China: Hong Kong

For such a long time the city of Hong Kong was a separate entity than China, guaranteeing the development of a much different world than the mainland. Now that the two have been once again reunited it's impossible for Hong Kong to shed entirely it's unique identity. Besides making the transition into the Far East much easier for Westerners, this resolve to maintain a "two systems one country" policy preserves old Hong Kong, a unique culture and exciting travel destination.

The island of Hong Kong is made up of a number of neighborhoods and communities, built on the sharp slopes of its looming mountain peaks. The jungle of skyscrapes along its northen edge belie the fact that Hong Kong still is home to smaller communities, including a large number of traditional fishermen who live on their sampan boats. Each of these distinct communities merit a visit themselves, but together they comprise one of the most exciting and varied metropolises in the world. From the the 24 hour buzz of Central and Admiralty to the quieter waterfronts of Aberdeen and Stanley, you'll find a lot to discover in Hong Kong.

Quick Tips:

* Make hotel reservations through an agency once you arrive in Hong Kong. The prices are much lower than booking online. * The supposed bargains of Hong Kong are few and far between. Research prices on expensive goods like electronics and high-end fashion, rather than relying on the questionable advice of shop keepers.

Best Way To Get Around:

While walking around is a great way to see the city and the interesting back alleys, you'll need to employ the bus sytem to get to the southern edge of the island. The tram to the top of Victoria Peak is a fun ride itself, and makes a steep walk up the hill obsolete. Don't be afraid to walk it down, as it takes less than an hour and is a pretty scenic walk.

Before I left for Hong Kong I was having a very hard time finding a cheap hotel room in the city. Doing research on the Internet led me to believe that if I wanted to stay in a full service hotel I would have to pay at least $200 per night for a standard room. But upon arriving I found many hotel deals, including the New Harbour Hotel. Their advertised rates are close to $200 for a standard single, but when bookings are slow I guess the rooms can be had for 400% off the regular rate. I booked this stay through China Travel Service at the train station in Kowloon.

The hotel itself left a lot to be desired. When you're used to staying in Marriotts or Hiltons you notice the smaller things, I guess. Like many Hong Kong hotels there is no pool or gym facility. Queen beds that are promised when making reservations turn out to be small singles (this seems to be the case throughout China...). The TV featured only Asian programming depite what the brochure for the hotel claims. But if you came to Hong Kong to watch TV you're probably not interested in reading travel articles.

While much of the staff had a hard time with English, they were polite and helped me figure out how to find some of the attractions on the island. You can send postcards to the United States from their front desk for only a half dollar. Though the rooms are small and unexciting, it's pretty quiet at the New Harbour. The best point for recommending this inexpensive hotel is probably its location, which is walking distance to all the sights and neighborhoods on Hong Kong island.

After eating lots of greasy Chinese food all week, it was a pleasure to indulge in some well prepared food with a different flavor. Though this Thai restaurant was featured in the Lonely Planet guidebook, it can hardly be described as a bargain dining option. The standard pad thai dish ran me about $10, though it was quite good, made even more special by breaking up the monotony of merely adequate Chinese meals I had sampled so far in Hong Kong. Located in the heart of the Wanchai district, Chili Club is easily accessable from Central and most other tourist areas on Hong Kong island. The rice here was particularly good, sticky yet melt-in-your-mouth soft. Quite yummy.

Located in the heart of the Central district of Hong Kong, the Yung Kee restaurant has bene serving Cantonese cuisine since 1942. It looked rather fancy from outside the front, where the military looking doorman was stationed. But as I came closer to inspect the menu he was very gregarious and encouraging, and the prices were not unreasonable for the location and high level of service.

I ordered the lemon chicken, which was quite delicious. Unlike the heavily fried food Chinese fare that Americans are used to eating, the chicken dish I ordered was light and appealing, yet certainly filled me up. Noticeably absent was the unpleasant smell I had begun to associate with all Hong Kong eating establishments, and the meal I enjoyed was much better than any other Chinese food I’ve had here so far on my trip.

This chain of small cake and pastry shops seems to mirror the success of Starbucks in New York, with a branch on every other street corner. The desserts are pretty good if somewhat unusual in flavor and presentation for Aerican appetites. Actually, the small cakes are quite European in style, with some unusual Asian accents like leechee or red bean paste. I had a pretty good peach cake served with a light cream. Not something that I would imagine as a finger food for consuming as you walk out the store and down the sidewalk, but tasty nonetheless. The muffin I purchased for eating later was just so-so. Prices are low enough, however, to sample a few different desserts. I'm always looking for a rationalization to have more sweets!

Situated across the street from the popular Yung Kee restaurant is the more casual and inexpensive Tsu Wah greasy spoon. It's like the Chinese version of Denny's, serving cheap food all night to club kids on their way back home from dancing. I had pineapple chicken fried rice, which was listed under the Western dishes section of the menu. I guess fried rice isn't so popular over in Hong Kong, but is an American take on Cantonese cuisine. Like many Denny's across America, the Tsu Wah seemed to attract a lot of brooding gay kids who endlessly stirred their coffe and checked out the other dining customers.

I headed over to the Causeway Bay neighborhood primarily to check out Victora Park, which turned out to be closed to the general public. This was due to the fact that the park administration was hosting the annual Hong Kong Flower Show. For one week in March the immense grounds are covered with elaborate displays of flower arrangement and landscaping. Since I had some time to kill before catching a train and the admission was less than $2 (14 Hong Kong dollars), I figured I'd take a look and see what all the fuss was about.

I'm still not sure why there were such large crowds, as the arrangements weren't much more interesting than what you might see at a county or state fair back in the United States. Flowers were arranged to look like animals, miniature lawns were decorated with babbling brooks and old-fashioned water wheels, and numerous concession stalls were hawking junk food. Victoria Park itself was also kind of unexciting compared to the critter friendly Hong Kong Park just a mile away. If you're looking for a place to get some tennis in on your trip to Hong Kong, however, there are a number of outdoor courts available.

The best way to get to the Disneyland-like Ocean Park is to catch a bus at Star Ferry terminal, which with a admission combo ticket costs 174 Hong Kong dollars. The bus ride is pretty quick, and when I walked through the front gate I felt the rush of excitement I usually get when visiting amusement parks. Even though my two guide books had warned me to start the day early to avoid the crowds by 11:30 it didn’t seem crowded at all yet. Perhaps it was the light drizzle and overcast sky, or that it was still early March.

Instead of offering a blow by blow description of every ride, shop and restaurant they offer at Ocean Park I'll just jot down some of my impressions. The park is interesting in many ways. It's built on the steep slope of hillsides that hug the ocean coastline. They pipe in awful Asian pop instrumentals along the walkways which had me moving quickly from destination to destination. The food is not overpriced: McDonald’s costs the same amount here as in the city. All the rides' narratives are in Chinese, so you can't understand a word of what is being said by the cartoon characters. And the people here including the kids all scream politely.

One of the first rides I went on is the Skyride, thinking it would be a simple way to get to the roller coaster. In fact, it’s a necessity, as the larger half of Ocean Park is about a mile away over a mountain. The view on the Skyride is spectacular as it glides over a steep cliffside by the water. I was worried the pictures taken from inside the plastic confines of the carriage wouldn't do justice to the amazing views.

The Dragon is the major roller coaster at Ocean Park, but I managed to boeard the ride within five minutes. It's not that exciting of a coaster ride, but the views of the ocean below make it a great experience. At one point you look like you are just flying out over the ocean before banking around a curve. I know I’m getting old because the ride is pretty mild and I still felt sick afterwards.

There are a number of themed areas like the amusement parks back in the States. The Pacific Pier area features California sea lions and otters lazily drifting about, and an observation tower ride that really did offer spectacular views. The Middle Kingdom is an ancient Chinese themed area that was supposeduly a highlight of the park, but most of it was under construction when I visited. There is a popular shark aquarium and atoll reef exhibit, and some rather active panda bears. There are a number of other sights and attractions at Ocean Park, but the best reason to visit is that you'll get to see Chinese families interacting as they normally would, not as restauranteers and shopowners.

This gay coffe bar / internet café was the perfect place for me to catch up on my e-mail correspondance while getting the scoop on which bars were preferable among the countless options in Hong Kong. The proprietors both spoke great English and were very friendly. I surfed the web for an hour, which doesn't cost anything additional when you first purchase food or drink from the counter. Both PCs and Macs are available and the connections seem to be pretty quick. The beverages and snacks were reasonably priced, too.

I had decided to take the bus to Stanley, but I wasn’t sure where to catch it. After some getting lost in the massive bus complex near the Star Ferry terminal I boarded the #260, supposedly an express bus, for 11 Hong Kong dollars. It filled up very quickly and the spectacular views I was looking forward to seeing on the journey weren’t going to be possible. But we arrived in Stanley soon enough. In fact, we passed the main stop without any fanfare. Make sure to ask the driver to let you know where to exit for the market.

I first visited a "chop shop" where they make stone name stamps for imprinting your name on letters. Actually, I visited a few such stores in hopes of making a deal. I bought three for 180 Hong Kong dollars, which seems pretty good since the first place I went to asked for 170 Hong Kong dollars for just one that was considerably smaller in size. Haggling is accepted in a number of the stores just like in the street markets of Kowloon, but then a number of places in Stanley also seemed to have set prices, such as the retailer I purchased a belt from for 79 Hong Kong dollars. I guess the best tip is to key your eyes open and watch how the salesperson interacts with other customers.

The market is only slightly more diverse than the junky stores found throughout Kowloon. But the open-air narrow stalls are sort of fun to navigate, and it’s nice being near the water. After visiting the Stanley Market I walked over to the Tin Hau temple, where many locals were lighting incense and making their daily prayers. There are a number of places to grab some lunch both in and around the market. Heading home I took the #14 bus that takes a scenic route to Sai Wan Ho, passing over a large reservoir on the eastern edge of the island.

Perhaps the most popular sight in all of Hong Kong is the view from atop Victoria Peak. Almost 2000 feet above the harbor's edge, the Peak's steep incline makes for interesting perspectives: you're staring down at skyscrapers more than 90 stories tall. Looking across the harbor and pas Kowloon you can see quite a bit of the New Territories and even mainland China when the weather is clear.

I hopped on the old tram that ascends to Victoria Peak, which doesn’t take that long but climbs in parts at a very steep angle. The views are amazing, making the city below seem quite magical. The water and trees keep the immense urban sprawl in check. Once you arrive at the top, though, the modern world rears it's ugly head and you are confronted yet again by the ugly spectre of Hong Kong: shopping. The Peak Tower is yet another mall, with useless shops and pricey restaurants. They even saw fit to add a Ripley's Believe It or Not museum, as if the exciting views alone didn't merit the trip to the Peak. It was a challenge figuring out how to escape from the mall, and I walked a few flights down an emergency exit ramp only to be dead-ended and climbing all the way back up to start again.

Eventually I made it up to the platform where you can check out the views of the city below. I was in no hurry to get back down to Central and thought it might be fun to hike down the hill. After hesitating on which path to take home I decided instead to go up and see the Victoria Peak Gardens. After a half hour I finally reached the summit, catching the tail end of the sunset. I walked through the park and then took night shots of the city. The hike down from the Peak to Central only took a half hour or so, and next time I might try a more adventurous down the back side of the hill towards the village of Aberdeen.

Hong Kong Park, which is built into the side of a hill, is best known for it's free zoo. There's no admission, just a number of animal exhibits strewn about the park's walkways. As you climb higher up the hill you'll find quite a few large mammals on display, including some acrobatic apes and monkeys who take advantage of their large cages. The poor jaguar seemed very perturbed by his limited space for stalking back and forth.

The park has some nice waterfall areas with red-beaked cranes. I didn’t find out what the conservatory building was used for, as it had just closed for the day when I stopped in to take a look. I actually ended up back at this park when I was trying to find an alternate path back down the hillside after riding the mid-level escalators up to the top.

More upscale and more comfortable than the Works bar, Rice seems to attract a professional gay crowd. I went perhaps a little too early in the evening as it hadn't really filled up yet, but the chatty bartenders kept me company and the drinks were particularly good if a little expensive. Rice doesn't seem nearly as cruisy as the Works; I imagine it's a great place for local boys to hang out after work with their friends rather than looking for a new lover. They also serve food at Rice, but the prices seemed a little high for bar snacks.

This dark and smoky bar didn't seem like much at first, but as the evening wore on it grew quite crowded with local boys and ex-patriates. The 50 Hong Kong dollar admission includes your first drink, so it's fairly reasonable in price compared to the more expensive Propaganda dance club.

A small dance floor is surrounded by narrow walkways. This can make it pretty easy to brush up against the man of your dreams, yet hard to avoid that strange fellow who's been leering at you the past half hour. Drinks are routinely 50 Hong Kong dollars, and are served up fairly quickly by the attentive bartenders. My only compalint is that the place is poorly ventilated that the smoke was causing my eyes to water.