City impressions
Though it's a typical metropolitan city and I'm used to the way of life in Asian cities, I still felt a little culture shock upon my arrival (and not because of all the Cantonese around me). Stepping off the plane, first thing I noticed is the humidity. Taiwan and Houston rank #1 and #2 respectively in my "Most Humid Places" list, but Hong Kong beat both of them, making me very thankful that I didn't arrive in the summer months because I would literally melt off the road. Second thing that I noticed (actually second and third) is that the buildings are ridiculously high and flat. They're so flat looking that if it was a windy day, I'd be afraid that the building would collapse on me. Someone later explained to me that due to Hong Kong's small size and monopolies over the housing market, housing is ridiculously expensive and apartment sizes very small. A major turn off..I need my space!
But, there are also lots of things that I love about HK. Besides the food and shopping, I love how you can easily switch environments within a matter of a half hour to an hour bus ride. Day trip to the beach, mountains, heck, even China. All in the grasp of your hands. It's really refreshing to be able to get out of the city so easily. Also, the night view of HK is amaaaaazing. A shot I took from the famed Peak:
It's also really interesting to note the extent of influence the UK has on the city. From the red double decker buses to the street names, it all screams London to me, except for the fact that everyone around you is Asian lol. Hence the city has a more distinct Western feeling than other Asian cities. For instance, only in Hong Kong would you see ethnic restaurants (ex. Thai food) being advertised in Thai rather than in Chinese. Despite the Western influence though, try to not use English in Hong Kong. You'll get more help if you speak Chinese.
On to the transportation...
Compared to Taiwan, transportation in HK is more expensive. Fare is calculated by zones, so depending on which zone you get on the bus, your fare could range from 1.7HKD to 15HKD, even if you're just going down a street. Though the subway is very easy to navigate, it didn't cover all the places that we wanted to go. Plus the nearest subway from our accommodation was a 15-20 min walk away, whereas the nearest bus stop was right in front of our apartment.
So, we ended up riding the bus a lot. Buses in HK are quite tricky though. First, there are two types of buses: city buses and minibuses. City buses are alright because there's usually a ticker inside telling you what the next stop is. However, minibuses, you either ask the driver, who may or may not respond, or just get off when everyone else gets off. In addition, not all bus stops are clearly labelled and bus routes are different for opposing directions.
And for my favorite mode of transportation: cable cars! These cars are over a 100 years old. So. Cool. And really cheap! Only 2-3 HKD.
I also learned the hard way that I don't like ferries. Tip: if you easily get motion sickness and have to take the ferry, pick a seat in the middle of the ferry. You won't feel the motion as severely and it will make your trip more bearable.
On to the eating...
Dim sum, congee, egg noodles, seafood, specifically crab, are all must eats! Many dim sum dishes can only be found in HK, not to mention that it's quite cheap. For many HKers, it's like afternoon tea. Like the English, they adore tea too. Unlike the English, they like their tea strong. I got a headache after eating dim sum because of the strong tea. They also have a special Cantonese way of cooking crab that you can only find in Hong Kong. You basically can't go wrong with food in HK.
Reading the menu was an interesting experience too because their naming of foods is so different. For example, 出前一丁, when you translate the Chinese characters into English it loosely means "right before you leave" Reading that on a menu is like "wtf???" until you realize they're referring to instant noodles. Toast there is also called 多士, though it's not the type of crispy toast that we imagine.
On to the shopping...
The night markets for me were disappointing. Most were tourist oriented and sold crappy souvenirs and counterfeit items. The counterfeit items took me by surprise as I haven't seen that in Taiwan for years. It didn't occur to me that these are still very popular. Though doesn't it kind of defeat the purpose of buying name brands? Aaaanyway, that debate is for another day...
Shopping malls are practically at every corner, so feel free to shop till you drop, especially because there are no taxes whatsoever in HK. You'll still want to comparison shop though, as price differences can be quite large.
As for the sightseeing that I did during my stay, I'll let the pictures speak for themselves. My sister is visiting Taiwan soon, so blogging will *hopefully* be more frequent as I crawl out of my hermit and resume tourist activities.
