Far East Mind Trip - Day 3

Even on a mind trip there can be bad weather days.  So, what do you do if the weather is bad but you don't want to waste a single minute of your trip to the far East.   I personally welcome a day of rain for visiting gardens.  After all, gardens are at their most beautiful during a nice spring shower, right?  So, with today's forecast of 80% chance of rain in Hong Kong and a forecasted high of 93 degrees, it's kind of a perfect day to pull out the Sloggers, dress in clothes that dry quickly covered by a light rain jacket and enjoy the Nan Lian Garden.

Nan Lian Garden is ranked #3 of the 356 listed Hong Kong attractions on Trip Advisor.  It's called an oasis in the middle of the bustling city of Hong Kong and you can see in every picture of the gardens that it is exactly that.  It is a beautiful escape surrounded by sky scrapers.  And with the overcast conditions, it is perfect for taking amazing photos.  There is no fee to enter and enjoy the garden.  Also located on the grounds are a souvenir shop, a vegetarian restaurant and several rest areas.  The vegetarian restaurant is said to be very good and the atmosphere is wonderful with it's location behind a waterfall in the garden.  One reviewer on Trip Advisor said that while they were there, there was a rainbow in front of the waterfall that seemed to follow them around as they moved.

Vegetarian restaurant

 Adjacent to the Nan Lian Garden is the Chi Lin Nunnery which is listed as the #5 attraction in Hong Kong.  It is a Buddhist place of worship so taking photos is prohibited once inside the nunnery.  But it doesn't mean you can't take them of the nunnery from the outside. One of the photos below contains a couple of Buddhist monks strolling along at the nunnery.  I doubt that the picture should have been taken.   But I suppose this is a good representation of what you might encounter during your visit.

After such a relaxing morning we'll be prepared to spend the rest of the day haggling with locals in various markets. The two main markets that we have decided to visit today are the Ladies Market which hosts over 100 stalls over a kilometer stretch and has everything from women's clothing and accessories to home furnishings.  We'll spend a few hours just strolling through and watching the vendors and customers in action.  Then later in the afternoon, we'll head on over to the Temple Street Night Market.  Temple St. is sometimes referred to as Men's Street since it is known for men's fashions.  This market does not set up until 2 PM daily and doesn't really start to hop until around dusk.  At that time traffic is closed and the place begins to swarm with the curious.  It's a great place to buy food from street vendors and so that is what we will be having for dinner tonight.  After all, who can resist food on a stick.... even if it's squid....???

And on that note, perhaps it is time to head back to the hotel just in case we caught something from the squid on a stick.  Tomorrow will be our final fun filled day in Hong Kong before leaving for Tokyo and we will have a lot to squeeze into the time we have left in this wonderful city.  Have a great Wednesday!