Hong Kong
Hi everyone! The big news here (besides China getting rid of presidential term limits and the ouster of the US Secretary of State) is that we went to Hong Kong two weeks ago. You’re in the right place if you want to hear all about it!
Hong Kong is like Taiwan in that it has an interesting, somewhat complex relationship with Mainland China. On the surface, it looks and feels autonomous/independent, but despite open internet and a much more diverse population, in many ways it’s technically under the thumb of the Chinese government. It was a British Colony from the late 1800s until 1997, when it was “returned” to China with a 50 year transition period. Thanks to all those British years, the city drives on the left side of the road and boasts reliable, well-planned and maintained infrastructure. The city is a big financial/banking hub, and is home to a GIANT shipping port. Hong Kong itself is an island, although the city spills into Kowloon on the mainland side of the harbor. The Chinese city of Shenzhen sits right up against the outer limits of Hong Kong, and sometimes shares its pollution (boooo). If you’re not sure where Hong Kong is in relation to Beijing, here’s a map:
We flew down there on a Wednesday night and spent Thursday at Disneyland. It turns out that early March, right after Chinese New Year—when the weather is pleasantly warm and the crowds thin— is the greatest moment of all to visit Hong Kong Disneyland. The longest line we stood in was 20 minutes, and we rode our favorite roller coaster FOUR times. If it weren’t for nausea, we’d still be on it right now. We found the Hong Kong version of Space Mountain to be more intense (almost barfed) and It’s a Small World was just as (ahem) open-minded as I remember, if a little shinier. With no crowds to elbow through, we made it through the park by midday, and did a couple of extra loops for fun (it’s pretty small). The park was incredibly clean, the rides were decent, and we ate reubens with french fries for lunch, like we were in the USA.
The view from our Disney hotel. Yes, we did walk the maze. It was aMAZEing.
Semi sinister photo from Disneyland. Barely any people! So great!
We’re used to beautifully manicured Disney parks, but the flora in Hong Kong was an especially mind-blowing lovechild of Chinese and Disney perfectionism. In my last blog I mentioned that kumquat trees are a popular Chinese New Year decoration, and Disneyland was dotted with them, all squeezed into shape by a painstaking wiring job hidden in the branches of each tree. I don’t know how they get kumquat trees to produce so much fruit to begin with, let alone manage the manpower it would take to get them to hold their perfect shape. My hat is off.
We finished the day with Disney’s Paint the Night Parade, which is all about LED light displays and is super cool. We didn’t take any pictures, so you’ll have to just believe me.
Closeup on kumquat wiring job.
Terrifying animatronic hippo on the Jungle River Cruise.
Stackable log-shaped stuffies from Japan that we found in every Disney gift shop.
Enchanting Disney bathroom. Deserted, clean, equipped with soap.
Disneyland is on Lantau, an island southwest of Hong Kong, right off the mainland coast. It took us about an hour to get from Disneyland into the “Central” neighborhood of the city—a drive that went through the bustling port and gave us killer views of the city’s skyline. Unlike Beijing’s giant sprawl, Hong Kong is tightly packed and towering, built on the sides of a series of mountains. Massive skyscrapers line the shores of Hong Kong and Kowloon, and apartment buildings rise up the slopes behind the island’s main drag. It’s less than one third the size of Beijing (population: 7.4 million), but it feels more crowded thanks to the small amount of space it covers. Our hotel room was pricy and tiny, which is normal for living space in Hong Kong—the real estate market is one of the world’s most expensive. We noticed that elevators are also pretty small, and the restaurant experience seems all about rubbing shoulders with other customers.
Drive by shot of the port.
The view from our hotel room. That's Kowloon across the water.
Towering buildings.
When I say the city is built on the sides of mountains, I mean it’s on a slope. As soon as you walk inland from the shore, the streets get very steep and narrow. There are tons of escalators and steps, and lots of uphill shortcuts to be found—secret indoor elevators for example—to ease the leg strain. We spent a chunk of our first day checking out Hong Kong Park, a very charming green space with an outdoor aviary and zoo. I was worried about seeing the animals (Chinese zoos are rough on the heartstrings), but the birds and animals looked healthy and clean here. After working up a sweat walking up and down hills for a few hours, we got an American meal at a place called “The Diner,” where the servers all spoke nearly native English and the sound track was Phil Collins and Billy Ocean.
Tropical bird on a street sign.
Hidden church.
Wild root action!
Intersection pano.
A dog latrine(!!!) on the street.
Amazing tree in front of a church.
After dark, the city lit up, and we rode up and down a massive vein of outdoor escalators that cut through the city. This made the uphill climb easier on the our thighs and gave us a better view of the hundreds of bars and restaurants we floated past. The foreign population was noticeably bigger than Beijing’s—so many skin tones! We also noticed that people drive FAST, even on tiny streets, and that fancy cars are popular—even more so than in Beijing—especially Teslas. Hong Kongers drive fast, but they also drive more politely than we’re used to. My husband and I both gasped in the back of a cab when the driver waved another car forward. That first night we discovered that although the native language is Cantonese, most people speak some English and Mandarin as well—a fact that really blew my mind. Still trying to learn one extra language over here. We found a Marks and Spencer (British grocery store) and walked through it just to relish the vibe, and continued our cocktailing around town until bedtime.
On the massive escalator network.
Massachusetts' worst ice cream shop finds fame and fortune overseas.
Looking up a street at night.
Looking down a side street.
This negroni was not good, but the backdrop was awesome!
The next morning we took the Star Ferry (since 1888) across the harbor to Kowloon and did some minor walking around. Before this trip, everything I knew about this ferry came from the novel the Mustache by Emmanuel Carrère in which a man shaves his mustache and proceeds to lose his mind when nobody around him notices. He ends up flying to Hong Kong and riding the ferry to and from Kowloon over and over. Anyway, the ferry was super cheap—less than $1 for two round trip tickets—and only took 13 minutes each way. Definitely an affordable, safe pastime for someone in a crisis. It was an intensely foggy morning (fog, not smog!) and the buildings along both shorelines looked ghostly and weird. When we landed we didn’t get a chance to walk further inland and explore the neighborhoods, but did check out a “Time Ball” built in the 1800s by the British. A very fancy retail mall has sprung up around the time ball tower, so we did some window gazing on the way, too. Anyone have an extra $6,000 for that scarf?
Looking at Hong Kong from Kowloon (I think).
The time ball tower.
Fish lanterns and palm trees on the Kowloon shoreline.
In the afternoon we met up with a friend who lives in Hong Kong and went to visit Victoria Peak. Known as “the Peak,” this mountaintop is THE place to go for amazing views of the city. We waited for about an hour to get on the tram, which then took us on a nearly vertical ride up the mountain and spit us out inside a multi-level round shopping mall. We walked up several stories and finally came out on the rooftop viewing platform. The dense fog had not burned off, unfortunately, so we were essentially staring into the belly of a massive cloud. But even the veiled glimpses of the buildings below were breathtaking, and we stared into the mist for about half an hour.
There was a Bubba Gump restaurant (?!) inside the viewing tower mall, so naturally we had a beer there just to experience the weirdness of Forrest Gump decor in Hong Kong. We declined the free Bubba Gump beer glasses we were offered…maybe next time.
The multistory shopping mall/viewing platform.
Looking down at the tram we came up on.
The view from the Peak.
Looking down the other side of the mountain.
That night we went to a Thai restaurant called Samsen, which specializes in Thai street food. We had to wait for a table, but it was worth it. We ordered a shrimp and papaya salad, pad thai, and crab fried rice. Sounds pretty simple, right? Well. It was probably the best food I’ve eaten in forever. It’s hard to pin down why it was so good, but I think perfectly balance spices and fresh fresh produce had a lot to do with it. I sipped a Thai iced tea to offset the spice in everything, and was easily talked into dessert. DESSERT, my friends, was where the magic really happened. We had sticky rice with mango, that was doused in warm coconut milk, plus coconut ice cream with corn and peanuts (what?) both of which were truly delightful. THEN the chef—a nice man who spoke Mandarin, Thai, Cantonese, English, and some Tagalog—gave us a complementary plate of a pandan dessert. These were green balls that sort of resembled small mochi with what seemed to be shredded coconut filling. They were heated up and served to us on a small plate in warm coconut milk. Eating them was an amazing, warm, comforting food experience. DEELISHUS.
Mango and sticky rice.
Coconut ice cream with corn and peanuts.
Amazing pandan dessert with toasted sesame seeds.
With full stomachs we walked around the neighborhood of Wan Chai after dinner. This area was less sleek and business-y than the Central neighborhood, and very charming. This is where we saw more of the food carts and open market stalls that we’re used to in Beijing, alongside super expensive western restaurants and those shiny shiny cars I mentioned earlier. Our friend took us to a small street that was cleverly hidden from view—we walked down a tiny, dark alley that dumped us out in the lights of an inviting lineup of bars and restaurants. We had another cocktail and went home, full to the brim and in love with Hong Kong.
Market in Wan Chai.
Fish anyone? At a market in Wan Chai.
Vegetables for sale in Wan Chai.
Although it’s a small city, having a local to guide us made a huge difference—the number of adorable restaurants and bars, hidden nooks and scenic spots is overwhelming, and a little bit of familiarity is helpful. Hong Kong is the place to go for dim sum (which we didn’t do) Cantonese food, and really just food from the world over. The city’s overall vibe is pretty hip, young, and professional—I did not feel great walking around in a grubby sweatshirt, for example. If you go (and you should), bring your snazziest comfortable wear, an appetite, and all of your money. I would love to go broke living there, although the cramped lifestyle might get old at some point. What an awesome trip.
Much photo cred goes to my husband!
Disturbing artwork