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Places I Had Visited In Hong Kong (The Countrysides)

July 22, 2021 I've been seeing travel blogs lately and they made me reminisce the good old days, those days when I was still in a mood to travel, to hike, to roam around, and to visit different places in Hong Kong. That's because my HK friends and I have the same holiday schedules. But as years passed by, they have changed their employers, as well as holiday schedules, and I set different priorities. When I was still new here, all I wanted was to visit different places in HK during my holidays without considering other things. But then one day I realized that it's not the photos that I should only save, but the money as well. Traveling required money although the expenses aren't that costly compared to traveling in my country, but the food is expensive. HK is just a small place that you can even reach the end of it in just a matter of hours. Believe me or not, in my entire stay here in HK, I only started saving money seriously last 2019 after my vacation in the Philippines. Since then, I have preferred staying at the nearby park where I can relax while being close to nature. At the same time, I can save money as well since I don't need to spend on the fare and buy food at the restaurant chosen by my friends. Until I found readcash that inspires me more to save more money. Although sometimes, I feel bored, so I roam around the city and travel to other places by myself since my friends are sometimes unavailable. And I know that we can't just work and save money all the time, we should as well consider our happiness not just money. And since I'm lazy to think of a good topic to write about, I decided to share these places in Hong Kong that I have visited. Let's stop chasing around the bush and start with the main topic of this article. When you think about Hong Kong, the first thing that comes to your mind and you want to visit and take photos are the skyscrapers, Chinese temples, and the fascinating view of the rich cities. But for me, I love to visit the countrysides in HK. Let's start with my most favorite place in Hong Kong. Cheung Chau Island Cheung Chau island may not be the prettiest tourist destination in HK, but it is my favorite. No wonder why I visited this island four times already. This is also one of the most visited tourist destinations in HK. The first time I visited this island was in December 2017. It was my holiday but my boss invited me to go with them to this island where she grew up. She brought me to her parent's house and her brothers' restaurants. It was also my first time eating seafood congee (*porridge or lugaw)*. She told me to roam around the island so I went to the near beach which you can see in the photo below.

My second time was last February 2021, our post-valentine trip with my friends. It was actually a boring trip because my friend's company was quite old already and doesn't want to roam around the island. So we just stayed near the beach after eating lunch.

***Related Article:*** ***A Valentine Trip To Cheung Chau Island Hong Kong*** https://read.cash/@Jane/a-valentine-trip-to-cheung-chau-island-hong-kong-9d3e2666 The third time was also February 2021 after the Chinese New Year where my boss brought me there to receive some lai si or red pockets from her relatives. The fourth time was last March 2021 with my friend Anne and the most enjoyable visit so far. Aside from visiting the pretty beach, there are many things that you can do on the island, such as, boat ride and visit the cave, bicycle ride and roam around the island, savor the local seafood dishes and Chinese traditional delicacies, visit love lock house and make a wish, or take the trail and witness the fascinating view of the sea and the island on the top of the mountain.

For those who want to take a break from the toxic city, this island is the best place to unwind. You can also find a temple and old boutiques on this island. And do not leave without tasting their local street foods and delicacies.

**Shek-O Beach Resort**

Shek-O Beach is one of the most popular scenic beaches in HK. The best time to go there is Summer but we went there during Winter, lol. That explains why we are wearing long sleeves and jackets, but my friend Abby took off her jacket and revealed her shoulder just for the photo shoot, lol. If you have read my series of stories 12DWH, you are familiar with this place and my outfit.

If people are exhausted from the city's noise and fed up watching skyscrapers, they chose to visit the countrysides and rural areas to unwind and breathe fresher air. We were supposed to visit this beach after hiking at Dragon's Back Mountain, but we lack out of time so we opted to visit this beach the next holiday. What I like about visiting beaches in cold seasons is because there are lesser visitors, therefore, lesser photo bombers, which is better for those who are only after taking photos, lol, and of course, no sunburn as well. From an island to the beach, next is a fishing village. Tai-O Fishing Village

Tai-O Fishing Village is a popular tourist destination in HK that attracts many visitors who want to experience the idyllic life of the village and savor the local dishes. They also call this village *Venice Of The Orient* because of the traditional stilt houses similar to Venice's. The houses in the village are like a low version of Venice's stilt houses.

It was Spring 2019 when I visited this place alone, that was the time when my boss' family had their vacation in Taiwan. The weather was quite cold but I was wearing shorts, lol. Aside from capturing the stilt houses and seafood, another thing that you can do in this village is to hike that mountain in the photo where you can see the South China Sea and the long bridge of HK going to Macau. Visitors can also have a boat ride and see the pink dolphins, that's according to the tarpaulins. Unfortunately, there were no pink dolphins, lol. The boat operators were only trying to coax the visitors so they can earn money from them. You can check the article below about my visit to this place. ***Related Article:*** ***A Visit To Venice Of The Orient*** https://read.cash/@Jane/a-visit-to-venice-of-the-orient-66ad230c

And just a few months ago, my boss brought me to Tai O Village because she thought that I had never been to this place. But that day, I saw the other side of the village with a beautiful spot. It was the lake located at the back part of the village with a captivating view and fresher air. We also visited a temple near the lake.

We also eat in a seafood restaurant and roamed around inside the village after our lunch. It's where I got a closer look at the stilt houses and had witnessed the idyllic life of the fishermen. You can check more about this getaway of ours in this article below. ***Related Article:*** ***My Saturday Getaway, Tired But Happy*** https://read.cash/@Jane/my-saturday-getaway-tired-but-happy-aad0d2af From a fishing village to a garden. The last one for this article is... Wetland Garden

Wetland Garden is a famous wetland reserve in Hong Kong. It covers 61-hectare areas in the Northwest New Territories near the mainland China border. From the name itself, you can tell what things you can see inside the garden. It includes swamps, streams, fishponds, farmlands, mangroves, butterfly sanctuaries, bird hides. Several freshwater fishes, wetland animals, and birds can be seen at the park, even crocodiles, and other water animals.

Unfortunately, we weren't able to go inside the park since it was already late afternoon when we got there after hiking one of the mountains in HK, and the entrance fee (HK$50) was quite expensive for others. So instead of going inside, we just took photos outside that also have spectacular views and spots that are perfect for photoshoots.

I love especially the green puzzle garden and this view of the high-rise buildings. The outside part of the garden also has a wide area where visitors can lay down their mats and have a picnic, even kids can play and run around as well. So these are the first set of places I had visited here in HK. One article is not enough to list down all the places so I have to separate the others. There are more places to share, so stay tuned 😁. See you next time. 😊

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