After spending seven days in Hong Kong earlier this year I thought I’d share what I managed to see in my short time being stuck there while I was having my Visa sorted to get back into China.
Not knowing anyone in Hong Kong made things a bit harder when it came to deciding how to fill in my time while I was there. I was lucky to stay in a very central location and thought the easiest and safest thing for me to do was a sight-seeing tour (similar to the one I did in Dubai) by a company called Red Bus Tours.
Big Red Bus Tours is an excellent way to explore a city, especially if you are travelling alone and have limited time. It’s safe, well organized and operates in various cities and places around the world.
The Hong Kong, Big Bus tour, included three different tours. I bought a two-day tour pass for only $88AUD and received some cool freebies such as free entry to the tallest building and the Maritime Museum as well as a return trip on the ferry.
Here are some of the things I checked out during my bus tour while I was in Hong Kong:
The Sky 100 Observation Deck
What better way to check out the size of a city by seeing it from a tall building. Hong Kong’s tallest building, known as the International Commerce Centre, features an impressive 360-degree viewing platform on the 100th floor.
TIP: Make sure to go on a day that isn’t misty or cloudy because you want to be able to see the view of Hong Kong’s enormous city. There is a great Australian owned cafe located right at the entrance which serves awesome coffee. Trust me; you will be craving a cup of coffee! These guys made it exactly how I like it and very similar to the quality in Melbourne.
After you take the elevator to the 100th floor to check out the view, you come back down and can browse the impressive collection of the most exclusive high-end boutiques in the luxurious shopping centre which is attached to the International Commerce Centre. This luxury shopping precinct includes stores such as De Beers, Piaget, LV, Valentino, Prada and more.
The Penisula
This historic and very luxurious hotel includes an impressive 6 Bentley private car fleet at its disposal. On the day I visited the hotel, there was a long line of people waiting to enjoy their famous high-tea. The foyer of the hotel includes an impressive highly decorated ceiling with large fancy pillars.
Food
There was a road close to where I was staying called Nathan Road famous for its busy food outlets and restaurants. It was a beautiful street to explore all the different Asian and not Asian cuisine you can eat in Hong Kong such as dumplings, stews, noodles or pizza, pasta, bakeries.
We also stopped at Stanley Bay which is a lovely town located right on the bay and included a terrific burger joint. I treated myself to a moist beetroot vegetable burger and a side of baked sweet potato chips. It was a bit pricey ($34AUD) for the burger and chips, but it was worth it. Great service and atmosphere.
Most of the shopping malls also offered healthy non-Asian style foods. There is also plenty of street style foods to choose from, and they have some lovely bakeries with Asian style pastries and pieces of bread which was nice.
Hong Kong was nice but a week for me was plenty of time to spend it alone exploring some of the top sites.
Here are some of the posts about places I’ve travelled to: