Hong Kong

Lesley Hyde on 01 September 2009
If there is one worldwide city you have to visit, Hong Kong is it! It certainly does live up to all its hype, and has to be one of the world's most photogenic cities! We absolutely loved it here and would definitely go back.

We stayed for three nights here before spending a few days at Disneyland Hong Kong. We managed to do quite a lot of sight-seeing. One big tip is to buy an "Octopus" card. These are available at any MTR (underground) station and cost HK $150 (approx. £12.00). These are great because they can be used on any public transport, including the ferries, buses, trams, even car parks and some visitor attractions, and saves having to dig about for the correct change all the time. They can even be topped up at any 7/11 store. We had a young child in a pushchair so didn’t use the underground but found we got around Kowloon and Hong Kong Island very easily.

We stayed at the Shangri La Hotel in Kowloon. A great hotel with fantastic views and easy to walk from. The hotel staff were extremely friendly and just a 10 minute walk along the waterfront to the Star Ferry terminal which takes you across to the island. It’s in a good place to wander to Nathan Road and all the shops. Every evening we visited the Avenue of Stars to watch the “Symphony of Lights” - It’s on every night at 8pm and is the world’s biggest sound and light show, a must see in Hong Kong!

We went over to Hong Kong Island via the famous Star Ferry to visit Victoria Peak travelling on the Peak Tram. Once there, you get one of the most famous views in the world, simply breath-taking!

The Tian Tan Buddha is also known as the Big Buddha and you will find it on Lantau Island. This is a large bronze statue and as well as being a major tourist attraction in Hong Kong, it is a centre of Buddhism in Hong Kong. It dominates the skyline and is a beautiful monument.

Hong Kong has more shops and restaurants than you can visit in a year, let alone a week, but we tried to see as many as possible. It really is a shopper’s paradise, and the place has commerce at every corner. Night markets, bird markets, late night food stalls… Take walking shoes, plenty of money, a big dose of patience and a culinary sense of adventure!

We went on to visit Disneyland Hong Kong. It’s not far away from the city and was easy enough to get there in a taxi quite cheaply. There are two onsite hotels at Disneyland and just one Disney Park which was like Magic Kingdom. It’s ideal for little ones but not so many thrill rides, but we had plenty of photo opportunities with Disney characters! The Disneyland hotel was wonderful and we had a few days sunbathing by the pool looking out onto the South China Sea.

My top tip for Hong Kong – It’s worth the extra to upgrade to a Harbour View Room!