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After I had seen the many beautiful Portuguese streets, villas, churches and forts of Macau, I popped across to Hong Kong expecting it to be similar. It isn’t. With the exception of the street names I didn’t see a great deal that would lead you to remember that this place was British until not that long ago. True, there are lots of western business types busying along the pavements and on the metro but I don’t think that there are particularly more than many other Asian cities that I’ve visited such as Bangkok or Tokyo.
I decided to stay in Kowloon, which is the more Chinese part of Hong Kong. Very little suggests you are not actually in China proper (I think, although I haven’t actually been to China proper). Most of the billboards, shops’ signs and menus are all in Chinese and it’s constantly busy. The food there is great, and cheap. Although I generally had only the pictures on the menu to go on and was often surprised with what ended up in front of me.
Soon after arriving I visited the tourist information office at the Star Ferry terminal to get some maps and info. The
Victoria Harbour
The view across from Tsim Sha Tsui is a pretty good one.excessively effusive lady in charge shook my hand warmly when she found out I was British and thanked me for how Hong Kong has become. That doesn’t happen so often in Africa.
Loaded up with maps and leaflets I began my wanderings. I enjoyed it. Obvious highlights include the fantastic view from Victoria peak. I recommend walking the circuit of the mountain around the top and also staying up there until the sun has set because the view by night is magnificent.
I walked the “Dragon’s Back” trail which follows a ridge in the southeast of Hong Kong Island. Time Asia magazine ranks it as Asia’s best urban hike. It is nice, especially because it is a great escape from the busy city streets, and the view of the coast is lovely. However, firstly, it cannot possibly be described as urban and secondly, it’s just nice, not spectacular. I still recommend it though, and Shek O Beach at the end of the trail is a nice spot.
Less obvious highlights were stumbling across a koi carp competition. Indeed some of those fish were very sexy. I also happened upon a bird market where lots of brightly coloured
View From Victoria Peak
It was quite a steep walk up but definitely worth it. feathered creatures and horrible grubs to feed them with were on sale. Generally it seemed to be a place for men to show off their pretty little songbirds in delicate cages. Although you do have to resist the urge to try and set them all free.
Not so much a lowlight, because I still recommend seeing it, but definitely the most pants thing I saw was “The Symphony of Lights”. According to the Hong Kong Tourist Board: “This spectacular multimedia display, already named the 'World's Largest Permanent Light and Sound Show' by Guinness World Record ,... creates an all-round vision of coloured lights, laser beams and searchlights performing a stunning, unforgettable spectacle synchronised to music and narration that celebrates the energy, spirit and diversity of Hong Kong.” It’s very naff. The music is terrible and it’s all just slightly out of time. But definitely go and see it. The best view is from the Tsim Sha Tsui promenade, where I found myself quite a lot. The view across to Hong Kong Island has to be one of the best city views in the world, day or night, whatever the weather. Victoria Harbour is always very busy so you can
while away a lot of time trying to figure out how none of the thousands of ships of all sizes never run into each other.
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