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Visit to Hong-Kong
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| ۞ Visit to
Hong Kong |
Always start with Hong Kong Island, home to the most famous sights. Then, go down to the Star Ferry Pier and sail across Victoria Harbour to Kowloon, which holds
the if great neon-lit boulevard of Nathan
road and streets that lead off it into night
markets, bird gardens, noodle kitchens and
incense -filled Chinese temples. In case you forget you're on an archipelago, trips to
the Outlying Islands offer stunning bay
views, succulent Cantonese and Chiu chow seafood, sun-drenched beaches, and several hikes and trails.
Then, the lesser-known sights, places that are off major itineraries, rarely visited by the first-timer the New Territories.
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Hong Kong Island's skyline is one of the most impressive cityscapes on Earth. The landmark architecture of many of its buildings the Bank of China, the HSBC headquarters, and now the International Finance Center's IFC2, one of the tallest buildings in the region grab attention. Thriving below are the endless and luxurious shopping options street markets, busy temples and mosques, exclusive residential areas and city parks.
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 Victoria Peak
Grab your camera and climb onto the red Peak Tram for a ride at an astonishing 45° incline that makes the passing skyscrapers of Hong Kong Island look like they're jutting out diagonally from the ground. The tram climbs slowly up to the Peak past Kennedy Road, MacDonnell Road, May Road and Barker Road stations.
▪ Location Lower Peak Tram Terminus, 33 Garden Rd
▪ Connections Peak Tram Bus from Central Star Ferry Pier and MTR: Admiralty to the tram terminus tickets Adults 20-30 return, children 6-9. Timings 7 am midnight.
The oddly shaped Peak tower , designed to resemble a work , awaits you at the top . Inside , head for the observation decks on the 4th and 5th floors to find out what the fuss is all about. The Peak Tower is not located at the top of Victoria Peak (which is 1,600 ft above sea level ) but at about 1,100 ft and yet provides spectacular views over Hongkong Island and Kowloon. The sheer scale of the urban madness of Hongkong will hit you now, if it hasn't already. Binoculars are available. Once you have seen the views, take some time to walk around the Peak itself.
The very touristy Ripley's Believe it or Not! Odditorium is always an option, if that's your thing, but is a must-see if you're with children. Madame Tussaud's is also here, with an Asian bent, offering wax reproductions of Jackie Chan and Michelle Yeoh of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon fame. Once you're out of the Peak Galleria, walk to the ruins of the Governor's Lodge and catch the views of the lush green hills on the other side. Outside the shopping malls, there are walking trails that go in two directions. Just walk on Lugard Road or Harlech Road, leave the mad rush of tourists behind and enjoy the natural beauty of the area.
The different approach, offering sneak previews of the vistas awaiting you at the top, is to take Bus 15, 6 or 66 from Central(Exchange Square) to The Peak via Happy Valley Race Course and Stubbs Road. Enroute, you'll pass the sombre cemeterries of Hong Kong's departed, tucked into small pockets on the side of the Peak, in this city of enternal space crunch.
▪ Location Peak Tower, The Peak. Odditorium HK$ 90, children HK$ 50;
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 Sheung Wan
Though it was here that the British first hoisted the Union Jack, traditional red lanterns, narrow lanes, busy and bustling street markets and small cafes make Sheung Wan the least British part of Hong Kong Island. Everything from birds' nests to ginseng can be found on these streets. The tram curves right around the front of the elegant red and gray Western Market building here, which houses shops and a dance company in its elegant colonial interiors. Walk along Cat St, Hollywood Rd and Hiller St for a taste of what this area has to offer. The atmospheric Man Mo Temple, Hong Kong's oldest temple, on the corner of Ladder St and Hollywood St, is oddly dedicated to two rather different gods. 'Man' is the god of literature, while 'Mo' is the god of war, but they seem to have no trouble reconciling with each other in this busy little temple. Giant incense coils burn incessantly and fortunes are told amidst the bamboo sticks and falling ash. The red and gold pillars were built without any nails.
▪ Location West HK Island, home to the Shun Tak Ferry
Terminus and Airport Express Station
▪ Connections MTR: Sheung Wan. Or take a tram marked 'Sheung Wan' or 'Western Market'.
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 Central
Central is the heart of
Hong Kong's seemingly endless skyline. Centred around Statue Square, where a statue of Queen Victoria once stood, the best of Hong Kong's urban architecture stands proudly on display here. With your back to the MTR exit, crane your neck upwards to see the plane, angular smoothness of the new Bank of China building, standing in contrast to the colonial-style old Bank of China building across the road. Next to it are the psychedelic lights of the HSBC Building, with two fierce lions at its portals; further right is Jardine House, recognisable by the many circular holes in the building that have earned it many rather unpleasant local nicknames. Guaranteed to be the biggest strain on your neck, however, is the brand new claw-like IFC2 Building, the tallest building in Hong Kong. On the opposite side of the square is the Legislative Council Building, the only colonial-style building left standing in Central.
▪ Connections MTR: Central/ Star Ferry
The world's longest outdoor covered escalator the Central-Mid Levels Escalator whisks you from the business district of Central to Mid-levels, through the area also known as SoHo (South of Hollywood Road) at the eastern end of Sheung Wan. A total of 2,625 ft of moving stairs and walkways connects over 20 exits onto the streets below, a testament to the ingenuity of urban Hong Kong. It's a great way to watch life on the streets below, lined with boutiques, hole-in-the-wall delis, florists, bakeries, bookstores and thronged with commuters.
▪ Location Follow signs from Statue Square. The escalator starts at Queens Road Central across from The Centre Building, which also holds the offices of the Hong Kong Tourism Board on the ground floor, and ends at Conduit Road in Mid-levels Entry Free Timings 6-10 am downhill and 10.30 am-midnight uphill.
Converted from the old Victoria Barracks, the 8 hectares of the Hong Kong Park and the Flagstaff House Museum are the lungs of Hong Kong Island and witness to the skill of Hong Kong engineers. Opened in 1991, most of the park is completely man-made and though there's rather a lot of concrete, there are still refreshing and beautiful (if artificial) waterfalls, green walkways, and two small lakes ringed with local flowers. Walk through the large open-air aviary gawking at the exotic birds; stroll through the huge conservatory (the biggest in the world) where you can see plant life from different
biospheres and climates; check out the small but lovely bonsai garden behind the aviary; and then, head through the Tai Chi Garden to end your tour at the Vantage Point — a small tower in the garden offering great views of the skyscrapers.
The treasure of Hong Kong Park,
though, is the highly underrated Flagstaff
House Museum of Teaware. Set in this delicate 19th-
century building - the oldest building in
Hong Kong, originally the residence and
offices of the Commander of the British
Forces - the museum showcases every
kind of tea and tea-ware.
▪ Location Main entrance
from Supreme Court Rd,
Central Address 10 Cotton
Tree Drive, Central
▪ Connections MTR:
Central
Entry Free
Park timings 7 am-11 pm
Museum timings 10 am-S pm; Tue closed,
Christmas, Boxing Day, New Year's Day
Come autumn, the century-old Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens burst into colour. These magical acres of green in the middle of a concrete jungle are welcome breaths of fresh air, attracting butterflies, squirrels and, if it's really early, dozens of HK denizens practising their morning tai chi. An astounding variety of plant life, including the infamous Venus fly trap, is found here, as are orang-utans, pink flamingos, a black jaguar and tree kangaroos.
▪ Location Upper Bridge Rd in Central
▪ Connections
MTR: Central, then buses 3B, 12 and 13;
Entry Free
Timings 6 am-7 pm
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 Wanchai
Walk east off Hennessy Rd, into the streets beyond Wanchai Rd, to be greeted by the magic of Asia's fresh markets in the most
'Kowloon' part of Hong Kong Island. Produce from shops spills out onto pavements crowded with shoppers, sifting through baskets of fresh seafood, poking through piles of pungent dried abalone and squid, chicken, duck, geese, turkey, frogs dead and alive. On the occasional table, a whole pig's head tantalises buyers. Wanchai is also good for inexpensive, elegant and very useful bamboo steamers, all-metal Chinese choppers, woks and useful Chinese kitchen implements applicable in our own home cooking. This is also the place to do your book-shopping with several cheap second-hand bookstore stocking tomes in perfect condition.
The glitzy new Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre on the Wanchai waterfront was opened to host the handover ceremonies in 1997. Walk through this building, designed to look like a bird poised to take flight, to the promenade at the back. Here, in addition to beautiful views over the busy harbour and the city skyline to the west, you'll find the Reunification Monument and the Forever Blooming Bauhinia, a representation of Hong Kong's national flower in pure gold, China's gift to the city on re-unification. Chinese holidayers crowd the promenade to get their photos taken under China's flag.
▪ Location Next to Wanchai Ferry Pier Address 1 Expo Drive, Wanchai
▪ Connections MTR: Wanchai Timings Open 24 hrs
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 Causeway Bay
Causeway Bay's pedestrian-packed streets are the haunt of young Hong Kong. Walk into Victoria Park, a popular early-morning tai chi spot and also a popular hangout for the South Asian community; Bollywood music often wafts through the air in the evenings.
Sometime in the early 18th century, when just a few scattered houses covered the rocks upon which Causeway Bay now stands, a local Tai family picked grass near the shore. In the midst of the reeds, they stumbled upon a worn idol which turned out be the goddess, Tin Hau. That idol is today the centre of the Tin Hau Temple, built and added to over the years by fishermen. Also by the shore here is Hong Kong's famous British Noon Day Gun, near the Typhoon Shelter, which is still fired at noon everyday.
▪ Location Tin Hau Temple Rd
▪ Connections MTR: Tin Hau
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 Happy Valley Race Course
Hong Kong's favourite pastime of betting on horse races the only gambling allowed on the territory has its home at the Happy Valley Race Course nearby. The races are frenetic and the crowds have an energy that resembles an Indo-Pak cricket match. Worth stopping by only if you like horses or gambling.
▪ Location 2 Sports Rd, Happy Valley
▪ Connections MTR: Causeway Bay or tram to Happy Valley Entry fee HK$ 10 Timings Races are held from 7.30 pm Sep-June on Wednesdays and weekends.
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 Aberdeen and Ocean Park
Aberdeen Harbour offers glimpses of what old Hong Kong port life must have been like, with fishermen's houses on stilts and Chinese boats (known as junks or sampans) floating off into the sunset. Many people still live on sampans docked by the harbour, and a leisurely half-hour ride is a must. You will also come here to dine on the famous floating restaurants. Away from the harbour is Ocean Park, Hong Kong's biggest kid magnet, packed with slippery rides, an Ocean Theatre, a Dolphin University, Hong Kong's two giant pandas and the Atoll Reef, where you can see hundreds of species of fish through a glass gallery. Equally as exciting as Ocean Park's serpentine roller coaster is the cable car ride across the hills of southern HK Island, built on two sides of a mountain.
▪ Connections Take Bus No. 70 from Central's Exchange Square to Aberdeen, or Bus No. 29R from the Star Ferry pier in Central to Ocean Park Ocean Park
▪ timings 10 am-6 pm daily
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 Stanley
The gorgeous bus ride to Stanley affords views of sunlit beaches, green islands and glittering bay waters. Once there, you will be spoilt by an abundance of options hours of sunbathing on Stanley Beach, browsing through the busy and well-stocked souvenir shops of Stanley Market, a visit to the incense-filled Kuan Yin Temple, or a bay-side seafood lunch at the delightful Murray House. An old military barracks and the Japanese command centre during the occupation, it was dismantled and later reconstructed here from its original location in Central. The giant Bank of China tower came up in its place. Today Murray House is to shops and cafes. Make sure you give yourself a day in Stanley.
▪ Connections Take Bus No. 6 or 6A from Central Bus Terminals (30-45 min).
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 Beaches
Unlike its name, Repulse Bay is actually a beautiful stretch of sandy beach. On the same bus route is Deepwater Bay, another favourite bay-side beach. East of Stanely is Shek-O Beach, always filled with sun worshippers basking in the sea breezes that blow off the nearby mountains.
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