Hong Kong: Chinese, Chinese and more Chinese...part III

by Bobo

OK, Hong Kong is the place where malls are everywhere and shopping can be considered a national Olympic sport. There are however plenty of places worth seeing (yet if anyone keeps willing to be part of he shopping marathon, all of them are full of shops so that sightseeing can be easily combined with famous brand stores and fake markets).

One of them not to miss is Victoria Peak. You can get there either by tram (the Peak Tram – but you need infinite patience…some two hour queue may cut your enthusiasm), either by bus or…a taxi. I personally got there by chance: the visit was scheduled for another day, but getting to the world’s largest escalator (a network of escalators 800 meters long – the world’s longest of which I had been reading about in the Lonely Planet guide) I said to myself…let’s see where it gets. And when I got up (up meaning the end of the escalator – which was anyway finishing kind of suddenly and a bit wacky) I could see The Peak indicators. As we are not the greatest action guys in the world, in order to come down 800m (on normal stairs, this time, the difference between start and end being 135m) we decided to see the so greatly advertised peak. On a sign there was written you could get there on foot or by taking a cab, but it seemed like they have forgotten to mention… the direction to follow. The taxi to the peak was written to be around 20 HK dollars but no one could tell us (or could understand what we wanted) in which direction we had to go… so we said ‘to the taxi’ to ourselves (2 euro didn’t seem like such a big deal). Only that the taxi, instead of 20 HK dollars cost us 50… but that is another story to be told.

When we have finally reached the top, as it was the second day of the Chinese New Year, the crowd was even bigger than in the shops. The view however is worth every penny. And I am not just figurately speaking: in order to get to the terrace where from you and see the whole city of Hong Kong, you need to pay another 10 HKD per person (the terrace obviously being at the top of a mall). But the view from up there is spectacular: sky-scrappers cramped into each other, the green covering the mountains, the ocean blue… and, unfortunately, the omnipresent smog grey dominating the entire landscape.

As it is trying to become a city as cosmopolitan as possible, Hong Kong has had for a few years (about 5 or so) a Disneyland park. For someone like me, who has grown up with Donald and Goofy, the Disneyland was on top of the things I wanted to see in HK. It is pretty easy to reach. Located on the island of Lantau (where the airport and the giant Buddha statue are also located) it has its own subway station. However, the park was… disappointing. Compared to the one in Paris, it seemed a lot smaller and far more… crowded. Ok, ok, it is located in Hong Kong and it was normal to be crowded (especially as it was the third day of the New Year) but… not like that. Anyway, if the Disney stories have still an effect upon you, the park is still worth paying a visit.

You must not miss a ferry journey in Hong Kong. It is anyway difficult to miss as it is the most accessible and cheap way to cross from the continent to the island and backwards. And the Star Ferry Company (one of the ferry operators) is the oldest in Hong Kong… since 1880s.  And their ferries are a piece of history… the one I’ve first travelled with dated from 1931… fortunately the ocean was calm enough so I didn’t have to ask myself about the safety of the vessels built in the 30s. You can take a daytime or a night time cruise. They are both worth as the view you get from the ocean is unique. If the money is a problem… a simple crossing does the job: it only costs 2.5 HKD (about 25 cents) and my advice is to take a day time journey first and a return at night time… in this way you get to kill two birds with one stone.

From Hong Kong it is easy to get to Macao. A one-hour ferry ride and you are there. A city that is extremely different from Hong Kong (maybe because it used to be a Portuguese colony and the streets still have names like ‘avenida’ written on the same blue ceramic tiles as you can see them in Lisbon) where gambling is at home. It is actually the only place in China where casinos are legal and where the Chinese come to ‘invest’ their savings in roulette and other games (which would normally get you bankrupt… yet they see them as an investment… that is rarely getting them any profit).

It is a city full of color (especially gold) and with hotels that catch the view by various peculiar forms. It is a city that (from my point of view) can be visited in a single day – this only if, of course, you don’t have any money to drop at the green table.

In the case you want to escape from the Romanian cold and plan a winter time journey, you should check the Chinese New Year date and try spending it in Hong Kong. The festivities last for 3 days and the second day fireworks are a spectacular thing: they last for 26 minutes and leave you with your mouth open. Along with the fireworks there is a light festival in Tsim Sha Tsui, parades and many, many other things. Nevertheless, the majority of bars and restaurants add a 10% tax to their prices for those party days and nights (their characteristic way to party – do not imagine terrace outings and crowded clubs – in the old days it used to be a family party, in restaurants or meetings with friends… now the party is with the credit card in your hand filling the wardrobe with whatever you do not need).

The most fascinating objective is, however, Hong Kong. Anywhere you were and anywhere you looked the view was another. Two things remained however constant: the sky scrappers and the crowd. In spite of all these, it still remains a fascinating city worth to be seen by anyone.