A Weekend in Hong Kong
How can I describe Hong Kong? The city is constantly busy, people fill the streets, traffic packs the roads and buildiMngs rise high overhead blocking out huge chunks of the sky. It’s appearance is like something from a Sci-Fi dystopian future, with neon lights covering walls, various colours decorating buildings and walkways, yet the whole thing seems to be made of concrete and feels distinctly like it’s trying to fit too many people into too little space. It certainly has its own charm but could also overwhelm you if you let it!
Dodgy Accomodation
Getting from the airport to our hotel seemed like it would be straightforward enough as there is a free airport bus service we had seen advertised. Obviously, as is always the way when travelling, it wasn’t that simple! The free airport bus service doesn’t actually leave from the airport! First you must make your own way to Kowloon station which costs 150HKD on the train. From there the bus took us to our hotel which was located close (one stop away) to Hong Kong island.
We jumped out of the bus outside a Holiday Inn, which wasn’t where we would be staying but were assured our hotel was nearby. We walked round the block about four times, checked down small alleys, all whilst repeatedly checking google maps which told us our hotel was where we were standing! Eventually we realised our hotel was inside what appeared to be a shopping area exclusively for shops you wouldn’t want to use. The whole bottom floor was filled with money exchanges with terrible rates, mobile phone stands selling phone cases and overpriced SIM cards and restaurants offering Pakistani food which I’m certain would have lead to a few days stuck in the bathroom unable to leave! Walking through the building to find our hotel involved ducking and weaving through the constant barrage of salesmen trying to pull you into their shop, sell you a suit or offer cheap accommodation (this was a gauntlet we would have to navigate every time we entered or left the building).
Finally we found the lift which listed our hotel as being on the 15th floor. There were three lifts, each only serving one section of the building, with a hotel on each floor. So all guests of any of the hotels had only one lift to use and would be sharing it with guests of 16 floors worth of hotels in their section of the building! With the lift only big enough for three people at a time and no stairs, this inevitably lead to queues of 10-15 minutes whenever you wanted to return to the room! Not that you would want to spend anymore time in the room than absolutely necessary. At £40 a night this was our most expensive accommodation so far except for in Tokyo, but in Hong Kong this got us a tiny room which barely fit the bed! I could easily reach out and touch three of four walls and with a step forward I could reach the fourth. Don’t expect a lot of space for cheap in Hong Kong! This wouldn’t have been an issue, had the hotel staff not spent their nights sniffing cocaine, eating McDonalds and playing music at reception and sleeping in the corridors throughout the day!
Yik Cheong and Choi Hung Estates
Determined not to allow this experience to taint our view of Hong Kong, we set out to explore. What we found was in total contrast to the building we were staying in! Walking out the front doors the chaos continued but with a fascinating charm that intrigued us. Side by side we found designer shops like Rolex sat next to independent restaurants with plastic chairs and cheap food. There is a crazy mixture of luxury and low end retail all entwined and bursting with life. There is a vibrant food scene catering to every budget and endless shopping centres to get lost in. It is a whirlwind of activity that is both exciting and exhausting.
Wanting to escape the madness of the shopping district we had unintentionally ending up staying in we decided to explore some of the housing estates further out of the centre in both Kowloon and Hong Kong Island. The train system is easy to figure out and uses an electronic card that can be bought from any newsagent type shop in the stations. The first estate we visited was Yik Cheong Estate, which towers over you in all directions leaving only a rectangle of sky far above to remind you you’re not inside a large concrete hall. Yet it has a certain beauty to it which has lead to it becoming a popular spot people seek out to take photographs. When we arrived it was difficult to locate (which seemed to be a growing trend for us in Hong Kong). We had assumed it would be obvious to us when we arrived at the location we had marked on the map but it wasn’t! To save anyone who is going here the hassle of searching for it, there are concrete stairs behind the fish mongers which lead up to this spot! (Oh and the crabs in the fish mongers are HUGE, well worth taking a look).
Next up was the Choi Hung Estate. This estate and the surrounding area are brilliant just to wander around and explore. It’s relaxing, far quieter than the main parts of the city and so pretty. The buildings are painted in wonderful pastel colours, which is a theme continued throughout the area with railings, basketball courts and walkways over roads decorated in similar colours. Once again, surprise surprise, we didn’t find it straight away but friendly locals were more than happy to point us in the right direction, with one guy even walking us half the way there, chatting away as we walked. Prices of food were also really reasonable near here so it’s a good place to stop for some food and a drink. We felt this area gave us a glimpse into how normal people live in Hong Kong outside of the craziness and would definitely recommend taking a stroll through the streets round here.
The Peak and Victoria Park
One thing that continuously came up when researching things to do in Hong Kong was visit The Peak. And having now been, we don’t think a visit would be complete without going there. The Peak is basically a really high point that overlooks the entire city. And the views are absolutely magnificent. We planned to go up there for sunset but so did what felt like half of the people in the city! As we arrived at the bottom where you take a tram up to the top we were greeted by a queue that stretched around the block. While we stood and waited, we quickly realised we would definitely not be getting to the top by sunset!
The ticket to use the tram is 48HKD and while you queue there are information boards and exhibit items such as an old tram and clothing from a time when Hong Kong was part of the British Empire. Once up at the top we rushed up to the Sky Terrace (which costs an additional 20HKD), thinking this was the most likely place to get a good view. It was a good view… if you could push your way through the huge amount of tourists up there! It is one of the most crowded spots you can imagine and the best section up there is taken by a photographer who you can pay to take your photo with no-one else in it, otherwise you’ve got no chance of getting a photo of yourself and the view! Luckily, we had read in other blogs about another place nearby. If you walk out the back of the building on the opposite side to where you get the tram up and turn right there is a pathway that leads away from the viewing building. Keep following this for about ten minutes and away from all of the other tourists you will find the best view of the city and a peaceful spot to enjoy it! The view from here is absolutely spectacular. Neither of us have ever seen anything quite like it. You can see just how monstrously tall the buildings are and how many of these high rise mega structures cover the city. It is a skyline that is incomparable to anywhere else in the world and at night is lit up as far as you can see. We spent ages just staring out at the stunning city below us, not quite believing that the chaos below can be perceived from above in such a serene way. If there is one thing you do while in Hong Kong it should be to take in this view.
Near to the tram entrance is Victoria Park. We were surprised to find such a pretty and green park in the middle of such a concrete city. It was a lovely place to sit and eat some lunch and take a break from everything. There is a tea museum housed in an old colonial building which is free to look around, relaxing water features and a pond filled with fish. It has a very British feel to it. Though I’ve never found porcupines outside a park in Britain which we did when walking out of Victoria Park one night!
At Least Once
We feel that Hong Kong is one of those places that everyone should visit once, though I’m not sure that we would plan to go back again unless it was a stopover because of flights to somewhere else!