During my latest trip to Hong Kong, I discovered a wonderful waterfront park quite by accident. Thanks to getting a good night’s sleep on my first night in Hong Kong, I was up and walking around the city at 7:00am on my first full day there. After a brief MTR (Subway) ride from Kowloon to Hong Kong, I found myself walking around some of the early morning markets that open before most retail shops and attractions.

I do this on purpose so that I can experience a version of Hong Kong that most visitors miss. At this time of day, small fruit, vegetable and meat markets are open throughout Hong Kong’s various neighborhoods and it gives a visitor like myself a great look into the daily life of Hong Kong’s residents. When I tour these markets, I purposely do not take photos or try to be any more obvious than I already am, I try to be the fly on the wall and not disturb anything.

As I was winding my way through the streets and alleys, I came down towards the waterfront near the Western Market and Macau Ferry Terminal. In this part of Hong Kong (Sheung Wan), you’ll find a large variety of dried seafood and other dried goods for sale by a multitude of shops. In this vicinity, across Connaught Rd, stands the Dr. Sun Yat-sen Memorial Park with wonderful views of the Harbor and Kowloon.

This was my first visit to the park since I’m usually not the type to pause for long periods of time during my travels, but since I had an hour to pass before any of my favorite shops opened, I decided to take a break, buy a cup of tea and enjoy the park.

The park is named after a historic figure in China’s History. Dr. Sun Yat-sen is revered as the founding father and first President of the Republic of China. He played a pivotal role in the revolution that overthrew the Qing Dynasty. Though he served as President of the Republic of China for only 2 months, his legacy has endured and is he is revered throughout Asia.

The park is a wonderful combination of green space and paths that allow people to enjoy themselves in a very quiet surrounding even though the park is surrounded by Hong Kong’s Skyscrapers. The park also has a soccer pitch and a few basketball courts as well. Hopefully the following photos give you a sense of the park’s space and attributes.

The east end of the park is set next to the Macau Ferry Terminal

More of the Macau Ferry Terminal adjacent to the park

A wonderful pathway lines the harbor along the entire park

Plenty of meticulously maintained green space

The park's location affords fantastic views of Kowloon

The park also has great views of Hong Kong's skyline as well

An open plaza encourages people to meditate and practice their morning exercises

This gentleman was practicing his sword work.......

The park excels at wonderful views.

The Memorial Lawn is the focal point of the park

A statue of Dr. San Yat-sen is centered on the Memorial Lawn

A sports complex (swimming pool) is located on the western end of the park.

Several Park Directories are located throughout the park to aide visitors.

The next time that you find yourself in Hong Kong, I would encourage you to find and enjoy this park. Especially in the mid morning hours, it is fairly empty and very quiet. There are many benches where you can take a seat and enjoy taking a break from the fast paced city that surrounds you. It’s a short walk from the Sheung Wan MTR station, and is also fairly close to the Hong Kong and Central MTR stations as well.

This is my second installment from my time spent plane spotting in Hong Kong last week. If you missed Part One, you can see it HERE.

Cathay Pacific’s Airbus A330:

Air Macau’s Airbus A321:

Cathay Pacific’s Boeing 747F (Freighter):

Hong Kong Airline’s Airbus A330:

United’s Boeing 747:

Thai’s Boeing 747:

Singapore’s Airbus A330:

Shenzen’s Airbus A320:

Korean’s Boeing 747:

Polar’s Boeing 747 Freighter:

South African’s Airbus A340:

The following pictures were taken from the SkyDeck Observation Area located in Terminal 2, next to the IMAX theater. You’ll notice a bit of grain to these photos. It was later in the afternoon with very hazy and foggy conditions and not many pictures made the cut to be posted. It was a challenge to say the least!

DragonAir’s Airbus A330 Special 20th Anniversary Livery:

ANA’s Boeing 767:

Cathay Pacific’s Airbus A340:

Ethiopian’s MD-11F (Freighter):

Cathay Pacific’s Boeing 747-8F Freighter:

The next 2 were a couple of bonuses. The first one is a Cathay Pacific 747-400 parked just inside the fence near the Maintenance Facilities, near the “HAECO” bus stop for the S52 line.

The second one is one I captured from the bus going back to Tung Chung after my plane spotting session. It’s a classic DC-3 in historic Cathay Pacific livery parked in “Cathay City” at the airport.

No, Boat Spotting is not a typo! I’m sure by now most of you are familiar with my hobby (therapist insists it’s an addiction) of plane spotting however I’m putting a little twist on it.

When I was in Hong Kong a few days ago I found myself walking the streets at 7am on my first morning, when most of the city was only beginning to wake up. Having a couple of hours to pass before my favorite places opened, I walked over to Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Park to take in the water front. I noticed a flurry of boating activity and habit forced me to start taking pictures of the passing ferries, freighters and other types of ships. It got to a point where I started focusing on the harbor traffic and built quite a collection of photos.

As you look through them, you’ll see photos from the Kowloon side as well. You’ll be able to tell what side the photo is from based on the skyline that you’ll see in the background.

This was the slickest thing on the water.....

Parked at the ferry terminal next to Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Park

Sailboats out for a tour (taken from Kowloon)

I would see this tug twice - 10 hours apart

Skiing at full throttle......

....Skis retract when throttle is reduced

No visit to Hong Kong is complete without taking a few moments (or hours….) to appreciate the city’s skyline. It’s perhaps the world’s most beautiful urban landscape (and this coming from a native New Yorker!). Even after 3 trips to Hong Kong in the last year, I am not tired of appreciating it and capturing as many photos as I can!

On my previous trip during the Christmas season, most of the buildings were adorned in festive lighting. This time only one building was already in the holiday spirit so I had the opportunity to capture images that were different than on previous visits.

Please note that I had to reduce the size of my original files to 1024×768 in order to upload them. If you would like a full size copy of the file, please let me know. I took these photos in RAW format so the photos can be processed to be as large as posters.

I don’t have much else to say since the view says it all. I hope you enjoy the photos as much as I enjoyed being there to take them!

Government helicopter leaves from Hong Kong

The following picture is of The Peak Tower on Hong Kong as seen from Kowloon (with a bit of zoom!). The “Peak” provides an outstanding view from the “back” of Hong Kong looking towards Kowloon. I visited The Peak on a previous trip and was able to capture these images.

Beginning Of Sunset

Last Rays......

During The Nightly Light Show

On my trip to Hong Kong last week, one of my “to-do” items was to enroll in Hong Kong’s E-Channel program. This program, which replaces the Frequent Visitor Program, is designed to let you skip what can sometimes be lengthy lines at immigration. For those of you familiar with Global Entry, this is a similar program.

To qualify for enrollment, you need to meet 1 of 2 criteria. One way, is to have completed 3 “Round Trip” visits to Hong Kong in the previous 12 months. By this I mean your passport must have 3 entry and 3 exit stamps from Hong Kong Immigration. The other way is to be an elite member of one of 34 approved Airline Frequent Flyer programs. Here is the list of qualifying airlines (and program minimums in some cases):

Air Canada
Air China
Air France
Air New Zealand: Airpoints Silver, Gold, Gold Elite
ANA
Asiana Airlines
British Airways: Executive Club Silver, Gold
Cathay Pacific
Dragonair
China Airlines
China Southern
Delta
Ethiopian
Eva Airways
Finnair
Hainan Airlines
Hong Kong Airlines
Hong Kong Express
Japan Airlines
Jet Airways
Kingfisher
KLM
Korean Air
Lufthansa: All Miles & More Members
Malaysia Airlines: Enrich Silver, Gold and Platinum
Philippine Airlines
Qantas: Gold, Platinum, Platinum One, Chairman’s Lounge
Qatar Airways
Royal Brunei
Singapore Airlines: KrisFlyer Elite Gold and PPS Club
Swiss: All Miles & More members
Thai Airways
United: Premier Silver, Premier Gold, Premier Platinum, Premier 1K, Global Services
Virgin Atlantic: Flying Club Gold

When I first sat down for my enrollment session (no appointment is required) I had stated that this was my 3rd visit at which point the enrollment officer stated that I was not eligible for the program until I completed the visit and could enroll at the beginning of my 4th visit. I had assumed that the beginning of my 3rd visit would qualify me, but actually a 4th visit would be required. You must have 3 “complete” trips in order to apply. However, having familiarized myself with the program prior to leaving for Hong Kong, I asked if my United Frequent Flyer card would suffice in lieu of 3 complete visits, and that was satisfactory to her.

From there the process took 10 minutes. I handed her my passport of which she made a copy of the inside cover that contains your information and photo along with my Frequent Flyer card. 2 signatures on the enrollment forms, 2 digital fingerprints (left and right index fingers) and a quick look into a digital camera and I was finished. At the end of the enrollment the officer affixed a bar code sticker to the back cover of my passport and I was free to go. This was a lot easier than my GOES application and interview that was required for Global Entry!!

PLEASE NOTE that your E-Channel eligibility expires 6 months prior to your passport’s expiration. This was stressed a couple of times by the enrolling officer.

On my departure a few days later I had the opportunity to try the E-Channel program. At first I was actually going to just stay in traditional line so that I can get my Hong Kong exit stamp in my passport, but when I saw that the line was 15-20 people deep and I ONLY had 5 hours before my flight, I chose the E-Channel lane where no one was waiting.

Typical E-Channel Kiosks (photo courtesy of Hong Kong Immigration)

The E-Channel lane is a 2 step process with gates separating each one. First, you scan your bar code sticker at the first station, once completed a swinging gate opens that leads you to step 2. With step 2, you place one of the fingers you had fingerprinted on a reader and after a few seconds the second gate opens signaling your successful “emigration” from Hong Kong.

Closer view of Kiosk - 2 steps are involved: Bar Code scan and Fingerprint Scan (photo courtesy Hong Kong Immigration)

The E-Channel program allows frequent visitors to take advantage of expedited immigration at several locations:

Hong Kong International Airport
Lo Wu
Lok Ma Chau Spur Line
Shenzhen Bay
Macau Ferry Terminal
China Ferry Terminal

For those of you interested in applying for the E-Channel program at the airport, there are 2 enrollment offices. Both offices are IMMEDIATELY past passport control in the immigration hall however each office has different hours. The one located in Hall “A” is open from 10:00a to 6:00p and the one located in Hall “B” is open from 7:30a to 11:00p. When approaching the passport control booths from an arriving flight, Hall “A” is the left bank of booths while Hall “B” is on the right side. This area is large and it’s not immediately obvious that there are 2 banks of passport control booths so don’t worry if you don’t see one of them at first. If you’ve exited into the baggage claim area, you’ve gone too far and will need to go back through the automatic doors (but ask before doing so, since the doors are clearly marked as “DO NOT ENTER”). The enrollment offices are located just a few feet from the doors that open into the baggage claim area so if you missed it, you probably walked right by it!

To learn more about the program, please visit the E-Channel website.

I was in Hong Kong this past weekend and of course anytime that I am there I make time to watch airliners come and go. This time I went off the beaten path a bit and found a good spot just behind the CASL and HAECO aircraft maintenance facilities. This spot gave me a great vantage point for Runway 7L and 7R arrivals. 7L is used primarily for Passenger arrivals and 7R is used primarily for Cargo arrivals. I spent about 3 hours at this position and was able to catch the Canadian Prime Minister’s A310 arrive for an official visit as well as a newly unveiled promo livery by China Eastern as it advertises the Xinhaunet.com news website.

This is part 1 of 3 from this location as I had captured dozens upon dozens of arrivals. Conditions were hazy, hence the gray backdrop for most of the photos but that is not unusual for Hong Kong at this time of year. In upcoming posts over the next few days I’ll have additional pictures from this spot along with photos from the SkyDeck Observation area located on top of Terminal 2.

Cathay Pacific 747 Freighter

EVA Air 777

Juneyao Airlines A320

Aeroflot A330

AirAsia's A320

Asiana's A330

China Airlines A330

China Airlines 747-400

China Airlines 737-800

China Eastern A320

China Southern 737-300

China Eastern A330 with new Xinhuanet.com livery

Cathay Pacific A330

Cathay Pacific 777

This next one is one of my favorites. It’s an A300 flying under an Air HongKong Cargo / DHL joint venture livery. Along the way it must have gotten it’s nose cone damaged as it’s wearing a replacement from Cathay Pacific. I actually like this look, it gives the aircraft a bit of a beak.

Air Hong Kong Cargo / DHL A300

This is the Canadian Air Force Airbus A310 that the Canadian Prime Minister was on board during his tour of Asia. In this photo he is arriving from Manila to take part in Remembrance Day activities that celebrate the cessation of hostilities at the end of World War II.

Canada's Air Force A310

Late next week I set off for a few days to Hong Kong. Over the past year I’ve been able to visit twice and it has become one of my favorite places in the world to see. Being a native New Yorker, I never thought I’d find a city that I enjoyed more than NYC, but Hong Kong has given it a run for it’s money as far as I’m concerned. There’s no one thing that I can pinpoint that makes the case for Hong Kong being a favorite. I think it comes down to a confluence of several things including ease of navigation, breadth of cuisine, cleanliness of the city and the extremely friendly and helpful residents. Being one of United’s best “cost per mile” destinations only helps the argument.

On my previous visits, I stayed at the Grand Hyatt and Hyatt Regency. This time, I’ll return to the Hyatt Regency simply because it’s location in the heart of Kowloon makes it very easy to reach most of Kowloon and Hong Kong. I love the fact that I am only a few steps from fantastic noodle shops, shopping and transportation the moment that I step out of the hotel.

Fortunately on previous trips I was able to take in several of the “Must See” places that new visitors are encouraged to see. This time I hope to expand my exploration to take in new places and sights. I’ve also been armed with a holiday shopping list by my wife that includes Chinese Puzzle Balls, Pearls, Tagua Nut Figurines and Jade Dragons so no doubt that will take a few minutes of effort!

I’m trying to actually do less planning for this trip in the attempt to do more things on a spur of the moment. I think this way gives me much more flexibility and spontaneity than sticking to a pre-meditated itinerary of places to go. The only “Must Do” on this trip will be Plane Spotting from the HAECO hangar area just off the airport campus.

For the outbound flight, I chose the traditional Grand Rapids-Chicago-Hong Kong route so that I can enjoy 16 non-stop hours in the bubble top of my beloved 744 and hopefully more great views of Siberia. However for the return flight I was “dared” to be a little more creative so instead of the easy Hong Kong-Chicago flight, I’m going to make my way from Hong Kong to Guam (yes Guam), then onto Honolulu and onward to Chicago and finally Grand Rapids.

In all, it’s a couple thousand more miles for the Frequent Flyer account with this more creative routing but I’ll have the new experience of stepping on Guam’s terra firma and perhaps adding a GUM stamp to my Passport. My understanding is that US citizens take care of Immigration in Guam and Customs in Honolulu. Something tells me I won’t find a Global Entry kiosk in Guam, but no matter, I’d wait in line for the stamp anyway.

Of course I’ll have my trip reports and photos to share once I return!

Related Posts:

The Diplomat Suite – Grand Hyatt Hong Kong

The Hyatt Regency – Hong Kong

Hong Kong Skyline Pictorial

A View From The Peak

Temple Street Market