"Hong Kong - Overwhelmed by Impressions" Hong Kong by claudia1975

Hong Kong is crazy. I spent two days in this city and was just overwhelmed by all the impressions storming in on me. There are thousands of sounds, lights, advertisements, smells, millions of people all condensed in narrow streets boardered by skyscrapers. You can hardly see the sky. I have not seen much of it except the downtown area. However, this area is fascinating and Hong Kong is worth to explore if (in my opinion) you have a place to rest and recover for a few hours if you need to - something like a quiet hotel room.

Buddhist temple

Another oasis of silence and recovery are tiny buddhist temples hidden in small parks squeezed between the tall buildings and bustling roads. Relaxing in one of these small parks it is fun to watch the people play Go or Chinese Chess, practise Tai Chi or eat some exotic fruits bought at the streeet markets. After that one is recovered for another stroll along the vegetable market, fruit market, clothes market, gold-fish market or antique market.
Compared to the rest of China many products are cheaper in Hong Kong - especially electronic products such as mobile hard disks, USb sticks, MP3 players etc. Furthermore the common brand clothes (no fakes) are approximately 30% cheaper than in Europe. Of course you can also by a fake North face jacket for about 12 Euro - the question is how long it will last ...

Appartements

Hong Kong has nice waterfront, where you can catch a refreshing breeze when it is too muggy and hot inside the town. It is also nice to take a ferry from the actual downtown side Kwoloon to the other side of the bay. This boat trip is about 10 to 15 minutes and you can stroll the water front on the other side as well.

• Pros:High houses, many people, shopping, lights, advertisements, smells, impressions, sounds
• Cons:High houses, many people, shopping, lights, advertisements, smells, impressions, sounds
• In a nutshell:Great for a few days...