Alternative ways to enjoy weekend-long holidays

Have you ever been to Cheung Chau? Tung Lung Chau? or Stanley?

These are not any places special. Instead, they are only some districts which are far away from the city centre.

In recent years, Hongkongers love to go outside to enjoy their holidays at weekends. As weekends are not long holidays, people have to stay locally. But with packs of mainland visitors/ shoppers cramming the malls everywhere, we are less willing to join the crowds. This gives rise to alternative ways to enjoy the short vacation.

Some places, which are far way from the city centre, become the targeted destinations for Hongkongers. We love to explore every detail of the city. Places which are less crowded and less known are so treasurable.  Take Cheung Chau as an example, it is always full of local and Western visitors at weekends. People can enjoy the famous big fishballs, potato crisp tower and many different cuisines too. What's more, is its beautiful beach. People can swim or simply sit aside there.

It seems that local trips (yeah, I call them "trips") to the outlying islands, country parks or anywhere have become the apple of Hong Kong people's eyes. I also want to explore our lovely city more deeply and write more about it. But at the moment, I had better return to my revision first. Bye~

Stanley--a fushion of Chinese and Western cultures (Part two)

Catching up with part one, this entry will be about the remaining journey.

After the busker's performance, we turned left to the Market. On the faded fresco, it said "TO SHOPPING MALL". But indeed it's an outdoor market connecting the whole shopping area.

Harmony

TO SHOPPING "MALL"

Its colour has already faded.

China ornaments

Walking out from the chaotic market, the sun was already going home. I am still amateur in photo shooting. Although the sunset provided a good composition for a great picture, I didn't know the skill of taking a stunning one. So,here they are:

55mm  f/14  1/2000s  ISO200

210mm  f/22  1/4000s  ISO400

66mm f/20  1/2000  ISO200

While the Sun was setting on the West, the Moon had already appeared on the opposite side! Although I did bring a tripod, I took all the photos manually.

210mm  f/8  1/400s  ISO200

Boats were back in the evening. There were approximately 20 boats.

Cool! One Piece on top!

Captain was sorting the fishing net.

Dainty doggies were everywhere! I am afraid of big dogs but not the small ones. Though most people said big dogs are actually more timid, I concern more about their sizes.

Excuse me,I'm peeing~

Hey,what's up there?

Master,let me down!

I want more~

Murray House was originally a Victorian-era building in Central but was later moved and rebuilt in Stanley. It was named after Sir George Murray (1772-1846), who was a Scottish soldier and politician.

The outside of Murray House

A closer look

 After taking some pictures in the Murray House, we switched to the Blake Pier. Many people got off boats in the evening.

 As the sky got darker, a better picture of the Moon was captured. This was taken manually too!

210mm  f/6.3  1/800s  ISO3200

As I have said in the previous post that I have been to Stanley about 10 years ago, I think not much has differed in this period of time. It remains to be a vibrant district fusing Chinese and Western cultures. There are many local and foreign tourists, unveiling the diversified mask of Stanley. If I had more time, I will definitely go to the St. Stephen's Heritage Trail and the Correctional Services Museum. The former will reveal more about the history of Hong Kong in which I am interested and the latter will surely broaden my horizon as there are ancient executing tools etc. Stanley is a worth going place!

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Address:

Stanley New Street and Stanley Market Road, Stanley, Hong Kong Island

How to get there: 

• -Bus 6, 6A, 6X, 66 or 260 from Exchange Square bus terminus (near MTR Hong Kong Station, Exit D.)
• -MTR Causeway Bay Station, Exit B. Walk to Tang Lung Street and then take minibus 40.
• -Bus 973 from Canton Road in Tsim Sha Tsui outside Silvercord Centre.

Source: http://www.discoverhongkong.com/eng/shop/where-to-shop/street-markets-and-shopping-streets/stanley-market.jsp#ixzz3GZa1OpK6

Stanley--a fushion of Chinese and Western cultures (Part one)

Before reading this post, I have to warn you that it's a really lengthy one(though most are pictures)!

It has been almost 10 years since my last visit to Stanley. What I can remember is the Murray House where I have once taken a photo there. And this time the reason I went there was merely because of Sherry's assignment. I have a good impression on Stanley so I was excited on the day we went there.

When I was doing some researches on this beautiful place, I found it's actually a diversified district. Located in the Southern Hong Kong, it is a combination of Chinese and Western cultures and meanwhile made up of old history and modern architectures. For Chinese culture, we have Tin Hau Temple and some other temples; for Western culture, the Murray House, Blake Pier and St. Stephen's College Heritage Trail etc. But due to the limited time, we only visited some of these places, including the Stanley Plaza, Stanley Market, Blake Pier and Murray House.

Stanley Plaza has broken the Guinness World Record of having the most number of doggies balancing a treat on the nose on Sep 28 2014.

Blake Pier

After walking out from the Stanley Plaza, we came to the Stanley Main Street. Alongside the street, there are a lot of colourful and eye-catching buildings and bars and restaurants.

A classic design of streetlight.

At the end of the Stanley Main Street, there is a well-designed eatery. It is painted in pale blue and there are quite a number of potted flowers outside. I love its style!

Cute doggie walking outside the restaurant.

Turning around the corner to the Stanley Market Road, you will see a florist's. I could smell the scent of flowers when I was taking photos not far away from it. It was so lovely! Flowers were flamboyant and their scent was pleasant.

Going further, there are a lot of shops on the street which sell different kinds of products like leather bags, paintings, postcards, pottery etc.

Yea! It comes to my favourite postcards!

"NO SPITTING" it says!

And after walking for a few hours, we settled down in Paisano's Pizzeria. We ordered a 14" Cheese Pizza ($90) and three cups of smoothies ($10/each). 

Covered by Mozzarella Cheese.

CHEESY!

The pizza was so yummy. Although it was only made of plain cheese and tomato sauce, it was so tasty that can beat any other kinds of pizzas. We enjoyed this meal a lot and in great satisfaction we left.

Just a few seconds coming out from the eatery, S and N were spotted and dragged to see a busking. We were quite shocked as we didn't know what the busker was going to do on us when he "invited" us.

N and S watching the performance.

The audience.

The busker.

Omg!It's deodorant!!

Pose!

In this part, I mostly wrote about the activities we did but not much about the famous spots. So, I'll continue tomorrow and hopefully I will finish it soon! Stay tuned!