A Room with a View.

Unfortunately, it is nearing the end of my holiday. Work is once again raising its ugly head. We decided for our final weekend of freedom, we would go on a one night staycation, so we booked a room in the Regal Hong Kong Hotel in Causeway Bay. Social distancing has been slightly eased here so restaurants are now allowed to open until 10pm, because of that, we decided to book an executive room with access to the club class lounge. The room plus lounge, plus breakfast cost HK$740 which is amazingly cheap. The only downside was that although this hotel has a rooftop pool, swimming pools are still all closed here, so we could not use it, could not even get to see it in fact.

Just outside the hotel is the Olympic Stairway which displays the dates and locations of Olympic games and some murals of Olympic scenes.

Olympic Stairway.

Olympic Stairway.

Olympic Stairway.

Our room was on the thirty-fourth floor of the hotel and had huge windows on two sides, so the views from it were amazing, even the bathroom had a spectacular view. In one direction we could gaze out over Causeway Bay and Victoria Harbour and in the other we could see right across Victoria Park and Tin Hau.

Hotel Lobby.

Our Room.

Our Room.

Our Bathroom.

Beautiful View.

Beautiful View.

Beautiful View.

We made ourselves comfortable in the room, which sadly meant drawing all the curtains as they let in so much light and heat it was dazzling. Then we went for a coffee in the club lounge on the thirty-first floor. This faced the other way from our room. It looked out over mountains, a quarry and St Paul's Convent School. I was interested to see its chapel from above. I don't think members of the public can go there.

In the Lounge.

View from the Lounge.

I wasn't feeling too full of energy as I had spent the morning cleaning my house before going to the hotel, so I decided to have a lazy day relaxing and enjoying our room. I just went out for a short walk around Victoria Park. I mainly wanted to take some photos of the plants, trees and the little statues that are dotted around the gardens. I was also pleased to see many things that have been closed for such a long time were beginning to reopen such as the model boat pond, which finally had water and people sailing their boats, the basketball courts and the football pitch, both of which were filled with people playing games or exercising.

Bauhinia Tree.

Beautiful Trees.

Bouganvillia.

Hibiscus.

Beautiful Flowers.

Flame Tree .

Beautiful Flowers.

Azalea.

Azalea.

Affectionate Frogs.

Bird Statue.

Horse Statues.

Model Boat Pond.

Model Boat Pond.

After looking at the park I went back in time to watch the sunset from our room. It was very pretty as it slowly painted the skies above Causeway Bay red.

Beautiful Sunset.

Beautiful Sunset.

Beautiful Sunset.

Beautiful Sunset.

Then we returned to the club lounge for snacks and drinks. They were serving salmon sandwiches, chicken wings and strawberry cheesecake. We also had beer and white wine.

The Club Lounge.

The Club Lounge.

After visiting the lounge, we returned to our room and had a look at the nighttime view when the world around us was all lit up with colourful neon lights. We left the curtains open all night to fully enjoy it.

Night Time View.

Night Time View.

Night Time View.

Night Time View.

In the room at night.

Next day we had breakfast in the hotel. It should have been good, but the food on the buffet was all freezing cold. In our scientifically advanced world you would think someone could design a buffet system that actually kept food warm, but they don't seem to have. The dining room itself was very fancy and the most fun part was trying to take a selfie of both of us using the reflection from all the glass and mirrors around us.

Dining-Room.

Decorations.

Me at breakfast.

Peter at breakfast.

Selfie Time.

After breakfast I decided to take the MTR to Admiralty and take the South Island Line to Lei Tung Station. Lei Tung is on the Island of Ap Lei Chau, which is on the other side of the channel from Aberdeen which I visited when I climbed Brick Hill.

Ap Lei Chau is the third most densely populated island in the world. Its name, when translated literally, means Duck Tongue Island, due to its shape. Ap Lei Chau started out as home to small fishing villages. Later in 1968 Hongkong Electric opened a power station here, but this was relocated to Lamma Island in 1989 and the site of the power station was redeveloped into a residential area known as South Horizons. In 1983, a bridge was constructed to join Ap Lei Chau to Hong Kong Island. This paved the way for more housing to be located here.

I exited Lei Tung station and headed towards the waterfront. There is a walkway along the front with beautiful views across the boat filled waters of Aberdeen Harbour. Just like on the Aberdeen mainland side, there are lots of gardens here and statues related to the Tanka Boat People, who were the island's original inhabitants. There are also two beautiful temples, a wind tower and great views over the floating restaurants.

Beautiful Trees.

Beautiful Trees.

Beautiful Trees.

Hibiscus.

Gardens.

Decorations.

Fisherman Statue.

Fish Sellers Statues.

Boat Sculpture.

Dragon Boat Sculpture.

Dragon Boaters.

Dragon Boaters.

Dragon Boaters.

Lighthouse.

Lighthouse.

Waterfront.

Waterfront.

Waterfront.

Waterfront.

Waterfront.

Floating Restaurants at the Waterfront.

Waterfront.

Waterfront.

Waterfront..

Waterfront.

Flying Kites.

Wind Tower Park.

Wind Tower.

Good Luck Symbol in the Park.

There is a busy temple near the sea front called Hung Shing Temple. It dates back to 1773, making it the oldest temple in the Aberdeen and Ap Lei Chau.

Hung Shing Temple.

Hung Shing Temple.

Hung Shing Temple.

Hung Shing Temple.

Hung Shing Temple.

Hung Shing Temple.

Hung Shing Temple.

Hung Shing Temple.

Hung Shing Temple.

Hung Shing Temple.

Hung Shing Temple.

Another temple a bit further along is called the Shui Yuet Temple, which dates from the end of the nineteenth century. It has an interesting tree in front of it. It is dedicated to Kuan Yin, goddess of mercy. There was a Taoist priest performing rituals during my visit.

Shui Yuet Temple.

Shui Yuet Temple.

Shui Yuet Temple.

Shui Yuet Temple.

Shui Yuet Temple.

Shui Yuet Temple.

Shui Yuet Temple.

Shui Yuet Temple.

Before leaving Ap Lei Chau, I had a look at Ap Lei Chau main street which had some interesting looking old shops and restaurants. I also liked its murals in the MTR which were all related to fishing and the sea. Then I headed back to the hotel for final club class drinks, a last look at the view and check out.

Shops.

Shops.

Shops.

Shops.

Shops.

Shops.

Shops.

In the MTR station.

In the MTR station.

In the MTR station.

Final Drink Before Check-out.

Final Drink Before Check-out.

Final Drink Before Check-out.