Hong Kong in a Nutshell

The MTR in Hong Kong

Sara’s Top Four:

Junk Boat in the Victoria Harbor

Happy Valley Racecourse

Dragon’s Back Trail

Dim Sum

David’s Top Four:

Junk Boat in the Victoria Harbor

Happy Valley Racecourse

Dragon’s Back Trail

Crazy markets in Kowloon

Impressions:  Hong Kong is fantastic!  Renting an apartment for two weeks in the city (the longest we have stayed anywhere) made it even better.  It felt like we had our own place again, which was a treat.  Add to that an amazing city with so much to do and the chance to meet up with friends and it isn’t hard to see why we fell in love with Hong Kong.  

Food:  We did an entire post on dim sum in Hong Kong.  The food is fabulous in the city and there is an amazing variety.  From Asian foods to Western foods, very inexpensive to very expensive foods, HK has it all.  At the end of our stay, we both agreed that the food in HK is a big reason that it is such a great city.

Getting Around:  The HK metro system (the MTR) is excellent -- extensive, easy to use, and inexpensive.   On our first weekend, our friends Hannah and Dave recommended that we pick up an Octopus card rather than purchasing single-use tickets on the subway and needing exact change for buses and trams.  Wow!  What a difference a plastic card can make.  Rather than wasting time in line buying tickets and shuffling for exact change (or overpaying), we just tapped a card on a sensor.  Supermarkets and some restaurants even accepted the Octopus card for payment.  We were able to get reimbursed for any leftover value at the airport as we were leaving.  Very highly recommended for anyone going to HK! 

People:  It only took a day or so in Hong Kong before we noticed a really interesting phenomenon -- people walk really, really slowly.  For such a big and international city we were expecting to see people moving closer to the pace of New York or London.  Part of this can be attributed to the rampant texting (or gaming) while walking.  HK definitely is an international city -- the groups of expats from every country imaginable was staggering.  We saw more Americans, Canadians, and Brits than we had seen in months.  There is also a very large Filipino population in Hong Kong, most of whom serve as "helpers" in Hong Kong households.  Most of these helpers had Sundays off, which meant that as we walked around the city on Sundays we saw groups of mostly Filipino women sitting in parks, along sidewalks, under bridges, outside of buildings -- really anywhere that they could find a place in the shade -- talking, playing cards, and eating.

Where to Stay:   Because we knew we would be spending a few weeks in Hong Kong, we decided to use airbnb.com to rent an apartment.  We found a very well-priced apartment in the Sheung Wan neighborhood of Hong Kong Island.  We liked Sheung Wan.  It was very local while being less than a 10 minute walk from some bustling areas and not much farther to the Central-Mid-levels escalators. Before our trip we had to decide between staying on Hong Kong Island or across the harbor in Kowloon.  We would have been happy in either place, but we're glad we chose Hong Kong Island.  The hilly areas and diverse neighborhoods were fun to walk around, which is how we spent a lot of our time.  The metro and ferries make it very easy to get between the two.

Hong Kong Then and Now

Continuing our then-and-now series (see here and here), check out how much Hong Kong has changed since my dad visited 40 years ago.

Central

1971

2012

Ferry Docks

1971

2012

Ladder Street

1971

2012

Aberdeen

1971

2012 - Beautiful view from the apartment balcony of our friends Dave and Hannah who had us over for dinner

-David

Walking the Dragon's Back

We were surprised that for such a big city Hong Kong has so many wild, undeveloped parts.  Only a 20-minute bus ride from downtown are some amazing hiking trails.  The Dragon's Back Trail is one of the best.  Walking along the top of the ridge you would have no idea that you were just outside a huge city but for the tops of a few tall buildings peaking out over some hills in the distance. 

David testing his luck before the hike

This way to the Dragon's Back Trail

Looking out over a bay from the Dragon's Back

The weather was perfect as we set out on our hike, but apparently the weather can change quickly in Hong Kong!  Check out the pictures above and below.  They were taken within 30 minutes of each other.  It took a bit of imagination on our parts to take in the view once the fog rolled in!  The hike was a lot of fun, and Sara did great as she recovers from her sprained ankles!  

As we finished the walk we found ourselves at the beach!  Big Wave Bay is a relatively quiet corner of Hong Kong Island.  We had hamburgers at a beachside cafe and then went for our second swim in the South China Sea (not counting our trip to the beach in Hoi An, Vietnam).

-David

Big Wave Bay

A Seriously Big Buddha

The Big Buddha on Lantau Island

Lantau Island isn't far from Hong Kong Island, and the short ferry ride makes it an easy day trip.  We spent a few hours wandering around the Big Buddha on the island.  We've seen a lot of Buddhas during our travels, and this one is seriously big!  First, we were drawn to the nearby Po Lin monastery by the sound of monks chanting and the prospect of seeing another monk ceremony.  No such luck.  The chanting was coming from really loud speakers.  Next stop was the Big Buddha himself.  Our tickets came with a reward -- two ice creams and two bottles of water once we made it to the top of the stairs.  A nice touch!  Finally we walked along the Wisdom Path, which gave us some nice views of an undeveloped part of Hong Kong.

On our way back to the ferry, we stopped at a fantastic beachside restaurant called The Stoep.  It came highly recommended by my cousin Carrie, who used to live in Hong Kong.  We enjoyed a huge meal, including an appetizer intended for the table next to ours!   

~Sara

Po Lin Monastery near the Big Buddha

Wooden pillars along the Wisdom Path at the Big Buddha

Kowloon

From goldfish to parrots, flowers to electronic gadgets, you can buy it on the streets of Kowloon, across the harbor from Hong Kong Island.  The Ladies Market is open when the sun is shining and the Temple Street Night Markets open up when the sun goes down.  And that's not to mention the malls that dot the peninsula.  We will remember Kowloon as a bustling place full of really interesting sights, sounds, and smells.

A short rest break from walking his bird

Showing off his parrot

Kowloon Flower Market on Mother's Day

Goldfish Street - Look at all the pretty fish

But Kowloon is definitely more than just markets.  At the southern tip of Kowloon are several museums (we spent a rainy afternoon at the history museum), a waterfront esplanade and Hong Kong's Avenue of Stars.  Nearby is the beautiful colonial-era Peninsula Hotel.  We wandered around the waterfront and stayed for the Symphony of Lights, a nightly light show involving all of Hong Kong's skyscrapers.  Although it wasn't quite as long as we expected, it was cool to watch the skyline light up and blink along with the music.

Bruce Lee along the Avenue of Stars

The Symphony of Lights

To cap it all of we took a ride on the Star Ferry (in service since 1898) back home to Hong Kong Island!

Escalators!

I'd always heard about the escalators in Hong Kong, but had no idea quite what to expect.  They were fantastic!  There are twenty escalators connecting the Central and Mid-levels neighborhoods -- and we rode every one of them.  As we passed the thousands of apartment buildings on either side of the escalators I kept thinking that riding the escalators might just be one of the coolest commutes to and from work that I can imagine.  It didn't hurt that the Soho neighborhood skirting the escalators had some of our favorite Western restaurants and people-watching spots.

~Sara

A View from the Peak

Views over Hong Kong from the top of Victoria Peak before and after sunset.

View from Victoria Peak just before sunset.  The world's fourth tallest building, the ICC, is to the far left.

Night view from Victoria Peak

Cruising Victoria Harbor on a Junk

Our junk boat for the day

How did we find ourselves at a birthday party on a junk boat in Victoria Harbor?  It all started six weeks ago along the ghats in Varanasi, India.  We were watching the Ganga Aarti ceremony when we struck up a conversation with a Canadian couple sitting near us (because they were getting pestered by a stray cow).  After the ceremony the four of us walked to a local place for dinner.  We learned that they live in Hong Kong and told them that we would be visiting in May.  We made plans to get together and were excited to find out that they would be renting a junk for the day to celebrate a friend’s birthday – and they had plenty of room for two more!

So that’s how we found ourselves on an all you can eat, all you can drink party boat with Hannah, Dave, and a big group of expats.  We loved spending the day with new friends, seeing the harbor and some outlying islands, swimming in a secluded cove, and eating probably the best steak in all of Asia.  Here are some pictures of our fun, relaxing day on the water!

Sara, Hannah, and Dave relaxing with a drink on the top deck

David floating in the South China Sea

A view of Hong Kong Island from the boat

A walk through our neighborhood

A walk through our Sheung Wan neighborhood on Hong Kong Island:

From left to right:
Picture 1: Our Sheung Wan MTR (subway) station
Picture 2: Incense burning at the Man Mo Temples
Picture 3: Ladder Street
Picture 4: The neon beacon that told us we were almost home
Picture 5: Sheung Wan sign
Picture 6: The street signs outside our apartment
Picture 7: Waiting for the train at Sheung Wan MTR station
Picture 8: Dried seafood sold on our street
Picture 9: Our apartment building

Russian Visas!

Good news, we picked up our Russian visas this morning from the consulate!  Getting visas for Russia is not an easy process, and we had a few anxious moments wondering whether they would be there waiting for us this morning.  We walked in right at 9 a.m. and had our passports within 5 minutes.  What a relief!

Two weeks in Hong Kong wasn't our original plan (we were delayed by some Russian holidays), but we definitely welcomed having so long in such a great city!  Plenty more updates to come about our stay in Hong Kong.

Double, Double Dim Sum

Hong Kong has some of the best food in the world!  We have had our fair share of Thai, Mediterranean, Mexican, and Italian, but without a doubt our very favorite meal in Hong Kong is dim sum.  So much so that we have had two "Double Dim Sum" days, meaning that we have had dim sum for lunch and dinner.  We learned that among Chinese people dim sum is deemed most appropriate as a middle of the day meal, but we deem it appropriate anytime!  We have eaten dim sum at four different restaurants, but we do have a favorite . . .

The sign outside Din Tai Fung

Din Tai Fung!  Our first dim sum in the city (with our friend Kiara) and our best dim sum in the city.  We have eaten there three more times if that says anything!  We also found out that it has locations in Shanghai and Beijing, which we plan to visit, and in Los Angeles and Seattle back in the States.  Below is a dim sum collage.  I really couldn't help myself.

~Sara

UPDATE:  We just made it "triple, double dim sum" by having another double-dim-sum day to celebrate getting our Russian visas this morning!

Macau

Macau is strange, unlike any other place that we have ever been.  Imagine Las Vegas with a quaint Portuguese town on one side of the Strip and nice beaches and fishing villages on the other side.

Like Hong Kong, it is a "special administrative region" of China.  That means that it is part of China but operates with a high degree of autonomy.  It has its own money (the pataca), legal system (which allows gaming), and immigration policies.  Arriving by ferry from Hong Kong, we had to pass through customs and get our passports stamped.

Our favorite part of Macau was the the old historic center.  We also enjoyed visiting a few of the casinos and having a nice dinner at Restaurante Fernando on a quiet strip of beach.  Speaking of the casinos, we were told that they bring in more gambling revenue than their counterparts in Vegas.  We believe it, since they were absolutely packed!

Largo do Senado in the middle of town

Ruins of St. Paul's Cathedral.  Today only the facade remains.

Shooting a cannon at the Grand Lisboa

We had trouble getting people to take a decent picture of the two of us, so we resorted to a mirrored window!

Sara asked for all of the above except the baby chair at Restaurante Fernando.  We saw the sign on the way out.

The Cotai Strip

Inside the Venetian Macau -- just like Vegas except almost everyone was at the casinos instead of the shops and restaurants.

A Night at the Races

Happy Valley Racecourse for the Wednesday night races

On our second night in Hong Kong we were off to the races!  Happy Valley Racecourse was the most fun we could have imagined on a Wednesday night.  The setting is amazing, nestled among the skyscrapers of Hong Kong Island.  People watching, horse racing, socializing, cheap and yummy food (a French theme last week), a little wagering . . . what more could you ask for?

Speaking of betting, more than $20 million HKD ($2.5 million USD) were bet on most of the races!  We certainly didn't add much to that tally, as our largest bets were $10 HKD (about $1.25 USD).  Happy Valley is the place to see and be seen on Wednesday nights, especially for Westerners traveling or living in Hong Kong.  We also met several locals, including a couple of Dow Chemical employees that David enjoyed talking with (he was an engineer with Dow in Louisiana during college).

And they're off!  One of eight races of the evening.

The crowds mingling at Happy Valley Racecourse with the city in the background

We loved it so much that we decided to go to the races again our second Wednesday night in the city.  This week the races were at Sha Tin Raceourse in the New Territories region of Hong Kong.  The experience was quite different from Happy Valley.  It was a much more local and subdued crowd, definitely more focused on gambling than socializing.  We were able to get really close to the horses after the races, which we really enjoyed.  It was another fun night in Hong Kong!

Sha Tin Racecourse

We're in Hong Kong

A picture of Hong Kong Island taken from Kowloon near the Avenue of the Stars

 
We've spent the last week in Hong Kong and we love it!  The good news is that we have another week here.  A huge change from Nepal, but it has been so much fun to explore the city.

A rented apartment on Hong Kong Island has been home, and we are feeling almost like locals.  We have found a local grocery store, figured out the fastest route to our local MTR (subway) station, and tried quite a few nearby restaurants.  We are staying on the dried seafood street.  If we ever get lost, we can just follow our noses to find our way back!

A street near where we are staying on Hong Kong Island