Hong Kong’s night scene from Victoria Peak

Our journey to The Peak didn’t start off pretty well. It was partly our fault; we planned to go up the mountain before evening to see the view both in day and night, but we failed to anticipate the time needed to take the tram and the time of the sunset (much earlier than we thought).

Tram station on the ground

The wait for the Peak Tram was quite a pain. It was a long queue, and Q-jumping was quite uncontrollable. I even had a quarrel with on of the staff for the Q-jumping matter, but I might have overreacted in this case… the staff were probably doing their best but unfortunately short handed in handling the mass in what could be the busiest weekend of the year because of China’s week long holiday.

We managed to get on the tram after more than an hour of waiting. I am not sure if I was having a bad mood, or that the tram ride is seriously overrated… I didn’t find anything enjoyable with the tram. It was nothing bad, but just a mean of transportation for me instead of tourist attraction.

The sky was already dark by the time we reached the Peak Tower. Luckily the night view of Hong Kong from The Peak was quite spectacular; it eased the unpleasant experience while waiting for the tram.

We had dinner and hanged around the area to wait for the Symphony of Light. As mentioned in earlier post, the show is something that you should see once in your life, but just once as it could be pretty boring for the second time.

We didn’t wait until the ending of the show to get down The Peak. The tram waiting queue was not as long and chaotic on our way back, thank goodness… at least we came in grudge but went home with a pleasant smile.

It was a weekend, and mainland China was celebration their week long holiday to celebrate National Day… so the park was really crowded.

Main entrance of Ocean Park Hong Kong

There are a few attractions in the park; we didn’t go for all of them, but just to see the show, aquariums and the pandas. We were bringing a toddler along, so the rides were out of question. Besides, it was too crowded… it was difficult to see the stuff, and some of the queues were unbearable.

We took the cable cars from Lowland Gardens to the Marine Land; people who are fear of heights should really take the buses instead…

The cable cars, and the ocean and cliff directly below

It was a full house at the Ocean Theater, with dolphins and sea lions’ show. I thought that I could see a killer whale performing, but only found out later that the whale has passed away a few years ago. The show was just ok, but the kids were loving it obviously.

Dolphins and sea lions performing at Ocean Theater

We managed to squeeze into the Shark Aquarium and Atoll Reef; but decided not to wait in the long queue for Sea Jelly Spectacular nor some of the other attractions.

The Atoll Reef includes a huge marine tank with hundreds of marine species… seeing this alone was probably worth the visit.

Marine life at Atoll Reef – fishes, seahorses and squids etc.

We went back to the Lowland Gardens by cable again to see the 4 pandas. It was my first time seeing real life panda in action… these animals were just so adorable. It makes me want to go to the panda reserve in China to get up close with these cretures.

The pandas at Hong Kong Jockey Club Giant Panda Habitat

[Ocean Park official website]

A Star Ferry as seen from the waterfront promenade at Tsim Sha Tsui

There are other ways to get across the Victoria Harbour (via road and train) these days but some locals are still using the ferries often. The ferry is also a favourite among tourists because if offers good view for both side of the harbour, or simply because it’s one of HK’s main heritage.

We rode on the “Morning Star”

There are currently 12 ferries in the fleet; the oldest ferry has been in service since 1956.

We rode a Star Ferry from Tsim Sha Tsui Pier in Kowloon to Hong Kong Island’s Central Pier on our 2nd day in HK. The ferry that we used was the Morning Star (曉星號) which started its operation in 1965 and named after the company’s first ferry in 1888 (now retired).

It was a fun experience. I guess it’s always fun for people to get on a ferry (or boat) except for people who are using it daily and some of those that are easily sea sick.

Our route didn’t offer any spectacular scene though; it was a direct journey from Tsim Sha Tsui to Central. For people who want to experience the scenic view on both side of the harbour, they should opt for the Central to Hung Hom route, or take the Harbour Tour ferry instead.

[Star Ferry's official website]

Central Ferry Piers 7 and 8 – the 4th generation of Central Pier that started operation in 2006; its design is a replica of the 3rd generation Edinburgh Place Ferry Pier (1957-2006)

A Symphony of Lights (幻彩詠香江) is an orchestrated light and laser show featured on buildings situated on both sides of the Victoria Harbour. It is the world’s largest permanent light and sound show; it starts on 8pm daily (under good weather) and lasts for about 15 minutes.

Spectators can listen to the show’s music and English narration live along the Tsim Sha Tsui waterfront between the Avenue of Stars and the Hong Kong Cultural Centre; and the promenade outside the Golden Bauhinia Square in Wan Chai every Monday, Wednesday and Friday night.

The show was quite spectacular, but I attribute it to the fact that the night scene of Victoria Harbour was already breathtaking with or without the show. The show was an exciting experience nonetheless, but was one of those that we should see it once in our lifetime, but not more than once.

Hong Kong island at night, before the show started

A Symphony of Lights, and Victoria Harbour at night

We had to be careful though, there were lots of dog poo on the pavements.

The streets and colourful buildings in Nice

A small market selling fresh fruits, veges, flowers, mushrooms etc.

Promenade des Anglais

Promenade des Anglais (Promenade of the English) got its name in 18th century as the coastline in Nice was a hot spot for winter vacation for the English. It was first named Camin dei Anglès (The English Way) before changing its name to Promenade des Anglais in mid-19th century.

At Promenade des Anglais; the Castle Hill is clearly visible at the bottom pic

The experience wasn’t bad though, sunrise is always beautiful. Besides, it was still a nice feeling spending the early morning on the quiet pebble beach… it was peaceful and tranquil.

Promenade des Anglais was quiet in early morning

Not the usual sandy beaches

Sun started rising

The other side of the beach was still dark when the sun was rising

Sunrise, sunrise…

We had a night visit to Monaco, which was about an hour journey from Nice. The bus dropped us by the famous F1 tunnel (tunel); we walked by some buildings and gardens on our way to the Grand Casino of Monte Carlo.

It was just a short tour at Monaco… honestly I can’t remember much of it besides some of its stories and the casino, the cruises and boats at the harbour, and the song we played on our bus journey (Kenny Roger’s “The Gambler”).

Monte Carlo Casino at Place du Casino

Le Grand Casino de Monte-Carlo

The Monte Carlo Casino, sometimes referred as the Grand Casino, or simply The Casino, is arguably Monaco’s biggest attraction. The casino was built in 1878, and has featured in numerous movies, including the recent Bond’s movie, “Casino Royale”.

Me and my sister paid 10 euro each to get into the casino area; it’s not really an entrance fee as we were handed with wager chips of equivalent value. The casino was not as grand as I anticipated, probably because we didn’t have the time to wander the whole casino area. I preferred casinos that are a bit noisier and crowded, more Vegas style.

One thing that you shouldn’t miss at the Monte Carlo is its toilet. Even if you are not a gambler, remember to use their toilet (and the flush)… it’s a wonderful bit of experience.

Some history and background of Monaco

Monaco has been ruled by the House of Grimaldi since 1297, when François Grimaldi seized the fortress of Monaco from a rival Italian faction. Disguised as a Franciscan monk, he successfully led a small army into the fortress reclaiming it in the name of the Pope.

According to our guide, Monaco got its name from the monk disguise, as a Franciscan monk is known as Monaco in Italian. There are however another saying that Monaco already got its name before the Grimaldi’s reign, that the Monaco-monk is merely coincidence.

You can read more history of Monaco from Monaco’s Official Site and Wikipedia.

Some people are confused with Monaco and Monte Carlo… fact is Monte Carlo is just one of Monaco’s 5 wards (quartiers), namely Monaco-Ville (the oldest part of Monaco), Monte Carlo, La Condamine, Fontvieille and Moneghetti. Monte Carlo is probably the most famous area for foreigners, for being the location of the famous casino.

Monaco is an independent country, but is closely linked with France in their administration. Monaco has a small troop of soldiers, as France is responsible for its defence for both nations’ interest.

Boats at the La Condamine harbour (left); and the Prince’s Palace across the harbour

Côte d’Azur International Airport (Aéroport Nice Côte d’Azur)

We arrived at the city after a day long journey from Lyon. Most of my tour mates preferred to take some rest at the hotel, but I decided to have a closer glance at the beach, which was just 10-minutes of walking distance from my hotel.

There were benches along the Promenade des Anglais, facing the sea. I sat there for half an hour, just sitting there, feeling the breeze from the Mediterranean Sea, and people watching… it was a wonderful and peaceful feeling.

I would love to wait for the sunset, but I had to go back to the hotel for dinner, and to prepare for a night trip to Monaco.

Beach of Nice and the Mediterranean Sea

Notre-Dame de Fourvière, from distance

We didn’t have much time in Lyon; it was just an overnight stay on our way to Nice from Paris. I didn’t manage to see much of the city, but I met some nice people.

After dinner, my sister and I decided to visit Fourvière, the highest hill in Lyon to have a night view of the city. We headed to the funicular station; the walking journey was a bit scary because the streets were dark, but we reached there safely… only to find out that we didn’t know how to purchase the funicular tickets.

We asked for help from some people standing nearby, they couldn’t understand English, but one of them was nice enough and went into the station office and led their station officer to assist us.

The officer could understand us but couldn’t communicate well in English… so he bought us the tickets, and led us to the waiting point, and told us that we would need to come down in 45 minutes because that would be the last funicular trip available.

Some people might think that it was some basic hospitality, but I really appreciate that. It might be a simple gesture for those people, but it helped us from lots of headache and troubles.

The main attraction of the park is probably the variety of fountains that runs during weekends and some special holidays. My visit was on Tuesday unfortunately.

Garden, fountains and statue at Park of Versailles

Nudity is common art in those days

Goodbye Versailles

Groups of Africans were selling merchandises (mostly scarves) outside of the palace ground, without proper permits obviously. I thought I would only see that in 3rd world countries… didn’t expect to see that in France.

The visit to Versailles was pretty rush; I only had less than 3 hours to visit both the palace and the park, which obviously was not sufficient. 3 hours is probably not enough to explore the palace in details, let alone to walk through the massive garden.

I can’t be too disappointed though; that’s part of the pros and cons for following an organized tour… you got to see a lot of things, but you probably won’t see much of it in depth.

Me, Versailles and the statue of Louis XIV

Goodbye Versailles

Moulin Rouge, which means the Red Mill

It was an optional excursion, I was not sure of going because it was quite pricey (over 100€ per person), but my sister convinced me that it’s something that we should experience at least once in our life time. Besides, she paid the bills… I had nothing to complain about.

I was hoping to see the cabaret in Moulin Rouge; but we went to somewhere nearby instead. I forgot the name of the place, but it was quite a venue… the set up was amazing, the food was just decent but the show was great.

I am not sure how to describe the show… music, dance, stunt, nude and drama. Excitement is not the best word, it was more like enlightenment instead… the performance was so different from my cultural comfort zone; everything on stage was just so new and mind-opening, it was like wandering into a brand new world.

It was a wonderful experience… but I don’t think I will go for another cabaret show again. It is something that is worth witnessing once in a lifetime, just once.

Basilica of the Sacred Heart

Visitors could walk uphill or take a funicular instead. My sister and I chose to take the funicular to go up and walked down later on.

Montmartre primes itself as the artistic centre of Paris since the late 19th century; but arts were not really our cup of tea, so we didn’t spend much time there. The basilica was lovely though; worth going up hill just to take a few photos of it.

We had crêpe for our lunch; the taste was different from the crêpe we had at Latin Quarter, but both were absolutely yummy. I was falling in love with the simple yet delicious snack.

We walked down the hill and had the leisure to shop for some postcards and French junk food before boarding on our bus for our next destination.

Artists and tourists at Montmartre

Paris city and the beautiful Seine River

Can you spot Arc de Triomphe?

Shadow of Eiffel and the Trocadéro; high rise buildings can be seen in newer area of Paris

The far point at the centre of picture is Montmartre and Basilica of the Sacred Heart

Champ de Mars

The Paris view from Eiffel Tower was amazing; the enlightening experience has sparked my interest to see a city from birds-view whenever possible in future.

Pont-Neuf, which means ‘New Bridge’, is ironically the oldest standing bridge in Paris (left); Musée d’Orsay (The Orsay Museum), formerly a train station, now an art museum

Institut de France (French Institute), connected by pedestrian bridge Pont des Arts
(Bridge of the Arts) to Lourve at the other end

The highlight of the night was Eiffel Tower; it was a WOW experience when I first saw the tower with its spectacular light show… I could feel my adrenalin pumping; it was an exciting moment that I would cherish for life.

Eiffel Tower and its light show at night

Photo of Notre Dame de Paris

Prior to the visit at Notre Dame, all I wanted from Paris was to ascend Eiffel Tower and have a peak at Mona Lisa at the Louvre… but I changed the idea after seeing the cathedral up close.

The carvings and sculptures on the wall of Notre Dame were simply amazing. I used to think that Notre Dame is just an old and huge cathedral; I never perceived that it would be a masterpiece of art and architecture. The experience really opens my mind that there must be lots of places and stuff (besides Eiffel and Mona Lisa) in Paris that would enlighten me during the tour.

Sculptures above the entrance at western facade of Notre Dame

We were just on time to enter the cathedral as it was closing in another half an hour, and how lucky we were. My sister was charmed by the lovely Rose Windows, but I was simply stunned by the enormous size of the cathedral… it simply took my breath away as I never thought that a church could be that huge.

Enormous interior of Notre Damel

Even though I am not a religious person, I felt so calm and peaceful inside Notre Dame. It was a wonderful experience, and a great place to kick-start my journey in Paris.

Rose Window inside Notre Dame

Notre Dame – random facts

Notre Dame means ‘our lady’ in French. The construction of the cathedral was started in 1163, and was only fully completed in 1345.

Notre Dame was almost destructed in early 19th century due to disrepair. Victor Hugo then wrote the famous “Hunchback of Notre Dame” which played a part in raising interest to restore the Gothic cathedral, which finally happened in 1845.

Notre Dame is still used as a Roman Catholic cathedral these days.

[More pictures of Notre Dame at my next post]