First Steps in the Far East

  Kowloon, Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong
Thursday, September 22, 2005

18 hours on a plane for 3 days in Hong Kong? I really didn't know whether it was going to be worth it or what to expect. Everybody says that the far eastern culture is so very different from western culture and I was expecting it to be different but I wasn't really quite sure how!

Our flight landed in the evening so my first views of Hong Kong were much the same as New York at night - lots and lots of tall buildings and bright lights everywhere. The airport or rather landing strip in Hong Kong appears to be in the middle of the sea! The planes come down really low and for a few seconds I honestly thought the plane was gonna land on its belly in the South China Sea it was pretty hair raising. Apparently the old airport was  between two high rise buildings which caused problems with turbulence when the planes were landing and taking off. I'm not really sure whether the new airport location is any better for passenger enjoyment!

We were met at the airport by a guy who was to take us to our hotel in a nice black Mercedes whether it was because it was dark or whether it was because I was so tired I'm not sure but I really wasn't that impressed with Hong Kong initially it seemed like every other big city with high rise buildings and lots of roads that you really would rather not drive on!

Kowloon

The humidity of Hong Kong didn't really hit me until the following day. We were up pretty early and, as we had no other means of transport, we decided to take a walk. Our hotel was at the top of a really steep hill and by the time we had walked to the bottom I was sweating to the point of actually dripping after walking for 2 minutes!, okay I know I'm not the fittest of people but this is just silly and its not even sunny! the local lady serving in the seven eleven where we went to get water told me that I would acclimatise and not feel the humidity which I'm sure is true but I'm only here for 3 days and I don't think thats gonna be long enough! The other thing that I never realised is that Hong Kong (or parts of it) are quite high above sea level in comparison with where I come from in the UK so much so that it makes you dehydrate more easily and it was a real issue for me although I didn't actually understand what was happening. The symptoms of dehydration are headaches, dizziness and a feeling of nausea so if you visit Hong Kong and you suddenly think that you have contracted some awful tropical disease just try drinking water and lots of it, chances are its just dehydration and you feel fine after a few minutes, and I wish someone had told me that! Ignore the huge signs everywhere about Bird Flu and Denga Fever (or whatever else is an imminent danger at the time) your really not likely to get it!

We walked down to the Harbour to catch the Ferry over to Hong Kong Island as our hotel was in Kowloon on the mainland. To get to the Harbour it was a short walk (and its preferable to walk where you can) down the main shopping (for tourists) street called Nathan Road. Its the typical image I had in my head of Hong Kong with Neon Lights everywhere and shops and shops full of Cameras and Mobile phones and any other gadget that you can imagine all at great prices but remember to barter. I found that some of the guys in the shops don't want to barter usually cos they know you're foreign and you have the money but if you just walk away.....The only thing that really annoyed me was the persistence of some of the guys trying to sell me a "made to order suit/dress". A polite "no thank you" just didn;t seem to dig it and they were chasing us down the street. I know that they have to make a living but there is a point where you really want these guys to fall down the next open vent!

You do have to watch where you walk though- the streets aren't dirty, not in the main areas anyway, there are huge fines for dropping litter including cigarette butts (be extra careful of this because there are street police everywhere and not always in uniform! and there are on the spot fines of between £50 and £500) on the floor here but bins are plentiful so there really is no excuse - you have to watch for the drips which sometimes turn into streams of water which come from the air conditioning units of the apartments above the shops! It seems that although a huge majority of the population here are relatively poor they all have air conditioning and boy do they need it!

The trip on the ferry (which costs us just over 50p each) was great, it doesn't last very long but the views are spectacular. Its from here that you appreciate how small (in respect of actually land mass) Hong Kong is. Its like a whole high rise city built on a beach around a huge mountain range. The skyline of Hong Kong is as spectacular as New York but has a different ambiance probably because of the mountain backdrop and the reflection of the South China Sea in the high tech, high storey buildings as you cross the harbour. Don't get me wrong, you know you're in a big city but it just felt so much more relaxed. Maybe its the culture. People in Hong Kong don't push you along with the crowd like they do in NYC they walk around you and nothing in intimidating even though its all so different.

Hong Kong Island

Don't be afraid to use the public transport system here. It is one of the best in the world and all the timetables are in Chinese and English and if you're not sure just ask, the people are so kind and friendly even though its a major city. On one occasion we got dropped of at the huge bus station instead of the port where we got on, we got a bit disorientated and went the wrong way (even though the driver gave us directions) and he came running after us to point us in the right direction. People here will go out of their way to help you and its great.

We had decided, after consulting the trusty lonely planet and various leaflets we had picked up at the tourist advice centre (which is at the ferry terminal in Kowloon) to take the tram to Victoria Peak at the top of the mountain. This tram was built in 1888 to transport the wealthy people who lived at the top of the peak(and has been operating ever since) up the mountain. It travels up at an angle which I'm sure at some points much have been almost 180 degrees! It wasn't the most comfortable ride I have ever had in my life (the seats don't appear to have been updated since 1888 and are just wooden benches) and it makes you wonder how some of the people who live half way up this mountain manage! From the look of some of the houses clearly this is where the wealthy of Hong Kong live (those with cars who don't have to trek up and down the mountain on foot everyday)

The views from the top of the mountain are breathtaking and the 8km walk around the peak is a must although I wouldn't attempt it in scorching heat - its a relatively flat walk round and most of it is in the shade due to the trees and greenery. The South China Sea is the most wonderful blue colour where there is no land reclamation going on. There are picnic areas and seating areas all round incase you don't have the stamina. There were also an awful lot of joggers - it seems that because HK Islands is so packed with buildings the only place to jog is at the top of the mountain! The journey back down in the tram was an equally chilling experience and I was glad to get back to reasonably flat land. The trip on the tram cost us about £1 each return and we spent at least half the day up there. There's a shopping centre at the top too and places where you can grab a bite to eat and more importantly a drink! 

We took the bus back to the port area and got a bus to Stanley Market. The journey cost us less than 25p each on an extremely clean air conditioned bus for about 45 minutes

Hong Kong Harbour

The drive took us around the picturesque coastline of Chung Hom Wan. I would have been happy just admiring the views from the bus all day. We passed Ocean Park which seemed to be an amusement park/zoo which housed two giant pandas and we decided that we'd hop off there on the way back as pandas are my favourite animals.

Stanley Market is a small town to the west of Hong Kong Island and City and it is as the name suggests a Market town (although it was formerly a thriving Fishing Town until us Brits arrived there and took over everything!). The Market as you can imagine is a mine field of colourful stalls all intertwined with each other forming a maze which we had trouble escaping. I made a couple of small purchases of souvenirs for memories sake and we had a much needed drink and ice cream while sitting on the sea wall. There isn't much of a beach at Stanley Market its more of a rockery. For an amazing beach you would need to visit Repulse Bay which is on the bus route just a couple of stops before Stanley market. Unfortunately not actually associating Hong Kong with a beach holiday neither of us had any swim wear and so we never got off at Repulse Bay (not sure who named this place but it is far from repulsive!) One of the locals said that it is not really a tourist attraction (and that it is a place where people from the city go at the weekends - there didn't seem to be many facilities there so maybe you should take your own food with you if you choose to visit!



The one noticeable thing about Repulse Bay (so you'll know you've arrived) is the blue apartment block which has a huge aperture in the middle of it. This was incorporated by the architect for feng shui reasons to allow the dragon which leaves inside the mountain behind to get down to the sea!

View Across to Stanley from Ocean Park

Ocean Park is definitely worth a visit. It costs HK$25 each for adults to enter. Its a Zoo and an adventure park kinda all mixed together. One half of the park is at the bottom of the mountain and the other half is at the top and the two are linked by a cable car which goes up the side of the mountain and takes about 20 minutes(with views over the South China Sea, Repulse Bay and some posh places where the houses have swimming pools and tennis courts) however the cable car is not open when the winds are high so make sure you choose a good day to visit! On our first visit the car was closed and although you could take a bus to the top we decided to spend a hour (or two) watching the giant pandas which don't actually do very much except eat and sleep, and to come back again the next day and see the second half of the park. You can also swim with dolphins here but you have to book in advance, by telephone or when you first arrive to be able to do it.

Ocean Park Aquarium

The night markets are well worth a visit if you want a bargain and are prepared to barter with the stall holders. The main one is Temple Street Night Market and you'll easily find it if you walk north along Nathan Street from the Harbour or look on a map or probably the best option is to ask a local who will probably walk you there!
The markets depicted the image I had in my head of Hong Kong with all the locals about (and not that many tourists) its here where the streets are dirty and there are mice and rats running about although they don't actually bother you and the locals stand around chatting and eating their food (I'm not quite sure what they were eating but its all on a stick and some of it looked like small birds) it smelt fantastic but I wasn't in a daring mood and so the visual stimulation and the sensational smell satisfied me this time.

These markets are the places where you'll pick up the fake stuff ranging from bags of any description by any designer, watches, and general jewellery and these are good quality fakes, try not to buy from anyone other than the night market stall holders and make sure you barter for everything. Around some of the hotels you'll find other people selling fake stuff but the quality is no where near as good. Then only other piece of advice re electrical goods which I never found in any of the guide books is to get them to change the menus into English, you be really annoyed if you get home to find you're mobile phone is all in Mandarin! - good luck trying to figure out which menu is the language setting!

All in all Hong Kong has given me a taste of the far east which has wet my appetite and made me want to return. We stayed in a nice hotel so this wasn't done on a budget but its pretty cheap if you eat the local food and don't buy imported stuff like coke and English chocolate. I didn't notice any backpackers hostels but I wasn't really lookin. Hong Kong is definitely worth a visit but a few days in the actual city itself are more than ample as there were only a few things we didn't manage to do such as visit the Buddhist temple. I think it'd probably be a good place to start if you intend visiting china.