Kowloon Walled City

Originally a Chinese fort, Kowloon Walled City went through many changes under Chinese, British, and Japanese occupation. In the late 20th century it became one of the most densely populated places in Hong Kong. Controlled by the triads and with little government supervision, this community experienced high rates of prostitution, gambling, and drug use. In 1987, both the Chinese and British agreed on its demolition, this was completed by 1994.

Today you will find a beautiful park that only slightly reminisces on its previous use and instead focuses on the ancient Chinese fort and spirituality.

Wikipedia Image: Kowloon Walled City, 1989

I was born the year of the Sheep

Duncan is the year of the Dragon (much cooler than a Sheep!!)

Fascinating place and although it would have been impressive to see it pre-1994 this is clearly for the best.

Ah Meow Cat Cafe

You often hear about themed cafes, especially in Asia. The moment I heard about the Ah Meow Cat Cafe in Hong Kong it went straight on my HK Bucket List.

On Sunday afternoon we headed to Causeway bay to check it out. We entered what seemed like a residential building and had a sudden fear that we had been tricked and this "cat cafe" was actually a crazy cat ladies apartment. That fear quickly passed when we found the cafe on the 3rd floor. Upon entering it surprisingly smelled like baked good. The decor was of course cat themed, as well as all the dishes on the menu. You get a little booklet with rules and all the cats names and pictures. My best friend became So So, who apparently has "the heart of a nun"... whatever that means.

Me and So So

I'm still not sure if it was the best thing ever or the weirdest thing ever!!

Half a year

Today marks six months since I arrived in Hong Kong. In a way it feels more like two weeks ago but then again it's hard to imagine life before or without Hong Kong. It's fair to say I've had ups and downs here, but what is life without those. I've grown attached to this city in a way I wasn't sure was possible and now feel as though a piece of my heart belongs to Hong Kong. There's things I don't know if I'll ever fully get use to and other things I know I'll miss immediately once I'm gone.

Hong Kong, the best decision I made, thank you. I think I'll stay here a little bit longer...

An Afternoon in Sheung Wan

Sheung Wan is located right next to Central but instead of rows of designer stores you will find galleries and various quirky stores.  It's kind of like the hipster version of Central (if you're familiar with Toronto, it's similar to Queen West.)

We started off by having a late lunch at Cafe O and then headed up to the much talked about PMQ building which had the 1600 Pandas exhibition on.  The PMQ building use to house police officers and their families and was then converted to a hub for design and innovation.  The 1600 Pandas exhibition put on with association to World Wildlife Federation (WWF) represents the number of wild pandas left in the world. French artist Paulo Grangeon created these papier-mache pandas to demonstrate the urging problem of their declining population.  

We really enjoyed the dominating exhibition constrasting with this converted bulding. Afterwards, we continued the afternoon by popping into various antique shops and cafes, passing by street art, until we reached the Man Mo Temple, filled with offerings, sculptures, and smoke from the burning incense.  Another beautiful temple to add to the Hk tour and a fantastic neighborhood full of hidden treasures!

Another fantastic afternoon spent in Hong Kong!

The Peak

Victoria Peak, or 'The Peak' is probably one of the first stops you make in Hong Kong.  Somehow I managed to let 4 months pass by before finally going.  It wasn't the clearest day but with enough excuses having prevented this visit it was peak time.

Now I'll admit this next statement is partially due to my fear of heights but I honestly didn't love their Sky Terrace 428 viewing platform. I think a large part of the reason was because of how crowded and commercialized the area was with two massive malls attached to it. With sweaty palms and a heart beating much too fast, I was about to go back down when I randomly decided to walk in a direction away from the tourists. I ended up on the Lugard Road walk, which was incredible! It gave you the same 360 view as the platform however this 30 minute walk felt more authentic with the untamed nature all around. You passed a waterfall and got to see the Pok Fu Lam reservoir then through the forest you went with glimpses of mansions above and then finally you slowly approached the harbour, getting closer to the money shot of Hong Kong... I was lucky to have accidentally fallen upon this walk and seriously recommend it to anyone!!

It was a bit windy haha

Paparazzi trying to get the perfect shot 

Artsy shot because I'm clearly a pro