We arrived to much warmer temperatures after experiencing winter and snow in Seoul, and after a great flight on Air Premia, which is a highly recommended airlines for comfort, seat size and leg room, and they even gave us a meal on our 3-hour flight!
Well rested, we (thought) we were ready for Hong Kong. After shedding our winter coats immediately after deplaning, we went through customs, picked up our bag, and headed for the taxi stand.
Taxi drivers are the same (basically) everywhere, in that they drive like they have fire ants in their pants or bats out of hell, and ours smelled like old cigarettes and the driver had to be 70+ years old. Around the world, they will exploit tourists for extra funds, and that’s even on top of the fact that at Hong Kong airport, once you tell the stand where you are going, they give an estimate of the fare on a little printout. So, while we looked at the city scenery out of the corner of our eyes we saw him add amounts to the fare, so that by the time we arrived to our hotel, it was $25 HKD (Hong Kong Dollar) more than the estimate; which we paid, and proceeded to take Ubers the rest of the trip when needed, which is a set fare and were almost always Teslas or fancy vans (and priced the same, or less, than taxis).
We arrived at the hotel, and were offered a modest price to upgrade to a room facing the Happy Valley Hong Kong Race track, so we took it.
Also, we had read in the reviews that the backside of the hotel faced two cemeteries, and while that wouldn’t bother us, the alternative was much cooler as you can see below:
We even got to see horse races (which occur every Wednesday) from our room!
Our first stop was finding a universal converter so we could charge our laptops, that lead us to getting lost, as there are many, many side streets and even using the maps app it was easy to get lost; we walked in a circle on two different occasions, the first was day 1. Eventually we made it to the Times Square Mall, 8 floors up and a few below, of fancy shopping (there are so many malls in Hong Kong it became comical. They’re at nearly every train station too) and it was packed with people.
The malls also have very little seating, so if you’re not shopping, you’re leaving I guess. We made our way to the 8th floor, and found our converter, then headed back. We were tired from our travels and our converter quest, so stopped at an [overpriced] pizza place that was ok, before heading to bed.
We wanted to try all the public transport that we could, and to pay for trains and buses and trams, and also to pay for goods at the convenience stores (of which there are many, all over, usually a few per block) one needed to purchase an Octopus Card. They can be purchased at convenience stores, like Circle K or 7-11, however, not every convenience store has them in stock, so Jessica and I had to buy one at one store, then find another, since they don’t sell the Octopus Cards at train stations, oddly. The Octopus Card can be purchased with Credit Card or Cash, but to load money onto them, it can only be cash, and only at the same Convenience Stores, in denominations of 50 or 100 HKD. Get all that?
There are so many ways to get around Hong Kong, and if you have time, try them all. Our first was the double-decker trolley, screeching its way down the middle of the road.
The most intense public transport were the Green-colored roof public light buses, holding only 19 passengers, and driven very fast, and usually late. We always had to hang on to the handlebar on the seat in front of us, but they were convenient for going where other public transport did not for a low cost; however waiting for one could take a long, long time, if they got stuck in traffic, or were full.
There is the subway, called the MTR, that is like most subways, which was fast and convenient to get around, always on time and we took normal, double-decker buses too of varying colors, red and yellow and blue, which weren’t always on time, but usually were.
We took boats to the islands and across the river as well, and those are fun to get a cheap boat cruise while also getting somewhere. We picked up some Dramamine as it was definitely needed on the longer rides, less so just crossing Kowloon Bay, which was about 10 minutes.
We took a funicular ride up to Victoria Peak, our first full day, luckily we didn’t have to wait too long in the line (although you can see the people waiting behind Jessica), which during busy times can take an hour plus. It was a steep ride up, with nice city views.
Once at the Peak Tower, one expects to step out to spectacular views, but…its a mall, because of course it is. To get the best views, you have to pay, and take the escalator up five floors, but if you were really craving Bubba Gump Shrimp, well you’re in luck, there’s one there (though we didn’t eat there).
Look for exit doors that don’t look like you should go through them, (but do and reach the outside), for the best views without having to pay more than the tram ticket.
Another tip is to not take the funicular back down, rather there is a meandering walk that takes a couple hours, or, find the green public light bus, which are located outside the main level (to the right of Jessica in the picture above), and enjoy the crazy fast ride down back to the center of Hong Kong. We did and it was a blast.
All in all, I’d avoid Victoria Peak as its so commercial with so many people; if you want the best views of the city, there’s a short hike (after taking a green public light bus up from Victoria Park, which isn’t near Victoria Peak, so note that as well), that I’ll detail in a future post, so stay tuned!
Phil's WayPastCool 