Hong Kong: City of Lights, Ferry Boats, and Dim Sum
4th to 7th November 2016
Like Osaka, we only had a short stay in Hong Kong. However, Hong Kong is not shy, and it introduced itself loudly and clearly!
When you arrive, the frenetic energy of the city almost hits you in the face - quite a change for us after 2 weeks in tranquil Japan! I think Nick captured the feel of Hong Kong straight away when he said that it felt a bit like London and China meshed together.
Here's what we liked most about this city, which feels almost like a nation in its own right.
The Food (of course)
We knew the food was going to be great here, so we set ourselves up to take the Hello Hong Kong's food tour on our first morning.
Our lovely, Liverpudlian guide, Michael fed us magnificently with dim sum, milk tea, cha siu (slow roasted pork), wanton noodle soup, and custard tarts. He did this at various stops as he walked our group to different areas of the city, fascinating us with his knowledge of Chinese medicine, Hong Kong's culture and history, and speaking Cantonese with a Liverpool accent.
We also managed to find a Michelin starred restaurant that cost about the same as a regular dinner out at home, and this fantastic Egglette at Oddies (thanks again to little grey box, our travel food guru!).
We Did Pay The Ferryman
Sorry, I couldn't resist.... I mean, how many ferries do you take?
Hopping on Star Ferries is a wonderful way to see the famous Hong Kong skyline. You can head off on evening cruises, but these ferries are the real deal. There's just a good feel to them - hardworking ferries that have been shuttling people between Kowloon and Hong Kong for decades.
It's a short crossing (less than 10 minutes), but the perfect amount of time for me to get caught up in the colour and vibrancy of the iconic Hong Kong lights. It's also dead cheap, so you can keep shuttling back and forth to your heart's content.
Victoria Peak
This was fantastic.... when we got there. Here's my nugget of advice for anyone going to Hong Kong - please avoid the peak tram if you can. It might be fine early in the morning, but we lost about an hour of our lives queuing here. There was also lots of pushing to get on the tram when it arrived, and people are just sandwiched in.
Victoria Peak is really beautiful though. The views from the top of Hong Kong, both city centre and quiet bays, are divine.
We spent a few hours here, late afternoon, but if we were to go again, I think we would taxi it up (apparently very cheap), bring some tasty street food, and do a bit of exploring.
Hong Kong Snapshots
- Metallica and cheeseburgers in the Kowloon Tap Rooms
- The shoebox sized room at our hostel. It was "ensuite", which means they had pretty much sellotaped a loo within a shower cubicle beside the bed. Nice...
- The bustle and din of chatter of Lin Heung Kui Tea House, packed with local families and friends having a tasty dim sum breakfast.
- Baskets of dried bird nests, sharks fins and gnarled ginseng roots outside Chinese medicine shops.
- The taste of refreshing milk tea and tea-coffee mix on a hot Saturday morning.
- Waking up on Sunday morning to find that Ireland had beaten the All Blacks!
- "Sitting out" spots - green spaces where Hong Kong residents (and gate crashing tourists like us) can chill out in the sunshine, eat, drink and socialise.
There is so much more to Hong Kong; these are simply the best bits of our flying visit.
Nick's favourites were the hazy sunshine views from Victoria Peak and eating cha siu, tender roast pork which is a very special kind of delicious.
The snapshot imprinted on my mind when I think of Hong Kong is leaning on the windowsill of a dark green Star Ferry, and drinking in the neon skyline as the ferry moseyed along the water.
I think we got pretty good value for 2 short days!