Advertisement
Published: November 27th 2006
Hong Kong
Hong Kong skylineWell, after months of preparation, stress, planning and more planning, we finally set off on our long-awaited (and long!) honeymoon on October 25th.
After some emotional (and alcoholic) goodbyes over the previous few weeks, we set off for Hong Kong. After a smooth overnight flight, we landed the following morning and transferred to our hotel in Kowloon. The Eaton was a lovely hotel to start our trip - smart and elegant, close to everything but slightly removed from the action, and overall a perfect base from which to explore - good work Finbarr!
Hong Kong itself turned out to be a fascinating introduction to the Far East and a good mix of east and west. There aren't an overwhelming number of specific sights, which means that you can enjoy wandering around and taking everything in without feeling guilty about things that you're not doing. On our first evening we decided to walk down the mile or so from our hotel to the Avenue of Stars at the end of Kowloon island, to get our first glimpse of the famous Hong Kong skyline. It looked fantastic and made us realise we'd really arrived! We had several more sights of it
Hong Kong
View across to Hong Kong island from the Kowloon Star Ferry terminal over the following days, from various vantage points like the Star Ferry and Victoria Peak, and it's a sight we never tired of.
We liked the ease with which you can settle in, the great transport system, the mix of old colonial architecture and high-rise skyscrapers, the weather and the food (especially afternoon tea at the Peninsula Hotel, very decadent!). But it wasn't all good: the smog was not pleasant and apparently is a common feature these days. Hong Kong island is also amazingly commercial and feels quite American - we've never seen so many upmarket shops in one place! And we were surprised at how the highways cut through the centre of town on the main island, meaning you traverse large sections by escalator or subway, which takes some getting used to. But overall we thought it was a great place to start the big trip, and it sets us up nicely for China...
Advertisement
Tot: 0.178s; Tpl: 0.013s; cc: 7; qc: 51; dbt: 0.1268s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 2;
; mem: 1.1mb
