My camera was with me all the time while we toured every nook and cranny of Hong Kong (not to mention I was in so much pain because of a leg injury). Yes, you read it right. I endured a very painful left leg strain which started on our second night until we went home. I described the pain to my sister and she told me not to massage it as it may lead to something worse (I later found out from our office nurse that I had claudication -atherosclerosis that blocks blood flow in the arteries). I think it was sheer adrenaline that got me going because when I arrived in Manila I could not even walk straight anymore, I had to drag my left leg and take small steps with my right leg. 

Enough about my pain story, here are some random pictures I took while doing some touristy stuff:

Apart from these personalities, you will also see some famous Hong Kong and Hollywood actors and actresses, singers and performers among others. Some of the ones I remember are Eddie Murphy, Michael Jackson, Andy Lau, Louis Koo, Barbie Hsu, Lang Lang, Aaron Kwok, Kelly Chen, Tina Turner, Spiderman, McDull characters, Adolf Hitler, Saddam Hussein, Mahatma Gandhi, Bill Clinton, Deng Xiao Ping, Donald Tsang and etc. Jackie Chan's figure was outside the gallery so even if you won't enter, you would still get to see him.

Press Release September 8, 2011 – This Halloween (September 22 – October 31 from 2:30pm – 10pm), Madame Tussauds Hong Kong presents “SCREAM @ Frankenstein’s Lab”, the ultimate horror challenge for all daring guests. So, if you are a horror film enthusiast or you just want to scare yourself and be jolted from your seats then this will be a good thing to look out for.

This blog post won't need too much words I suppose because it's picture heavy in its self. Enjoy!!! Oh, check out this LINK to know how to get to the Madame Tussauds Wax Museum by tram. The museum is where celebrity and history meet. We had a lot of fun touring inside except for the fact that we didn't really know almost a third of the figures because they were Hong Kong artists. I didn't have a picture with Jackie Chan because his was figure was put up outside the museum and if you have your picture taken with, you will have to pay the Kodak crew (profitable business I should say). 

I am going to continue sharing to you my wonderful readers what transpired during my short but sweet getaway to Hong Kong. After the journey to Diamond Hill (Nan Lian Gardens and Chi Lin Nunnery), Olive and I decided to go to The Peak. We were supposed to stop by the Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens but we got lost because there were too many tourists and it was so humid that exploring the place wasn't that much of an option at all. This is one thing I regret not doing though (I still dream about it right now). I will be posting bus numbers at the end of this article so you know what to hop in to and not get lost like us. I guess the McDonalds pancake breakfast I had was not enough to fuel my brain eh?

From the Diamond Hill MTR Station (Kwun Tong Line-Green), we alighted at Mong Kok Station (Tsuen Wan Line-Red) so we could take the train passing by the Central Station. At this point in our travel, I was thinking to myself how convenient this mode of transportation not to mention how quickly it gets you from Point A to Point B. It also helped that we each bought Octopus cards (can be used to pay MTR, bus, fast food, among others). It may be ironic but I think Hong Kong is chaotic in an organized way. If you know how to read a map and follow directions, exploring it won't be rocket science. All you need is a conditioned pair of feet and legs for walking, maybe an umbrella for any sudden downpour and your Octopus card.

We took the J2 exit to get out of the subway and passed by Garden Road (where OFWs congregate especially on Sundays for some picnic and the like). Across the park is the Bank of China Tower, you have to walk a steep cemented path (about 500m) and then you will see this:

I guess we weren't as early as we thought we were, there were already more than a thousand people in line ahead of us. Again, it was a good thing that we have our Octopus card because it was accepted as mode of payment for the entrance fee. By the way, the Peak Tram opens at 7AM until midnight (Monday-Sunday including public holidays) and the tram departure schedule is every 10-15 minutes. Not that bad, I should say. We paid HKD$65 (about Php400) for a Peak Tram Sky Pass (return trip on the famous Peak Tram and the fabulous panoramic views of Hong Kong from The Sky Terrace 428, the highest 360° viewing terrace in Hong Kong).

The view was amazing up there if only it didn't rain. You guessed it right; we didn't get to experience the Sky Terrace because it rained, the guards discouraged for us to go up. We didn't insist and just opted to get inside the Madame Tussauds Wax Museum. And that's another story...

And for you map novices, here's a detailed guide on how to get to the Garden Road Peak Tram Lower Terminus:

Take the MTR to Central station. Take exit A (World Wide House exit) out of the station to the surface. Once above ground, at the corner of Connaught Rd Central & Pedder Street, take the stairs to go up to the pedestrian walkway overhead. Walk north toward the Victoria Harbor along the pedestrian overpass (above and along Pedder St. and then it turns into Man Yiu St.) You'll see the Star Ferry pier with its clock tower. The bus terminal for the number 15C bus (often open-top) is on your right on street level just in front of the pier below the clock tower. The bus will take you to the lower Peak Tram terminal (a 5-minute ride). Ride the tram all the way up to the upper terminal.

Take the Star Ferry heading for Central from Tsim Sha Tsui. Once you get off the Star Ferry in Central and out of the pier to the road, walk a bit to your left along the road to the the bus terminal for number 15C bus (often open-top). The bus will take you to the lower Peak Tram terminal (a 5-minute ride). Ride the tram all the way up to the upper terminal.

This post is the second part to the journey to Diamond Hill in Kowloon, Hong Kong.

Adjacent to the Nan Lian Garden is the Chi Lin Nunnery. You need not go out of the garden if you want to explore this as well. I was hesitant to go because I wasn't Catholic in the first place but the curious case in me won. When we entered the nunnery, we experienced tremendous silence and calmness and it wasn't the nunnery I was expecting. I truly enjoyed looking around all corners of this tourist spot.

Covering a space of more than 33,000 square meters, the temple complex includes a nunnery, temple halls, Chinese gardens and a vegetarian restaurant. The temple hall have statues of the Sakyamuni Buddha, the goddess of mercy Guanyin and other Bodhisattvas. These statues are made from gold, clay, wood and stone. When we went there, a Buddhist service was ongoing so we were able to hear the chants and we rested in one of the benches when the service was finished so we saw everyone garbed in their religious clothing. I tried to ask one of the attendees of the service if they are required to wear the clothing when attending but I didn't get any answer as she didn't understand my question and she didn't understand English too. 

The Chi Lin Nunnery is a serene place, with lotus ponds, immaculate bonsai tea plants and blooming bougainvilleas, and silent nuns delivering offerings of fruit and rice to Buddha and arhats (Buddhist disciples freed from the cycle of birth and death) or chanting behind intricately carved screens. The design (involving intricately interlocking sections of wood joined without a single nail) is intended to demonstrate the harmony of humans with nature. It’s pretty convincing – until you look up at the looming neighbourhood high-rises behind the complex. You enter the complex through the Sam Mun, a series of ‘three gates’ representing the Buddhist precepts of compassion, wisdom and ‘skilful means’. The first courtyard, which contains the delightful Lotus Pond Garden, gives way to the Hall of Celestial Kings, with a large statue of the seated Buddha surrounded by the deities of the four cardinal points. Behind that is the main hall, containing a statue of the Sakyamuni Buddha flanked by two standing disciples and two seated bodhisattvas (Buddhist holy people). -Lonely Planet

The four holy sites as places of pilgrimage for Buddhists are Lumbini, where the Buddha was born, Bodh Gaya, where the Buddha was enlightened under the Bodhi tree; Sarnath, where the Buddha gave his first teaching of the Dharma; and Kusinagara, where the Buddha passed away.

The temple halls and the Chinese garden in front of the nunnery is open to the public daily without charge. However, it is prohibited to take pictures of the buddhas and the architecture of the nunnery.