We booked to stay in Hong Kong for 3 nights as a stopover en route to New Zealand. Countries in Asia are on our list of places to visit but we were always quite apprehensive. I’m not sure why, but possibly because of the language barrier, so we thought 4 days in Hong Kong would be an excellent way to get a taste of Asia.
We stayed in Kowloon which wasn’t far from Hong Kong Island. Hong Kong was an interesting experience. It immediately came across as a big and bustling city, where everyone seemed to be on the run. One thing we did notice was how British it was; the city seemed to blend in an interesting way the traditional Chinese life with the Western culture. This was a great and gentle introduction to Asia; we were able to experience it without being completely out of our comfort zone. I would recommend it to anyone – who is prepared to leave the country with spots. Yes, spots! Hong Kong didn’t come across as very clean: lots of smog and rather polluted. People living there were aware of this as the majority of them were wearing some sort of masks to cover their mouths and noses.
We started our first day with a half day city tour. This took us to Victoria Peak, a viewpoint 428m above sea level looking out across the whole of Hong Kong Island. We were able to see some lovely views but unfortunately it was quite misty that day, so even though we had a good view, it could have been better. Mind you, it sounds like it’s very rarely clear and many people have complained about not being able to see anything at all so it does seem like we were quite lucky to see what we saw. The only way to get up Victoria Peak is by a tram and a very steep tram it was too! Actually, I think it was more of a cable car – if there’s any difference between the two. One thing I’ll never forget about this is that it travelled at a 45 degree angle. I wasn’t really aware of this, so had a shock when I realised how steep it was going – scary, but cool!
We also went to Aberdeen, which wasn’t far from Victoria Peak and had a ride in a sampan. This took us around the harbour, past the landmark Jumbo Floating Restaurant and floating village. The sampans cruise at a fairly slow speed but it was a rather enjoyable 45 minutes. We had to pay direct to the lady operating the sampan: 55 Hong Kong dollars (£5 – £6) each. I think there were about 8 of us in there (not including the driver) and half of them were American. Well, the Americans! *coughs* When we paid for the ride at the end, us Brits paid in Hong Kong dollars but the Americans paid in US dollars. This got me rather wide eyed and I found this to be rather arrogant. Not only that, they wouldn’t keep still for the whole ride, taking pictures of anyone and anything. They even took photos of the driver when she made it quite clear she didn’t want her picture taken. It wasn’t a case of her being miserable; she genuinely seemed uncomfortable with people taking her picture for the hell of it. Well, she is a human being like the rest of us and not a thing people can just glance at. The Americans behaved rather disrespectfully I thought. If you go to another country, you should expect to pay in their currency, why should the Hong Kongians (or anyone else) have to put up with any tourists acting like they own the place? It just seemed like those Americans thought they were better than anyone else on that sampan despite the fact that they were the foreigners.
Our final stop on that tour took us to the famous Stanley Market. Stanley Market offered a wide variety of shops selling art, clothes and souvenirs. I certainly made the most of my time there to grab plenty of souvenirs!
Once we got back to Kowloon, we decided roaming the streets of Hong Kong was nothing to be scared of so we spent the afternoon exploring the area around Kowloon. We already decided we would have a Chinese meal while staying at Hong Kong. Rob and I LOVE Chinese food, so you can imagine it would be at its best there. Before heading back to the hotel that night, we went in a restaurant (although it was more like a café) and had a look at the menu. We quickly realised that was no touristy place as everyone eating there seemed to be local residents. We had one look at the menu and were of course, totally baffled. We didn’t like to ask for an English menu (I’m sure there wouldn’t have been one and wasn’t convinced the waitress would understand us anyway) so instead of pointing at anything on the menu and taking the risk of being presented with a dead fish on a plate, we quietly got up and left. Yes I know we’re wimps! Luckily, our hotel had a Chinese restaurant (with an English translated menu of course!) so we ate there. This was quite interesting because even though we’re used to dining at Chinese restaurants back home, this was somewhat different, I couldn’t put my finger on it, but it was delicious.
The next day, we made our way back to Hong Kong Island on foot, stopping at the Hong Kong Museum of History on the way. The museum was really interesting, especially for a historian who had studied Chinese history while completing a history degree. Although I was already aware of its history, it was nice to see it visually. It was the icing on the cake to everything I had learnt. Oh yes, before leaving the museum, I went to the loo. Yes, I know you don’t want to know that, but there is a reason why I’m talking about the loo! There was a queue with three schoolgirls in front of me waiting to use the cubicles. When one became free, they all suddenly looked at me, urging me to go before them. I didn’t know whether to accept to reject! I didn’t want to accept in case they felt I was more superior to them but I didn’t want to reject either, in case it would offend them. Luckily, in the time they were urging me to go, another couple of cubicles became free, so we all ended up going the same time anyway! This just made me wonder whether they felt I should go first because I was *better* than them, or were they just genuinely being polite because I was a visitor in their country. I’ll never know, but all I can say is that this was a pretty bizarre experience!
We then explored Hong Kong Island, walking along Victoria Harbour in Tsim Sha Tsui paying attention to the Avenue of Stars (modelled on the Hollywood Walk of Fame), which honours celebrities of the Hong Kong film industry. We also stopped at a Starbucks, leaving Rob very happy at the fact that we were a long way from home and he still wouldn’t be deprived of his lattes! That evening, we went on a pre-dinner cocktail cruise and had a fantastic view of the Hong Kong skyline at night: it was beautifully illuminated.
Although I enjoyed Hong Kong, I don’t think I would be too bothered if I never went there again. It’s not somewhere I would choose for a holiday, but it is an ideal location for a stopover en-route to Australasia. I have to admit, I did feel the four days we were there wasn’t quite enough as I was disappointed we did not get the opportunity to go to Ngong Ping, Lantau Island and see the Tian Tan Buddha (also known as the ‘Big Biddha’). As crazy as it sounds, I would have been prepared to walk up the 268 steps to get to the top! I would also have liked to have paid a visit to Macau. Maybe next time! We’re planning to go to Australia again, so we could have another couple of days in Hong Kong en-route.
Tags: Asia