"Hong Kong, May 2004" Hong Kong by Ewingjr98

Hong Kong is a massive city with a unique Chinese & Western blend of cultures making for a fast paced city with unique food, interesting architecture, and store after store selling everything. I was very impressed by the parks of Hong Kong including Kowloon Park, Hong Kong Park, and Victoria Peak. The public transportation has to be among the best in the world and there are a few interesting sites.

However, compared to other Asian cities I have visited (such as Seoul, Hanoi, Bangkok, Taipei, Fukuoka), Hong Kong really lacks the Asian character I have grown to love. Except for the the markets and temples, Hong Kong could be any Western city. The food, despite many different varieties, was somewhat bland. There is very little history beyond the last 150 years. The nightlife had a few great spots, but on the whole was a little disappointing.

We arrived in Hong Kong about 1230 on 15 May 2004 after a quick hop from Seoul on Cathay Pacific Airlines. The airport is clean and very modern. After customs, we got HK$ from an ATM, purchased tickets for the train ride to Kowloon, and reserved a hotel room from the tourist information desk.

We then took the long walk to the train station in the airport and the 20 minute ride to Kowloon Station. From the station, we decided to walk to our hotel since we each only carried a light backpack. The walk took about 20 minutes and we arrived at our hotel, the Marco Polo Gateway at about 1330, well before the 1500 check-in time.

We left our bags at the desk and began exploring the city. We walked through Kowloon along Canton Road to the waterfront. Our first stop was the famous clock tower near the Star Ferry Terminal. From here we had a wonderful view of Hong Kong Island and the ferries running between there and Kowloon. We continued east along the water's edge to the Hong Kong Walk of Fame. Turning north, we passed the famous Peninsula Hotel, then walked down Nathan Road to Kowloon Park.

We checked in to the Marco Polo Gateway and were very pleased. This was, by far, the nicest hotel of my 6-country southeast Asian tour! Ater a quick shower we headed to dinner... the concierge pointed us to the Crystal Jade Restaurant in the shopping center connected to our hotel. After dinner we took a cab to the Temple Street Night Market. We wandered around for just a little while, then stopped at a restaurant for my first-ever bowl of congee.

After dinner and a snack, we were ready for some nightlife, so we took another taxi back to Canton Road. Our first stop was a newer bar called Mes Amis which was very nice. We then made a quick stop at a juicy/comfort/hostess bar called Fair Lady where the drinks were ungodly expensive. Getting bored, we walked to Hart Street and tried CQ-Bar, Commander's Bar, and Swiss Chalet... all of which sucked a lot. We also stopped by a gambling place and had a drink.

Desperate to find a decent bar, we took the subway to Central MRT and walked to Lan Kwai Fong. Finally we found some enjoyable places with a lot of people! We enjoyed Bitte Ein Bit!, Mad Dogs, and a few others. We also stopped at a Middle Eastern bar called Beirut -- that was quite an interesting experience! We ended the evening at Bulldogs around 0200 then hailed a taxi for the HK$70 cab ride back to Kowloon. Once in Kowloon, we stopped by a few more bars for a nightcap, then went to bed.

Wanchai Market

Day 2... We crawled out of bed around 1000 and headed straight for Wanchai. After 20 minutes of wandering and realizing there just wasn't a whole lot to see here, we stopped at a 63 story building for a Dim Sum lunch at a Chinese restaurant. Then we wandered through Wanchai Market, where I was happy to find my favorite fruit -- Dragonfruit -- for only US$3. We departed Wanchai on the Hong Kong Island Tram bound for Central & Western.

Upon arriving in Western, we wandered through Western Market and then went to the Cat Street antique shops. Ready for a break, we took the Star Ferry back to the hotel around 1600. While my travel companion DW decided to take a nap, I quickly jumped on the subway back to Central and took a walk through Hong Kong park.

After about an hour, I headed back to the hotel via the Star Ferry to get DW. We again went right back to Central via the MRT, but this time took the Peak Tram to Victoria Peak. We watched the city light up, then grabbed a quick snack at Shooters on top of the mountain.

Tonight we decided to spend the evening at Wanchai. Our first stop was another branch of the bar called Mes Amis where we drank a few beers and watched the people. Next we went to Joe Bananas around 2100. We only stayed because beers were 2-for-1, but as the place filled up, we were happy we decided to stay! Joe Bananas was packed with men and women from all over the world. Very enjoyable!!!! Late in the evening we took a taxi back to our hotel in Kowloon.

On the morning of 17 May, we took a 1230 ferry from Kowloon to Macau (see my Macau Pages for details!). That night we returned to Hong Kong at around 2200, then went straight to bed.

18 May was our last day in town... we got out of bed at 0800 and went straight to the airport via train. Once there, we stopped for a quick Dim Sum breakfast, then flew to Singapore on a flight departing at about 1230 (see my Singapore pages for details on this trip).

• Pros:Great Parks, Impressive Public Transportation
• Cons:Lacking history, disappointing food
• In a nutshell:Not as uniquely Asian as other cities in the region. It's OK for a few days, but save your money for Bangkok or Seoul!