I recently spent a week traveling around China, starting in Hong Kong which I became absolutely enthralled with. This tropical and cosmopolitan city is a business hub with such an eclectic feel to it. It has great shopping, food, sightseeing and weather and is such a great place to explore. We only had about 36 hours in Hong Kong, so we came up with a pretty aggressive itinerary to maximize our time. Read below for a perfect 36 hours in Hong Kong.
Day 1:
We landed in Hong Kong around 1:30 pm and headed straight to our hotel, the Shangri-La in Kowloon to drop off our bags and change. From there, we hopped in a cab and headed to the tippy top of Victoria Peak to get the most amazing views of all of Hong Kong and take in the sunset. Some practical things to know: you will need cash for all taxis, including the one from the airport. Taxis in Hong Kong are super cheap, so it makes sense to take it to the Peak and also to and from the airport.
You can take a tram to the top of Victoria Peak, but in the interest of time, we took the cab and then went to the top of an observation deck called sky Terrace which cost around $10 each but is totally worth it to take in the sights and the pastel buildings, rolling hills and water. It was truly a highlight of the trip and gave us some great photo ops.
After seeing the sights, we went to a restaurant on the peak called The Peak Lookout for a few glasses of wine on their balcony which has the most amazing views of the sunset. We would highly recommend doing this, also.
Mott 32: With only two nights to dine in Hong Kong, we set about some major foodie research and got reservations at all of our must-dos. There will be a separate post on everything we ate next week, so be sure to circle back for that.
Day 2:
Kowloon Park: Our second day was our only full day to explore all of Hong Kong, so we set out early and got unlimited metro cards because it makes the most sense to see Hong Kong using public transportation. We started by walking from our hotel to Kowloon Park, which is this amazing, tropical park in Kowloon that is so well groomed and has flamingos in its ponds. The land was once a former army fortress but became a public park in 1970. It was a great break from the skyscrapers around the city and takes around 30 minutes to walk through.
Fruit and Vegetable Market: From here, we set about seeing a local fruit and vegetable market frequented by locals in Hong Kong. Stall after stall boast dragonfruit, giant cucumbers and fresh eggs for the taking. We were the only white people at the market and it was a really great vantage point to get a view of daily life for locals in Hong Kong. It was hard to find logistically but well worth it.
Star Ferry: There are a few options to get from Kowloon to Hong Kong center district. You can drive, take the subway or take the Star Ferry, which is a super cheap way to get an awesome vantage point of both Kowloon and Hong Kong city. We suggest taking the Star Ferry at least once during your stay. For less than $4, you can get from point A to point B quickly and also get some great shots. The ferry leaves about every ten minutes and is a pretty quick ride.
Dim Sum: We will elaborate more on this in our food post about Hong Kong, but you really can’t go there without getting dim sum. And, if you want great dim sum in an awesome environment, then make sure to get a reservation at Duddell’s. They have an amazing champagne brunch with the most delectable pieces of dim sum. It was one of my favorite meals from the entire trip.
Man Mo Temple: From lunch, we tok a subway to the Man Mo Temple int he Sheung Wan and Wan Chai part of Hong Kong, which quickly became our favorite neighborhood. This sacred sight has hundreds of red lanterns and shrines adorned with fruit offerings. It’s incredibly peaceful and spiritual and can be done inside of twenty minutes.
PMQ Design District: from Man Mo, walk to PMQ Design District which is an indoor-outdoor venue for local artists to display their wares. It has jewelry shops, paintings, eclectic homewares and also really hip restaurants, bars and coffee shops. It’s an awesome spot to get really unique souvenirs and see artists at work. It has a Williamsburg hipster feel to it, which I hesitate to even say since I think PMQ is so much cooler and is located in this hilly area surrounded by pastel buildings in all states of disarray contrasting with nearby mansions.
Walk Around Sun, Moon & Star Streets: This cluster of streets is near PMQ and Man Mo Temple, so doing all three of them makes for a really nice walk. These streets are bustling with the cutest boutiques, restaurants and cafes. It’s particularly great if you want homewares. There was a yuppy feel to the area and loads of great places to wander upon. We popped into a new hotspot called Ted’s Lookout for a drink during happy hour which was just perfect. We’ll tell you more about that in our food and drink post.
Thai Massage: Thai and deep tissue massages are insanely cheap in Hong Kong and well worth it. After our early happy hour drink, we set about finding a spot for an hour-ling massage after all of our cramped airplane travel. One spot we went into was super shady so we left, but we found a great and clean spa called Happy Foot Luxe in Wan Chai and it was around $30 for an hour-long Thai Massage.
Lan Kwai Fung: Hong Kong is notorious for a work-had, play-hard culture and the playing typically takes place in a district called Lan Kwai Fung. Before a late dinner at Yardbird (more on that later), we went to LKF as it is referred for drinks and wound up at an amazing bar called Cassio which was just perfect. It has a members only feel to it but has the atmosphere of another decade. The outdoor patio has string lights and stiff cocktails. Definitely worth visiting. After dinner, we hit up another hotspot called Sevva which has a roof with great views.
After that, our whirlwind 36 hour-stay in Hong Kong was over. I could have easily spent another few days in the city, but happy we packed as much in as we did.
Some practical bits of advice when planning a trip to China. Hong Kong is pretty lax on censorship, but other citifies block Google, Facebook, Instagram, etc. So, get a VPN from work so that you can bypass and blockages. Also, if you plug venues such as restaurants, museums and other sights into your Google Maps before going to China, you can access it while there. I also made sure that my itinerary had the Chinese name and address in Chinese on it so that I could communicate with cab drivers and others when asking for directions. This is an absolute must before a trip to China.
Check out our other Asia Travel Guides:
Travel Guide: Where to Stay in Hong Kong
Travel Guide: Where to Eat in Hong Kong
Travel Guide: Where to Stay in Tokyo
Travel Guide: Tokyo Itinerary
Travel Guide: Where To Eat In Tokyo
Travel Guide: Kyoto Itinerary
Travel Guide: Where to Eat in Kyoto