Just got off a rather bumpy 11 hour flight from Auckland, and less than one and a half hours after landing I am installed in my hotel room in downtown Hong Kong.

This place is superbly efficient; 2 fast trains, a short walk and a short taxi ride were involved, the whole lot cost about £10.

When I arrived this morning all seemed strangely quiet – I put this down to the fact that the airport train is a restricted service – but perhaps they were all sleeping; they aren’t now…

this place is a bit crazy… and not just because I’m jet lagged, I have never been anywhere so ‘busy’…

You want designer shops? we got ‘em…
You want restaurants? we got ‘em…
You want greeters dressed like angels with rabbit ears? we got ‘em…

You want some private space? look elsewhere…

Hong Kong Island has a population density of 17,500 per square Km (Birmingham is 3,600 per square Km), today I have tripped over most of them.
To cope with these numbers there are huge networks of roads, tunnels, bridges and flyovers – all populated with buses, trams and taxis, plus of course the underground system.
Despite the above mix leading to parts of HK seeming a bit like a garden filled Spaghetti Junction; its all clean, tidy and very efficient, if a little crazy.

The Peak

Great views from the peak of the island – you get there by tram, yes; it really is that steep… 27 degrees in places.

The height difference is significant and the temperatre at the top can be a good few degrees cooler.

You have to pay extra to get to a viewing platform, but this is recommended.

Day 2

36 hours in and I’m getting the hang of the place, I have now successfully left and re-found the hotel no less than 3 times – which I am rather pleased about.

This morning set off for Kowloon, tram to the ferry ($2 = 13p get on at the back and pay set fee when you leave via the front door), Star Ferry to Kowloon ($1.70 = 11p) and then a search for breakfast venue.

As I am determined to avoid McDonalds and Starbucks I ended up in some sort of Chinese fast food joint (Cafe de Coral) – unfortunately with only a Chinese menu so it was sort of pot luck really – but I figured they wouldn’t have any offerings too offensive on a breakfast menu.
Ended up with some sort of congee soup, egg on toast, a bratwurst and a coffee (£1.20).

Due to jet lag and internal clock mechanisms this was an early start again and it is quiet, shops seem to operate 11.00am to 11.00pm.

As soon as you enter Kowloon proper you are approached by loads of well dressed Indians… the tailoring squad. Got a bit tiresome after a while – I can think of nothing I require less than a tailored suit or shirts or ties.

Jade market is here as well, interesting to wander, but again gets a bit tiresome when you stop to look at something for a moment they immediately seize it and start making recommendations – I just move on as soon as they start. Not really any hassle though – just trying to get a sale.

As I don’t want or need anything I’m not really sure why I’m wandering about here… so I buy 2 oranges, a dragon fruit and a pair of sandals to recompense the local economy.
Economic karma restored I return to HK island for lunch. The underground system is superb: clean, efficient, fast and cheap. All platform edges are protected with glass doors, the trains are massive – all open the full length – and fully air conditioned. Live maps indicate where you are, what direction you are traveling in and which side the doors will open at the next station. Mobile phones work underground too – which is a mixed blessing.

There are not that many stations, but each station has a lot of entrances – great when you are going in, a bit confusing when you leave – you have to check where you are going to surface.

After only a few hours I feel that I have got the hang of this place – but also that I have only scratched the surface – and would only do so if I were here for lot longer.
Many aspects are not that unfamiliar – even the food you can sort of work out, everything else works just like at home – part of the hermogenisation of planet earth; years ago, places like this would have been very different, but I suppose there is a substantial English legacy in the nature of HK anyway.

Planting is a big feature here – Feng Shui and all that…
Plant shops are very good and feature amazing ranges of exotic flora, orchids feature heavily.

Funny the things that seem more interesting… I couldn’t give a toss how cheap Vivienne Westwood T-shirts are, I’d rather look at the plants.
Might get my feet done tomorrow – another treat I am beginning to enjoy.

Day 3

Off to Cheung Wan and Hollywood Rd to look at the junk antiques.

Not quite so fortunate with the breakfast today, your choices from the following please:

There is some good stuff up here as well as the tat, but tat can provide the best diversion!
Chairman Mao watches with a waving hand (which stopped as soon as I picked it up), ‘antique’ snuff bottles for £2 etc etc. I liked the Communist Party propaganda pottery, which I think may have been real from the 1960′s, unfortunately all the pieces were either too big to transport or chipped.

Visited a Chinese temple – smoke filled in the extreme, looks rather out of place surrounded by 50 storey tower blocks.

Prize to the first to guess what these are…

Finally on to the foot treat care of The Happy Foot in Lan Kwai Fong, 19F, 1 D’Aguilier St.
Fantastic; Shanghai pedicure and a reflexology massage for about £25. You sit in a darkened room – with a pin spot for reading if you wish – and get a fantastic massage, lasts about an hour, finishing off with a shoulder massage.

Like many businesses in HK, the above is upstairs… actually the Happy Foot is on the 19th floor. The same goes for a lot of restaurants, ground level is at such a premium that they shove big stuff out of the way.
This can be a bit off putting as if you change your mind about a restaurant its a bit more difficult to leave after you have committed to a long staircase or even a lift journey.

Hong Kong by night

New York might have taller skyscrapers… but they don’t do this…

They have a light show every night at 8.00pm, the video below has fireworks as well, I think this must have been a special occasion.

The old Kai Tak airport is now long gone; this short video shows why…