As a Tourist in Hong Kong

Last week I described the Pride festivities that I was lucky enough to be able to attend in Hong Kong. It was amazing to be able to attend those on my first day, but the next day was when I would be able to really explore the city. I awoke in my hostel, not terribly late, and found that there was a young German medical student who was about to head down to find breakfast. He asked me if I was interested in joining him and we proceeded to spend the next two days together seeing tourist sites and exploring the city.

I wanted to use this post mainly to show pictures of the rest of that trip. The urban canyon is the natural habitat of Hong Kongers. We walked these canyons as we explored the city. He wanted to see Victoria Park, and afterward we set off toward the HSBC building, a building of architectural interest because it is a piece of modern architecture which follows the prescriptions of feng shui that are intended to maximize energy flow through space.

Upon arrival at the HSBC building we found, first, that it was closed ( it was Sunday) and, second, that the open air area underneath the building's tall atrium was covered in cardboard boxes on which were sitting a large crowd of Indonesians. They were picknicking and relaxing and generally enjoying the day. The weather was warm and they seemed to all have the day off and I suppose this was as good a place as any to hang out. Although I  think I would have chosen one of the lovely parks, but who am I to judge?

Our next stop was a beautiful church just a few (vertical) steps away. Hong Kong has representatives from virtually every religion out there and after spending a year in mainland China without leaving, my German friend was surprised and delighted to see so many churches. This was an Anglican church and was one of the older ones, explaining its traditional style. Most of the churches in Hong Kong are modern and unattractive, but most of the historic buildings seem to be churches since other buildings tend to get razed in the name of progress.

As we continued to walk around Central Hong Kong we passed what at first appeared to be an overcrowded department store window. There were a couple of people working inside to set up the display and I almost walked on by without another thought except that I noticed that there was no department store to which the window was attached. As I continued to look I noticed also that there was a cash register inside and that the workers setting up the display were actually shoppers. This wasn't a store window. This was a store. I took a picture just to show an example of how valuable space is in Hong Kong. People there maximize space. The do it by necessity but also, by now, by tradition.

Here is the view of Kowloon from the ferry piers at Central. The tall building is International Commerce Center. It is now Hong Kong's tallest building and includes a Ritz Carlton at the 103rd floor. We took the star ferry across to Kowloon, where we explored a bit more and found the Hong Kong History Museum, which was nice enough to keep us occupied until dinner and the day wrapped up.

The following day we made our way to Victoria Peak, one of the iconic landmark locations for every tourist in Hong Kong. Peak Tower, pictured above, is one of many pieces of iconic architecture in Hong Kong, though we opted not to go to the top, since it was a bit pricey for my budget. The reason so many tourists like to visit Victoria Peak? The view. If you've seen pictures of Hong Kong, you probably seen pics from the Star Ferry, which we had taken the night before, and the city as seen from Victoria Peak. Night or day, you get a spectacular view of the city from the peak.

The thing most tourists don't do, however, is hiking the area around the peak. The whole area is designated a city park so there are hiking trails all around and even a few interesting tourist sites to see while you're up there. We were able to find the remains of an old WWII defense battery, where the British army tried to fend off Japanese invaders. They were unsuccessful and Hong Kong was occupied by the Japanese for the duration of the war.

The south side of the island provides a very different view, even though there are still terribly tall residential buildings, the density is much less. You can also watch the cargo vessels making their way in and out of Hong Kong Harbor.

This last bit of the trip was very relaxing and made the rush of Hong Kong (which I find very exciting) seem miles away. It was good to know that even in a city this active, it was still possible to steal off to oneself and get a private, relaxing moment outdoors.

Before my train left, we went out to one of the night markets in Kowloon and looked around. There are some great deals at Hong Kong Markets, as well as some great food, but I was on my last $20 so I just browsed the wares and sat with my German friend while he had his evening meal. Then I was off to the station, bringing my first trip to Hong Kong to a close.
The trip was amazing. I had gotten to see Hong Kong, exploring the city and attending Pride. I got to see a couple of Hong Kong tourist sites and enjoy walking the streets of that amazing city. I didn't get to try as much of the food as I wanted, but I would get a bit more of that next time. Mainly, I discovered that my long fascination with Hong Kong was not just a 'good on paper' thing. The city fulfilled the expectations that its reputation had created, and opened up new avenues to explore. Like any good city, the surface is fascinating and beautiful, but what's underneath was even more so. I definitely felt that I could move to Hong Kong and spend a lifetime exploring all it has to offer.