Highs and lows of Hong Kong (Hong Kong)

Member Name: Wiggles1988

Product:	Hong Kong
Date:	19/08/09 (50 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Nights along the promendade, transport

Disadvantages: Dirt, grime, heat and humidity

Hong Kong

I visited Hong Kong and China for the first time this past June/July. I must admit I didn't enjoy it much at the time, so don't expect too much enthusing. This is because I was ill the first week of my trip (when I was in Hong Kong), experiencing some bad culture shock and, as a result, being exceedingly homesick. In hindsight the negative aspects of the trip were certainly outweighed by the positives, it's just hard to appreciate when you are feeling like you want nothing more than to board the next flight home. It got to the point where I actually looked forwards to a cool, rainy, Scottish summer.

I am splitting my review into likes and dislikes rather than reviewing every minute detail. I also will not review the accommodation we used in this review although I'll mention here that I stayed in Mong Kok on Kowloon, not Hong Kong Island.

Let's start with the likes.

There is a lot to like about Hong Kong. It is a vibrant city, with that buzz of excitement you just don't get in a drab wee city like Glasgow. My favourite time was the evening, when all the lights came on and all the people came out. Hong Kong is never quiet, but it seems busiest between around 7pm to 11pm, at least that's when the pavements are busiest. The evening was particularly spectacular if spent on the promenade on Kowloon looking across to Hong Kong Island. From here, at 8pm every evening, there is a narrated light show featuring some of Hong Kong's most notable buildings and lasers(!!). Unfortunately it was only narrated in Cantonese when I saw it, however still well worth a watch.

One of the most enjoyable experiences I had in Hong Kong was a visit to The Peak. My boyfriend, a friend and I ventured up the peak at around half 10 and we were one of the last groups allowed onto the viewing platform before it closed for the night. It was lovely and cool atop The Peak with a light breeze which was most welcome after a day spent in the blistering heat and sweltering humidity. We travelled by bus there and back which we used our Octopus cards for so I cannot tell you the exact cost, but it was one of the dearer trips. It cost 20HKD to go onto the viewing platform and this could again be paid by Octopus card. The platform had a wall with the history of Hong Kong on it (some of it at least) and places to stand and view the bay. There was a pay per view telescope also available. I took many a photograph from The Peak (I have over 700 of my trip) and would recommend that anyone doing likewise use a long exposure setting and no flash, otherwise the haze of pollution/humidity that lurks over the bay will ruin your shot. A tripod would also be very useful.

The Octopus card is a fantastic invention that one can purchase on arrival at Hong Kong airport. It costs a 100HKD deposit, of which you get 70HKD back if you return the card on departure, and can be used on the metro, on busses, on the ferry and at certain attractions. Many fast food outlets also accept the card. It can be topped up at machines at any metro station with notes of 50 or 100HKD.

Transport around Hong Kong is how transport should be around Britain. Everything was efficient, regular, clean, and smoothly run. From taxis, to the metro, to the ferry; the city runs like clockwork. I was most impressed by the rush hour metros, one a minute! Left me wishing the trains to Glasgow were as regular, hint hint Scotrail. Only on one journey did we experience any problems on the metro, it was held up for around 3 minutes and the apologies were almost non-stop. Top notch service.

There are many attractions to view and things to do around Hong Kong. We visited quite a few Buddhist monasteries, the big Buddha statue, went on the Nyong Ping360 cable car ride, visited The Peak, took a ferry trip across the bay, took a boat trip to another smaller island, visited the tall buildings, went to the markets and much more.

Shopping is one of my favourite pass times. This was well catered for by the various markets in Hong Kong. We were staying just across the road from the Ladies market, which I frequented during my stay more for the buzz than the products. I also visited; The Jade market, which was small but lovely and under a tarpaulin to reduce the worst of the heat.
The Temple Street Night market, which was pleasant enough, but not any better than the Ladies market for variety.
The Fish market, oddly there were many fish in plastic bags of water open to the elements and yet no dead ones, remarkable.
The Flower market, full of weird and wonderful arrays of florals, some where so vivid they were almost an assault on the eyes. Lovely to look at but take your antihistamine before you visit.
Finally the Bird market, I do not like birds, nor do I like huge locust, therefore I did not enjoy this market.
Prepare for some major bargaining! I turned out to be quite a pro at this, with one of my friends asking for my bargaining expertise to help her out. Be warned that being white makes you an easy target. They will often start with a ludicrously high price for an item, take for example a dress I bought, quoted 500HKD, I settled for the more reasonable 100HKD. If you're going to mainland China hang-fire on the majority of your purchases, the same is available in Beijing for much less and the markets there are indoors and airconditioned.

On to the Dislikes:

The major downside of Hong Kong for me was the heat and humidity. Ideally I would have visited at a cooler time of year (perhaps early May), but I was not there for purely tourism and hence was restrained to the June/July timeframe. The temperature itself did not exceed 38 when I was there, but plus humidity this felt much hotter. Air conditioning is a must for any hostel/hotel room and drinking lots is essential. I carried two chilled bottles of water around the markets with me, one to drink and one to cool my neck down. There were many thunderstorms and rainstorms, and the day we left there was a typhoon 1 warning. Even when it wasn't raining you could have showered, blow-dried your hair and changed clothes, step outside and it was like you were drenched by the humidity alone. This did not help with my illness or my homesickness, and I spend the day light hours indoors or on the ferry (somehow much cooler) as much as humanly possible.

Hong Kong, particularly Kowloon, is also a very dirty, smelly place. Most of the buildings are blackened by pollution and general grime. People hang their washing out of these to dry and one can only imagine what they must smell like. There are a variety of open air food stalls, one just outside our hostel smelled so bad you felt like vomiting every time you walked past, and the hygiene was questionable at best. Needless to say, given my sickness, I stuck to the reputable restaurants within the malls, or for snacks and quick meals used the 24 hour McDonalds or 7elevens.

Whilst the bustle of the big city is exciting, it can also become overwhelming. You quickly realise just how little space there is for the 7 million large population of the city. This can become overwhelming in the heat, particularly with the rudeness of many of the people, barging right through you or pushing you aside. This is also extremely apparent with the traffic. Just because it's a green man does not mean they will stop for you, even if there is a sea of people crossing.

Overall:

Overall Hong Kong is a city certainly worth a once in a lifetime trip. I would have to have a very good reason (or monetary incentive) to return there, and if I did I would most certainly be avoiding June, July and August, but I did enjoy having had that experience of the Far East.

Summary: Worth a once in a life time trip to the orient.