Hong Kong is the future. This place is what I picture the larger cities to be like in probably the next fifty years. High-rise apartments store basically everyone that lives in the city because of overpopulation. A metro system that covers everywhere that anyone needs to go, making cars unnecessary. A subway system that allows you to walk underground from one part of the city to the other so weather is not a factor. Hong Kong’s whole city is such a well-planned and structured system. Getting around as a tourist is crazy easy. Our trip to Hong Kong started as a stepping stone to get to China, but we ended up having a big interest and appreciation for Hong Kong.
The MTR
Hong Kong’s MTR (Mass Transit Railway) is the model system for any metro system. The underground access is virtually everywhere. Between stations, there usually is a subway walkway that allows shopping and eating options. The MTR is efficient, fast, and always clean. Directions are given in Cantonese and English. Even on the busiest days and stops, there is enough space to fit. Almost all the attractions in Hong Kong can be reached using the MTR. The one drawback is that the MTR is that it is a little pricey. The city makes a huge profit with the MTR system, but it’s a system that works amazingly.
Victoria Harbour and Victoria Peak
Everyone visiting Hong Kong should make their way to the Victoria harbor at some point. Surrounded by high-end shops, the harbour is extremely beautiful. With huge buildings in the background, tourists can take pictures of a daily light show given by the city consisting of synchronized building lights and lasers, the show is called “A symphony of lights”. The show usually starts at around 8pm and you can catch the show on the Avenue of Star next to HK cultural center. Ferries and private tour boats are available to give an even prettier view of Hong Kong.
Getting to Victoria Peak is one of the few places that you can’t reach by the MTR. In order to get to the top of the mountain, you can take a 45-minute bus ride or an old-school peak tram. We chose the bus, because it was the cheaper and less busy option. There are several bus that goes to the peak. We took bus 15 located right outside of the Central Star Ferry Pier, this is a double decker bus and we were lucky enough to be right on the front of the bus. If you do choose the peak tram, be prepared to wait hours in line (both up and down the mountain). Get to the peak tram early in the morning for shorter line. From on top of the mountain, tourists can see where the wealthy of Hong Kong live as well as the rest of the city in the background.
Hong Kong Markets
One of the things I disliked about Hong Kong was the number of malls and big-brand stores. It is super convenient because of the way the city is laid out, but we love to check out the markets and more local-owned stores. Although malls are all over the subways and on the bottom floors of many high-rise buildings, there are still some local markets to see.
The Ladies Market was one of our favorite spots. The market is one of those places with stalls that sell all kinds of fake-brand clothing, accessories, and some tourist souvenirs. This is in the Mong Kok area, which is a really cool place just to stroll along anyway. The easiest way to get there is to take the MTR to Mong Kok station.
If you don’t want souvenirs, there are two other markets that were really interesting to see. The first was the Goldfish Market. We stumbled upon this while walking around Ladies market, you can find the market between Tung Choi street and Bute street. This is multiple blocks of just pet stores. These have tons of variety also. It varies from turtles to cats to any kind of fish. There are soooo many fish stores. It’s a crazy thing to see this many pet stores all in one place. The next market we though was pretty cool was a place called Ina’s Place. For some reason, there is nothing on the internet about it, but it was awesome. To find it again, we had to search for a café in the same building called Youme Café. This is three floors of just amazing anime figurines and other nerdy collectables. The collectables were so random and interesting that it is totally worth checking out the whole building. On the top is the Youme Café that changes the whole theme of the café for a specific anime. Awesome.
Food
The food in Hong Kong is a great stepping stone to China. Tons of options, and we didn’t see any restaurants that looked like an unsafe place to eat. Of course, the best thing about Hong Kong food for me is the bubble tea. And just like always, we will have a separate article for foods in Hong Kong.
The one warning we have about Hong Kong is the price. We are trying to save some money and stay at cheap places and eat cheap food. This was pretty difficult in Hong Kong, but not impossible. We really enjoyed our time in Hong Kong, and would love to go back.
Happy Travels!
