Hong Kong

Paris may be known as the , but Hong Kong has got it beat when it comes to beams of illumination setting the harbour ablaze.  Known to be one of the most spectacular skylines in the world, Hong Kong boasts an impressive display of skyscrapers and it is none too humble to show them off every evening.

Having the world’s largest continuous light show every night at 8:00 Hong Kong’s skyline is ignited with lasers, neon lights, halogen lamps and every other sort of bulb that can illuminate the city.

We stayed in the Kowloon district, an area looking over Victoria Harbour at the vast skyscrapers of Hong Kong central.   At night, make your way down to the Hong Kong Cultural centre of Kowloon and set up your tripod by the clock tower.  Get there early as the crowds are fierce and photographers compete for the best vantage point.  It is here that you will see a fabulous display.

The light show itself is not an impressive piece of theatre, but to see the buildings light up in different colours and patterns is worth the pause in your evening events.

If you are staying in Hong Kong central on the North Side, make your way to the Star Ferry terminal and either go over to Kowloon or take a cruise for the night to watch the show from the centre of Victoria Harbour.   The show lasts for about a half an hour and it is completely free.

The Bank of China is the centerpiece of the show as it changes its diamond patterns of lights regularly flashing constantly to different colours, rhythms and shapes. masterpiece is turned momentarily to a new age work of art.

Hong Kong is certainly more impressive at night, but it is worth a look around during the day as well.

We made our way up with the rest of the crowd to Victoria Peak.  The Peak Tram has been operating since the turn of the century and costs mere $36 HK Dollars for a return trip.  If you can handle the lines, it is worth going up to have a bird’s eye view of Hong Kong at 552 metres above the harbour.  You can even get your Christmas shopping in, as there is a massive mall and eateries at the top for a person to spend an entire day touring around.

There are hiking trails and biking trails too.  We saw the Hong Kong Adventure racing team working out on their mountain bikes and wished that we could take one for a spin ourselves.

Time was limited in Hong Kong

Hong Kong is expensive and we had to pack as much in as we could in the 3 short days that we were there.

As luck would have it, an outdoor festival was going on in Soho during our visit.  Soho used to be a run down old style apartment block, but in recent years it has had a facelift turning into a trendy eateries.  It boasts the world’s longest escalator. At 800 metres, it makes the hillside neighbourhood steps a non-issue for visitors and residents alike.

The escalators go up all day from 10:00 am to midnight, but are switched to the down positions for the morning rush hour.  It takes 20 minutes to ride it to the top, but you can hop on hop off at any time. As there are openings for every street.

Escalators in Soho cover 800 metres

The outdoor festival felt as if we were in New York City as opposed to the Far East.  Cirque du Soleil was performing, jugglers walked through the cobblestone streets, Opera Singers serenaded us as we ate our Cuban food and enjoyed a discounted glass of wine due to it being wine month in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong a World City

The weather was perfect at a balmy 28?C, the sun was shining through the smog and we could almost see completely blue skies.  Yes, I think that we could live in Hong Kong. Now if only we had jobs suited to the high lifestyle that so many people seem to live.  Hong Kong is one of the most vibrant cities we have ever visited.  It has a modern cosmopolitan feel, but if you look hard enough, you can find pockets of its rich history.

We ended our time in Hong Kong with a visit to the Man Mo Temple.  Known for its coils of incense hanging from the ceiling, it makes for an interesting photo opportunity – even though there are signs stating clearly “No Photos Allowed Inside.”  We joined the rest of the Chinese tourists that were happily snapping away.  At first we weren’t sure if we should take any photos, but when we saw everyone inside blatantly taking them right in front of the staff, we decided that it would be all right.

Man Mo temple is greatly significant in the community.  Under the management of the Tung Wa group, it subsidizes recurring expenses in the community.  Using the surplus from the Man Mo Temple and 12 other temples in the Hong Kong district, it offers a wide range of medical, educational and community services in 223 centres around the city of Hong Kong.

With funding from the Man Mo temple originally, Tung Wa started the first free school in Hong Kong in 1880 and has expanded to 52 schools today offering free education to underprivileged students.

I thought that we would simply be visiting yet another temple in our travels, but I was pleasantly surprised to see the great work that the Man Mo Temple has done.

We spent 3 delightful days in Hong Kong and could have easily stayed longer.  We even managed to buy a brand new tri pod for Dave at the highly recommended camera store Echo Photo and Audio LTD on Hankow Road in Kowloon.  They were excellent to work with and saved us over $50 Canadian had we bought it at home.

We managed to do it all during our short time in Hong Kong, we shopped, we ate we saw the sites.  We look forward to going back one day when we have the time and funds to truly appreciate everything that it has to offer.