A couple days in Hong Kong next week... Suggestions?
January 31, 2019 9:29 AM   Subscribe

I ended up with a couple extra days of dead time next week in Hong Kong. Never been, and need suggestions for ways to spend the time. Quirky, unusual , mostly daytime activities and excursions most appreciated.
posted by 2N2222 to Travel & Transportation around Hong Kong (15 answers total) 9 users marked this as a favorite
 
I don't know if you like food, but I took a walking tour with these folks in the Central and Sheung Wan neighborhoods and it was my favorite thing I did in the hot second I spent in Hong Kong last year. Our guide grew up in Hong Kong and was able to talk about development and housing issues in the city, we visited all family-run businesses, and we got a good balance of eating and seeing nearby interesting landmarks, markets, etc. They run them in different parts of the city at different times of day, and are very well curated. Seriously, food in Hong Kong is so good, I loved everything I ate the whole time I was there, but I felt like the pace of the city could be a little intense if you didn't know exactly what you wanted to order and what it was called when you got into a place. The guide (and the little souvenir map they gave us) made recommendations of specific additional food places to try and how to suss out good ones.

Also, seeing the skyline from the waterfront is nice, and the Star Ferry is cheap and novel if it's convenient and already on your way. I also visited Disneyland and SUPER enjoyed it, but it's a good 40 minutes by subway from downtown and you may not want to spend your time at Disneyland regardless.

But whatever you do, EAT. Oh my goodness. I miss milk tea and fresh warm egg tarts; the Chinese bakeries here are not the same.
posted by bowtiesarecool at 10:55 AM on January 31, 2019 [1 favorite]


All I do is eat in HK. :) But between meals, we did some fun stuff:

See some cool outdoor wall art/murals. We hit up Hollywood Rd/Graham Street area but looks like there are some other options as well.

Take the tram up Victoria Peak. The tram is super crowded and kind of hokey (may be better during a weekday) but it DOES get pretty steep and tilt-y, which is fun. The views from the top are decent, and this past spring there was some art(?) installation up where they put up silly posters in front of which you could pose and take a 3D looking photo. We ended up taking a bus back down to save some time. There's also a Ripley's at the top, which I've never been to.

The ferry at night is great! I also liked the Hong Kong Museum of History, lots to learn there about the history of HK, if you're into that kind of thing.

Lan Kwai Fong is the obligatory ex-pat bar strip. It can be a bit overpriced, but it's fun for a little while! On the other end of the spectrum, apparently HK has good hiking, which would have never occurred to me.

Macau is a 1-hour ferry ride out, and is super cool -- seeing colonial Portuguese influence in China. You are technically leaving HK to go there, so check your visa requirements if you're interested in this. (It's been ages since I've gone, but apparently the visa thing isn't much of a hassle.)

Have a fun trip!
posted by miss_kitty_fantastico at 11:26 AM on January 31, 2019


Oooh also near Graham Street is the "longest outdoor covered escalator system in the world". It's not actually that impressive, but it IS long!
posted by miss_kitty_fantastico at 11:33 AM on January 31, 2019 [1 favorite]


Lantau Island is beautiful and has the Tian Tan Buddha...
“The Big Buddha, is a large bronze statue of Buddha Shakyamuni, completed in 1993, and located at Ngong Ping, Lantau Island, in Hong Kong.”
posted by calgirl at 12:12 PM on January 31, 2019 [1 favorite]


(Don’t be mislead. The escalator is terrific!)
posted by notyou at 12:23 PM on January 31, 2019 [4 favorites]


Ride the Hopewell Centre glass elevator.
posted by dywypi at 12:46 PM on January 31, 2019


I'd really recommend doing something nature-oriented. When I was there (a loooong time ago, so I don't have any specific recommends) I remember being shocked at how much of the main island is forested, and it's just gorgeous, tropical paradise. I took public transit around a bit to places like Shek O and Big Wave Bay and even just the bus ride was breathtaking.
posted by soren_lorensen at 1:06 PM on January 31, 2019


+1 to eating, for sure, but one of my favorite things we did in Hong Kong was a wander around the Chi Lin Nunnery and Nan Lian Garden. It's very peaceful and pleasant.
posted by torridly at 2:04 PM on January 31, 2019


Thirding the travelator and if you're there on a Sunday and wonder what's going on, it's Maids Day.
posted by Rash at 2:19 PM on January 31, 2019 [2 favorites]


Mind that Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday are the CNY Holidays. If you’re here over the holidays, many things may be closed but there will be many activities to celebrate the year of the Pig. If you like hiking, join the Hong King Hiking meetup and join one of their hikes. Hong Kong has spectacular hiking with trails of all difficulties.

I would recommend taxi or bus up to the Peak, rather than the tram, unless you really like waiting in line. But definitely take a walk around Lugard Road and see the view from the Peak. The People’s Peak on the Kowloon side is called Lion Rock, though there is no easy non hiking way up there.

PMQ in central is a restored design hub with a lot of little shops and restaurants.

Take the Ferry to Lamma Island and take a walk across the island.

10,000 Buddha Monestary in Shatin is fun, and in a part of Hong King most never see. There’s also a lovely wetlands park up near Fanling. I’m staycationing most of next week, so ping me if I can give further advice or you want to catch a coffee or small bite.
posted by frumiousb at 2:52 PM on January 31, 2019 [1 favorite]


I planned a weeklong vacation trip to Hong Kong that was entirely inspired by the Central-Mid Levels Escalator, so definitely don't overlook it, if you're into that kind of thing! Taking the escalators all the way to the top also leaves you relatively close to the Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens, which are free and quite pretty (with lots of adorable stray cats roaming around).
posted by Pfardentrott at 4:14 PM on January 31, 2019 [1 favorite]


The Museum of Teaware is pretty cool, free, and in Hong Kong Park. The nearby aviary is also free and quite nice.

I unexpectedly ended up in Hong Kong for 24 hours with two friends after a missed flight connection, and our day was: eat dim sum, go to the aviary & botanical gardens, ride the escalator, enjoy a fancy coffee shop, go to an egg tart bakery, take pictures of murals in the mid levels, visit a speakeasy, window shop the electronics stores in Kowloon, then grab some soup noodles for dinner.

On edit: you also might enjoy the bird market, goldfish market, and/or flower market
posted by asphericalcow at 5:34 PM on January 31, 2019 [1 favorite]


My partner and I were there for a week last year. We took a couple of tours with Big Foot Tours. The first one was excellent, the second less so but it was probably because it was hotter and we were kind of tired and the second of anything is never as good as the first.

We took the cable car from Tung Chung to the Big Buddha, then didn't actually do anything there but instead immediately took a bus down to Tai O, wandered around for a bit, and then took a different bus back to Tung Chung. Tai O and the bus rides were both pretty fascinating. I would do it that way again (even though we didn't see the Big Buddha) rather than just take the bus both ways to Tai O because the cable car was awesome.

We took a ferry to somewhere on Lamma Island (I think Sha Po) and then walked literally across the Island to Lo So Shing. I really enjoyed that.

We walked through a bunch of markets, but none of that really appealed to me that much.

The escalator is pretty cool. Egg waffles are surprisingly delicious and we ate a ton of them.

Victoria Peak was all right but decidedly touristy. I found the bus ride up (#15, I think) more interesting, on the whole.

I also second the person above who said to try to spend some time in nature, if that's at all your thing. I was surprised and pleased, given how very dense and urban the urban parts are, how small towny and natural some other parts were.

Have fun!
posted by 2 cats in the yard at 4:38 PM on February 1, 2019 [1 favorite]


Also, fwiw my favorite dim sum there was Dim Dim Sum. One Dim Sum was also pretty good.
posted by 2 cats in the yard at 4:44 PM on February 1, 2019


Response by poster: I'll say I can mark every response as best answer. Thanks everyone, and if you're late to respond, don't let that stop you.
posted by 2N2222 at 10:52 PM on February 3, 2019


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