Country #1 is in the books! We ran through Hong Kong in less than 24 hours through a protracted stopover from Cathay Pacific. Let me first say this airline is pretty awesome. Huge plane (777), easy onboard/offboard process, plenty of leg room in coach, solid in-flight entertainment selection, and good, if not spectacular, in-flight meals.
After a quick 16 hour flight, we arrived in Hong Kong at 7:00 pm local time. The airport is huge, very clean, and processed us through immigration in less than 30 minutes. We then found the airport express train to transport us to downtown Hong Kong. By far the cleanest, smoothest train I've ever been on, and it only cost about $12 per person. A pretty strong theme with Hong Kong that the public transportation is top notch. I'll go out on a limb and argue it's the best in the world that I've experienced outside of SEPTA (finally accepting credit cards and transitioning away from tokens, summer of 2016!) I'll ask some of the more experienced travelers to weigh in here.
Once we arrived in downtown Hong Kong and made our way to the transfer station, I was further impressed by the signage and ease of use of the system. The trains come frequently, on time, and are very well explained in Chinese and English (thanks Britain!) We then got off at our stop, wandered around lost like idiots/tourists for 20 minutes and finally reached our hotel which should have been a 5 minute walk. I normally wouldn't have minded exploring a new city, but with giant packs strapped to our backs and stifling humidity even at 9pm, it wasn't the most pleasant experience. I had heard that the Sheratons abroad are much nicer than back home and that is absolutely the case in Hong Kong. This is a 5-star hotel, beautifully designed with a modern look and appeal. It also didn't hurt that they upgraded us to a deluxe suite and gave us free breakfast at their massive morning smorgasbord. I'm really going to miss Platinum status next year.
After freshening up, we decided to go out for a late dinner. Both Rachel and I wanted to eat some authentic Chinese food, so we asked the concierge where we should go. After explaining to him that we didn't want a hamburger (he seemed confused by this), he directed us to a "great Chinese food place," near the hotel called Tsui Wah. We took the quick stroll over (got lost again), and sat down at what can only be described as a Chinese diner. The menu was 20 pages long, the food came fast, and it wasn't very good. In fairness though, Rachel did enjoy her meal.
After leaving Denny's of China, we walked back towards the hotel, a 3 minute walk, and were offered drugs, watches, and/or cologne 8 different times. There are tons of sketchy people along Nathan Rd. hawking counterfeit items and drugs...but only to young, white people. For the most part, they ignore the locals or anyone who looks Chinese, but I might as well have been wearing a sign that read "Looking for drugs, please inquire." It felt a bit like Las Ramblas in Barcelona without the prostitutes.
Even though it was pushing midnight, the 12 hour time difference gave us plenty of energy to explore the city. The first stop was the famed Hong Kong skyline which when viewed from Kowloon, is pretty damn impressive. There's a walkway along the water that offers incredible vantage points of the skyline which while not as deep as NYC's, dwarfs its counterpart to the west in terms of length. We snapped a few pictures and then walked along to find the Avenue of the Stars, where Bruce Lee's statue sits, but it is unfortunately closed for the next 3 years due to renovations. I curbed my desire to go all Clark Griswold on the moose in front of the walk, and instead turned around to find some live music by the water. We then headed back to the hotel, grabbed a drink at the hotel's rooftop bar, and stared at the beautiful skyline as we toasted to the hope of a great trip.
Even with the 12 hour time difference, we were still able to sleep about 4-5 hours on our first night which was enough to pretty much regulate our sleep schedule and get us off jet lag. We had a massive breakfast at the Sheraton's impressive buffet and then got the day started. First stop - Victoria Peak which is one of the highest peaks 428 meters above sea level) on Hong Kong island which is very hilly and mountainous, similar to some of the islands in Hawaii. You have to take a tram car up to the top, and when you're one of the last on the car like we were, you need to stand and the ride up is steep. Amazing views of all of the islands of Hong Kong, the skyline, and the South China Sea with a "mall" up at the top.
After finishing up at Victoria Peak, we headed back downtown and found the temporary Avenue of the Stars and its popular Bruce Lee statue. I'd equate this to the Rocky statue in Philly as everyone who takes a picture in front of it makes a stupid karate pose, no one worse than me. After that, it was time to go.
Overall, Hong Kong was a solid day trip. Great public transportation, warm weather, and some beautiful sites. I wouldn't recommend it as a destination on its own, but would absolutely recommend a 1-2 day trip on your way through Asia.
Some other random observations:
- The British effect on the island is stark (Britain ruled Hong Kong for almost 150 years through 1997). The street signs, names, and design, pedestrian warnings, underground announcements ("Mind the Gap") and double decker buses transport you immediately to London. It's literally as if someone took a Chinese paintbrush to London and out popped Hong Kong. However, it appears there are very few Brits remaining in Hong Kong. Most of the ones I saw were undoubtedly tourists.
- Hong Kong loves the NBA. I saw a ton of apparel all over the city, with the Lakers serving as the vanguard due to the "Kobe effect."
- The people are short! I was the tallest person in a crowded elevator for the first time ever, and whenever you looked around a crowded area, the tall people were almost always white.
Next up: The Philippines
