Hong Kong part 2

My time in Hong Kong continued with more of the same, just wandering the streets seeing what wonders can be discovered down random alleys. Every street in Hong Kong is interesting in some way and I don't think I'd have felt satisfied until I had walked down every one.
One day I headed to the cultural sites of northern Kowloon such as the Buddhist Chi Lin Nunnery which was set in a peaceful garden with a large pond containing the biggest and most beautiful carp that I had seen. Then I headed to the Taoist Wong Tai Sin Temple which was full of people performing rituals to tell their fortunes, and surrounded with fortune tellers. The incense and the chanting was all very atmospheric, but I didn't opt for any fortune telling myself, I'd rather not know! Finally I headed for a walk through Kowloon Walled City Park, which is built on the site of Kowloon Walled City. Kowloon Walled City was a Chinese enclave within British Hong Kong that was essentially an ungoverned high rise slum with 35,000 people living in 6.4 acres of land (about the size of two rugby pitches). It was run by Chinese triads (organised crime syndicates), and illegal activity and squalor were rife leading the Hong Kong government to announce its demolition in 1987. After a lengthy eviction and relocation process it was finally demolished in 1995, with the park being built in its place. The park today is a pleasant and serene place for a walk, with parts of the foundations of the city still visible in some places although you'd never guess at the urban chaos that was there in the past.
Back on Hong Kong Island I visited more temples, each of them unique and filled with incense. I visited the Blue House, a well preserved example of the tong lau tenament buildings common in parts of Asia in the first half of the 20th century. And of course I mostly got around on the famous trams, otherwise known as ding dings! Trams have been in use in Hong Kong since 1904 and are a great way to get around, I always chose to take a tram over the metro for the views while riding them, even if the journey took longer. They were also just a good way to spend time going around and seeing as much as possible from the top deck!Read more