My Weekend In Hong Kong
Hong Kong was never really on my bucket list
No particular reason, it just wasn't
UNTIL... it was
Friends of mine from work, Bobby and Claudia, moved to Hong Kong a few months ago to grow the new office there. Creating the perfect opportunity to see some familiar faces on the other side of the world, and a now reason to visit Hong Kong! A country I may not have put on my radar myself, another reason I love how unpredictable life and travel can be.
I left Vietnam to head to Hong Kong for a long weekend. It is beautiful how life works. Last time I was in the same room with these two it was the day they first met. Fast forward and they are together, living in HK, and I am their first visitor. The kind of thing you cannot predict, a beautiful reminder how life and love works in mysterious ways.
What is Hong Kong like?
Under absolutely no circumstance was I able to answer that question before I stepped foot into Hong Kong.
I had never given the city much thought. To me I assumed (ugh something you should never do) it would be too much madness or very foreign, maybe hard to navigate.
It was none of those things.
Amaze public transportation
A big city, but smaller than I thought. It was SUPER easy to navigate. A high-speed train had me from the airport to the city center in like 25 minutes. The subway was SO frequent, never more than 2ish minutes for the next train. I thought the subway would be a mess, but people actually queue up and get on in an orderly fashion. Hong Kong had a TON of people, don't get me wrong, but it was very organized. I never felt overwhelmed. Busses and trams were all over, and they were all double-decker which I did not expect! Cabs or mini busses got you anywhere the other methods could not. All very affordable as well. (The rest of everything in the city is very expensive though)
Clean but gritty
I thought Hong Kong would be pretty dirty. Nope, the subways and streets were very clean. The city was clean, but it did not sparkle like a Singapore. It had grit, mixes of old-looking run down buildings and super modern ones. Cool street art, some dark narrow ally ways, and fancy cafes. Counter service drink and food stands, but also nice markets. It contrasted a lot and I liked that. It had a very NYC feel to it.. but warmer with Asian flare.
Western Influence
I should not have been, but I was surprised at how Western it is. It is a super foodie city with restaurants of all backgrounds everywhere you go! A lot of western style cafes and stores, but mixed with Chinese culture and food as well. You could get any type of style you wanted here. The Western influence also applied to the people here. There was more of an awareness than I anticipated. No one was bumping into me, or invading my space. I think these things were key factors in never feeling overwhelmed by Hong Kong like I had originally assumed.*Hong Kong is technically part of China. The entire territory was returned to China in 1997. However, China has agreed to give the territory a high degree of autonomy. Therefore Hong Kong's system of government is separate from that of mainland China and its people overwhelmingly identify as Hongkongers rather than Chinese. aka they are quick to inform you they are 'not China.'
Weather & Hiking
 My favorite part of Hong Kong, was how active you could be with in the city. Hong Kong is not just a concrete jungle, it is very green, so many parks! Almost 40% of HK is protected parks, a 20 minute ride from the city center will give you numerous hiking options. Mountains, coast, beaches, greenery. Forever I have been wondering if there is any cool city in the world with all the convenience of a big city mixed with accessible ocean, nature, hiking, and a great food scene. Hong Kong is now the leader in this category for me!
Easy Living
Everything just seemed easy. Credit cards are accepted everywhere. Convenience stores that do everything are everywhere you go. Getting by on English was never a problem. Everything you needed was always in reach. And... weather. Hong Kong has a warm climate year round. No freezing winter here!
I was only in Hong Kong a few days, but that was all it took to love and appreciate Hong Kong.
Bobby and Claudia did an amazing job of showing me around the city. With them being so new, we did a few things they had never done before which was awesome! Here are a few great things to do in Hong Kong for a weekend, and some of my highlights!
Victoria Peak
Aka 'The Peak.' The highest hill on Hong Kong Island with a killer view. The entrance to start the hike was RIGHT behind their apartment, a testament to all of the hiking within the city.
Mong Kok & Jordan
This was the 'quintessential' Hong Kong I had envisioned in my head. Rows and rows of flashing lights, tall buildings, street food, and night markets. The Mong Kok and Jordan area definitely have a more local feel, no western amenities. Located just off the island portion of Hong Kong, it is easy to get too with the subway and definitely worth it. We shopped at the Temple Street and Ladies markets, tried the famous HK egg waffle, and ate some local food in a packed outdoor restaurant.
Skyline at night After seeing a skyline view during the day I knew I had to see it at night too. We took the ferry just off the island to catch the skyline light up during the daily light show. Stunning and so colorful!
Dim Sum
Dim sum is a style of Cantonese cuisine prepared as small bite-sized portions of food served in small steamer baskets or on a small plate. We went to a fancy dim sum restaurant and it was a ton of fun... and interesting! Still not fully sure what I ate...
*Cantonese is a variety of Chinese spoken in Hong Kong. Everything local is in Cantonese making it the only variety of Chinese other than Mandarin to be used as an official language in the world.
Food in general
We went to so many cool restaurants. Each very well thought out with a lot of detail in the atmosphere. Couldn't tell you where we went but it was delicious and there seemed to be an abundance of tasty restaurants.
Wandering the streets
My favorite thing to do anywhere I go. Just start walking and see what I find...
Big shout out to Bobby and Claudia for welcoming me into their home and showing me a fab time.
It is a weekend I will never forget.. thank you!
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