Hong Kong - I must see...

Victoria Peak - Bird Market - Peninsular Hotel - Star Ferry - Underground System - Happy Valleys - Harbour at night.

Quick Tips:

Arriving at the airport, go straight to the information kiosk at the main entry/exit point, located between Terminals A and B, for bus and town maps. Catch the bus (HK) into town, which is a long way from the airport.

Best Way To Get Around:

Walk - ideal for shorter trips or a morning's sighsteeing in a certain area.

Underground - ideal for going the longer distances but not that good for one- to two-stop trips, for which it's often better to walk.

Trams - Excellent and cheap way of getting around, but they do not go everywhere! Ideal for getting to Happy Valley. Pay as you exit.

Imagine old England -- a time when afternoon tea consisted of sandwiches, scones with jam and clotted cream, a mini orchestra playing somewhere in the background . . . Imagine!

You won't need to use your imagination if you go here. I consider it to be one of the last pieces of Englishness in an increasingly Chinese-dominated Hong Kong.

Expensive it may be (not as much as the Ritz in London), but most definitely worth it.

You may remember Michael Palin in Round The World in 80 days visiting the Bird Market -- that was 10 years ago!

Since then, it has remained in the same location, although slightly out of the way, so make sure you have a map before setting out. The market has been revamped so that now, you enter up a set of stairs that makes you wonder if the market is really up there. At the top, you'll see a market floor crammed with specially-built shops that appear to empty their contents onto the market area and sell birds, cages of varying sizes, and seed, all for comparably low prices.

Locals bring their own birds and hang them in the trees to give them an airing and allow them to sing along with the other birds.

The further down the market you go, the rarer the birds -- keep your eyes out for colourful parrots and the odd macau. Near the end of the market, more and more birds are crammed into cages, sometimes with not enough perching area for all the birds therein.

You leave along a slowly descending path, past the 'local birds' and exit, wondering if selling those birds that are on the 'endangered list' is a good thing or not -- at least they're being bred and, if only slowly, increasing their numbers.

The Market is entirely free to visit and you don't have to buy anything to stroll about -- in fact they don't mind you walking around. Hardly any English is spoken here.

The Star Ferry is the cheapest, most frequent, and best way to get to-and-from Kowloon from Hong Kong Island.

Upper deck costs HK$1.70 for the privilege. Avoid rush hour as the locals use it in droves.

The boats may have been built in 1947, but they are still going strong.

Identified by their white upper decks and green lower decks and hull, the ferries ply the harbour every twenty minutes.

The view of Hong kong Island becomes more impressive the closer you get to Kowloon.

It has only been 5 years since the British left Hong Kong, but their legacy is still reflected in certain aspects.

The underground system is one example. If you have been to London and used the underground system there, you would think someone had teleported you back to London. The only difference between the two systems is that being that this version is cleaner, more efficient, and considered the most modern in the world.

Large flat-screen televisions hang on the underground's walls the way posters usually do, and show adverts which, oddly enough, aren't on a continuous short loop -- you won't get bored.

Each of the exits is well signposted and, in fact, use a letters-and-numbers system that describes exactly where that exit empties at ground level. (London should take note).

The trains themselves are made up of one long carriage without connecting doors, just a standing area so that more people can fit in each carriage. (London should also take note).

The underground system is not split up into zones. Just press English on the ticket machine (only if that is your chosen language) and then press the button relating to your destination. Prices vary depending on the number of stops you require and if you need to go 'under water to the other side.'

An excellent method of transport that will make you think 'if only they could do this in London. If only . . .'