Your Only Guide to Visiting the Best Museums in Hong Kong

Posted on May 23, 2017February 2, 2023 by Nicholas

Guide to Visiting Hong Kong’s Museums

Affiliate link disclosure: You may find affiliate links in this blog post. As an Amazon Associate, I earn on qualifying purchases. You can read my full disclosure here.

One of greatest parts of visiting any big city is the access to museums and the wealth of knowledge you can gain from them. If you’re traveling to Hong Kong, the museums here are no different, and only a loser would pass them up. Did you know Hong Kong was occupied by Japan for nearly 4 years in the 1940’s, and that the Japanese enslaved not only Hong Kong people, but also the Brits? Ever heard of the Opium Wars? Did you know some people of Hong Kong almost never leave their boats? These are just a few of the things you can learn about in an interesting and fun way by visiting the museums in Hong Kong. If you’re looking to visit the museums of Hong Kong, this guide will provide you with an economical and simple way to do so. Your first step should be getting a coveted museum pass. Don’t make a mistake you’ll have to forgive yourself for later; don’t pass this one up.

Get a Hong Kong Museum Pass: What is it?

This is by far my favorite part of Hong Kong. The museum pass allows you to enter the permanent and special exhibitions for free as many times as you’d like. The value that you get for purchasing a museum pass is bar none. Make sure you bring a form of identification with you to prove you are who you say you are when applying.

*There are ways to visit some museums for free on certain days, but I wouldn’t recommend going on those days; they get packed with people–including students’ field trips–and are much less enjoyable.

Museums in Hong Kong

There’s a lot of museums in Hong Kong. What Museums are included?

The museum pass grants access to the permanent and special exhibitions of the museums operated under the Leisure and Cultural Services Department. Here they are linked with the address to each in parentheses and their phones numbers in brackets.

Hong Kong Science Museum (2 Science Museum Rd, Tsim Sha Tsui East) [2732-3232]

Hong Kong Heritage Museum (1 Man Lam Rd, Sha Tin) [2180-8188]

Hong Kong Museum of Art (10 Salisbury Road, Tsim Sha Tsui) [2721-0116]

Hong Kong Museum of History (100 Chatham Road South, Tsim Sha Tsui) [2724-9042]

Dr. Sun Yat-sen Museum (Kom Tong Hall, 7 Castle Rd, Central) [2367-6383]

Hong Kong Space Museum (10 Salisbury Rd, Tsim Sha Tsui) [2721-0226]

Hong Kong Museum of Coastal Defence (175 Tung Hei Rd, Shau Kei Wan) [2569-1500]

Best Museum for Children in Hong Kong

The Hong Kong Museum of Science is one of the coolest museums in Hong Kong to take your child. There’s got to be 100 different stations they can interact with. Everything from toying with electricity and magnets, manipulating puzzles of all types (some of them are difficult!), VR systems, video games, and my daughter’s personal favorite: the construction yard for smaller children (technically the child must be between 80-120cms tall, but they seem to be quite lenient on this).

Museum of Science Construction Yard — Moving blocks around in the construction yard

The children are given a construction vest and helmet and can proceed to build a building with foam blocks, move blocks around with carts on and off a track set, operate a crane and way station, and more! They are allowed to play for 15 minute intervals at which point a bell will go off and they will have to get back in line if they want to go again. Get a museum pass to go on any day you want because if you take your child on the ‘free day’ everyone else and their child will be there and the line can get quite long. Get there on a Monday or Tuesday morning and you’ll likely see just a few kids playing at a time. Your little one can get right back in if they want!

Museum of Science — Operating and the crane/way station

Cost of a Museum Pass

Family pass (up to 4 people)…………………………………………………………………………………………………………..$100 HKD

Individual Pass……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….$50 HKD

Concessionary Pass (applies to full-time students, persons over 60, and disabled persons)………….$25 HKD

How Long is a Hong Kong Museum Pass Valid For?

1 year from date of purchase. They used to sell monthly and weekly passes, but those have been abolished.

It’s possible that the orders for passes may be backlogged and you will have to wait 2 weeks to pick up your official pass, but don’t worry! In the meantime, you can use the receipt for your purchase as you would the museum pass itself. Just don’t lose your receipt, you need it to get your pass once it’s ready!

And luckily, if you do ever lose your pass, you can get a replacement for $5-$10 HKD depending on the type of pass you have.

Where can I buy a Hong Kong Museum Pass?

You can buy your museum pass at the following museums in Hong Kong, address to each will be listed in parentheses, see above for links and contact information.

Hong Kong Museum of History (100 Chatham Road South, Tsim Sha Tsui)

Hong Kong Heritage Museum (1 Man Lam Rd, Sha Tin)

Hong Kong Science Museum (2 Science Museum Rd, Tsim Sha Tsui East)

Hong Kong Space Museum (10 Salisbury Rd, Tsim Sha Tsui)

Hong Kong Museum of Coastal Defence (175 Tung Hei Rd, Shau Kei Wan)

Dr. Sun Yat-sen Museum (Kom Tong Hall, 7 Castle Rd, Central)

Looking to Visit the Museums in Hong Kong for Free?

It can be done!

Firstly, some permanent exhibits have been opened for good. Secondly, the museums in Hong Kong without permanent displays open for free have free days you can visit. As stated before, this isn’t ideal because the museums get jammed with folks, but if you’re looking for free, be ready to join the hoards who are doing the same.

Which Hong Kong Museums are free?

The permanent exhibits of the Hong Kong Museum of History, Hong Kong Heritage Museum, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong Museum of Coastal Defence, and the Dr. Sun Yat-sen Museum are all open for free. The free entry does not include entrance to any special exhibits. That’s what the museum pass is for!

If you’re a full-time student, the Hong Kong Museum of Science and the Hong Kong Space Museum are also open for free to you.

Free Days for Hong Kong Museums

The Hong Kong Museum of Science is free to the public on Wednesdays. Beware, lots of field trips on this day, so come early if you want to beat the army of children that will be running and screaming throughout.

Other Perks of the Museum Pass

10% discount on souvenirs and publications purchased at the museums

Special offers at the catering outlets within the museums

10% discount on museum extension activities

Special offers on the Annual Pass to Ocean Park and the Magic Access of Disneyland

Conclusion

Hong Kong traffic — Museums are a great way to escape the congestion of the city

Visiting the museums in Hong Kong can be entertaining, enlightening, and an all around lovely morning or afternoon. I would highly recommend the museum pass if you plan on visiting multiple museums to see special exhibits, or if you plan on returning to the same museum more than once. I love to take my daughter to the Hong Kong Museum of Science at least a couple of times per week and the value of the museum pass paid for itself in the first few days.

6 Best Websites for Camping in Michigan, Number 4 is Crucial

Posted on May 15, 2017February 2, 2023 by Nicholas

Affiliate link disclosure: You may find affiliate links in this blog post. As an Amazon Associate, I earn on qualifying purchases.

Whether you’re looking for rustic or modern campsites, there are a gazillion options for camping in Michigan. Looking for something near a touristy town? Check. A quiet, rustic site away from all things human? Double check. Lower Peninsula Michigan camping? Got it. Upper Peninsula Michigan camping? How much time do you have? You can never have too much for camping in the beautiful state of Michigan. Don’t make mistakes like me, share the love (or don’t) and go camping in Michigan!

Camping in Michigan, So Many Choices

While my daughter and I spend lots of time abroad. I’m looking forward to returning home this summer and during my stay I will certainly be going camping for at least a week, possibly two.

I’ve been camping in Michigan quite a few times, and I often feel overwhelmed planning my trips so I’ve developed a way to make it easier on myself that I’d like to share with all of you.

The first thing you should know about camping in Michigan, is that it is always better for you if you reserve your site early. I can hear you asking: just how early should I reserve a camp site in Michigan? Depends on the site you are going to, but if you’re going to visit a very popular one, like Tahquamenon Falls in the Upper Peninsula, then you better be looking to book your site about 1-2 months in advance, even sooner if you want a larger pick of sites.

Other, less popular places can be booked same day, but if you’re like me, you’re looking for some amazing campsites to see the best parts of Michigan.

So how do you decide where to camp? Here’s the top 6 websites I use:

Resourceful Websites For Camping in Michigan

(1) UP Travel

UP Travel is great for locating campsites in my favorite part of Michigan, the Upper Peninsula! A quick tap on the campground will give you the address, phone number, and many have a website linked to it as well to give you more information or the ability to reserve online.

(2) Exploring the North

Exploring the North gives a run down of each camp site they cover, a small description, and lets you know about nearby attractions. A fantastic resource to check out before you book your site.

(3) Pure Michigan

The Pure Michigan website has its own section devoted to Campgrounds and RV parks. It’s not as inclusive as a resource for campgrounds as the first two I mentioned, but it’s still a wonderful resource for planning your camping trip in Michigan because you can filter out results by amenities, attractions, region, city, recreation, and many more.

(4) Michigan DNR

This is my favorite resource for camping in Michigan. Why? Not just because it’s ran by the DNR, but this is where you can reserve all of the preferred campsites online. It’s easy to see first identify the region in Michigan where you want to camp. From there you can use the interactive map to choose a specific location. Then you can view individual campsites, see what days they are available, how big they are, the surface of the campsite, if it has electricity or not, and a lot of other useful information about camping there.

(5) Michigan Campgrounds

This website is probably better for people who are camping in Michigan with an RV. I don’t use one so this isn’t my favorite site, but it’s pretty useful at locating some nice campgrounds.

(6) Camping in Michigan

This is another resourceful list of campgrounds in Michigan. A great aspect of this site is that they also festivals where you can camp at. Bonus!

Other hints to camping in Michigan?

Helpful Hints For Camping

Make sure you have a recreational sticker on your car to grant you access to the parks. Stop by the Secretary of State to get one before you head out, easiest to do this when you renew your plates each year. They are annual passes so you only need one each year.

There are animals in Michigan, keep your site clean or they might pay you a hungry visit. The squirrels are cute, so are the bears, but the bears might eat your face.

Bug spray. You know what it’s for, just don’t forget it. Some mosquitoes are the size of your right ear.

Firewood is usually available at the campgrounds, but it will be limited. Stop at someone’s house that has wood for sale nearby and save yourself a headache and support local wood chopping people! Then, save the trees by making sure you burn all your wood you bring with you! Firewood brings in pests to parks so make sure to scorch them before you leave 🙂 RIP little bugs

Got your fishing pole? Got your fishing license? You better!

Michiganders and the people who visit the camp sites in the Michigan are friendly people, just be aware of where you are. Don’t bring a loud music system, you’re being rude making your neighbors listen to your crappy music. Likely there are rules against them in the campground, but even if there isn’t, people still don’t want to listen to your horrible taste in tunes.

I hope this has helped you. Let me know in the comments if I forgot anything or if there are other helpful resources out there for people looking to go camping in Michigan!

Dear Mother on Mother’s Day (and every day)

Posted on May 14, 2017February 2, 2023 by Nicholas

Affiliate link disclosure: You may find affiliate links in this blog post. As an Amazon Associate, I earn on qualifying purchases.

Dear Mom on Mother’s Day,

Firstly, every day should be Mother’s Day. I’m not saying this to endear you, or because I think it’s the right thing to say. I say it because every day I have is a day you gave me. If you hadn’t let me grow in your belly, let me tear out of said belly a month earlier than I was supposed to, and leave you with your tiger stripes and cesarean scars, then I wouldn’t have any of my days. Every day is Mother’s Day.

Happy Mother’s Day!

Secondly, I’m now a grown man and a single dad, raising a beautiful little girl of my own. She’s 25% you, 50% me, 95% awesome and 5% necessary sass. Without you, there would be no me, there would be no she. There would be no we. Without you, and this lonely day of the year that we celebrate you, I wouldn’t have the distinct pleasure of putting up with that 5% sass and my favorite fishing partner by my side.

I know we’ve fought, I know we’ve screamed at each other, I know life hasn’t always been easy. But for every minute of fighting, there’s been 20 of peace. For every second of fretful screaming, there’s been 30 of loving silence.

When I was 10 I didn’t know what divorce meant, other than that we wouldn’t see Dad as often. When I was 13 and ran away, I wasn’t going anywhere, I just wanted to make sure you’d come after me. And you did. When I was 17 and you let me throw that birthday party, I vomited in your flowerbed because I had so much fun. Then I woke up the next morning with you handing me a glass of orange juice. The scolding came later. Thank you for letting my battle my hangover in silence. Happy Mother’s Day.

When I was 25 you said you thought I was still 20. When I was 29 you said you thought I was still 25. I know it’s hard to see your children grow into adults. My daughter, your granddaughter, is now 3, but she’ll always be my little baby girl. I loathe the day she grows up and wish there was a potion to keep her small. So I can protect her forever, like you always thought you could me.

Please don’t grow up anymore! Stay small!

You were scared when I left for Costa Rica, you were terrified when I left for Colombia, you were worried when I left for Hong Kong. I always said, “I’m not a kid, you don’t have to worry about me.” But you were right to worry; the times I’ve nearly died, I never told you about. I wanted to avoid the scolding of the second morning of being 17. But if my daughter ever told me the stories I haven’t told you, I’m sure I might have a heart attack. So be thankful for my silence.

The same way I’m thankful for your scoldings. For your shouts. For our fights. There’s no one else I can fight with so much, but always find a home with. There’s no one I can scream at, demean, impugn, and still find a place at their table, except you. I’m not a perfect son, though you always say I am. We both know it’s not true. So I’m glad you taught me I don’t have to be perfect to be complete on every day, not just Mother’s Day.

Happy Mother’s Day, Mom. 10-year-old me forgives you for the divorce, 13-year-old me thanks you for finding me miles away on my bike, 17-year-old me appreciates the party, and the orange juice the next morning. 25-year-old me didn’t understand your fear of me traveling. 29-year-old me understands why you thought I was still 25. If I can be as strong as a single father to my one daughter as you were a single mother to my siblings and I, then my daughter will grow into a much stronger, and more intelligent person than I could ever hope to be. Which makes sense, because she’s 25% you.

That’s a big granddaughter you got there!

Happy Mother’s Day to my lovely mother, my daughter’s granddaughter, and to all the other Mom’s out there. Perfect or not.

Lovingly,

Your 30-year-old Little Boy

Our Journey: Our First Time Abroad

Posted on May 7, 2017February 2, 2023 by Nicholas

Affiliate link disclosure: You may find affiliate links in this blog post. As an Amazon Associate, I earn on qualifying purchases. You can read my full disclosure here.

Determining when our first time abroad was, isn’t easy. That’s because my daughter and I were born in different countries. The birth of my daughter was in Hong Kong, so for her, traveling to the USA was her first time abroad. So, let me clarify that I will be speaking about our experience from my perspective.

Not a newborn, but a chunk-chunk baby during dim-sum breakfast!

The Birth of My Daughter

Our first time abroad, then, was the first moment I saw her. Hair sprouting first, a mangled net of gooey fuzz. Happy tears were pouring from my eyes as the rest of her started to emerge. Her squashed face, wrinkly body, and trailing umbilical cord, all covered in purplish amniotic fluid. I’d never seen anyone more beautiful.

The doctors and nurses kept asking her Mom if I was okay because apparently, they don’t see many grown men weep harder than the newborns. I don’t care, seeing the birth of my daughter was borderline overwhelming, like someone was pouring love onto me like an overbearing syrup. I could feel it running down my neck, sticking inside my ears, and gluing me to that moment in time. I’ll never forget it.

The Cord Chop

I waited a couple of minutes before cutting the umbilical cord, letting the last juices being transferred to her make it to where they need to be. So, she laid on the table, squirming, not really crying, an amniotic fluid bubble formed around her lips, expanded, then popped. I couldn’t help but laugh, despite its unique weirdness.

No major health problems yet, just a healthy child 😀

Finally, I chopped through the cord with a pair of surgical scissors, she was wiped clean by a nurse, wrapped up, and passed to me. She looked nothing like me. Dark brown hair, the beautiful curved eyes of her Chinese mother, puffy cheeks (also her mother’s), and a button nose (also her mother’s). Her chocolate brown eyes locked mine, she stared at me, maybe not yet knowing who I was, but I know she could feel my love as I rocked her in my arms. My crying stopped and I had the adrenaline pump you get when you beat death. Like surviving a bungee jump, or escaping a Chinese cobra in the jungle (I’ll give you that story another time).

My first time holding the little squashball

The Riddle of Time

After the birth of my daughter, I spoke to her with a shaky voice, though I can’t remember what I said, and she listened better than anyone ever has. I don’t know if I held her for two minutes or an hour. There’s just no way to decipher a time frame in such an emotional moment. How long did your car skid out of control for? How long did your first fist-fight last? How long was your grandmother’s funeral? How long was the first time you made love? Okay, that one’s easier to answer, right around 2 minutes.

Unfortunately, the doctors had some health concerns for her due to some prenatal problems, so she had to be taken to the ICU for monitoring. I remember thinking, “she’s beautiful, she’s healthy, she doesn’t need this.” But I was impressionable and took the doctor’s word for it, so off she went, scheduled for an extra for 3 days of care and monitoring.

The ICU

The next two days I was allowed to spend time with her in very distinct and short periods. Something like 10-11 and 3-4:30. Each moment I spent with her, I would have her lay on my chest and her tiny fingers would grip my chest hair like a baby monkey afraid to fall. But she had nothing to worry about. Her little head fit perfectly in my right hand, her squishy butt made for a perfect grip with my left. After day one, I was super annoyed she was being kept in that glass box, not being allowed to have her bonding time with her parents.

On day two, a nurse tried to tell me I shouldn’t pick her up because she was sleeping, so I pretended I didn’t speak English and did it anyway. Back onto my chest, clutching my chest hair. After day two, I was pissed I couldn’t have more time with her. I knew she was healthy, her mother agreed, so we signed a form saying we take responsibility for removing her from the ICU early, wrapped her up, and walked her home. She slept the entire walk home through Hong Kong, cars honking, sirens blaring in the distance, people talking over each other in Chinese. She didn’t care.

Our First Night Together

Some people never co-sleep with their children for fear of smashing them, or fear of judgment. I co-slept with her in fear of not being able to snuggle her. Luckily, we were already abroad, and Chinese people don’t judge you for co-sleeping. And when she woke me up several times in the middle of the night to breastfeed with her Mom, I had never been so happy to have beautiful dreams interrupted.

A Dad’s Mistakes: I’m a Loser and so are You

Posted on May 5, 2017February 2, 2023 by Nicholas

Affiliate link disclosure: You may find affiliate links in this blog post. As an Amazon Associate, I earn on qualifying purchases.

I’ve failed repeatedly, disappointed family, pissed off and lost best friends, broken the law, stolen, cheated, lied, and hurt people who didn’t deserve it. I’ve murdered innocent animals, propagated torture, condoned the killing of humans, threatened, punched, cussed at, and made fun of other people. I’m a huge loser and probably always will be, not even seeking forgiveness.

Quit judging fool!

If you’re already looking down on me, you might as well be looking in a mirror. If you haven’t done the awful things I’ve done, or similarly awful things, then you must be Jesus or Mohammed or the Dalai Lama or whatever other person who you think is the holiest of the holy.

But you aren’t, so guess what, you’re a loser, too.

At least that’s what society would make us believe, if you aren’t a winner, you’re a loser. I grew up in the golden era of the American feel-goodery machine. “You’re special.” “You can be anything you want to be.” “I’ll love you no matter what.” “Here’s a trophy for showing up.” I literally got a trophy in the 7^th grade for being the basketball team’s ‘Assist Leader’ for the season and was super proud of it. Forget the crazy number of turnovers, the low shooting percentage, and average assists per game being less than 3. I deserved a trophy damnit and I got one! And I’m not sharing it!

Trash Trophies and Other Places Self-validation Should Go

Fast forward a pair of decades and that trophy is likely buried underneath a mound of other people’s garbage they didn’t want, or simply no longer needed. Not only was that trophy a waste of physical product, its wastefulness extended to its intrinsic value. Sure, it made me feel good at the time. But it also made me think I was good at basketball. So, a big smack in the face came when the 8^th grade team cut me and I had to resort to wrestling for a season, which I would eventually quit because, well, wrestling sucks. And quitting made me feel like a loser, which I was, even before that.

You’re the best at being the best, what to go, you amazing, best person

Before I was 14, I had already committed at least half of the transgressions I confessed at the beginning of this post. Now that I’m 30, I realize it doesn’t matter. Mostly because we are all losers, but also because we can’t escape being losers. Sure, we can do these things personally that make us more of a loser, but we’re trapped in a system that demands we be losers. You don’t want to condone murder and torture of innocent humans? Too bad, you pay your taxes that are used to bomb civilians. Don’t want to lie, cheat, or steal? Better not become part of any American system of wealth building, because that’s the only way to grow. Your making money always comes at the expense of another, or at the growth of something worse than yourself. Don’t want to be responsible for the extinction of species, or the crushing of humans under unsecure buildings? Better not buy any new clothes, ever. Every major brand in the US employs people to work for a penance with tactics that damage the environment. You’re a loser, maybe you just didn’t know it.

Just Figuring Out You’re a Loser? Erm, this is awkward.

You didn’t know it because the American system constantly tells you to feel good about yourself. “Forget about the mass extinction event we’re undergoing and buy more stuff!” Your monstrous carbon footprint due solely to your lifestyle of using American transportation, eating an American diet, and consuming American media is destroying the world. You can’t avoid it, sorry. You’re a loser, just like me.

This is partly why I find it so important to take my daughter traveling around the world, and no, it’s not because it’s inherently healthier for the planet (it’s not, airplane travel is a killer, too). It’s to relatively shield her from the outlandish and image-obsessed culture of the USA, but also to show her that there are different ways to live and that people across the world actually exist, not just Americans and their worldly desires and ignorance of people around the world. So, if you’re one of the Brian Williams types (look how beautiful our bombs are!), remember that bombs killing people is terrorism. You can’t beat terrorists with terrorism. I digress.

We’re all losers, hooray!

Back to it: I’m a loser, you’re a loser, let’s all scream for being losers. But traveling helps. It teaches you to be comfortable with ignorance, impatience, discomfort, and different. It helps you notice that the shoes you wear aren’t nearly as important as the words you say. That the $300 or $3,000 watch on your wrist might tell you the time, but it doesn’t tell you the story of the child who put it together in Bangladesh for mere pennies. Your clothes might accurately represent who you want to be as a person, but they don’t post the number of river habitats that were destroyed making that shirt on the tag. But the dye by-product has to go somewhere, and if it’s a bird’s nesting grounds, or a crocodile’s favorite hunting spot, they’re going to ingest it. So guess what? Your shirt? Makes you a loser. Your watch? Makes you a loser. Your taxes? Makes you a murderer and a torturer. Now you might say, ‘that’s not fair my taxes also go to blablabla…’ That’s true. But if a man had a $1000 and he gave half of it to subsidize the death of a random person, and the other half to save a random person. Is he a good person? Or is he still, like all of us, a loser?

_DSC1237 — My daughters playing with some underprivileged children in Ho Tram, Vietnam

Traveling helps me teach my daughter what is important. Our food choices, how we interact with people, the environment and we treat it, these are just some of them. And I don’t have time for that in the States. I’m too busy working 2-3 jobs, spending an hour at least commuting, then buying fast food or eating something upsetting because I don’t have to time to take life seriously. It’s buy, buy, buy, earn, earn, earn, then die, die, die. I don’t mean to make you feel bad for being as much of a loser as me. It actually feels good to know it and let it out. Doing so helps me remember that my choices matter. So join me, fellow losers, travel, see things that change your perspective. It doesn’t matter who you voted for this time around, how much money you make, or how many people you can sleep with because you’re a Tinder master. What matters is what you leave behind.

But can we be winners?

_DSC1057 — Oranges *are* for winners, however. They’re just so juicy and delicious. Sairee Beach, Thailand

What I hope to leave behind is an intelligent daughter who takes time to consider her actions, thinks holistically in her approach, and challenges the status quo. Because the status quo, like me, is a loser.