- Quest to Istanbul and Hong Kong, Part 1: Introduction
- Quest to Istanbul and Hong Kong, Part 2: TPA-ORD on Ted
- Quest to Istanbul and Hong Kong, Part 3: ORD-ZRH on Swiss
- Quest to Istanbul and Hong Kong, Part 4: ZRH-LHR on Swiss and LHR-IST on Turkish
- Quest to Istanbul and Hong Kong, Part 5: InterContinental Istanbul
- Quest to Istanbul and Hong Kong, Part 6: Istanbul
- Quest to Istanbul and Hong Kong, Part 7: IST-HKG on Turkish
- Quest to Istanbul and Hong Kong, Part 8: InterContinental Grand Stanford Hong Kong
- Quest to Istanbul and Hong Kong, Part 9: InterContinental Hong Kong
- Quest to Istanbul and Hong Kong, Part 10: Hong Kong
- Quest to Istanbul and Hong Kong, Part 11: HKG-BKK-MUC on Thai
- Quest to Istanbul and Hong Kong, Part 12: MUC-ZRH-JFK on Swiss
- Quest to Istanbul and Hong Kong, Part 13: JFK-TPA on Delta
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Ah, Hong Kong. What can I really say? It’s my favorite city in the world. I’d love to move there. There’s no description I can give of the city that does it justice. I described Hong Kong to my brother before we went in the most flattering terms I could, but he was blown away even more after our visit. Check out this video put together by the Hong Kong Tourism Board:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42zQwPcnAmA
It’s just such a dynamic city. It’s a bustling metropolis yet it’s peaceful. It’s polluted yet it’s beautiful. It’s easy to get around, yet so complex. It’s simply awesome.
I’ve been to Hong Kong about five or six times, while my brother had never been, so I tried to play tour guide. We did a lot of aimless wandering (one of my favorite tourist activities), and also paid visits to most of the major tourist sites, such as Stanley Market, Avenue of Stars, Victoria Peak, the Ladies Market, watching the Symphony of Lights, etc., etc.. Here are a few of the destinations we visited:
Stanley Market
View from Stanley
The incredible Hong Kong skyline
Peak Tram
The Peak
View from the Peak (notice the InterContinental in the center)
Hong Kong’s new tallest building
Just because
It’s just an incomparable city. If you’ve never been you’re missing out. It has completely changed my perception of virtually every other major city around the world for the worse. I’d love to describe the city in more detail, but I’d simply fail. I’m sick of doing my best yet having people actually visit Hong Kong and say “damn, it was even better than you said described it.” I guess it’s a good problem to have. 😉
Love Hong Kong, went there for the first time in June loved it so much gong again in 2 weeks!
Next time you go, if you get a chance, you should try visiting some of the small nearby islands (easily accessible by ferry), like Lamma. They have a laid-back bohemian feel to them (along with good beaches), which can be quite a nice anecdote to the go-go city.
I have to agree with your favorable sentiments for HK. I lived there for five years in the 90s and love to go back at least once every couple of years. My absolute favorite thing about HK is something you haven't touched on: the food. Hands down the best Chinese food in the world!