China, Hong Kong SAR, South Island Region
This article was originally published in this blog in September 2020.
Drawing inspirations from travel variety programs from Japan, I had always wondered what would the experience be like if I were to randomly choose a train or subway line, hop on the train and alight at as many stations as time permits, walk and explore around the locale of each station and than hop back onto the same train line, continuing until the last stop.
In other words, experiencing a train journey without any fixed plans or maps. Since I will mostly be within walking distance of each station that I alighted at, no maps will be necessary and I can simply explore and enjoy the sights and sounds without having to worry about losing my way.
This was what I did when I last visited Hong Kong in January 2019. I chose the South Island MTR Line because this was a line that extended out into the sub-urban regions of Hong Kong, away from the hustle and bustle of Kowloon and the part of Hong Kong that I had never never explore before despite numerous vacations to this vibrant city.
Amongst the most memorable sights that I saw was the famous Jumbo Floating Restaurant in Shum Wan, Aberdeen Harbour. This famous tourist icon is now no more, having been 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 near the Paracel Islands, just five days after leaving Hong Kong.
This is why travelling whenever we can is important. Sights and experiences which are present today may no longer be around tomorrow!
******************
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.
The famous Jumbo Floating Restaurant, Shum Wan, Aberdeen, Hong Kong SAR, China (2019)
Note: 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.
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.
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)
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)
Comments
Post a Comment