Hong Kong, China

Summary

We spent four days in the huge metropolis of Hong Kong, China.  Although Hong Kong is officially part of China, it is very different than the rest of China.   Hong Kong is a very modern, wealthy, ultra-dense city, with nonstop buildings, but it still has some great natural areas, as well as 100's of less crowded nearby islands.  On our first night in Hong Kong we explored its energetic club scene with our friend from the Palace On Wheels tour (until 4 AM!).  Except for the heat and humidity this time of year, and the high expense of existing in Hong Kong, we enjoyed it. 

Facts

Currency: Hong Kong dollar (hk$7.9:US$1)

Language: English, Chinese

Population: 7M 

Internet connection speed: 28.8 bps (available everywhere)

English speaking TV channels (in hotel): 7

Religion: 90% 'local' religions, 10% Christian

Time difference:GMT +8:00 (12:00 hours ahead of Atlanta)

Driving lane: left side

Temperature: 85°F (feels like 96°F, according to weather.com)

Detail

We knew that going to Hong Kong would not have us experiencing 'real China', but we had already decided to skip the rest of China, so it was the closest we would get.  Pursuant to an agreement signed by China and the UK in 1984, Hong Kong became the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) of China in 1997.  In this agreement, China has promised that, under its "one country, two systems" formula, China's socialist economic system will not be practiced in Hong Kong and that Hong Kong will enjoy a high degree of autonomy in all matters except foreign and defense affairs for the next 50 years.  It is clear that Hong Kong, and especially Hong Kong Island, has experienced many years of prosperity.  There are more skyscrapers than you can imagine.  We were told that Hong Kong has the densest population in the world.  We believe it given the huge number of massive buildings, but Hong Kong also has some land that is not developed.

We found Hong Kong to be very expensive, especially relative to the rest of Asia.  Even though the exchange rate was about 8:1 HKD:US, we still paid US$40-70 for meals, and at least US$300 in taxis.  Fortunately, we did get great deals on our hotel rooms.

Geographically, the New Territories and Kowloon section of Hong Kong border mainland China.  Hong Kong Island is the main, and most densely populated island, although there are hundreds of other islands.  We visited Kowloon, and Lamma Island, but spent most of our time on Hong Kong Island.  The ferry system between the islands and with the mainland is very efficient, and we had no problem using it well.

Hong Kong Island

Hong Kong Island has lots of hills and several peaks.  Many of the roads loop up tens of feet to multiple levels, and result in maximum efficiency in travel in such a confined space.  We were quite happy to not drive in the town.  It seems that most people take taxis, trains or buses, given the relatively low number of personal cars on the road.

The Peak

The main peak on the Hong Kong Island, Victoria Peak, provides a great view of the skyline, harbor, and Kowloon.  On our second day in Hong Kong,  we had lunch at the peak, and then walked the many trails around the peak.  From these trails, we experienced great views of the tree-filled, less developed portion of Hong Kong Island, the hundreds of ships all around the harbor, as well as other islands.  We figured that we could walk the 3 hour trail to the bottom of the peak and take a taxi back to the hotel.  After we got to the bottom in about 90 minutes, we could not figure out how we could get to the main road from the wooded area -- there was a large reservoir in the way.  So we walked all the way back up to the peak.  Super tired, hot, and soaked through with sweat we caught a cab back to the hotel.