Ocean Park and Water World are huge, fun entertainment parks which are great for kids or the young at heart!
The Parks are situated right next to each other and to the east of Aberdeen.
Ocean Park is an amusement park filled with roller coasters, slides, swings and other fairground rides. It's on a huge scale and a lot of fun if this is your thing.
There is also a sea life center here, complete with penguins, seals, sharks and killer whales! A cable car runs through the park connecting with the Middle Kingdom, a slightly naff collection of Chinese model villages, pagodas etc.
Directly next to Ocean Park is Water World. This is a massive aqua park filled with swimming pools, slides and diving boards.
Opening hours: The Parks' opening hours are 10am-6pm from Tuesday to Sunday and until 11pm in summer. Closed on Monday.
How to get there:
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Take the subway and get off at Golden Bell station, then take 629 special bus to get to the Ocean Park.
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There are the special buses at TianXing Dock of Zhonghuan Area, starting off one every 10- 30 minutes.
Costs: Ocean Park costs HK$165 for adults and HK$85 for children under 11.
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Sai Kung peninsula and Clearwater Bay are out in the New Territories- the area where one third of Hong Kong residents live. The New Territories are hugely popular with locals who want to escape from the city at the weekends. One of the nicest and most convenient spots to do this, is around Sai Kung.
The area around Sai Kung Town (once only a tiny fishing village), is a great place to do some good walking, take in some gorgeous scenery and do some swimming at the great beaches nearby. (Watch out for sharks however!)
One of the nicest ways to see some of the scenery and the beaches is to hire a small boat. By boat, you can either take a tour of all the islands (approximately
HKD150) or just take a ride to one of the nearby beaches. The boat owners moor their vehicles by the pier in the town and will haggle to determine the fare. The boats regularly visit Sharp Island (Kiu Tsui Chau), White Sands Island (Pak Sha Chau), Pillow Island (Cham Tau Chau) and Salt Field Island (Yim Tin Tsai) where there is a small Christian Church.
After a hard day hiking or sunning yourself on the beach, there are some great little restaurants to eat in. Among the best ones are Pepperoni's Pizza and Cafe on Po Tung Road and the Tung Kee Restaurant which serve exquisite Cantonese seafood on Man Nin Street.
How to get there: Take the MTR to Choi Hung and leave at exit B. From the bus station on Clearwater Bay North Road take bus #92 or minibus #1 to Sai Kung Town.
Clearwater Bay is another favorite beach with locals and ex-pats from the city. This beautiful area is surrounded by rough rocks and wild scenery, which provide a stunning contrast to the slick city life of Hong Kong.
Clearwater Bay Country Park has some great trails which head off into the surrounding countryside or down to the beach. These trails are clearly marked and there are various lengths and difficulty levels too. There are two beaches here, both have clear white sand and gorgeous water for swimming. They can get fairly busy at weekends however, as they are quite easy to access from Kowloon and Hong Kong Island.
How to get there: Take the MTR to Choi Hung. From there take bus No.91 to the final stop.
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St. John's Cathedral on Garden Street was the first Christian church in Hong Kong when it was built in 1847. Today, it is one of the few colonial structures that has survived the massive renovations and building of skyscrapers in the area.
During WWII, Japanese troops occupied the building and made it their headquarters in Hong Kong. Since then, the Church has been renovated numerous times and this is now the main place of worship for Christians in Hong Kong and Macau.
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It seems hard to imagine today, but Stanley was once a tiny village, home to only a few people and apparently where wild tigers once roamed! (See the skin in the Tin Hua Temple in the village!)
Today, this is fast becoming one of the trendiest areas for ex-pats and wealthy Hong Kong residents to live and there are numerous flashy residential blocks shooting up around town. Stanley is situated just on the south of the peninsula, about 20km away from Central. This town is most famous for the market which is hugely popular especially at weekends.
You can pick up just about anything here including clothes, antiques and souvenirs. Aside from the Temple, people come here to visit St. Stephen's beach. This is a reasonable beach that is good for windsurfing and boating. It takes about 25 minutes to walk here from the town.
How to get there: Take bus No.6. No.6A or No.260 from Exchange Square in Central.
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Statue Square is the large, open area linking the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank with the Cenotaph on Chater Road. This pretty area is today filled with fountains and seats and on Sundays, it is usually bursting with Phillipino maids who gather here on their day off.
These young women and girls are usually working in Hong Kong illegally and have families and children of their own to support at home.
They meet up all over the city on Sundays and the numbers and noise are quite phenomenal. The base of the HKSB is another popular meeting spot.
The Square's statues were removed by the Japanese during WWII and only one, a bronze portrait of Sir Thomas Jackson, a former HKSB manger, has been returned to its original home.
The colonial domed building in the corner of the Square is the former Supreme Court and is now home to the Legislative Council (hence the name Legco Building). This is an attractive building which sits unobtrusively in an area otherwise dominated by modern designs. This 90 year old place is dwarfed but not overwhelmed, by the spectacular skyscrapers which look down on it.
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The Hong Kong Cultural Center is a modern building located on one of Hong Kong's prime sites. It is a controversial design, given that it should have one of the most impressive views in the world yet has virtually no windows. The building is a huge, sand colored landmark, which is distinctive also for it's wave like roof. The Center is directly next to the Star Ferry terminus in
Kowloon.
Inside, the design is equally impressive. Despite the lack of windows and natural light, the building feels surprisingly airy and spacious. It is a good venue and due largely to the impressive concert halls and theaters here, Hong Kong attracts some top name international performers. There is also a good arts library in the Center.
Situated in a wing of the Center is the Hong Kong Art Museum. This building holds an impressive collection of Chinese art, antiques, calligraphy and scrolls. The temporary international exhibits are usually good here too.
Opening hours: 10am-6pm from Monday to Saturday, and 1pm- 4pm on sunday or during public holiday; while closed in Thursday.
Costs: Adults HK$10 and concessions HKD5.
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