Hong Kong – A Great Place to Live or Visit.
My wife and I were fortunate to visit Hong Kong last year. It’s a place we always wanted to visit because we had heard so much about it, and let me tell you, it did not let us down.
First, when you arrive at Hong Kong airport you are instantly impressed by the size of the place, and to think it was built on reclaimed land from the sea. If you get a chance, you need to see the koi pond at the airport, which is reputed to hold a very large koi carp.
We stayed at the Harbour Grand hotel, which is out of this world for service, accommodation and grandeur. We decided to take the MTR to get around for a few days; if you think London underground is chaotic and busy, try this at rush hour!
We first visited “The Peak” on Hong Kong island, taking the Peak tram, which gives you great views of the island. You’re never very far away from a shop in Hong Kong, and the Peak is no different; you can shop, eat at some great restaurants or just be amazed by the spectacular views. If you go to Hong Kong, you definitely need to see the views from the Peak.
We spent a few days in the Central and Wan Chai areas just shopping and taking in the number of skyscrapers. The pavements in Hong Kong just didn’t seem to be big enough to me because of the volume of people using them. The Wan Chai area of Hong Kong is apparently known as a bit of a red light area. (I can’t comment on this because we only really saw it at daytime.) The Central area is known as the business area of the island. There are so many different kinds of shops to look in, from high end designer shops to shops selling snake skin and various other types of Chinese medicines.
Hong Kong is definitely a shopping mecca, but there are also some nice beaches and coves (although you do have to travel a bit to get to them). There are also some very nice islands. We visited Lantau island, which was a nice change to the hectic atmosphere of the main island.
One more thing before I finish: you definitely need to take a walk around Hong Kong at night – it seems to change totally. There are still loads and loads of people walking around, and the massive amount of neon lights almost make it seem like daytime. You’ll also find some of the great night markets which sell anything from traditional Chinese goods to cds and food. Speaking of food, there are some really interesting street side vendors selling traditional Chinese food. I think you need to be a bit careful when eating from some of these, because they may be very spicy, and some can cause you to stay in your hotel room for a good few hours, if you know what I mean!
We booked a flight with British Airways, which was a bit expensive; apparently Lufthansa’s are quite cheap, but I’m not sure if they fly to Hong Kong through a UK airport.
Booked Heathrow airport parking with UK Airport Car Parking.
