4 Reasons to Make Hong Kong Your Next Travel Destination

Jam-packed streets and deserted beaches. Old-world markets amidst neon jungles. Ceaseless energy, but also the stillness of the Buddha. Hong Kong is yin and yang personified – dynamic, often overwhelming, yet surprisingly easy on travellers.

Hong Kong’s sub-tropic climate means summer is hot and humid; getting around is sweaty, adding discomfort to the sensory overload. Spring (March/April) and end autumn (October/November) are kinder months with fresh, breezy days.

City sights

Hong Kong’s high octane energy can be disconcerting, to say the least. The apparent chaos is an illusion; this is a city that functions with extraordinary efficiency and orderliness. Getting around is a dream thanks to a superb public transport system – that includes the MTR (the underground metro), bus services, trams in some parts of the city and ferries. While taxis are aplenty, drivers don’t always oblige; many do not speak English either, so it helps to always keep your name and hotel address written down in Chinese.

For an iconic view of the city, take a tram from Central to Peak Tower, on a hill overlooking Victoria harbour. Visit the wax museum and get photographed with likenesses of Jackie Chan or Michelle Yeoh. Take more great snapshots of the city skyline at Avenue of the Stars*. During the day, this is a delightful place for a stroll; at night, it takes on a whole new avatar, with a fabulous 20-minute sound-and-light show called Symphony of the Stars.

*Please note that Avenue of stars is closed for renovation till the end of 2018.

Wander around Central, Wan Chai, Admiralty or Tsim Sha Tsui districts to feel the city’s pulse beat. Here, shiny office towers poking the sky stand cheek by jowl with gracious, British-era buildings and squat, Chinese tea houses. Marvel at Chinese antiquities in the Museum of Art. Visit Pak Tai, the 18^th century Taoist temple at Wan Chai, Hong Kong’s oldest. Aberdeen, in Hong Kong’s Southern District is popular with visitors for its floating village. Its Jumbo Floating Restaurant, designed like a Chinese palace has hosted clients like Queen Elizabeth II and several Hollywood stars. If you’re visiting on a short break, take a half-day tour that will cover many of these sights.

The great outdoors

 Day tours to Hong Kong’s islands unveil pleasantly surprising contrasts to the main city’s starkly urban ethos. An express ferry takes you to Lantau Island where you’ll see fishing villages on stilts, emerald mountainscapes and serene beaches. Pay your respects to the 111 ft high Giant Buddha and walk through the nearby Po Lin Monastery. Your return, by cable-car down the mountain is both spectacular and memorable for the view over the South China Sea.

Tours to the New Territories give you insights into rural Hong Kong, a world of lush green and colourful village markets. For nature lovers, there’s the 60-hectare Hong Kong Wetland Park, offering a glimpse into the exciting biodiversity of the northwest New Territories. History buffs will enjoy a catamaran ride to Macau, Europe’s oldest colony in the East.

Food, drink and nightlife

Chinese rule since 1997 hasn’t diluted Hong Kong’s cosmopolitanism one bit.   Head to SoHo ( for South of Hollywood Road) and Lang Kwai Fong to explore an astonishing range of international cuisines. Cantonese is the local cuisine, based on fresh ingredients cooked minutes before a meal. Often, those ingredients include unfamiliar animal body parts – watch out, if you’re squeamish. That said, do explore the vast variety of dim sums, meat or vegetable filled steamed dumplings.

Hong Kong at night is another animal. Trawl through glitzy cocktail bars, karaoke joints and nightclubs in Wan Chai, SoHo and Hart Avenue. Another option is a night cruise around the harbour.

Shopping

Hong Kong is no longer the bargain paradise for electronic goods it once was, but shopping is still irresistible. Look for locally designed, value-for-money clothes at Stanley Market; better still, get yourself a custom-made suit. Pick up trendy versions of traditional Chinese cheongsams and no-collar jackets at Shanghai Tang (Pedder Road) or splurge on souvenirs at Nathan Road. The Jade Market has some 400 stalls; if you’re no expert, you can still pick up inexpensive, pretty trinkets.

At Temple Street Night Market, have fun browsing through stalls spilling over with fakes and wondrous herbal cures; the atmospherics come free. Tempting aromas waft in from dai pai dong (street food stalls); when you’ve sated your appetite, check out the fortune-tellers and street performances.

Whether you’ve come for a quick break or a leisurely look-around, Hong Kong never fails to spring delightful surprises.