Hong Kong

When I was deciding where to travel, during my holiday break, I asked people what I could do in Hong Kong. Everyone excitedly replied shopping. Shopping did not get me too excited; one because I am not independently wealthy and two because I don't need a lot of "stuff" cluttering up my life. Not to mention I can always go shopping in Nanjing, Shanghai or St Louis. So I almost did not go to Hong Kong.

But I knew there had to be more to this city; especially considering it modern history as a link to Mainland China. So I asked two people who had lived there and they told me about other things to do in Hong Kong besides shopping. Hong Kong (HK) sounded more interesting then. so off I went to see if it had more to offer than stores offering high priced goods.

The main thing I enjoyed was how easy it was to get around the city. Both of my friends had suggested that I purchase an Octopus card (HK's metro transportation card). That was a great suggestion because HK has a great mass transit system. It has 7 to 10 train lines, I have no idea how many buses and an outdoor escalator for pedestrians to take up a very steep hillside.

Beside the mechanized transportation system HK is also a very pedestrian friendly city. When I first ventured into the downtown part of the city, I couldn't figure out where all the people were. Which was strange in one of the most densely populated cities in the world. Then I found the elevated walkways. It was great! It keeps pedestrians and automobiles out each other paths and gives people a nice view of the city.

The other thing that made HK so people friendly, was the parks. There seemed to be scores of little green spaces everywhere and unlike Mainland China they were free and had lots of places to sit. Which was good because before I discovered the hillside escalator I had walked all way up to a zoo on top of one of the hills. It was a pretty good climb.

The other thing I liked about HK was the architecture and public art. It has some pretty cool big tall building; which light up at night. Yes I know those lights waste electricity; but I am a sucker for flashing colored lights. Also unlike mainland China, cement is not the most prevalent building material. So buildings don't seem to deteriorate as fast and there is not a haze of cement dust in the air and covering every surface.

Some other things that I liked about HK was how international it was and the variety of restaurants to be found. English and Chinese are the most prevalent languages but I must have heard a half dozen languages being spoken the day I walked through HK proper; not to mention the number of accents I heard.

Eating is another global experience. The street were I had dinner at; hosted a United Nations of small restaurants. An "Italian" restaurant I eat at, Solemio, was was staffed by people from Nepal (yes, I asked where they were from). The people eating there were also from all parts of the globe(no I did not ask where they were from). At $HK300 ($US42), which includes wine and tip, the meal was a little pricey. But I had a great seabass dish.

The overall thing I liked about HK was that they seem to have actually planed things in the city and then actually followed the plans. It was nice being in a well planned city. My main regret now is that I only spent one full day and two half days in Hong Kong.

Here are a "few" photos from my brief stay.