[The trip was made before the outbreak of Covid-19. Please give first priority to your health and safety and kindly follow the restrictions and guidelines issued by the authorities.]
Hong Kong
known as Asia’s world city is one of the most futuristic cities in the world with
a spectacular skyline. Hong Kong was a British colony until 1997. It is a
melting pot of cultures from the east (Chinese) and the west (British). It is
one of the most prominent financial centers in the world. It is an autonomous
special administrative region having its own legal system, language, currency,
and passport. Hong Kong has a highly developed transport network comprising of
metros, trams, ferries, buses and taxis, some of which apart from
transportation are tourist attraction itself. More than 90% of the commuters
use public transport, which is the highest rate in the world. The towering
laser lit skyscrapers of Hong Kong had caught my attention since my childhood
days. While my wife and I were planning where to schedule our next trip, Hong
Kong was the first place that came to my mind. Singapore was another choice. But
we finally decided to visit Hong Kong and also to club it with the neighboring
Macau. Our trip comprised of 5 days in Hong Kong and 1 day in Macau. We took a connection flight from Cochin via
Kuala Lumpur to reach Hong Kong. We landed in the afternoon. Hong Kong has a
massive airport which was voted as the best airport in the world by Skytrax for
8 years. The airport transfer was swift. We stayed at Harbour Plaza North Point
hotel which though is well connected, was slightly away from the center. The hotel lobby was beautiful and elegant. Our check
in process was quick and we were handed over the keys to our room. Our room
which was on the 13th floor was a bit small when compared to the
other places where we have stayed. Hong Kong is one of the most densely
populated places in the world. Hence the average size of the hotels and
apartments are generally smaller. But our personal highlight was the harbor
view from our room which was incredible.
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Our hotel corridor
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Harbour view from our room
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After relaxing a bit, we set out for
our first destination. But what happened next gave us a big shock. Our travel card
got stuck in the ATM and hence we were unable to withdraw money. We had planned to have afternoon tea at the
Peninsula hotel and also visit the street market that day. But the remaining
part of the day went by trying to get this issue solved and all our plans for
the evening got disrupted. On the second day we went to the restaurant for
breakfast. The restaurant ambiance was very inviting and had a vast array of
dishes for breakfast. After having the delicious buffet breakfast at our hotel,
we visited the Peninsula hotel where we missed the opportunity of
having afternoon tea yesterday. So we took the metro and went to the Peninsula
hotel. After a walk around, we hired a taxi and went to SKY 100 observatory deck located
in the 100th floor of the ICC tower which is the tallest building in
Hong Kong with 118 floors. The ascension from the ground floor to the 100th
floor was a great experience which hardly took a minute. The bird’s eye view from the 100th floor was
simply amazing. You will find a lot of high rise buildings in Hong Kong. Hong
Kong also has the distinction of having the highest number of skyscrapers in
the world.
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View from SKY 100 (100th floor)
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View from SKY 100 (100th floor)
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After
spending about an hour there, we visited the Elements mall which is a part of
the ICC building. Hong Kong is a shopper’s paradise. The shopping options vary
from local street markets to the high end shopping malls. After this we had visited few banks and to
our much relief we were finally able to withdraw money using our alternate ATM
card. I had earlier made a reservation for lunch at the Four Seasons hotel. Unfortunately
we ran short of time trying to get the travel card issue sorted out and had to
cancel the reservation. We then went
back to our hotel. After relaxing for a while, our tour operator picked us up from
our hotel and took us for the jewelry city visit which was a mandatory part of
the tour package. It was a waste of time as we had no intention of buying any
jewelry. After that we headed towards
the Victoria peak, which is a mountain at an altitude of 552 meters. It is the
highest point in Hong Kong, where you can get beautiful views of the city. It was even higher than SKY 100 observatory
deck we just visited. There is a uniquely constructed viewing platform SKY
Terrace 428 on the Victoria peak that offers a gorgeous panoramic view of the Hong
Kong skyline and its harbor. But we didn’t get a clear view of the harbor as it was fog. Though we visited when there was day light, the view in
the evening/night when all the buildings are lit up is breathtaking.
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View from SKY Terrace 428 (428 metres above sea level)
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After
enjoying the beautiful view, we visited Madame Tussauds wax museum. We were
really excited to see life size sculptures of sports persons , film stars,
politicians, etc. which were made to perfection. We had a great time clicking
pictures with our favorite stars.
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Madame Tussauds
Madame Tussauds
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Our return
journey from the Peak was via the 18th century red funicular tram.
The view during the journey was fascinating especially due to the steep slope, because
of which the buildings appeared to be slanting. It was an exciting journey.
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Peak Tram (18th century)
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Our next
destination was Tsim Sha Tsui promenade which gives the best view of the Hong Kong skyline,
for which we took the ferry ride. The
ferry known as star ferry is an iconic part of the cityscape which offers beautiful
views of the well-lit skyscrapers of Hong Kong. The cool breeze enabled us to
enjoy the ride to the fullest. On
reaching the harbor, we had warm and tasty Indian Samosas and tea arranged by
our tour company. A light and sound show
known as the “Symphony of Lights” which is the world’s largest permanent light
and sound show is played every day at 8:00 pm. Laser lights along with music
from about 40 buildings across the harbor are exhibited which along with
ferries moving across the harbor transforms the Hong Kong skyline into a spectacle
and has become the signature icon of Hong Kong. Some of the most notable
buildings are the Two International finance centre tower, Bank of China tower,
HSBC bank and Central Plaza. We need to reach the promenade early to get our
spot as it gets crowded for the show. The show was mesmerizing, but I felt that it was a bit over rated.
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| Hong Kong Skyline |
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| Symphony of Lights (music & laser light show) |
After this,
we visited MongKok which is the busiest district in the world. It is the best
place to experience the bustling Hong Kong street life. The streets are crowded
and are filled with neon lit boards, eatery points and shops.
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MongKok (Street life)
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MongKok (street life)
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The main
attraction here is the ladies market which is a vibrant street market in Hong
Kong selling inexpensive buys like clothes, accessories, souvenirs etc. Though it is named as ladies market, there
are clothes and accessories available for men as well. You have to use your bargaining skills at the
shops to get the best price. After that we decided to have dinner and went hoping through various eatery points.
Hong Kong is a foodie’s paradise and is distinguished as the culinary capital
of Asia. Hong Kong has an incredible food scene ranging from street food to a
huge number of Michelin star restaurants. We finally decided to have dinner at
a Japanese restaurant.
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Tofu
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| Japanese cuisine |
We didn’t enjoy the Japanese cuisine much. After having dinner we took the metro
and headed back to our hotel. Hong Kong has a well-connected metro which is
very convenient to use. The discipline maintained in the metro stations were
impressive, where while travelling on the escalators, everyone queues up on the
right side while leaving the left side unobstructed for those who would like to
speed up and make their way through.
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Metro escalator
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Inside the metro
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Next day
after having breakfast at our hotel, we went to the much awaited Disneyland. It is a theme park covering an area of 68
acres. As we got inside the theme park, we started getting nostalgic of our
childhood memories. Many of the cartoon
characters we saw during our childhood days were seen as real life characters
and sculptures. The theme park consists of seven magic lands; Main Street USA,
Adventure land, Fantasyland, Tomorrow land, Toy Story land, Grizzly Gulch and
mystic point which are based on various themes. It is not possible to cover all
the rides without a proper planning. Thanks to my wife who did a proper
research and sorted out the rides and the sequence in which they are to be
covered. The park was very musical and fun filled with lots of rides and shows.
Some of the best rides were Grizzly Mountain runaway mine cars, RC racer,
Jungle River cruise, festival of Lion king, mystic manor, the many adventures
of Winnie the Pooh and hyperspace mountain. The most exciting part of
Disneyland is the ‘paint the night parade’ which is a half an hour night time
parade where Disney characters dance to the most popular tunes which is truly a nostalgic experience. We need to grab
our spot in advance as the main street gets crowded with people across both
sides of the street to view the parade. It was indeed a joy to see all the
Disney cartoon characters and we cherished every moment of it. Visiting
Disneyland is one of the best things to do in Hong Kong.
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Disneyland
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Festival of Lion King in Disneyland
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Next day we
visited the Ocean Park, a sea themed park that features an amusement park, Animal
Park and a Marine Park. The entire park is divided into 2 sections – The summit
and Waterfront. The summit is at the top of a mountain and not at walking
distance from the waterfront which is next to the entrance. The summit can be
reached either by a cable car or a funicular express train. We decided to visit the summit first. We took
the express train to reach the summit. The journey in the express train was an
entertaining one. The futuristic express train is designed in the form of a
submarine with the interiors consisting of screens on the top showing videos of
marine life giving the feeling of travelling under sea. After reaching the summit we got on the ocean
park tower observatory deck which rotates 360 degrees while ascending and
descending the 72 meter high tower. The panoramic
view was amazing. We went on the mine train which is a VR roller coaster.
It was a thrilling experience. We also went on the raging river ride, which has
a significant drop at the end which was really cool. We didn’t try out too much
of thrill rides as we had already got on several thrill rides in Disneyland
yesterday. Then we headed to the
aquarium where there several varieties of colorful fishes including gigantic
sharks. Inside the aquarium, there is a
tunnel which gives a spectacular 180 degree view of the aquarium. We also saw
the sea jelly spectacular where there were several sea jelly exhibits. After
that we visited the polar adventure where we saw penguins and sea lions. Then
we headed back to the summit via the cable car. It was a 15 minutes journey
which gave breathtaking views of the entire park. On reaching the summit, we visited the old
Hong Kong which is a stretch resembling the old Hong Kong. We clicked few
pictures and then headed to the animal zone where we saw the famous Australian
Koala and red panda. After that we visited the grand aquarium where there were
several species of fishes including rays. We left Ocean Park by 3 pm as we
decided to go for the afternoon tea in Peninsula hotel which we had missed out
earlier and also to do some street market shopping.
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Grand Aquarium at Ocean Park
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Sea lion at Ocean Park
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We took the
metro and went to the iconic Peninsula Hotel known as the Grande dame of the
Far East which opened in 1928. It is the only hotel brand to receive Forbes
Travel Guide Five-Star rating for every hotel in its portfolio. The Peninsula Hong Kong is the brand’s
flagship property. We went there for their much famed tradition of afternoon
tea. It is a British tradition from its
colonial period that takes place every day in the hotel lobby. The hotel is also famous for their fleet of
14 green signature Rolls Royce cars though we saw only one.
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Peninsula Hotel
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| Signature green Rolls Royce of Peninsula Hotel |
The hotel
exudes opulence right from the white gloved door man to its gilded high
ceilings. The queue for the afternoon tea can be really long and the waiting
time for a table can take up to 2 hours. We were lucky enough to get our table
in about 20 minutes. The beautifully arranged cutleries to the live classical
music played from the balcony were a great delight. The afternoon tea included
sandwiches, pastries, scones and desserts. The afternoon tea, though bit pricey
was a great experience and is a must do thing in Hong Kong.
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Peninsula Hotel Lobby
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Afternoon Tea at Peninsula Hotel
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Another interesting
highlight was the uniquely designed ultra-contemporary public restroom on the
28th floor of the Peninsula hotel. The washbasin was a table sized
marble platform with several sensor motioned water outlets in different twisted
designs. The urinals of the restroom are located in front of the floor to ceiling windows
overlooking the city.
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| Wash-basin at Peninsula Hotel |
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| Wash-basin at Peninsula Hotel |
After that we
headed back to Mongkok for shopping in the ladies market as we had only done window
shopping during our previous visit. We
did manage to get few things at a good bargain price. For dinner we tried out a
Cantonese cuisine which was delicious. After that we took a ride in the famous
tram. The Hong Kong tram popularly known as ‘ding ding’ is a double decked
iconic transportation mode dating back to 1900s which has become the symbol of
Hong Kong. It was a great experience travelling in the tram. Next day after
having breakfast, we checked out from out hotel and set sail to Macau. Special mention about our
hotel concierges who were very knowledgeable and helpful. One of the concierges was
also a member of the Les Clef d’Or. We hired a taxi to reach the Hong Kong
ferry terminal. Hong Kong has an excellent network of taxis. The most common taxi
is the red color 1995 model Toyota Comfort Crown which has become a legendary
part of the landscape.
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Ding ding (Tram)
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Toyota Comfort Crown Taxi
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Macau is an
hour’s journey by ferry from Hong Kong. We traveled in the Cotai water jet
ferry which is a premium high speed ferry having flight like interiors.
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Inside the Cotai Water Jet Ferry
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Inside the Cotai Water Jet Ferry
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Macau was a former Portuguese colony until 1999. It is an autonomous special administrative region having its own legal system, language, currency, and passport. It has nice blend of the Chinese and Portuguese cultures. Macau known
as the Las Vegas of Asia is one of the world’s most luxurious destinations with
a wide range of lavish five star hotels housing luxurious shopping malls,
casinos and a flourishing fine dining scene. Free shuttle bus services are provided by big
hotels. And the best part of it is that
you don’t have to be their guest to avail the bus services. The intention of
such hotels is to get you closer to their casinos. After arriving at the Macau ferry terminal,
we boarded our hotel bus and went to our hotel. In Macau we stayed at the
Sheraton hotel. The hotel lobby was massive and opulent. As our check in time
was only in the afternoon, we left our luggage at the luggage counter and
headed out. We decided to visit the old Macau (Macau Peninsula) in the morning
and to explore the modern glitzy side of Macau (Cotai) in the evening. We took a cab and headed to the Ruins at St
Paul Church, a UNESCO World Heritage site. It is a Church built by the
Portuguese in the 16th Century which was destroyed due to fire and only the
facade remains. Near the church is the Senado Square, a beautiful town square which
is also a UNCESCO World Heritage site.
It is surrounded by heritage buildings and shops with European architecture. We could take lovely pictures from there.
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Ruins at St Paul Church
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Senado Square
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One of the
best snacks we had from Macau was the Portuguese egg tart. It is a custard stuffed
pastry which is delicious. After that we visited few hotels such as the Grand
Lisboa, Wynn and MGM which had luxurious shopping malls. It was all nearby and at
a walking distance. We then boarded a taxi and went to the
Macau tower. We were very eager to try out the highest sky jump in the world.
But we were tired as we had almost come to the end of our trip. Hence we
decided to give it a skip. However we saw few Bungee jumps which was an
experience itself.
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Egg Tart
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Macau Tower
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We clicked
few pictures and headed back to our hotel. We went to the check in counter.
There was long queue at the counter. So the kind bell boy directed us to the
VIP counter. We received a grand welcome
at the hotel check in counter. We were given a brief description of all the
facilities in the hotel and were guided up to our room. Our room was on the
22nd floor and had a beautiful view of the iconic Eiffel Tower (replica at half
the size of the Eiffel tower) which looked even more incredible at night.
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Our Hotel Lobby (Sheraton)
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Eiffel Tower view from our room
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Later in the
evening we visited the Venetian hotel. The hotel is designed as a miniature
city of Venice, with gondola rides making way through the center. My wife just
loved it. We also visited the adjoining Parisian hotel, which is a replica of
the city of Paris. There is a large fountain along with beautiful paintings on
the ceiling. The lobby of the Parisian hotel was mind boggling and is a sight
not to be missed. We also visited the replica of Eiffel tower (which is at half
the size of Eiffel tower) outside the Parisian hotel. There is a dazzling light show
from the Eiffel tower in the evening every 15 minutes. The best thing about all
the hotels is that they are all inter connected, hence we don’t have to go
outside to hop inside the next hotel.
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Gondola ride at the Venetian Hotel
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Lobby of the Parisian Hotel
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Then we
decided to have dinner. Hope you remember about the travel card mishap, because
of which we lost time and had to cancel the lunch reservation at the Four
Seasons hotel in Hong Kong. To make up
for that, I made a reservation for dinner at the Four Seasons hotel in Macau.
It was a Michelin star restaurant which served authentic Cantonese cuisine. We
were taken care of by a personal attendant. The service was impeccable and the
dishes were mouthwatering. Though we got to try different Cantonese dishes in
Hong Kong, we missed out on the famed dim sum which was something that we
regretted. But to our delight we were served specially prepared dim sum which
was a surprise compliment by the hotel.
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Cantonese cuisine at Four Seasons Hotel
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Dim Sum
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On the next
day, we headed to the restaurant in our hotel for breakfast. The buffet spread
was an elaborate one with a vast array of dishes.
Sadly we didn’t have the luxury of time to thoroughly enjoy the vast
spread, as we had to catch our flight. After having breakfast we checked out
from our hotel and went to Hong Kong airport via Cotai water jet ferry from
where we boarded our flight back to Cochin. The trip was a truly memorable one
for us which we will treasure for a lifetime.
Conclusion
Hong Kong though is
an exciting place to visit, is not a very refined city. It is a mix of old
and new. The city views are amazing and the streets are vibrant. You will never
run out of things to do. Central walk around, Temple night market, Canton road,
Big bus tour, food tour, Tai O fishing village, Repulse bay, dragon back trail
hike, Horse racing tour and taking instagram famous pictures of the Choi Hung
Estate and the monster building are the add-ons that I would recommend for
those who can spare some more days in Hong Kong. Though English is also an official language of
Hong Kong, it is not understood by everyone. Macau on the other hand is an
ideal destination for those seeking modern glitz and luxury along with heritage.
Cotai strip walk around, the house of dancing water, Fisherman’s wharf and Taipa
village visit are the additional things that I would recommend for those who
can extend their stay in Macau. English is not commonly used in Macau, but is understood
in hotels and tourist places. Note that Indian restaurants are not very common in both these places. The ideal time to visit these places is from October
to December.
Have you been to Hong Kong or Macau? Do share your views and comments below.
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