Hong Kong, sneaker culture in the vertigo city

Since the first time I’ve seen pictures of the Hong Kong’s skyline, the tall buildings and of the tiny living spaces, I was curious to visit this wonderful island! It was always somewhere on the back of my mind that “someday” I will come here. Finally I decided to take action instead of just dreaming about being here and seeing it with my own eyes. Nothing unusual for me, because most of my trips are rather impulse-booked, than planned for. So I proceeded in getting plane tickets for a week at the end of December, to spend the New Year there. Only after booking the tickets I realised how expensive the accommodation is 🙂 but I was super-excited to get there!

After a long flight I arrived early in the morning with a bit of a bad news, that my luggage was left behind, something that happens quite often lately when you have to switch planes. It might be because of the lack of time to transport the luggages from one plane to the other, or that they don’t have enough space. Since this happened to me before, I packed in my hand luggage the immediate necessities, also my bag arrived the next day, so it was all good.

The city of Hong Kong

Hong Kong, the New York of Asia, is an amazing place to visit. I loved the combination of new and old, the tall apartment buildings reaching for the sky, they looked very beautiful and white against the green hills. There are areas that are so busy with people coming and going and packed markets and shopping malls, yet you can find quiet and relaxing parks. Hong Kong is a great place to start exploring Asia if you’ve never been before, because they have almost everything written in both English and Chinese, and their transportation is very good, so it is easy to get around.

I noticed that the majority of people are wearing some type of sports shoes or sneakers, which seemed very interesting to observe. My shoes where too warm for their weather in December so I conformed and got a pair myself to walk the streets comfortably. After spending a week there, I can see why everyone seems to prefer comfortable vs elegant – there’s a lot of walking involved, even for getting to work and back home, people prefer renting outside the central area, since accommodation prices are so steep and the square meters are very few. It really made me appreciate living in an abundance of space in my temporary home in Spain.

Book your hotel in advance to save some money. And don’t be surprised if your hotel or hostel room will only consist of a bed and no space to unpack, the space comes at a premium price here, and you get to experience how the locals live 🙂

One tip when booking your hotel is to check reviews for the mattress quality, because the mattresses in Hong Kong tend to be very hard. If the hotel you want to book has bad reviews for sleeping quality, make sure you check with the hotel if they can provide you with a “foam mattress”. The hotel I stayed at had many bad reviews regarding the hard mattress. And indeed, I could clearly feel the metal mesh of the bed, and with my back issues I would have rather slept on the floor! But I asked for a “mattress foam” and the reception gladly brought it to the room, and I slept very comfortable on it. This could have made the journey so much more pleasant for all the people complaining about the hard mattress, if they knew they can ask for a mattress foam!

 

Transportation

Getting around Hong Kong seemed super-easy. The transportation system is very modern, with trains, metro/subway and plenty of streetcars/trams and busses and you can easily get from the airport to the city just by using the public transportation. In addition you can take a ferry to the other side of Victoria Harbour, to Macau or to one on the fishing villages nearby.

MTR – Metro/Subway

I loved how smart the maps  inside the MTR where marked, showing clearly with lights and arrows where you are, which direction you’re coming from and where you’re going. I wish this marking system was adopted in more cities around the world. Inside the MTR stations you can also amuse yourself with the advertisements, some quite funny like the crab trying to pinch a kid’s foot, or the sign on the glass wall separating the waiting area and the tracks, saying “When you hear DO DO DO please stop”.

If you stay for longer than just a couple of days, it would be worth it to get the Octopus Card – you can find it at any MTR customer service. I got one just so I don’t have to worry about having enough change every time I took the public transportation, and they can also be used in some convenience stores for purchases. When you buy the card it will come with 50HK Dollars refundable deposit, and the rest of the credit to be spent on travels. A regular adult card has 50HK refundable deposit + 100HK travel credit, and it costs 150HK Dollars. When you leave Hong Kong, you can take the card to any MTR customer service and get back your deposit and remaining credit, and you also get to keep the card. More information about the schedules and routes can be found on the MTR website.

Tram/Streetcar

I had to take at least once the double decker tram, since I’ve seen so many YouTube videos filmed in them. It makes for an interesting experience, and it’s a great way to see the city, as you can go to many tourist spots just by tram.

Taxi

The taxis that serve the Hong Kong central area including the airport are the Red Taxis. The Blue Taxis are found on Lantau Island and the Green Taxies operate in the New Territories. I found that taking a taxi was a bit expensive, but necessary if you have big luggage and need to switch transportation many times. From the airport the train service is very effective, so I took a train and I took a taxi only once arrived in the city. I also had to take a taxi  late one night to cross from Kowloon to Sai Ying Pun area where my hotel was, and it was a bit expensive because you also have to pay a tax for crossing the water.

Ferries

Ferries are popular with the locals and tourists alike, as a method of transportation between Hong Kong island and Kowloon, or neighbouring islands. The most popular one is the Star Ferry, and its a super cheap method of enjoying the Victoria Harbour.  Ferries can also take you to Macau from either Kowloon or the Hong Kong Island.

If you want to enjoy the Harbour in the “Aqua Luna” junk boat (the traditional boat with red sails) or the newer “Aqua Luna II” that just launched in Spring 2017, I advise you book your trip in advance on the Aqua Luna website, because when I tried to book it was already fully booked.

Victoria Peak

Victoria Peak was my #1 on the To Do list, the second day after arriving. Cause the first day I napped half of it, and strolled the streets in the evening after waking up. If you plan to take the Peak Tram from the Peak Tram Lower station I advise you to do it early in the morning. I went there at around 9 and happy I did it, because on my way back I saw the big queue that formed waiting to get in the tram. Also it’s a good idea to take a seat on the right side of the tram – this side will have the best city views 🙂 The ticket will cost you 45HK return, or if you want access to the terrace, you can get a combo pass for 88HK. One tip here is that you can use your Octopus card (if you have one) to skip the ticket line.

Once up, the Peak Tower opens at 10am weekdays and at 8am weekends, so I suggest to go up half hour before it opens, this way you can get some pictures from the viewpoint around the tower with less people around. Later you can also pay to enter the Sky Terrace if you want a higher angle to take photos from. Here at the top there are restaurants, and cafes and you can spend more time here if you want.

To get the Peak Tram, you should go to the Tram Lower station, located at Garden Road . This is a 10 min walk from Central MTR Station – take exit J or K and follow the signs to the Peak Lower Terminus.

My plan was to come back at night to see the light show over the city, but I was short of time having only 1 week with much to see. Since I’ve had my back surgery I don’t do excessive amounts of walking, so I have to pick and choose my “battles”. I’ve heard a beautiful spot to see the city light show is from across the harbour on the Kowloon side, so I choose this spot instead of returning to the peak.

The Light Show viewed from Kowloon

The “Symphony of Lights” is composed of more than 40 buildings on both sides of the harbour, but I choose to see it from the Kowloon side, as it seemed to have better reviews as the spot to see the lights. Also it was perfect for me to combine the light show with the Star Ferry ride since my hotel was on the Hong Kong island. The Ferry took me from the Central Star Ferry Pier to the Tsim Sha Tsui Promenade. It was lovely to see the lights and listening to the music (10-15 minutes). The show starts at 8pm but maybe you should arrive a little earlier if you want a good spot to take pictures, as there are other people wanting to see the same thing. If you have booked a ferry harbour cruise, this would be the perfect place to see the light show, as you get to see both sides, but this comes at a cost of course.

Mid-levels Escalator and Walkway system

What a great escalator system for a person with a “bad back” like me – that was my first thought when I learned that this existed. Basically you take these outdoor escalators from the bottom on 100 Queens Road Central (at its junction with Cochrane Street), and goes all the way up on the hill. Meanwhile you can get off and do your shopping, have some food or some drinks and continue exploring higher without having to do the hike up yourself. What a great idea! The escalators are open from 10am-12pm every day.

I have to mention that they only take you up, you will have to come down on your own 😀 Or if you go up all the way where the escalators terminate, you can come back down taking the green minibus number 3. The bus stop is on Conduit Road, about 20 meters from the escalators. It can take you back to Central MTR where it stops on Ice House Street and Pedder Street, or you can get off at the last stop under the IFC Mall. I took this option, and what a ride it was – the driver was paying more attention to his phone than to the road!

Chi Lin Nunnery & Nan Lian Garden

The Chi Lin Nunnery and the Nan Lian Garden, with their lotus ponds and greenry, are a beautiful oasis in the busy city! If you need some quiet time come here. The pictures below speak for themselves I think. To get here you will have to come to the Diamond Hill MTR station and take Exit C2, then follow the signs – it will take you around 5 minutes walking to get here. The nunnery is located on 5 Chi Lin Drive, Diamond Hill, Kowloon and the garden’s address is 60 Fung Tak Road, Diamond Hill, Kowloon. They are next from each other, just crossing a road. In the same trip you can also see the Wong Tai Sin temple, which is just 1 MTR stop away.

Wong Tai Sin Temple

I was lucky enough to visit the Wong Tai Sin Temple at the end of December when many people were coming to the temple to pay their respects and pray. This is anyways one of the busiest temples in Hong Kong, very colourful, with beautiful intricate designs. You will find here people that can read your future, some in english, they are a bit pricey, so check different prices if you’re curious to get a reading. To arrive to the temple you should get off at Wong Tai Sin MTR station, take Exit B2 and walk for 3-5 minutes.

Ten Thousand Buddhas Monastery

I think this is also one of the must see places. To get up to the monastery, you will have to climb quite a few steps, but if I could do it, so can you, unless of course you have a serious health issue. To me it seemed people exaggerated a little in the reviews, it didn’t seem very difficult to get to the top – just wear comfortable shoes obviously and take a small bottle of water with you, I always have one. If you’re just a bit out of shape, don’t worry, you can climb the stairs at your own pace, and rest along the way to admire and take fotos of the many golden buddha’s aligned on the left and right of the stairs.

At the top you can admire the Pagoda and the monastery with hundreds of little statues lining the walls. And as a payoff for your hike up the stairs, you get to eat a meal at the Vegetarian Restaurant that’s at the top, next to the monastery. The food is good, very simple, and the service is fast, and you can enjoy having a meal local-style. The restaurant is open from 10:30am to 4-5pm and closed Thursdays. The monastery is open from 9 am to 5:30 pm daily, and might close during heavy rain. To get here you should arrive at the Sha Tin MTR station and then walk 20 minutes until you arrive to the temple’s address: 221 Pai Tau Village, Sha Tin, New Territories. To get down from the monastery, I took a shorter path, you will see a door at the top in the yard of the monastery that takes you to this path. This is not so scenic, without statues, but you might encounter a monkey or two if you are lucky. I hope you like this place as much as I did, it was a fun day out!

Yummy food

The title says it all! You will go back a couple kilos heavier than when you came if you let yourself indulge in all the flavours you can find here. I’m a big foodie and halfway adventurous when it comes to food, and I like to try some of the local joints. The locals like to boil their own soups, consisting of animal intestines and organs, which smells yummy. But don’t worry you don’t need to eat this, in the more busier areas, the menus are both in english and chinese, so you can choose what’s on your taste. I tried many local places where I could see many locals eating, and I was just pointing at the picture because they had no translation.

I think this is the best way to experience an authentic meal. And like this I found the best roasted neck pork I ate in my life, at a vietnamese restaurant called King Prawn Restaurant, on 238 Queen’s Road West (Sai Ying Pun station). Also across the street from here I loved to go to a local place to have steamed rice with roasted pork, also the best roasted pork I ever had, and they also have crispy duck. This is a very local joint with the ducks in the window, where local people come and eat quickly, but it’s delicious and super cheap.

In Hong Kong you can also experience the cheapest dim sum Michelin star restaurant in the world – Tim Ho Wan. The restaurant has 2 locations, one in Kowloon at Olympian City 2, and the other location on the Hong Kong island at the IFC Mall (podium level). Their most popular dish is the pork buns, they were quite good, but a bit sweet for my taste. It’s advised you arrive early, as there can be a line, but don’t worry, they are moving fast, so the wait shouldn’t be long.

Shopping

Ready to immerse yourself in the sea of people? I’m not a very social person, but somehow the crowds didn’t bother me at all. I think it gets to that point when there are so many people that the crowd doesn’t bother you anymore. You can find in Hong Kong all sorts of hopping experiences, depending on your budget. I don’t usually do shopping in my trips, unless it’s for gifts, or I see something I really like.

You can find outside some of the MTR station people selling knockout products at a very cheap price, and you can also find expensive authentic brands here. Also depending on the area where you’re staying, the main shopping areas are Admiralty, SoHo and Central, Causeway Bay or Sheung Wan in the Hong Kong island, or Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon East or West and Mong Kok in Kowloon. You can also check out the local markets, the most popular being Temple Street night market and the Ladies Market.

I couldn’t fit all of my experience in a single post, so I had to write a different post with my visit to the Lantau Island to see the Tian Tan Buddha, the Po Lin Monastery and the Tai O fishing village.

One of the other places to see that I had on my list were the Lamma Island, Aberdeen Fishing Village, Repulse Bay, have a cruise with the Aqua Luna boats, do the Dragon’s back hike, have cheap beer in the Beer Bay, and see the Noon Day Gun blast. There was so much more to see, that I didn’t get a chance to see! But it’s ok, I see it as a reason to come back to it, hopefully sometime in the future!

What are you waiting for? Book your flight to Hong Kong, you won’t regret it!

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