A Late Birthday Trip to Hong Kong

If the third time’s a charm, what’s the fourth? In April I made my fourth trip to Hong Kong—having previously been in 2009 (during Semester at Sea), and twice in 2015. I love visiting new places, so why did I choose to go back, again? Joanna had never been, and the Pearl of the Orient was on her bucket list ever since she came to China over 3 years ago.

Being such a cool and generous guy (wink, wink), I offered to take Joanna to Hong Kong as part of her birthday present. She shares her birthday with Christmas, which is convenient for two reasons: I’ll never forget the date, and I can kill two birds with one stone. Actually it might be a blessing and a curse, since I need to step it up on a doubly important day.

With my friend Justin in
Hong Kong in 2015

Joanna was back home over the holidays, and then I was in India, so we waited until spring semester to take the trip. She was obviously looking forward to it, and for my part, I was also excited. The first time I stayed all of one day, and together my three visits totaled a week. And about that third time a charm thing…the third time I went, with my buddies Mike and Sam, it was Chinese New Year. Great, I thought, we can see the festivities and party it up. Our first night in town, while we stood on Nathan Road waiting for the parade to start, I had a sudden bout of food poisoning (which I caught in the Philippines two days prior). It came too fast to find safety, so I had no choice but to blow chunks of puke all over the sidewalk—and several unlucky onlookers’ shoes. From then on most of my time in Hong Kong was spent in bed.

So long story short, despite visiting three times, I hadn’t seen all that much. Hong Kong, home to just over 7 million people, is one of the largest global financial and trading centers. It is one of the most densely populated places in the world, with hundreds of skyscrapers (according to Wikipedia, 316 skyscrapers, which is either 1^st or 2^nd among all cities, depending on what wiki page you consult!). Despite the density, they city also boasts numerous parks and outlying islands accessible by ferry. Even if I had been out and about more during my previous visits, I’d still have lots more to see.

Our lovely lounge beer

Joanna and I flew from Hangzhou to Hong Kong on the 7^th of April. In true style I booked us business class tickets on Cathay Pacific—through airline miles on British Airways. The trip back was economy, but hey, one out of two ain’t bad!

The lounge in Hangzhou was sparse. We could choose from a couple appetizers, snacks, juices, and water. As for the alcohol there was no choice—we only had one brand of Chinese beer (Cheerday is 3.1%, better than the 2.5% variety, which is common here; compared to the beer in China Bud Light is packed with flavor). The flight itself was better, with a three course meal and complimentary drink. I only wish we had more time…we were in the air for less than 3 hours!

By the time we landed, picked up our bags, hopped on the airport rail link, and reached the city it was after 10 pm, so we simply checked into the hotel, took a short wander around the block, and called it a night. We stayed in Kowloon, which is actually attached to the Chinese mainland. Many people think of Hong Kong simply as an island; the iconic bit is—but the territory is much more than that. Most residents live in Kowloon or the New Territories, which are across the bay from Hong Kong Island. These are separated from the rest of China by a land border (on the other side of that border is the city of Shenzhen).

View of the main island from Victoria Harbor

On Saturday the 8^th we took the metro two stops south to Tsim Sha Tsui station, which is the last stop in Kowloon before crossing over to Hong Kong Island. From Victoria Harbor in Kowloon you can soak in the amazing views of the bay and downtown. Unfortunately the Avenue of Stars, which is modeled on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame, was closed due to construction. Oh well, the only Hong Kong stars I know are Bruce Lee, Jet Lee, and Jackie Chan—the best part is the view.

From the harbor we hopped on a public ferry across the bay, where we docked near the convention center. Joanna and I made our way on foot towards Central, where she had planned to meet up with a family friend. We met Travis, his wife, and baby daughter at a cafe. Travis and his wife both teach at an international school in Hong Kong, although they are heading to Belgium after the spring semester.

Central Hong Kong

After catching up Joanna and I grabbed a quick lunch and trekked up the hilly alleys towards Victoria Peak. Along the way we stopped at the Sun Yat Sen house for an AC break, and stumbled upon an outdoor zoo. I knew Hong Kong was unbearably steamy in the summer, but even in early April the city was already hot. It was the humidity that got to us (especially Joanna—Hong Kong in April might be hotter than England in July!).

By the time we found the Peak tram it was near 4 pm. The line curled around the block and there seemed to be little movement. I wiggled my way up to the front and asked an employee who informed me that the wait was approximately 2 hours!! We weren’t about to wait till sundown, so we decided to try again the next day.

On the way back to our hotel we stopped for a beer at an outdoor screening of the Rugby Sevens. The Sevens is an annual Rugby competition in Hong Kong drawing teams from around the world, and we just happened to be in town the weekend it was on. Joanna’s not much of a rugby fan, so we didn’t actually watch a live game (I’m not either, although it would be cool to see).

After a short rugby and beer stop we continued on to the hotel, showered, changed, and went out for a late dinner. We walked around Kowloon and settled on a restaurant near Temple Street Market. The food was so-so, but we did end up sitting next to two expats who were friendly; one works in Hong Kong and the other in Singapore. We continued with beers at plastic chairs outside the restaurant, where two Brazilians joined us, and before we knew it midnight had long past.

The wait for the Peak Tram (this was the line across the street!)

Oh, and I almost forgot; we stopped at a rooftop bar in Kowloon on
the way back to the hotel. We also went to another on Sunday--the
Ozone Bar, the highest rooftop bar in the world (on the 118th floor!)

On Sunday we made it to the peak tram ticket office earlier in the day—late morning, as I was hungover—and the line was more manageable (it still took us 45 minutes). Joanna and I were true tourists, eating lunch at Bubba Gump Shrimp Co at the top of the peak. After I stabilized my stomach we walked around the peak and then grabbed a cab to Stanley, on the southeast corner of Hong Kong Island.

Despite being overcast the view was worth the trip!

One of the beaches on the south side of the island

Stanley may be on the same island as downtown Hong Kong, but it sure feels different. At Stanley we waded through the water at a sandy beach, strolled along the ocean promenade lined with cafes and restaurants, and enjoyed a drink at a beach-side bar. Along the walk we ran into another one of Joanna’s friends from back home…how random! She works in Hong Kong with her boyfriend—they just moved there earlier this year and are still settling in.

Later that night, after stopping back at the hotel, we went out for dinner in Kowloon and drinks near Central, in an area called Lan Kwai Fong. We’d meant to go the night before, but never made it past the dinner and street-side beers. The 9^th was the last day of the Rugby Sevens, and that night the bars were packed with fans from the tournament. We hadn’t anticipated a late one, but again time seemed to speed by and we didn’t get back till the wee hours of the morning.

Beach in Stanley; Joanna managed to get her noggin in the frame!

The main pier on Lamma island

Our flight departed early evening on Monday April 10^th, so despite the late night we still had half a day to sightsee. Late that morning we took a ferry to Lamma Island, the third largest island in Hong Kong. From Central it was only a 25 minute ferry, but Lamma was a world apart from downtown. The northern end of the island has a village of some 5,000 people, with seafood restaurants, boutique cafes, and small touristy shops.

Lamma Island is a great get-away from the hustle and bustle of the main island, and we noticed expats were living there too. We spent a few hours on Lamma, hiking to a beach in the center of the island and grabbing lunch at a local cafe. In the afternoon we took the ferry back to Central, where we caught the metro to the airport; unfortunately we only had three days in Hong Kong—we had to work on Tuesday!

Beach on Lamma island

View from the ferry back to the city