Journey to Hong Kong

I want to give a list of top 5, but end up with one of top 6.

So here’s my take of the top 6 things to do for a visitor to Hong Kong:

 1.Take Star Ferry between Central and Tsim Sha Tsui to see Victoria Harbour.

I love this ferry ride. It is part of my and many Hong Kong people’s memory about Hong Kong. The current Star Ferry pier in Central is not original, though. When the original was demolished to make way for reclamation, there was a spate of protests and people flocked to the pier on the last day it was in use.

2. Go hiking.
Dragon Back on Hong Kong Island is famous, but Sai Kung has probably the territory’s most beautiful natural scenery. You will never disappoint if you hike any route in Sai Kung.

3. Visit Hong Kong Museum of Art or Hong Kong Museum of History.
I think both museums are good, especially for those wanting to inject some culture and history into their visit. This post of mine has comment on Hong Kong Museum of Art.

4. Yum Cha.
Hong Kong probably has the world’s best dim sum restaurants. Don’t miss it. The Maxim’s Palace in City Hall (2/F, Low Block), Central is a good place for dim sum. How about this route? Have dim sum in City Hall, head to the Star Ferry in Central, take the ferry to Tsim Sha Tsui, and then visit Hong Kong Arts Musuem.

5. Visit one of the outlying islands – Chueng Chau, Lama Island, Mui Wo, Ping Chau, etc.
Try to go on weekdays to avoid the crowd – the locals like going to the islands during the weekend. The fares are lower too.

6. Take the tram.
The tram on Hong Kong Island is over 100-year old, the most historic and also the cheapest transportation in HK. For HK$2.3 (less than US$0.5), you can ride across the island, from east to west, or vice versa, having a glimpse of the life and landscape of the city. You can try going east, starting from Kenney Town, which is an old district, and ride through districts like Sheung Wan (where the dry seafood street is), Central, the business district, and Causeway Bay, the shopping district.

The Avenue of Stars along the Victoria Harbour waterfront in Tsim Sha Tsui is named one of the world’s 12 worst tourist traps by CNNGO. While I think reports like this are subjective and for attention grabbing only, I do agree that the Avenue of Stars is not a worthy place to visit. The reason is two-folded.

First, it is full of mainland tourists and the locals like me have stopped going there. That is a shame, really. It is such a nice harbourfront.

Second, it is too “artificial”. The Avenue of Stars is obviously an imitation of Hollywood’s Walk of the Fame, with local movie celebrities’ autographs and hand prints set in cement as plagues. The whole thing was set up just to promote Hong Kong’s tourism, not a natural outgrowth of the local culture. I never like visiting places like this.

I still go to Tsim Sha Tsui waterfront from time to time though, not to see the celebrity plagues, but to visit Hong Kong Museum of Art. The exhibitions put up there often give me delight surprises. The Museum has benches facing a glass wall at each of its floor (except the ground floor), allowing visitors to take in the harbour for a respite after appreciation of art works, a much better space than the noise and excitement on the Avenue of Stars. To go there, make sure that you take Star Ferry. That is something not only tourists but also locals enjoy doing.