Japan has an annual vacation period called Golden Week. It’s actually four different holidays that have been rolled into a week-long vacation instead of celebrating each day separately. The great thing about Golden Week – international travel is cheap! Why? Since nearly the entire Japanese population has off of work this week, travel within Japan is expensive! Plus, all of the Japanese tourist spots are crowded! Soooo… during this time, it’s actually cheaper (and less of a hassle) to travel somewhere outside of the country.

I selected a flight to Hong Kong! In seven days, I experienced a new culture, public transportation of all sorts, nightlife, food, technology, hiking, markets, art… the list goes on! It was an incredible trip.

Did you know that Hong Kong is comprised of the Kowloon peninsula plus 263 islands? Neither did I. With so much to see, I did my best to squeeze in what I could.

 

Getting to Hong Kong:

I departed from Kansai International (KIX) on a budget airline called Hong Kong Express. Because I did not pay for a checked bag and only carried on my backpack, the flight was extra cheap. For a four hour flight, it was around $220 USD/roundtrip. Not too bad for flying during Golden Week, one of the priciest times of the year for travel in Japan.

I arrived at KIX a little more than two hours early because that’s me. Everything went smoothly. I had printed out my boarding pass earlier that morning at my local Family Mart convenience store, which allowed me to avoid the extra long Golden Week line at the Hong Kong Express check-in booth. Security was a breeze. I didn’t even have to take off my jewelry or shoes, which is part of the usual U.S. security procedures. I was at the gate before I knew it with way too much time to spare. Ipad mini in hand, I continued my pursuit to finish reading Game of Thrones, A Clash of Kings.

The flight went smoothly enough and I was landing in Hong Kong before I knew it. The customs line was nearly nonexistent and then I began the search for finding a shop called 1O1O, where I had researched I could buy a Hong Kong sim card for approximately $15 USD. Anyone who knows me well, knows I heavily rely on my iPhone GPS to navigate place to place, so having data in a new, unexplored country was a MUST. 1O1O offers an 8-day, 5GB sim card for visitors, perfect for me!  I found the shop without much effort and in under 30 seconds, the agent had popped out my Japanese sim card, inserted the HK one, and I was on my way.

After securing my phone data, I set out to find the MTR subway train. In order to make it to my friend’s apartment (my home for the next week), I needed to take the MTR to Tsing Yi and then either take a taxi or a bus to Gold Coast.

When the MTR stopped at Tsing Yi, I hopped off and found a few taxis waiting outside. Unlike the yellow cabs I’m used to seeing in the U.S., these were green and red. Apparently, a red cab means you are going somewhere in the main city areas, whereas green is if you are going out of the city to a more laid back area. After asking someone which color to take, I learned green was the way to go! It was a 35 minute ride and I enjoyed every second of it. It was just getting dark and the views were illuminating. The best part was only having to pay $100.50 HKD (or $12.88 USD) TOTAL for my ride. Yep, you heard right! The transportation was CHEEEEAPPP.

Jen and her boyfriend, Eddie, were the BEST hosts I could have asked for! I was greeted with red wine and one of the biggest blocks of cheese I’ve ever seen. Coming from Japan, where cheese is hard to come by (and $$$), this was the perfect welcoming. They had a fluffy, floor bed waiting for me in a room overlooking the harbor. Great food, excellent company, and a comfortable room with a beautiful view… I mean, at this point I was feeling over the moon!

 

Exploring the Hong Kong Peninsula

Gold Coast:

Jen and Eddie live in an area called Gold Coast, which is located in the “New Territories” from what I understand. Like the name, this is a newer residential area, about an hour from the main action in Kowloon. Although it’s a bit far out from the city, the vibe is much more laid back and there are some beautiful beaches. It also seemed like there was much less pollution/smog in this area. Gold Coast had a definite tropical feel.

Check out the view I had from my window at Jen’s apartment.

To get from Gold Coast to Kowloon (or any of the other main islands), you have a few options in terms of public transportation. Taking the bus seemed to be the cheapest, easiest method.

Kowloon:

Probably the most densely populated area on the peninsula, Kowloon is full of concrete buildings and skyscrapers reaching so high in the sky, it’s hard to see the finish line.

In a way, Kowloon reminded me of a smaller, New York City, but with the scorching Florida humidity. Seriously though, within ten minutes of walking around, my clothes were drenched in sweat! It’s a mystery to me on how people manage to walk around every day while keeping their business suits looking crisp and cool. Yet, somehow everyone I passed was managing it well!

Anyway, the Kowloon main strip extended along Nathan Road. You can find tons of restaurants, bakeries, shops, markets, and cheap electronics! You know you’ve reached the end of the strip when you hit the water and the piers, which is where you have the option to take a ferry to several other islands.

I started my walk near Kowloon Park and headed south toward the water. As I walked through the outskirts of the park, I was met by some interesting characters…

I also passed a group of women practicing Tai Chi.

When you reach the water, you are met with some pretty nice views, along with some unique landmarks. I particularly enjoyed the fake grass lounge chairs, which came with your very own mini tree.

One of my favorite views that I encountered from the Kowloon peninsula was from Victoria Harbor. There were surprisingly not many tourists there when I walked over, which allowed me to take my time capturing a few great photos. At least, until my camera died.  As you can see from the photos below, the more zoomed in, the clearer the image. Yet, the further out I took the photo, the more the smog and pollution became obvious.

Hong Kong is also known for inexpensive electronics. Put your bargaining skills to the test and see what deals you can snag. While walking around Kowloon, I kept my eye out for a Samsung retailer. My digital camera is made by Samsung and I’ve been dying to get my hands on a pancake lens. As it’s very light-weight and great for landscape photography, I knew my heart desired it.

Before moving to Japan, I did not realize there would be an issue with getting Samsung products here. I knew Samsung was a Korean brand, but I didn’t realize the extent to which Japan does not carry ANY Samsung camera products…period.

So when I found several flashy electronics stores along Nathan Road in Kowloon, I couldn’t resist popping into one. Oddly, they only had one lens left and it was already on the body of a Samsung camera. After some negotiations, the salesman budged on selling me the lens separately and did so at a more-than-fair price. This was one of my most exciting moments, especially since I’ve never been the best haggler. I usually count on my boyfriend, Nick, for these sort of things. But I wanted this lens bad and ended up even surprising myself by how low I was able to get the salesman to drop in price. *happy dance*

Anyway, a few blocks east of Nathan Road, I found much more upscale shopping. The shops itself weren’t anything extra special, but I did stumble upon some interesting modern art.

Something I highly recommend you do if you find yourself wandering around Kowloon, drop by The Hong Kong Museum of History. Not being a huge museum person myself, I was surprised how fascinating I found this museum. Although I only spent a few hours inside (I was strapped for time), one could easily spend much longer, especially if you watch the mini-movies throughout the museum.  The museum is only two stories, but it squeezes in eight galleries which cover 400 million years of history.

To round off my fair share of time in Kowloon, Jen and Eddie invited me to attend the M83 show with them Wednesday evening. The show was in one of the biggest standing venues ever. When we walked in, I swear, there was enough room for 1,000+ people to stand in there. Crazy! I was actually concerned for M83, that they would come out on stage and be disappointed by the crowd. Because although there was a good few hundred of us, the size of the room still made it look…empty. I was relieved to see that a few minutes before the show started, the room began to fill up! Phew. Anyway, the show was AMAZING. So much energy! I was so impressed and enjoyed every moment of it. (Except for the opening band…I could have done without them).

Stay tuned for my next Hong Kong post, Part 2, where I will talk about my time in Lamma Island, the island that prohibits cars and any motor vehicles!