China, Hong Kong SAR, South Island MTR Line - Wandering Around Without Fixed Plans

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For me, travelling is a holistic experience. I do not travel to a place just to visit its most famous tourist attractions or world-renowned sites. Of course, I do love visiting those much-talked about attractions and sites. However, I usually prefer to keep a day or two of my trips free of any plans.

On these days, I would simply wander around without any fixed plans. Taking in the sights, sounds and experiences that I serendipitously chanced upon. And these were often the moments when I felt that I had truly visited the destinations. Some of my friends said I was wasting precious vacation time and limited trip days doing just nothing. But for me, these moments of wandering around without fixed plans were reflective of the wanderlust in me, the travel bug.

A cute poster interspersing a pig's head with the Chinese character for Fu (good fortune) on a noticeboard inside South Horizons Station of the South Island Line, Ap Lei Chau, Hong Kong SAR, China (2019)

Despite having visited Hong Kong numerous times, I have yet to visit or experience many areas in this wonderful city. In my recent trip to Hong Kong, I decided to take one of the MTR lines that I had not taken before.

Stopping at every station of the line, I exited each station and walked around the neighbourhood of that station. Simply to enjoy the sights and to take photographs as digital mementos of my visit and mini explorations. Needless to say, I absolutely loved that experience. In that single day alone, I probably covered more of Hong Kong than in most of my other trips to the city combined. Here are some photographs I took around the Aberdeen, Ap Lei Chau and Wong Chuk Hang areas. 

The famous Jumbo Floating Restaurant, Shum Wan, Aberdeen, Hong Kong SAR, China (2019)
Update (28 July 2022): This tourist icon was decommissioned and towed out of Hong Kong sometime in June 2022. While on transit in the South China Sea, it reportedly experienced bad weather and capsized.

Skyscrapers in the background and bum boats in the foreground, Ap Lei Chau, Hong Kong SAR, China (2019)

Bum boats near the Aberdeen Boat Club, Aberdeen, Hong Kong SAR, China (2019)

A block of skyscrapers near the Aberdeen Boat Club, Wong Chuk Hang, Hong Kong SAR, China (2019)

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