Day Two HK: The Peak, Zoological Gardens, Shopping, Star Ferry, Shopping

Our second day in HK started off bright and early, we headed off to Victoria Peak! Victoria Peak was very busy, probably considering it was a holiday but it was definitely worth the wait. The tram to go up to the peak was so packed, we had to wait in three different lines but finally we were up there.

Line one!

Sitting on the packed tram!

It was a beautiful day and we could see for miles. Rick really enjoyed his time up there while I was getting pretty hot in the sun. But it was still so beautiful to see that much of the city all at once. We walked around, checked out different angles of the view, and we ate lunch. Again, we were really disappointed with the food there. Almost $50CAD later and it was nothing special. There was a really large mall at the top of the Peak so we checked that out too, just to get out of the sun for a bit. Then we took the tram back down and decided to head to the Zoological and Botanical Gardens next.

The view

Shameless selfie

Pretty happy to find WiFi

Obligatory tourist photo

He is very ... special :)

In our guide book, it said the Gardens were pretty close to the Peak so that is why we decided to check it out. It was a long, uphill walk to the Gardens but we made it. It was pretty tiring to get there which is maybe why when we got there, the Gardens weren't that interesting anymore. We had a small break, Rick got some ice cream, we saw some monkeys and we were off again! This time in search of a restaurant.

Very tired Melissa

This picture speaks for itself

Searching for our restaurant!

A major reason we bought the guide book was because we use our one for Taiwan, so much! If we are in an area, we trust the book to give us a recommendation for a restaurant. So our guidebook said there was a rooftop restaurant near by that had great Mexican food so we headed that way. It was hard to find, but we found it! We were so excited.... but it was closed. Stupid Moon Festival. Onward to the next restaurant! A German restaurant, yay we found it! Closed. Stupid Moon Festival. Choice number three; open!!!!! Finally! By this point, we were starving. And if you know me, you know I can get pretty hangry. (hungry + angry = hangry) It was worth the wait and all the walking we had to do because I think it was one of the only meals we had in Hong Kong that we were pleased with.

Ecstatic to be eating!

Our next plan was to catch the Star Ferry while it was still during the day and then do a little window shopping. It was a really nice view during the day but it really is amazing at night. We ended up seeing a rooftop parking garage to a mall that Rick thought would be a great view of the city. I was worried about going up there without having a car to go to but Rick told me not to worry that no one would know we were up there. So we head up, thinking that we are the only ones to have thought of this. Nope. There were, at least, a hundred people up there doing exactly what we were doing. Rick got really excited while we were up there because there were some sort of fighter jets there? I'm not sure... I'll add a picture.

Fighter jets.. maybe?

We decided to do a little window shopping next. We wanted to check out the prices of cellphones to see if they were less or more, relatively the same and on we went. We headed over to the Chungking Mansions. If you've ever booked a hostel in HK, you would know that 75% of the hostels available are in these "mansions." I think mansions is a very loose term. It is a very big building, with four different blocks, all filled with hostels and Indian restaurants. Along with the ground floor being filled with little stalls selling absolutely everything. We were originally going to book our hostel here but I heard a lot online about the bad security and overall sketchiness of the place and we decided to pay a little more to book elsewhere. And I am glad we did.

Walking inside is comparable walking against a huge gust of wind. But that wind takes a different form, a form of 30 Indian men walking towards you, beside you, in front of you, telling you that THEIR Indian restaurant is the best one and that you should go there. We did actually end up going to one of them because the guidebook recommended it (it was Rick's favorite meal during our time in HK). But it was exhausting going in and out of that place. I couldn't imagine doing that every time I wanted to leave my hostel.

Really excited to eat some good food!

Next it was a night time trip on the Star Ferry and back to our hostel for a good night's sleep.