but I managed it in around 20 minutes.

But the hike was well-worth it, the views of Hong Kong island and the Kowloon side were absolutely amazing!

Here is a view to the south, of Pok Fu Lam Reservoir:

Here are some views of the Victoria Harbour side to the north, as seen from an even higher vantage point:

More views of Pok Fu Lam Reservoir:

Here is where I ate lunch, a restaurant at the Peak called Mak's Noodle (麥奀雲吞麵世家) [I only just found out what this 奀 character is: ngan1 "skinny"]. I think there were two main reasons I went in: (1) I was hungry from my long hike and wanted to eat some substantial meal portions and (2) Mak's Noodle had some interesting traditional Chinese decor.

I was disappointed by their meal portions, but the quality of the food was exceptional. Here is a shot of their 炸醬撈麵 which had really narrow and 爽 (sorry, don't know how to translate this) noodles and crispy, sweet, salty, and spicy pork.

The portion was too small, so I had to order their 雲呑麵 (wonton noodle) as well, which (although not visible in this shot) had these interesting wontons where the wonton skin visibly enveloped a single shrimp, unlike the more spherical wontons I am used to.

As I was preparing to leave the Peak for the Dr. Sun Yat-sen Museum, I came upon this interesting English-Chinese sign, which ingeniously combines a "P" (for "Parking") and a "泊" (for "泊車場"), depending on how you look at it.

Up till then, I had only seen this concept used in the logo of the Hong Kong Legislative Council, which combines an "L" (for "Legislative Council") with a "立" (for "立法會"):

So I walked down the steep Old Peak Road, which is harder than it sounds because you don't want to trip and took this awesome view of Central:

I got a bit lost and followed a street sign pointing the way to Glenealy (on route to the Dr. Sun Yat-sen Museum) and came upon this mini-forest under the concrete overpasses:

And lo and behold, I found the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception without even planning to! I had originally planned it as part of today's itinerary but then cancelled it to reduce my travelling - God must have really wanted me to visit! I didn't take any photos of the interior, but I still remember the nice contrast played by the dark wooden pews and the cream walls and white columns. I prayed inside and then left.

I started walking along Robinson Road towards the Dr. Sun Yat-sen Museum:

Here is the Sun Yat-sen statue located just outside the Dr. Sun Yat-sen Museum. According to a museum display, it shows him in his student years at the Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese (later annexed by the University of Hong Kong) in Chinese clothing and holding English and Chinese books. I wasn't allowed to take any photos inside the museum, but there were many interesting exhibits showcasing Dr. Sun Yat-sen's life, his contribution to the establishment of the Republic of China, and Hong Kong's role in the Republican movement.

One of the things that struck me the most was his complete dedication to the cause of modernizing China. Not only did he rank number 1 in his graduating class at the College of Medicine for Chinese, but he also selflessly dedicated his whole life's time, money, and effort into the formation of a Chinese Republic that embodied his Three Principles of: democracy, nationalism, and people's well-being. His last words truly embodied his view of his own life:

“The revolution still has not succeeded; our comrades must struggle on"

“革命尚未成功,同志仍須努力”

Then I went to go buy some Chinese chops (印章). The man selling them taught me a lot about these chops (like the different types of chops, their different styles, and so on) told me that I would have to pick them up on Tuesday.

On my way back to Sheung Wan Station, I took these pictures of 永樂街 (Wing Lok Street), which is apparently where many 海味行 (Google Translate gives it as "Dried Seafood" but I'd say "Dried Chinese goods") sell their wares. The smell of ginseng and red dates filled the whole street!

I went back to HKUST via the same 11M minibus and found this awesome book in the Lee Shau Kee library's reference section. It is meant for advanced learners of Chinese and disambiguates synonyms in Chinese. Who knew there was a difference between "不過", "可是", and "但是"?