A Voice in Hong Kong: Part 2
View from The Peak. (19/06/2026)
This is Part 2 of my blog about my trip to Hong Kong. Although, to be honest, it is less of a blog and more of a photo dump. Here is the link to Part 1.
21.06.2026 - Central
I had had an eventful few days so tried to sleep in as long as possible so had a lazy morning. I just wanted to spend another day wandering around the surrounding areas on HK Island. As I mentioned in my previous post, a frequent activity for me was hunting for street art. I often used the HK Walls project, and their user created maps to find some of the cool artworks that were in the districts/neighbourhoods I was visiting that day. So, I once more set off to explore Central & Sheung Wan.
Some of the street art:
This mural by Belgian artist Jaune is fantastic. You could easily walk past it without noticing it. If you look closely, you can see the detail of workers climbing and swinging on the painted buildings and bamboo scaffolding
I also love this mural of a woman in a spacesuit with a smartphone by the art collective Innerfields from Berlin, Germany 😍:
Mural by Innerfields (21/06/2026)
Once more I went to Bakehouse for pastries and a cool drink. I then returned to sit in front of the Innerfields woman in a spacesuit mural to eat my delicious egg tarts and drink my cold can of lemon jasmine tea.
I went to Man Mo temple on Hollywood Road in Sheung Wan. There were hanging spiral incense burners. The incense smoke swirling in the beams of light shining through the rafters added incredible spirituality and reverence to the temple. Although it was perfectly acceptable to do so, I felt rather awkward taking pictures inside.
22.06.2026 - Star Ferry; HKMoA; HK Science Museum; Sino Centre & TOP Mall (Kowloon - TST & Mong Kok)
I had the rather ambitious plan to go to two museums in the same day, and then also go to two malls with the aim of getting Pokémon cards as a gift for my brother. I decided to take the famous Star Ferry across Victoria Harbour to Tsim Sha Tsui. It was so hot walking from my hotel along the waterfront to the Star Ferry Pier.
Hong Kong Museum of Art (22/06/2026)
After disembarking the Star Ferry in Tsim Sha Tsui, my first stop was to the Hong Kong Museum of Art. They had an ‘Art Personalised: Masterpieces from the HKMoA’ exhibition with specially selected pieces in four different zones, each representing different personality traits: Adventurer, Perfectionist, Elegance or Fashionista. At the start, you took a quiz where you discover the trait that best describes you and were also ‘matched’ with one of the artworks. In the quiz, I got ‘Perfectionist’ and was matched with this ‘Jar with dragons amidst wave design in underglaze blue’:
Does this capture the essence of ‘me’?
Here are the artworks I especially enjoyed from the four personality zones:
Another exhibition was ‘Blooming: The Art of Gardens in East and West’. “Gardens are arcadias for self-discovery, leisure havens for the ordinary people, stages of power for rulers, tasteful displays for wealthy merchants and spiritual homes for scholars. While the design and style of Chinese and Western gardens from ancient to modern times vary, they all reflect the core value of a garden: a serene retreat filled with natural beauty, where people can relax and reflect.”
The highlights for me in this exhibit were the two Claude Monet paintings, Water Lily Pond and Water Lilies 😍:
I also really liked the incredible fine detail in these paintings and handscrolls (most of these were elsewhere in the museum, if I remember correctly, but they still fit with the garden theme.). You can see people leisurely wandering around, working, and reading. I think there are resonances with later contemporary work (see Chan Kwan-lok below), and even Jaune’s street art (see above).
Wu Guanzhong quickly became a favourite of mine. I loved this painting ‘The Easterly Breeze Blows Open the Wisteria’:
The Easterly Breeze Blows Open the Wisteria’ by Wu Guanzhong
Another exhibit was ‘Live: Hong Kong Art Exhibition’, which brought together contemporary HK artists. “Hong Kong art reflects the city's unique position as a cultural crossroads, synthesising Chinese traditions and Western influences into distinctive artistic vocabularies and aesthetics. Among the artists participating in this exhibition, many draw on Chinese artistic traditions and philosophical thought. They refuse to be constrained by inherited frameworks; instead, they reinvent conventions, cultivating highly individual practices. Their works are often deeply rooted in local contexts, reflecting Hong Kong's unique urban landscape, rhythm of life and cultural sensibilities.”
I especially love this take on the HK Star Ferry. It’s ‘The Star Ferry Tale’ by Stephen Wong Chun Hei:
‘The Star Ferry Tale’ by Stephen Wong Chun Hei
I absolutely adore the incredible fine detail of Chan Kwan-lok’s ‘Waves of Nostalgia’ and ‘Oasis in the Wasteland’. From the accompanying plaque: “Chan Kawn-lok constructs inner landscape through meticulous gongbi (fine brushwork), weaving personal memories into traditional aesthetics. Waves of Nostalgia and Oasis in the Wasteland depict contrasting scenes of a swimming pool: one bathed in sunlight, the other abandoned and overgrown. The former traces childhood memories of learning to swim, transforming past fears into a present sense of freedom. The latter embodies the regret of an unfulfilled promise to swim with a loved one. By intertwining imagery of the pool and the sea with intricate ink lines, the artist narrates a story of memory, growth and healing.”
Finally, I went to the ‘Wu Guanzhong: Encountering Landscapes’ thematic exhibition:
After the HKMoA, I walked along the ‘Avenue of Stars’, where there were handprint plaques and statues, and beautiful views of Victoria Harbour:
I then made my way to the HK Science Museum. Honestly, I was flagging a little bit by now. I didn’t take many pictures and I kinda rushed through some parts of the museum. I’m going to have to come back. The two exhibits that bookended my visit were the AI exhibition and the dinosaur exhibition. Two different ends of the timescale!
After a quick afternoon snack of Hong Kong-style French toast – two slices of bread with peanut butter in the middle, coated in egg, then pan fried and topped with butter and syrup! – I went to Sino Centre in Mong Kok. It is a densely packed on multiple levels with vendors and stalls selling electronics, collectibles, and Pokémon cards. I found one stall and browsed their collection of cards. I’m no expert on Pokémon beyond the original 151, which I loved (and I have actually written about perhaps my favourite one, Ditto), but I selected a few cards based on which ones I knew my brother liked and on how cool the images were.
I had also read there was a Pokémon card vending machine in TOP Mall, so I then headed over there to get some unopened packs for my brother to open —>
Afterwards, I headed back to HK Island, this time taking the MTR. It was a packed day!
23.06.2026 - No Octopus, Only Octopus Card (Ocean Park, HK Island)
I decided to visit Ocean Park. Although it has rides and roller coasters, I mainly wanted to visit for the animal attractions. I’m not really a fan of roller coasters. I am a big fan of octopuses though, and I wanted to see a Giant Pacific Octopus. I had googled at the AI overview said there was one at the Grand Aquarium. Unless I missed it somewhere, there wasn’t an octopus at the park. Yet another strike against strike against AI; it seems Google’s AI Overview lied to me. Oh well, there were other animals I wanted to see.
Anyway, I set off in the morning from Sheung Wan taking the MTR (Island Line then South Island Line) to the park in the south of HK Island. No octopus, but octopus card FTW! It was still rather quiet when I got there so I didn’t have to wait in a queue for entrance. I got my ticket and went inside. Although the clouds looked rather ominous, it was still incredibly hot.
I made my way to the Grand Aquarium:
Next, I went to Giant Panda Adventure. I was really excited to see the pandas as I had never seen pandas in the flesh before. The park has four pandas - adults Ying Ying and Le Le, and two cubs Jia Jia and De De. I knew pandas were ‘lazy’ and wouldn’t be highly active but even I was surprised at how they would sleep in such awkward positions.
I also saw Chinese alligators on the way in to see the pandas. Alongside the pandas, there were red pandas. Talk about burying the lede! I jest, but, again, I was so excited to see these in the flesh too. They are so cute! One was laid out flat. It was a mood! I get it; it was sooo hot that day! As my BIL said, when I sent him pics, “I knew Pokémon were real!”
I also saw Chinese stripe-necked turtles. They haven’t learned any ninja skills yet. Maybe when they are teenagers.
I then went to Little Meerkat and Giant Tortoise Adventure, and then to the Sloth and Friends Studio.
All these animal attractions were at the Waterfront area of Ocean Park. There is also the Summit area, up on the mountainside. The queue for the cable car up to the Summit was very long, so I took the Ocean Express funicular train shuttle. At the top, I went to see the penguins. It was feeding time!
Penguin feeding time! 🐧🐧🐧🐧🐧🐧🐧🐧
At the gift shop, I bought a hat with a squid on it. It is now my favourite hat. I then went to Shark Mystique, which had sharks such as the reef shark, sandbar shark, zebra sharks, bowmouth guitarfish (what a name!), and sawfish.
I then took the cable car down to Waterfront. There were a few stomach-churning moments as the cable car would stop and swing randomly for a minute of so!
That was the end of my Ocean Park adventure. Another big day out.
24.06.2026 - Big Buddha, Lantau Island
The Tian Tan Buddha on Lantau Island was one of the things I was most looking forward to seeing when I first booked the trip. I took the E11 bus to Tung Chung to catch the Ngong Ping 360 cable car up to the Big Buddha. Second day in a row taking a cable car! I just went for the standard cabin rather than the glass bottom Crystal cabin. The cable car journey took about 20-25 mins, if I remember correctly. There are beautiful views of Lantau Island hills and the bay.
Up at the top was Ngong Ping village. I walked passed a bunch of food places and souvenir shops. I walked through the entrance gate and over to the steps up to the buddha statue.
It was very hot day but there was a mist on the top of Lantau Island and around the buddha, which meant you couldn’t see views of the surrounding area from the top. However, the mist gave a beautiful spiritual and ethereal quality to the statue. Walking up the steps, the statue was gradually being revealed. The veil of mist was being pulled back.
Tian Tan Buddha
After visiting the statue and walking around it several times, I descended to steps and went over to explore the Po Lin Monastery which is also in Ngong Ping village. The monastery architecture is incredibly beautiful and intricate. I then went to The Grand Hall of Ten Thousand Buddhas.
For lunch, I had some dim sum from one of the food places, then went to get souvenirs for family and friends. I took the cable car back down to Tung Chung and got the MTR back to Sheung Wan.
25.06.2026 - Sai Wan (Sai Ying Pun; Kennedy Town)
It had been a couple of very busy days so I wanted a relatively quiet day. I had a good sleep and a long lie in before going out to explore a bit more of the closer surroundings. Every other day, I went in the direction of Sheung Wan and Central. This day, I went the other way to the Western District. I decided to go for brunch in Sai Ying Pun. I went to Coffee by Zion for a vegetarian breakfast and a matcha ice latte.
I then went to ArtLane, an “open air gallery” in Sai Ying Pun. It is a ‘mural village’ with large, bright eye-catching street art murals:
Next, I took the MTR to the Kennedy Town neighbourhood. I strolled along Belcher Bay Promenade, and sat in Belcher Bay Park. I then went to get a drink to cool down. I opted for a smoothie from Blend & Grind.
I then took the MTR back to Sheung Wan for a chilled late afternoon pottering around and then had dinner.