Asia's World City

Dates of travel: 05 April 2015 - 07 April 2015

It's been one of my most frequented stops during my travels, but usually just to transfer between flights. On a couple of occasions, I had passed through Customs to overnight in a nearby hotel, but that was about it. Now, I can finally say that I have properly gone outside the airport to experience Asia's World City: Hong Kong.

Of course, there is a lot more to be seen in Hong Kong than can be covered in just 3 days, but when you get return flights (from Taiwan) and 2 nights in a very decent hotel (albeit, far from the action) for about AU$400, it's the sort of thing you have to jump on.

Of course, for that price, you probably have to get up pretty early and not fly on one of the world's best airlines. But I think we did pretty well with a 7:30am flight on Mandarin Airlines. I had not flown with these guys before, but they were quite pleasant. We enjoyed a light breakfast during the 1.5 hour flight across the South China Sea before touching down at HKIA. As part of the package deal, we also got a return ticket for the Airport Express train, which got us from the airport to Kowloon station in around 30 minutes. I'm not sure what the regular price of this ticket is, but it was nice to have it included. We also got tickets to go up to The Peak and a single day pass for the Mass Transit Rail (MTR) which regularly goes for HK$55.

After dropping our luggage at our hotel (too early to actually check in), we jumped on the MTR to head into the city, stopping at East Tsim Sha Tsui. Our hotel was in the west of the New Territories, in Tsuen Wan district, along the West Rail line - it was a bit of a pain being so far out. The positive was that the West line goes all the way into Tsim Sha Tsui district, with limited stops.

It took a while to get a feel for the layout of the CBD, but it soon became obvious that everything runs more-or-less parallel to Nathan Road, seen in the picture to the right. I have a reasonably good inherent sense of direction, and so walking up and down, in and out of the various streets was not too much of an issue for me. Of course, like any tourist, I kept a map handy, but parallel and grid-like cities do make it much easier to find your way around.

A short stroll from East Tsim Sha Tsui station and you will find yourself at Avenue of Stars, which is basically a Hong Kong version of Hollywood's Walk of Fame. At the start is this pleasantly open plaza with a large statue-version of the award that is presented to winners of the Hong Kong Film Awards. Continuing along the promenade for almost 500 metres, you can find stars with hand-prints for some of Asia's biggest names in film over the past century.

I am none too familiar with Asian cinema, but as a typical Westerner, I of course know Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee! The latter features in this rather threatening statue further down the Avenue, back-dropped with - on a clear day - a stunning view of Hong Kong Island's CBD. But of course, you don't have to be a film tragic to enjoy this area; you can easily just come down here for a stroll and to take in the views of the city and harbour.

As with any major Asian city, Hong Kong is ripe with opportunities to try local (and "extended-local") cuisine. I always try to get my taste buds a sample of the flavours of my location; it's good that I'm not really a picky eater. While I did enjoy the Cantonese-style dishes during my stay, I have to say, they don't seem overly imaginative.

One of the iconic Hong Kong restaurants we opted to try was Tsui Wah Restaurant. A short wait in the line outside (maybe 15 minutes; not too bad) and we moved inside. I was lucky enough to be travelling with my Taiwanese girlfriend. She knew what she wanted to try, and she chose most of my meals for me!! You see, one of the things that surprised me about Hong Kong (being such a huge tourist destination) was the lack English on the restaurant menus. Most menus just have items in Cantonese. Now, my better half does not speak Cantonese, but the written language is, I understand, very similar to Mandarin. And most Cantonese people can also speak Mandarin. But if you don't speak either, be ready to do the old "point-and-nod" ordering method!

If you've come to Hong Kong to shop for designer brands, I understand the place to be is in the CBD on Hong Kong Island. But if you are happy to try and pick up cheap souvenirs and trinkets, there are several market streets on the mainland area that will sort you out. The photo here was my favourite of the ones we browsed; known as the Ladies Market. For me, this one had the best variety of different stores. Check out any Hong Kong Tourist Map and you will find it located near Mong Kok station. Go for a bargain, and don't forget to barter!!

As part of our package deal, we were put up in L'hotel Nina et Convention Centre. It was just a place to sleep, because we were there to enjoy Hong Kong, not sit in the hotel! But it was actually quite a nice room, with a good view over the water. The main downside was that it was quite a distance from the action. It was only a short walk from the West Rail Line, which was good. But most of the tourist spots are along the Tsuen Wan line. However! The Tsuen Wan line, as a result, also has a lot more stops and so it takes longer; the West Rail Line gets you into the Tsim Sha Tsui district faster... so, pros and cons! Nevertheless, the L'hotel was certainly a nice place to call it a night - and a nice view to gaze upon before doing so!

Out to the East, along the East Rail Line (funny, that!), you can stop in at Wong Tai Sin station and take a visit to one of Hong Kong's most famous temples, the Sik Sik Yuen Wong Tai Sin Temple. A combination of 3 main religions: Taoism, Buddhism and Confuscianism, and an example of the elements of Feng Shui, many locals come to this temple to pray for good fortune to the 4th Century monk Wong Tai Sin (a.k.a. Huang Chu-Ping).

What I really liked about this was the setting; an ancient style temple, stuck in the middle of the metropolis of Hong Kong on all sides. It's almost like an oasis away from the hustle and bustle of the city. Of course, being one of the most famous temples, it's not exactly peaceful, as it's full of tourists. But nevertheless, even with no real knowledge of Eastern religion, I could still appreciate the depth of meaning that exists in a temple like this. Only a short trip by MTR from the city, the Wong Tai Sin Temple is definitely worth a visit.

Not being a proper "foodie" (and rather, just a person who likes food), I had never eaten at a Michelin Star restaurant. I thought doing so meant paying $150 for a glass of water - that's how uneducated I am in the subject! However, in various locations across Hong Kong, you can find the self-proclaimed Dim-Sum specialists, Tim Ho Wan. Fair warning though: you might be in for a bit of a wait! Once you register with the desk, telling them how many people in your group, you will join the queue, waiting for a space to open up big enough for your group. 

As a twosome, we did okay, only waiting maybe 30 minutes. I don't know the names of the dishes we had (same problem as before - the menu is only in Cantonese), but I can definitely say that my taste buds were very happy! Some dumplings, some knuckles of meat, some soft spring-roll-type things (and another couple of dishes not shown); a very tasty way to line the stomach for the evening.

After our dinner, we headed for the #1 tourist attraction of Hong Kong: The Peak. On Hong Kong Island, across the bay, stands Victoria Peak, the highest point in the Hong Kong territories. It presents a fantastic panorama of the city of Hong Kong, day or night (but probably more impressive by night, which is when we went!).

Make your way over to Central Station on the MTR, and not far outside, you can find the Bus Terminal. Jump on Bus #15 which will take you non-stop up to The Peak. This is where we got a little confused. We has read that you needed to take a tram to get to the peak - we thought this meant after the bus we had just taken. So we found the tram and lined up to get on. The line took the best part of an hour to get to the front, but we finally got there. Then we got on and found that the tram goes downhill... For about 10 minutes, it continues and eventually, you disembark, well aware that you are lower down the mountain than where you started. It turns out that the tram is the alternative way to get up the mountain, instead of the bus! We had a return ticket included with our travel package, so we could easily just take the tram back up. You do get a bit of a view of Hong Kong from the tram, but only in passing. So unless you have picked up a free ticket somewhere, I wouldn't bother with this! Learn from our mistake!!

Anyway... once you find where you are supposed to be going (hint: it's the big weird-shaped building next to where everyone lines up for the tram!), you can proceed all the way to the top - buying an access ticket along the way if you don't yet have one - to get to the panoramic viewpoint. And this is what will await you!

Pretty good, hey! I could certainly get used to living in a high-rise on Hong Kong Island and looking at this view every night!

Back down at ground level, we headed back to Central station by the same bus we took up the mountain. A short walk from the station is the famous bar district of Hong Kong: Lan Kwai Fong.

I do enjoy the occasional (!) beverage, but my girlfriend does not drink so often. We had had a very long day, and so we didn't end up actually taking part in the festivities, rather just had a quick walk through the area and took it all in. One day, I will return and waste a bit of money on some feel-good juice! The sign, seen in the photo, is kind of confusing. There are two signs like this (that I saw). They point down two streets that are at right-angles to each other. The whole area is in a bit of a loop; where the signs are pointing seems to be where most of the action isn't! But anyway, there's plenty to choose from in the area, so you won't be short of options!

On our last morning in Hong Kong, we absolutely had to go to visit the ever-popular "Australian Dairy Company". It seems like this place is heavily blogged about by Taiwanese travellers. We waited for about 30 minutes to get in. When we did, we were ushers to and dumped at a table with two other random people. We got a limited option of choices for things we could order, the waiting staff were very rude; dumping cutlery on the table; I was poked with one of our dishes because my shoulder was blocking his access to the table... Overall, a very underwhelming experience! I can only assume that the milk-based products (presumably made with Australian milk) are extremely tasty, compared with Asian milk...? Otherwise, I really cannot understand why this place is so popular!! Don't get me wrong... the scrambled eggs were pretty tasty. The macaroni in chicken soup with ham was... confusing. But not bad. But overall, if you are tossing up between visiting here and seeing something else... my vote is for you to go somewhere else!

Well, that just about sums up my first experience of Hong Kong. More than a dozen transits at the airport without ever getting out to see the city, but I have finally done it. I will likely try to go back in the future to see some more of it, as there is a lot to see. But for now, it's onward to the next destination!