Trip: HongKong – Kowloon and Hong Kong Island

Hong Kong- [Slideshow] – Last weekend we said: “Bye bye” to Singapore, and “Hello” to China…or rather: to the “Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China“. This is the correct name of Hong Kong since it was given back by the British to the Chinese 9 years ago in 1997. It is placed on numerous islands, with the 2 biggest ones: Hong kong Island and Kowloon.Hong Kong definitely does not have too much in common with the mainland China…it is a “light” version of this country, as we call it. Exactly as Singapore which is a “light” version of Asia in general But although the system, the mentality, the life standard (prices !!!) are so very distant from Chinese reality, we definitely felt like we are standing right at the entrance of China – this huge, mysterious country which offers so much of rich cultural variety!

But let me start from the beginning (always having problem with that part ) We planned 2 and half days in Hong Kong (Fr to Sun). Enough as it turned out, in order to see the city’s highlights and still enjoy relaxed sightseeing. JetStarAsia airlines had some advantages: cheap and punctual, but also some drawbacks: huge line to baggage check-in and very small planes with at most a couple millimeter space between your legs and the next seat. Since already during the flight we got used to tiny spaces, we did not mind the very small room that we booked at the Ibis North Point Hotel Actually we were already warned by some friends who visited the city earlier this year, that the accommodation in Hong Kong is both very costly and not too comfortable. For us, relaxed backpackers: not the slightest problem such meaningless details cannot prevent us from enjoying the Asian vivid financial center!

We did our touri-tours on all three days of our stay in Hong Kong. The first sight that overwhelmed us were the super tall apartment buildings, stretching trough the whole way form the modern Hong Kong airport (placed on Lantau Island) to the Hong Kong Island, where our hotel was. They did not quite make a nice impression: grey and cold, seemed to consist of millions of tiny “apartment” boxes. We couldn’t imagine that people have actually enough space to live there… It seemed like Hong Kong really has to cope with huge accommodation issues, where on the small area 8 million people need to make their living.(Actually most of those 8 million live on only 10% of Hong Kong’s area)
After taking a short nap on Friday afternoon (we had to wake up before 4am in order to catch the plane on Friday morning ), we set off to explore the most famous “Shopping Mall” part of the Hong Kong Island: the Causeway Bay district. Oh, haven’t I mentioned yet that Hong Kong is basically one huge shopping center? At least when you hear the recommendations of the Singaporeans, they will always say: “Oh, you are going to Hong Kong?? Great, you can do some great shopping there” … and then they list the whole bunch of famous malls that are simply a “must” to visit. But, we skipped that part, as easy to understand. Singapore is a big shopping mall too and somehow we didn’t feel like exploring another one, although it is said to be even cooler .

So we set off from the Causeway Bay MRT station. Leaving the malls behind we took a relaxing walk just enjoying the new views, new smells reaching us from the local fish and vegi markets, Chinese billboards and electronic commercials and much much more. Hong Kong at first sight seemed to be very modern and high tech, and well-off with its high prices and millions of shoppers; but on the other hand it had its shaggy poor nooks, with simple market stalls, ordinary people where some original Chinese culture and life style could be spotted. Right at the beginng of our Friday evening we had some very tasty Japanese food in a cozy Japanese restaurant – delicious! Then we proceeded to the harbor and next to the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center we were for the first time confronted with the amazing skyline of the city. Although it was rather grey and cloudy on that evening, the view was very impressive! The status of HongKong as the financial and business center competing with Tokyo and Singapore has been confirmed at that moment!
[By the way, no wonder that businessmen choose the place to do business: On the contrary to China, Hong Kong has a democratic, free market system, offering the investors much freedom to establish their branches and most important: low- (or sometimes even no-) taxes. Hong Kong decides autonomously about its internal issues... it can not however avoid some political interference from the Chinese side... which obviously wants to limit the autonomy of this extremely rich and well prospering region.]

Later this evening, we took a ferry from the Star Ferry Piers and crossed the canal to enjoy the “light Show” on the Kowloon part of Hongkong. The harbor part of the district is called Tsim Sha Tsui. Out of that spot you can observe the famous music light show when some of the skyscrapers on the Hong Kong Island are lit up to the rhythms of music – certainly impressive and very unusual…you almost got the feeling the buildings were dancing right in front of you (daily at 8pm, be there at 7.30pm)

Saturday was hot and sunny. During the day we took a long walk on the Kowloon part of HongKong: Mong Kok. In Mong Kok you come across many interesting market places: The gold fish market, the bird market, the flower market, the ladies market (where actually both women and men can find some interesting – Gucci and Louis Vuitton fakes ) We passed on to the oldest Hong Kong streets: the Shanghai Street and the Hollywood street where many handcraft shops are still operating. We also visited a temple and a very interesting Jade market where characteristic green jade stone jewelry is sold.

After a short refreshment in our the hotel room (and a short afternoon nap ) we were ready to explore the famous Hong Kong Peak with its tram! In order to reach the train station get off at the Central MRT station and simply walk up the hill…the signs will lead you straight to the tram station. Generally the Hong Kong people seem to be very good at navigation systems. We already were positively surprised at the airport!

I believe the tram that we took up the hill has been used for more than 100 years now. A return ticket cost us about 3 EUR and was definitely worth its price. The hill is very very steep, so the train is pulled on a line placed at the bottom, between the tracks. The ride takes only couple minutes and soon everybody can enjoy the breathtaking view of the city! We also had a very nice dinner at the Cafe Deco restaurant there (Make a reservation at least 2 days in advance and ask for a window table) ! A great experience you cannot miss while visiting Hong Kong!

On Sunday we had a dilemma whether to go to the outskirts (New Territories or Lantau Island) or to stay on the Hong Kong Island and explore another city district. We chose the last option, in order not to risk missing our plane in the evening. We got off on the Sheung Won MRT station and took a very interesting tour trough the Western Market, the Antique Street, the Man Mo Temple, the Soho district and ended up at the Central MRT Station again. On the way we had a nice relaxing stop in one of the very stylish cafes at Soho and also dropped by to a huge book and DVD store – HMV (a paradise for me – I was thrilled to find the Brazilian movie: “The city of God”!). And to close properly our escapade to one of the biggest shopping centers in the world, we took a closer look at Sogo – a huge shopping mall close to the Causeway MRT station. Patric finally got to buy his white 30 GB Ipod !!!!! and I chose 2 pairs of lovely Chinese wooden chopsticks for us which we will take back home and use them to enjoy the Chinese cuisine “made in” the old good Europe

Hong Kong recommendations:

Ferry trip from Hong Kong Island to Kowloon – very cheap!
Light show at Hong Kong Island at 8pm – watched from the harbor at Kowloon
Mong Kok with all its different markets – plan at least 3-4 hours.
The Hong Kong Peak – take the traditional tram up to the peak (queue is up to 30 minutes)
Dinner at the Peak at Cafe Deco (book 2 days in advance and ask for window table)
Soho and the worlds longest moving staircase
Sogo shopping mall near Causeway Bay MRT – 13 storeys of pure shopping