Hong Kong Observations

Hong Kong observations. (Written on iPhone while there).

• Vibrant, colorful, electric, fast paced, densely populated, city.
• Both traditional and modern elements.
• People drive and walk on the left side.
• Smoking is more common than I'm accustomed to.
• There is a 7-Eleven or Circle K on every corner.
• Lots of French tourists.
• A Lot of stair climbing. Lots up uphill walking. I walked more than 20 steps and climbed more than 20 flights daily.
• In subway cars, 90% of riders are staring at cell phones, the other 10% are talking on them. (just like everywhere else).
• Lots of cosmetics and herbs stores.
• Lots of queuing up esp. for public buses.
• Beware: water drips on you from air conditioning units from above.
• Dying hair blonde is popular here too.
• The young people are hip and happy and like to hang out in malls. Sound familiar?
• Tapwater in the hotel is considered non-drinkable. They provide two free bottles of water daily. I was extremely good about this for the first 2 1/2 days. The last morning, As I contemplated checking out of my hotel, and taking a taxi to the cruise port, I got distracted, and accidentally used the tap water to brush my teeth. We will see what happens…… alert: I just realize I have been doing my sinus rinse every day. I've been using tap water for that. So I have been injecting not drinkable water into my system anyway.
• They charge 50 cents per bag (many places) to encourage shoppers to bring their own reusable bags.
• There are more banks per square foot than anywhere I have been!! Also, there are foreign currency exchanges galore!
• I have seen no dogs.

Hong Kong-my first visit!!!!

Hong Kong-my first visit!!!!

Overview:

Before the British captured Hong Kong in 1842, it was a sleepy Chinese fishing village. Eventually becoming a major Shipping port, the British transformed it into a modern Metropolis and finally handed it over to China in 1997. Of note 95% of Hong Kong residents are Chinese and 50% were born there. Cantonese is most widely spoken and because of the 156 year British rule, English is spoken and most signage is also in English.

For tourism purposes, the city is divided into 4 major sections each with its own smaller divisions. 1) Kowloon contains Tsum Sha Tsui, Victoria Harbour, and Mong Kok. Across the harbor is

2) Hong Kong Island which contains Sheung Wan (in the Western section), Central, Wan Chai, and Causeway Bay. 3) The new territories and 4) The 234 outlying islands.

 

I plan to soak in as many typical tourist sites as I can without sacrificing quality time spent strolling the streets where I can see traditional Hong Kong life.

Top on my list to visit are:

• Victoria Peak
• A Harbor ferry ride and ride from central to TST
• A tour down Nathan Road
• A day trip to Macau
• The Hong Kong Museum of history and perhaps the heritage Museum on the outskirts of Sha Tin, in the new territories
• The Man Mo temple (Sheung Wan) Hong Kong's oldest and most well known temple, and Tin Hau Temple (Mong Kok and Causeway Bay)
• Hong Kong park (Central)
• A visit to Sheung Wan, (west of Central which retains the feel of prewar Hong Kong)
• Markets such as temple street night market, the ladies market, the flower market, the Jade market, and more
• Strolls along Victoria Harbor
• Stanley Island
• Aberdeen for a sampan ride
• I will likely buy a two day hop on hop off bus ticket. It includes three routes, a harbor ferry ride, the tram up to Victoria Peak, and a sampon ride
• Kowloon waterfront Avenue of the stars--see the nightly "symphony of lights" light show.

Update:

Hong Kong first night --After more than 25 hours of travel, and experiencing a 12 hour time difference, I decided to take the metro from Hong Kong Island to Kowloon to visit some of the night markets. As I had suspected, Hong Kong is a vibrant, colorful, multicultural city. I am loving all the sites, sounds, and smells; Hong Kong is a feast for all the senses. Metro tickets cost HK$10 which is the equivalent of $1.25 US.

Note to self: walk on the left side of the street.

 

Temple Street Night Market

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CB2Aze1xXhI

I will post more photos later!

 

 

7 nation Asia cruise brings my total to 87 visited!!

7 nation Asia cruise brings my total to 87 visited!!

I just booked a wonderful Asia cruise that begins in Hong Kong and ends in Singapore and will make stops in ports in the Philippines, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Brunei. If time permits while Hong Kong, I will visit Macau, via ferry.

All of these places are new to me so I will add seven nations to my nations visited count. 

 

I am especially excited about my pre cruise visit to Hong Kong and my post cruise visit to Singapore!

Did you know that TAIPEI is an acronym of Technology, Art, Innovation, People, Environment, and Identity.