Hong Kong Day 3: Nan Lian Garden | Chi Lun Nunnery | Sik Sik Yuen Wong Tai Sin Temple | Hong King Disney Land

Travel Date: November 28 – December 1, 2015 (Saturday - Tuesday)

Even though we're tired and still sleepy from our adventure last night, we still woke up early so we can start our day early. When traveling, it's really not advisable to stay in bed late. One of the reasons is because you might miss the free breakfast offered by your hotel. Not many hotels include a free breakfast in their room rate, so make sure wake up early or at least before the time they serve breakfast ends. After our morning rituals and of course, making sure we look good😀, we headed to the hotel's cafe to eat breakfast.

8:00am: Breakfast at Jade Cafe

When booking a hotel, it's always best to get the rate that's inclusive of breakfast. However, you can't always expect to have the best food or at least a food that you find appetizing. The rate I got when I booked in this hotel only has free breakfast for one person, so I just talked to the staff that we will pay the extra person. There's a language barrier because the staff knows just a little English and we have a difficult time explaining it to her. When I thought she understood, I went inside and my friend was following me. When I looked back to my friend, the staff almost hit her tummy for trying to stop her because she said only one person is free. So I went back and tried, again, to explain to her. When we were able to finally sit and check the food, I was dismayed because the food don't look good at all. But I still get each of everything, because I thought maybe it's just the presentation and that it really taste good. While eating, my friend and I talked about just eating out on the next morning. 

First impression really matters!Please check the food and the ambiance of the cafe here: Silka Seaview Hotel

8:25am: Travel from Silka Seaview Hotel to Nan Lian Garden

From Silka Seaview Hotel, it's only about 6 minutes walk to Yau Ma Tei MTR Station, depending on which route you take. We always take the one opposite the small park, heading to Nathan Road. There are many local restaurants/eatery around the hotel, so if you want to taste the real Chinese cuisine, you can try one of those. Please just take note that most of them have no English translations, so you will have to order based on the image. Along the way going to the MTR station are many establishments that you might also want to check.

On how to get to Yau Ma Tei MTR Station Silka Seaview hotel, please visit: How to Get to Yau Ma Tei MTR Station from Silka Seaview Hotel? 

9:00am: Nan Lian Garden

Nan Lian Garden is a really must see when you go to Hong Kong, well at least, for nature and history lovers. It's my favorite attraction in Hong Kong. The garden is very quiet, peaceful and serene. I can just go there and stay for hours just to feel relaxed. Since we had an early night, and the garden is open as early as 6:00, we woke up early, had breakfast and headed to garden. The garden is not difficult to reach. Make sure you try the freshly squeezed orange juice in their restaurant.

To read more about the Garden, please visit: Nan Lian Garden

On how to get there, please visit: How to Get to Nan Lian Garden & Chi Lin Nunnery?

10:00am: Chi Lin Nunnery

Chi Lin Nunnery is located on the left side on the garden, overlooking the " The Pavilion of Absolute Perfection or Golden Pavilion". You can either go there first or after you explore Nan Lian Garden. What we did was explored the garden first and dropped by the nunnery on our way out. If you are a religious person and want to see how a authentic Chinese Nunnery looks like, you must visit Chi Lin. It is, however, recommended that you read the history of the Nunnery first so you'll know what you want to check or see when you get there.

To know more about the nunnery, please visit: Chi Lin Nunnery 

On how to get there, please visit: How to Get to Nan Lian Garden & Chi Lin Nunnery?

10:13am: Travel from Chi Lin Nunnery to Sik Sik Yuen Wong Tai Sin Temple

If you are still up for another visit to a religious site, why not drop by at this temple located just one station away from Nan Lian Garden? From the garden, we just walked back to the Diamond Hill MTR Station to get to this temple. It's really true, that you find it far when you don't know where your destination is yet. But as soon as you've been there, going back felt so near.

10:45am:  Sik Sik Yuen Wong Tai Sin Temple

Wong Tai Sin Temple is already included in our itinerary, but not a "must" visit so we will just decide when we're there if we have enough time to visit. Our last and final destination for the day is Hong Kong Disneyland, but since it will not open until 10:30am, we decided on dropping by at the temple. It's already late so a lot of people, mostly from Mainland China were there already and kind of overcrowded and noisy. We just stayed for a while, and then left. My friend really doesn't want to stay because of the smoke from the incense, which I love, so we just stayed for a little while and left.

To know more about the temple, please visit: Sik Sik Yuen Wong Tai Sin Temple 

On how to get there, please visit: How to Get to Wong Sik Sik Yuen Wong Tai Sin Temple?

11:09am: Travel from Sik Sik Yuen Wong Tai Sin Temple to Hong King Disney Land

To get to Hong Kong Disneylang from the temple, you will have to do a lot of MTR interchanges, since there's no direct MTR lane to Sunny Bay, where the Disneland Resort Line is located. It's not a problem though, because the train schedule and travel time are not that difficult. Although, it still took us an hour to get there. 41 minutes train travels and rest from walking.

12:03pm: Hong King Disney Land

When I was a kid, even without a television, I already know Mickey Mouse and Donald duck from the comics. I'm not a fan, and not really excited to see them. But when I moved to Manila from the province and started watching many cartoon movies created by Walt Disney, I'm curious how a "Dineyland" looks like. For all kids and kids at heart, this of course a must visit.

To know more or to see more photos, please visit: Hong Kong Disneyland 

On how to get there, please visit: How to Get to Hong Kong Disneyland?

7:53pm: Travel from Hong King Disney Land to Silka Seaview Hotel

My friend have been to Disneyland already and she told me that it's best not to wait for the closing time to go home. The reason is because it becomes overcrowded and the line getting to the train is long. I'm tried already and I thought I've already seen enough so I agreed with her and went home an hour before the closing time. I wasn't able to watch the fireworks display at the end, but it's okay with me.

9:00pm: Bedtime

By the time we got back to the hotel, we felt beat up and have no energy to go out. We just rest for a while, refresh and went to bed. It's our last night in Hong Kong and we just slept it off! Besides, we don't have much to do on the next day, but the Flower Market and the Bird Market.

Please check my other posts about our trip to Hong Kong:

Hong Kong Day 1: Ngong Ping Village | Tian Tan Buddha | Po Lin Monastery | Ocean Park Hong Kong 

Hong Kong Day 2: Kowloon Walled City Park | The Trick Eye Museum  | Sky Terrace 428 | Clock Tower | Tsim Sha Tsui Promenade | 1181 Heritage | Symphony of Lights | Jade Night Market

Hong Kong Day 4: Flower Market | Bestmart 360° | Crystal Jade Restaurant