Hong Kong

boxed text

If cities were singers?:
Singapore would be Britney Spears, Bangkok would be Madonna, and Hong Kong - well, she'd be Christina Aguilera! You can work out your own reasons!

Hong Kong is one of my favourite cities - it's so brash and in your face. It has some amazing architecture, and some great traditions (like the trams on Hong Kong Island).

I went up the Peak to look down on the skyscrapers twice, once in the morning, and once in the evening - it's good at any time, but at night you can see all of Hong Kong and Kowloon lit up below you - some of the buildings have moving lights! It really is something to behold!

IFC Tower, Hong Kong - countrybagging.com

The IFC Tower

I was lucky enough to stay in what I think is the best hotel in the world while I was in Hong Kong - The Peninsula. When I travel I have a tendency to try and find a cheap hotel, but Expedia had such a good deal I couldn't resist one night in THE hotel! It was fab, they upgraded me to a room which should have cost close to 400 quid, and I took full advantage of all that was on offer. I went swimming in a pool with a fab view of Hong Kong Harbour, I had a Sauna, and even had a go at the Steam Room - but that was so hot I only lasted a couple of minutes before I made a run for the door!

I tried to go to see a horse race at Happy Valley, but unfortunately there were no races while I was there - well, I needed a reason to go back! My most enduring memory of Hong Kong is clattering around the streets on the Trams (oh, and my stay in the Peninsula!).

I visited Hong Kong (and the Peninsula) as a stop over between India and New Zealand, and had another great couple of days. However I still didn't manage to see any horse racing at Happy Valley - Well, you always need a reason to go back to a place!

Hong Kong was also a surprise addition to my 'Silk Road' trip - I hadn't planned to visit , but riots erupted in Tibet on my planned route and the authorities closed the borders to Westerners, so I had to plan another way to get from China in Nepal and that ended up being a flight from Hong Kong!

..and I still didn't manage to get to see a horse race at Happy Valley - so that means that there has to be another trip to Hong Kong, but I'm not complaining!