Trip Young & Dangerous (HK, Macau & Shenzhen) : Last Episode - HK Museums, 1881 Heritage and HKIA

ii) Hong Kong Museum of Art and Hong Kong Space Museum.

Continued from our last post where we went back from Avenue of Star to Hostel, along our journey, we stopped by at Hong Kong Museum of Art outside area. It located just opposite the waterfront. A bit about this building, The Hong Kong Museum of Art has more than 15000 artworks on varies subjects on display. These include Chinese antiques, calligraphy, artistic masterpieces by local artists and other paintings of great historical significance. Apart from this, one of the permanent exhibitions also features coins, jewellery and other important items from the Shang dynasty. The museum also presents a great variety of thematic exhibitions drawn from local and overseas sources.

Opening Time
Sunday – Wednesday, Friday: 10 am to 6 pm; Saturday: 10 am to 8 pm

Entrance Fee
HK$10

As we didn't have more time to spent here, plus it was not in our itinerary so we only took a quick photo with unique sculpture in ground of the building.

What do you think this sculpture look like? For me it looks like a whale.

With my bodyguards.

At first I thought this is the fountain host. But the shape looks like a crab or spider's legs..

The Hong Kong Space Museum on the other hand is a museum of astronomy and space science located just next with the Museum of Art.

You may recognise the rather unusual egg-shaped building that has become a landmark on the Tsim Sha Tsui waterfront. This striking dome is home to the Hong Kong Space Museum. 

Opening Time
Monday – Friday : 1pm - 9pm
Weekends and Public Holiday: 10am - 9pm
Tuesday - Closed (except public holiday)

Entrance Fee
HK$20


Note : The Hong Kong Space Museum (permanent exhibition halls only) and the Hong Kong Museum of Art are currently closed for renovation and are targeted to be re-opened in 2017 and 2019 respectively.


We continued our walk towards Canton Road and stopped at another attraction at Tsim Sha Tsui, 1881 Heritage.

iii) 1881 Heritage

A visit to 1881 Heritage will transport you to Victorian-era Hong Kong. From the 1880s to 1996, this was the headquarters of the Hong Kong Marine Police. Several buildings and artefacts of historical interest have been preserved and restored, and the site now features a shopping mall, a heritage hotel, and an exhibition hall.

The Heritage Hotel has one of the oldest fashion arcades in Hong Kong. Throughout the years, it has housed international brands such as Chanel, Dior, Hermès, Gucci, Prada, Louis Vuitton, Cartier, Bvlgari, Tiffany & Co, Polo Ralph Lauren and many more. 

In a city that preserves its traditions while looking firmly to the future, 1881 Heritage fittingly combines historical attractions with more contemporary pursuits. Visitors can shop for international fashion brands and enjoy fine dining on the grounds where pirates were incarcerated and a daily signal was watched by ships in the harbour as they prepared for long and treacherous trans-global journeys. Tradition and innovation, past and present, 1881 Heritage is a real Hong Kong experience.

The Former Marine Police Headquarters Compound as after renovation, viewed from the entrance on Salisbury Road.

Partial view of the courtyard of the Former Marine Police Headquarters Compound.

Other attractions nearby.


So that was it, we reached our hostel around 2pm, took our luggage and checked out. From entrance, we walked to the right side heading to the bus station at Nathan Road. There are pretty lots of bus stops along the road, but if you are hesitate on which stop is the right one, just read at the signpost. The post listed all the bus no that stopped there, so if your bus no is in the list, U're in the correct stop. If not, just walk further to the next stop and check your bus no either stated there or not. As we were going to the Airport, we looked out for bus no : A21, the same bus we took during our arrival here.

Next to the 1881 Heritage is a subway to the opposite side of the road.

Waiting for a bus.


We waited around 10 minutes, finally the bus arrived. As ussual, we put our luggage at the compartment and sat on the upper deck.

View of Hong Kong City from the bus. From the uptown area...

To the oldtown area... The Hong Kong I used to know from the movie I watched.

Living cost here is very high, and with a very limited land for residential area, this view is quite common in HK. Most of the Hong Kongers live in a very small flat.


The bus passed by the Mongkok Area and we had an oppurtunity to see Ladies Market area during day time. Guess what, it's still happening like it be during night time.

The bus will display the next station name so it is very convenient for us to keep track on our destination.

Ladies Market, Mongkok.

Approaching HKIA Airport when U see lots of cargo.

The bus dropped us at Arriving Terminals.


We arrived at HKIA around 3.30pm. We settled all the check in process first and alhamdullillah it was a smooth one. No drama during our departure :)


Information for muslim, there are prayer room available in HKIA. It is located at Level 7, Check-in Hall, near aisle A, Terminal 1 (non-restricted area). We went there after check in to perform our prayer. One thing there is no divider in the prayer room, so basically no separation between woman and man. Luckily there was no man entered the prayer room during our prayer.

Still few hour left, we decided to lunch at Popeye Chicken Restaurant. As I informed in my previous post under preparation, this restaurant is among of Halal restaurant in Hong Kong.

Such a cosy place to hang around at the airport.

Last meal at Hong Kong.

Sweet indulgence. We were hesitated to eat ice cream during our tour in HK. But this time, we could enjoy ice-cream without doubt as it is Halal!


We wasted our time there until around 8pm and we started to bid goodbye to Hong Kong. We entered the Departure Hall and boarded our flight back to Malaysia.


Overall, I never imagined that Hong Kong has so much to offer. In my mind, it is just another cosmopolitan city where the attractions are only high rise sky scrappers, entertainment parks and shopping places. How wrong I was as it actually also provides beautifull nature, wonderfull culture and preserved tradition. So mission accomplished and to this I end my post on Hong Kong trip.


Till then.....

Trip to HK, Macau and Shenzhen Fast Link Here
Preparation
Day 0 – Departure to Hong Kong and First Night at Chungking Mansion
Day 1 – Star Ferry Ride from Kowloon to HK Island
Day 1 – HKCEC and Golden Bauhinia Square
Day 1 – Repulse Bay and Stanley Village
Day 1 – Lunch at Islamic Muslim Centre, Ammar Mosque and Tram Ride
Day 1 – The Mid Level Escalator
Day 1 – The Peak Tram and Night at Victoria Peak (Sky Terrace 428)
Day 1 – End of Day 1

MACAU Day Trip
Day 2 – Journey to Macau by TurboJET Ferry
Day 2 – The Venetian, Macao
Day 2 – City Of Dreams and Hard Rock Hotel
Day 2 – The Galaxy Macau
Day 2 – Grand Lisboa and Senado Square
Day 2 – The Ruins of St. Paul’s
Day 2 – Macau back to Hong Kong

Shenzhen Day Trip
Day 3 – Starting Journey to Shenzhen, China from Hong Kong
Day 3 – Window of The World
Day 3 – Shopping at Shenzhen and back to Hong Kong

Hong Kong Trip Continues
Day 4 – Ngong Ping 360, Lantau Island
Day 4 – Aberdeen Floating Village and Jumbo Kingdom
Day 5 – Disneyland Part 1
Day 5 – Disneyland Part 2
Day 5 – Disneyland Part 3
Day 5 – Shopping at Ladies Market, Mongkok
Last Day – Avenue of Star
Total Expenses