Travel Update: Part II, Hong Kong
October 9, 2012
Well after Macau we hopped on a ferry and headed to Hong Kong, “Asia’s World City”. As I mentioned before Hong Kong is also a SAR, which means we again went through customs and the passport check as if we were entering another country. Hong Kong was a British colony up until 1997 when it was returned to Chinese rule. The Hong Kong government still operates with a great degree of autonomy. Interestingly, both Macau and Hong Kong have notably capitalist economies. Hong Kong, like Macau is a island just of the tip of southern China. More accurately though it is a series of about 200 island connected by causeways, ferries, and rail lines. Our adventures were primarily restricted to the main islands of Hong Kong, Lantau, and Kowloon.
When we stepped off the ferry in Hong Kong I was immediately struck by the uniqueness of the terrain; an urban jungle framed by the mountains of a tropical island. Think the rain forests of Hawaii surrounding the grey concrete of New York City. It was amazing. The people of Hong Kong too were diverse. With a population of about 7 million Hong Kong has it all. Additionally, the income of and standard of living in Hong Kong is significantly higher than Mainland China. As a former British colony Hong Kong is very westernized. It still retains some of the it’s Asian cultural flair, but for the most part Hong Kong felt like a backwards London. For example the taxis are the same as in London, black boxy things with a little light on the top. Street signs were in English and Cantonese. Everyone drives on the right side of the road. People’s English bears a British accent. The list goes on and on.
By the time we got to our hotel I was exhausted and starting to get sick, so I chose to sit out on the nights festivities. However, my traveling companions visited one of Hong Kong’s most famous shopping malls and the Kowloon Night Market. I survived passing up the shopping mall, but I was disappointed about the Night Market. It’s a unique event in which every evening vendors arrive, set up stalls, and sell their wares from 6 PM- 12 AM. I understand it’s quite the experience. People everywhere haggling with shop owners and fighting for the best deal. On my next visit to Hong Kong I’ll have to be sure not to miss it.
The next morning I woke up refreshed from my long rest and ready for a day of adventure. We decided to go check out Ocean Park, which is one of Hong Kong’s premier tourist attractions. It’s a theme park, which is home to numerous aquatic animals and some of the world’s fastest and most unique roller coasters. I went with rather low expectations. After all I am a southern Californian- Disneyland, Magic Mountain, Sea World, and Universal Studios are all just a short drive away. But I have to say Hong Kong’s Ocean Park managed to top them all. They have some of the rarest animals in the world on display. We saw grand pandas, sea otters, alligators, arctic foxes, walruses, penguins, and (my favorite) red pandas. We were even lucky enough to arrive at feeding time so all the animals were out and about interacting with their trainers. It was a great day. We even got to ride a roller coaster, which shot out over the ocean. Another unique feature of Ocean Park is that it is separated in two halves and in order to get to the majority of the park you have to take a gondola or tram. We chose the gondola route and were not disappointed. The views were spectacular. It gave us an opportunity to explore some of Hong Kong’s beautiful, natural scenery.
Well after a day at the amusement park we were ready for some more cultural pursuits. We hopped in a cab and asked the driver to take us to Victoria’s Peak, which is the highest point on the island. On the top there is shopping, restaurants, and a 360 degree panoramic view of the island. It also holds special historical significance as it was used as a lookout point during the opium wars. In all it is a tourist attraction not to be missed on your visit to Hong Kong. Unfortunately, we didn’t end up a Victoria’s peak. Our cab driver understood we wanted to go to Victoria’s Park. If you ever visit Hong Kong take note: they are two completely different things.
At first we were disappointed, but we quickly got over it when we entered the park and found ourselves smack dab in the middle of the Hong Kong Harvest Festival. There were lanterns and fireworks, street food and dancers. We even got to witness the Tai Hang Fire Dragon, which is long running community tradition. Each year for the past 114 years the neighborhood of Tai Hang has gathered together all it’s able-bodied young men to preform the fire dragon dance. The dragon is 64 meters long and made of wood and straw. What makes it truly impressive though is the tens of thousands of sticks of burning incense adhered to the dragons back. The men dance up and down the street with the dragon until all the incense sticks burn out. It is a physically difficult task so all the men of the community band together to take turns keeping the dragon dancing well in to the night. It was truly an amazing experience.
The next day we awoke determined to actually see Victoria’s Peak. So we took the subway to a bus to another bus and thanks to the wonders of public transportation magically found ourselves atop the highest point in Hong Kong. The views were breath taking. We ate lunch at a little Dim Sum restaurant at the peak and admired the views for a while. It was very crowded due to the national holiday, but we still got to see all the important stuff. The area around the peak is sort of like a national park. It reminded me a lot of Griffith Park at home, with the winding road up to the top, hiking trails, and many people jogging and working out. It was lots of fun. I’m so glad we finally made it to the Peak. Our trip really wouldn’t have been complete with out it.
When we finished at the peak we decided to head out to Hong Kong Disneyland, unfortunately it was already 7 PM. seeing no reason to buy a ticket we decided to just take the subway out to check out the front gates. It was completely worth it. There’s a special Disney subway, which takes you right to the park. It was completely Disney themed. When we arrived at the park we were glad for our decision not to go in. By 7:30 it was already mostly empty and the park itself was fairly small. Everything was beautiful, new, and clean though. The park just opened in 2005, so its size and lack of popularity are somewhat understandable. One interested thing we noticed is that very few children were at the park. It was mostly young couples enjoying the Disneyland experience. By that time we were hungry and needed to sit down for a bit, so we hopped on one of the resort buses and headed out to the Disneyland hotel in search of dinner. We found ourselves at a very nice sit down restaurant. The mickey themed desserts were enough to quell our thirst for all things Disney and we returned to our hotel satisfied.
Determined not to waste our last night in Hong Kong we got dressed up and headed out for more adventures. First we hit up the Ritz Carlton Hotel, which houses Ozone, the highest bar in the world. The views were spectacular and the wait staff very kind. Overall our trip to Hong Kong was a complete success. We boarded the plane home the next morning extremely happy, but free of regrets.
Our first trip was a complete success. We planned and executed a wonderful journey. It was a very liberating and wonderful experience. It’s funny to think that we’ve been here only a month and already I have made so many memories. I can’t wait to see what God had planned for me next! Well that’s all for now. Zai Jian from Shanghai!
