Hong Kong is well known for its famous tourist sites but during my 4 days in the Island, I got the opportunity to do other things and go beyond the beaten paths.

Street food

You should know where the locals go every day to understand their way of life. So, I decided to share same places and restaurants for my breakfasts, lunches or dinners.

Open kitchen in street restaurant Usual breakfast in HK - mix between English and Chinese cultures

The food was really better than China Mainland (well cooked, not so fat) and prices were cheap in these street restaurants. It was nice to eat with locals Dim Sum, Won Tong and other noodles soups…

Choose of Seafood in Street Restaurant Tables on the street - usual restaurant in HK

Lantau

I went on Lantau Island, West of Hong Kong, with the Ferry boat (from Pier 6; fast boat in 30 min or normal speed in one hour) with a guy that I met on Couchsurfing forum. We both wanted to visit the Wild side of HK. We met really early on the Ferry Pier to go to Lantau Island. After one other hour in a local bus on Lantau, we reached our destination, Tai O, a local fishermen village.

Houses and boats in Tai O Village Yellow eggs in Tai O market

Important change of scenery between HK, the town which never sleeps and Tai O, which has small streets without car or even people walking on…

Fish Market in Tai O Fish boats in Tai O Village

After few hours visiting Tai O, we moved to Polin Monastery. We firstly visited the Big Buddha and then got our lunch in the Monastery (vegetarian dishes as Buddhists don’t eat meat).

Tian Tan Buddha in Lantau Island Face of Tian Tan Buddha in Lantau Island

Unfortunately, Hong Kong people are currently building a new Monastery just behind the current one (three times bigger than the original) so the spiritual aspect was bit lost due to important noise from the construction site. Even the view from TianTan Buddha was bad due to this building area.

We went back to the city with the Cable Car (the usual tourist road – 80 HK$/one way). The view on the nature and wild areas of Lantau Island is really surprising from our cabin. :)

Cable car to Big Buddha Big buddha

Wan Chai, red-light district

Last story beyond the beaten paths with my Chinese colleague who joined me during these 4 days: our hotel was in Wan Chai, one well-known area for its bars and other night-clubs. My friend went for the first time of his life into a bar to have a drink, he is 24… He was really impressed and happy to leave this experience.

Wan Chai by night - lights everywhere

Culture shock! We definitely don’t have the same habits for night life. I didn’t dare to ask him if he wanted to go in these places with red-lights and charming girls at the front door…. :)

More photos of my visit at Bird Market and Flowers Market are available on my Flickr’s page.