Hanging in Hong Kong

After three weeks of recovery, we booked a short week trip to Hong Kong. Hong Kong has a reputation as being the big competing brother to Singapore so we thought we better go and check it out. Plus it is only a short and cheap 3 hour flight from Singapore on Jet Star.

As usual we scored a good last minute accommodation deal on http://www.wotif.com/ in a nice part of town. We stayed in Hong Kong Island in a area called Wen Chai. About two MTR stops from Central Hong Kong and the business district.

The first few days were a struggle with torrential monsoon rain, we didn't do much exploring. We did find a nice mall with a series of great restaurants which kept us occupied for the first few nights. We didn't manage to eat much local fare, but did try a ribs place, gastro pub and trendy Vietnamese place.

We did a few touristy things including Ocean Park and a trip on the Cable Car up to Victoria Peak. Ocean Park is a local version of Disneyland, but with a wildlife slant. We saw a few pandas inside big enclosures, a big aquarium with a good array of tropical fish and then rode on some of the rides. The park is perched on the end of a mountain, which juts out into the ocean. The rollercoasts are perched on the edge of the cliff which makes both of them a little more exciting.


The view from the Hong Kong waterfront is one of the most amazing urban vistas in the world. We are lucky to get two clear nights. On the Wednesday night we rode to the top of Victoria Peak, along with a few thousand Chinese tourists from the mainland. On Thursday night we caught a cab across the harbour to Kowloon and the tourist mecca. After a nice dinner in some burger place we caught the night light show spectacular.

View from Kowloon across the harbour to the Hong Kong skyline.

View from Victoria Peak down and across Hong Kong, towards mainland China.

Overall Hong Kong was a chaotic, steroid pumped version of Singapore. The main difference is that is feels like a city of the edge of booming China, with lots of wealth and luxury cars. The shops and transport all seemed pretty similar but the city is crammed onto the coast of Kowloon and Hong Kong Island and it feels dominated by the skyscapers. Singapore has a nice and accessible waterfront which Hong Kong is currently building in the midst of a new reclamation project.