48 Hours in Hong Kong

There's a lot to be said about a place when you want to sit down and write something about it, but you can't, because it's right there outside your window and there's so much more to explore! Hong Kong is awesome. Spectacular. Pick a superlative, I've run out. The immense scale of the city is at times overwhelming, but at other times, it's as intimate as you could want it.

Contrasts, one of my favorite things to experience and photograph, abound in this incredibly diverse bustling city. I walked for miles this morning, scoping the way to the Victoria Peak Tram. That was easy, but along the way, and on my roundabout way back, I discovered Hong Kong's beautiful and serene Zoological and horticultural gardens, an oasis of calm surrounded by soaring towers of humanity.

That's sort of the magic of Hong Kong; it's everything, it's huge, it's exciting and overwhelming, but it is also full of tranquil escapes and magical moments. It seems to be designed that way. On every street I wandered (in Central, Western District, Lan Kwai Fong, Wan Chai and Admiralty) I came across sitting gardens, small peaceful places through a gate off the sidewalk, where you can sit, take a breather, exercise, meditate, whatever. Also playgrounds, gardens, fountains, it's really just a matter of finding them.

The best part of the walk was discovering Wan Chai Marketplace. A wonderfully vibrant early morning market full of people just buying and selling wares, from live fish to fresh cut meat to housewares, clothing, spices and more. Amazing and beautiful. I hadn't meant to find it, I just walked where larger crowds of commuters and shoppers were coming from clutching bags of produce, it seemed like it might be interesting and it was perfect. It reminded me a lot of San Francisco's Chinatown in the early morning, just people shopping, smiling, going about their day. Every alleyway has a purpose, every nook and cranny in this vast city has a designated purpose, and person, to sit and do what it is they do there - everywhere you turn, there's someone cooking, cleaning, carrying, making, creating, shopping or sleeping!

Taking the ferry or MTR over to Kowloon is a nice diversion. Everything, repeat, everything radiates outward from Central MTR Station, including the ferries, to Macau, Kowloon and beyond. As long as you can find Central, you can pretty much get anywhere you need to go in this city. Kowloon was a bit frustrating, in that I took the train over and ferry back. Ferry was great, should have done that both ways. The MTR train dumps you in yet another gigantic shopping mall train station, just like Central. Unlike Central, however, the entrances I could not find for anything. I circled that place for 25 minutes before finally finding a W Hotel which allowed me to actually leave the mall and reach Kowloon Proper.

Best Bet: Star Ferry from Central Ferry Terminal, grab a taxi from the Kowloon side to the Nathan Road/Temple Street Market area. Amazing hodgepodge of markets, shops and restaurants. There's a big no-man's land construction zone between the ferry and the fun, so best to cab back and forth on the Kowloon side, unless you like circling endless Malls!

I saved my best photo opportunity for last and, unfortunately, the monsoon-like rainstorm that started at noon today did not let up for a minute. After an hour dining and wandering around more endless mall shopping at Victoria Peak, it remained socked in by fog and howling winds, just not the spectacular parting panoramic shot I wanted to complete my Hong Kong visit. I'll have to do that next time.

Speaking of rain, well, once I got back to the Tram Station above the Lan Kwai Fong area (roughly), I discovered that you can use the raised walkways and people movers to pretty much circumnavigate most of the Central, Government House and Admiralty Districts while staying dry. It's amazing. If in doubt, just do like I did, follow people in business suits, they seem to know where they are going. From the vantage point of those raised walkways, I discovered the antiques row and a host of other street markets I might have missed. Fact is, in Hong Kong, when it rains, it pours. I should have invested in an umbrella, because when I ran out of walkways -- on reaching my goal of the taxi stand at Central Station, there were dozens of people queueing and no taxis stopping, seems they just don't want to stop for you when it rains. Period. Odd that. Anyway, I walked back to my hotel again, this time getting soaked to the skin because I ran out of the nice covered walkways about a mile short of the hotel.

Hong Kong has its quirks, and it also has just about everything for everyone. There's are remnants of Colonial Hong Kong, mostly architectural, but there's a wonderful history, and a touch of romance to the place too, the sort of place I'd love to see old photographs of and read about raucous seaport days gone by. Hong Kong also has a lot of what westerners are used to, particularly 7/11 convenience stores, they seem to be everywhere, as well as McDonalds and Burger King. Can't help that I suppose, all these seemed constantly busy. I chose to eat out in the Lan Kwai Fong area, a tightly grouped area of restaurants and bars of all types and all the cuisine choices you could imagine. I also took advantage of the hotel's executive lounge breakfast each day, really a good and convenient start to get you going in the morning!

Which brings me to rating the hotel. Excellent place, great executive lounge service, fantastic rooms, very helpful staff, but the location is just far enough from Central to make you dependent on taxis or organized transportation. I like walking, but there's really not much of interest on the way to the Courtyard Marriott, particularly along Connaught Road. So, it drops in my rating system to less than perfect.

Best Bet: pick a hotel located in Central District. If it's within 5 minutes of Central Station, you can't go wrong for location convenience. Another note about Central Station, it's the size of your average American shopping mall - at least a dozen city blocks in a few directions, so reaching an entrance marked MTR Central, may seem like you've reached your goal, but, as I found, I had ten more minutes to walk to find the platform I needed! Further note on the hotel: They do offer a free shuttle to Central and Wan Chai on the hour from 7:30 am - 4 pm weekdays - and they also provide free umbrellas, if you remember to take one!

I know in my notes here, I haven't really conveyed a real sense of the scale of this immense city. My slice of life snapshots have certainly given a feel for life in Hong Kong, but it's the sheer scale that really impresses, and my one opportunity to get that shot from Victoria Peak was rained off! So, to describe it a little more, Hong Kong and it's outlying Islands is home to dozens of huge cities, including Hong Kong, Kowloon, Mongkok and more, each the size of an average American City, but each densely populated in high rises, nothing, it seems, below 30 stories! Put Portland, Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego (maybe even Chicago, too!) onto a few small Islands and you get a sense of what I'm talking about. That doesn't even take into account the vast container port that sprawls from near the airport on Lantau Island all the way to downtown Hong Kong and Kowloon.

Hong Kong likes things big, it likes to hide cool things behind dramatically tall and sleek modern towers, and down inconspicuous alleyways. It likes to surprise you, entertain you, remind you of Blade Runner (it has to be said!), and provide an unique sense of history and moment. I'm not sure if I can explain what I mean there. There's things here that haven't changed since the colony was established. There are sights and sounds here you'll never experience anywhere else in the world. Despite the amount of similarities with Chinatowns you may have seen around the world, Hong Kong is an original, it is a wonderful contrast of old, new, boldy modern and traditional. I can't imagine that the tour buses can really reveal the true Hong Kong. Like me, you have to stumble upon it, get lost in it, and discover new things, and amazing places everytime you set foot out of the door!

PARTING SHOT:

Well, it's not the shot I wanted from Victoria Peak, but it does show a little of the scale of the place!