Our first impression of Hong Kong was from the huge and immaculate airport
when we landed - everything was so clean and there were shops and escalators everywhere -
certainly a distinct change from scruffy Heathrow.
Hong Kong's airport is located around 35
kilometres outside of Kowloon and there are several ways from the airport into Kowloon and Hong
Kong Island - there are fast and reliable underground services on the MTR, fast buses or
what we chose which was a taxi (this cost 480 Hong Kong dollars).
As you get nearer to Kowloon the roads become
increasingly busy and inevitably it all can grind to a halt as you end up in traffic jams - especially around
Nathan Street.
The next impression is probably just the sheer amount of people moving around
- this is particularly noticeable from around late afternoon and well into the
evening when loads of people are out and about just wandering the streets.
Kowloon certainly has it's share of skyscrapers especially around Nathan Street
- many of these seem to be flats of course with most of the business capacity
being down on the front by Victoria Harbour and even more so over on
Hong Kong Island with it's incredible skyscrapers.
During the few days we spent on Hong Kong the air quality was appalling and quite a few people out on the streets were wearing masks. When you are down at the ferry terminal at Kowloon it is only a short distance across Victoria Harbour waters to Hong Kong Island but at times you could hardly see across to the other side due to the mucky air.
There are needless to say loads of shops along Kowloon's Nathan Street and it's side streets where you can probably buy anything you can imagine. Expect if you are from Europe to be frequently pestered about whether you want to buy a suit or other clothes or perhaps a watch or a camera etc whilst you walk around this part of Kowloon.
Hotels and restaurants etc. We read a lot on the web about
the really small size of room you tend to get in Hong Kong Hotels unless you of
course go 5 star+ and pay a fortune - well our only experience was of where we stayed of course
which was the Stanford Hillview just off Nathan Street near Observatory Road on
Knutsford Terrace, Tsimshatsui,- we found the standard room to be of reasonable
size and it had a nice bathroom.
The room was also cleaned and sheet-changed etc
correctly and the staff were courteous - the room cost us 70 UK Pounds per
night.
As far as eating out was concerned - well it is Hong Kong so you really can
spend any varied amount on your meals. There are plenty of noodle bars in and
around Nathan Street - sort of noodle fast food. There are quite a few
restaurants on a small road which runs just off Knutsford Terrace near the hotel
- with quite a variety of food varieties available.
Hong Kong Island.
If you are staying in Kowloon then the ferry for Hong Kong Island leaves from
Victoria Harbour - at the harbour end of Nathan Street turn right and the Star
Ferry terminal is around a 5 to 10 minutes walk.
The island is where most of Hong Kong's
businesses are located and therefore as mentioned there are lots of incredibly high
skyscrapers to house them all.
Behind them and a little way up the slopes are expensive flats - the higher
up they are the more expensive they become as the atmosphere improves and you
have to pay for this of course.
Impressive as this all is we mostly enjoyed our
trip because we walked through the skyscraper bit to find the Peak Tram and take
a trip on this famous rail system.
Peak Tram. This old tram system has been running for over a
100 years (it went into service in May 1888) and manages to haul it's two
carriages up a sometimes 27 degree incline from Garden Road near St John's
Cathedral to Victoria Gap - the 1.4km trip up gives some marvellous views of
Hong Kong Island. At the Peak you can walk higher up into Peak Tower where there
are lots
of shops and a restaurant. Right at the top they have a
viewing platform - you have to pay to go into this area.
There are various walks from here - you can go up to Victoria Peak or you can
walk the Peak Circuit or the circuit down to Pok-Fu Lam Reservoir through the
Country Park. In fact a surprisingly large percentage of Hong Kong Island is
countryside and parkland and there are actually many walks you can enjoy if you
have the time - and energy.
The walk we did and described below combined all 3 - firstly up to Victoria Peak
Gardens, then via the Governor's Walk to the Peak Circuit, then down to the
reservoir and returned back to the Peak Tower. We then walked down via paths and
lots of steps to
the Peak Tram Terminal and then on back to Hong Kong Harbour at Central to get
our Kowloon ferry.
Note on countryside walking - there are more than 40 types
of snakes in Hong Kong - most of which are not venomous - however there are
Red-necked Keelback, vipers and kraits around as well as python, rat snakes and
so on so you should be aware of what's around you especially if you use the
narrower paths.
Leaving the tram terminal turn right to almost immediately reach a 6-way road junction - if you want to walk up to Victoria Peak Gardens take Mount Austin Road - this is an extremely steep road in places but is not busy with road traffic so ok to walk.
When we reached the Governor's Gardens we had a look round and then took the path known as the Governor's Walk. This path (note when we were there part of the path was closed for repair and you might have to go back down the road a little way to join this path) winds down and round the hillside again offering really good views in places - and ends up quite steep as it reaches the Peak Circuit.
If you have the time this Peak
Circuit is really worth doing - and also the way is pretty well flat.
You walk mostly on a narrow care-free road - we turned right from and went round it clockwise - yet
again the view of Victoria Harbour and Hong Island and it's scrapers was
excellent. The whole circuit is around 2 miles or 3kms. When you reach the Peak
Junction to complete the circuit you need to continue along Harlech Road - and
then you reach your start point by the Governor's Walk path exit.
From this junction we took a path on the left which is marked to Pok-Fu Lam
Reservoir - this really nice path descends down to reach a picnic area where
there are some seats plus an old gun emplacement. The clearly marked path
continues down quite steeply and on steps in places - passing through trees and
foliage to reach a metal road by the reservoir.
Turn left and follow the road soon passing some toilets to reach a bridge - cross over and then turn left in effect staying on the road - this climbs very steeply in places but really was a pleasant if somewhat breathless walk. The road eventually joins a main road near The Peak Terminal - carry on straight ahead and then turn right in front of the Terminal and Shops to reach Findlay Road.
Continue down the road and then turn left at the road junction - this narrow road winds on down to reach Plantation Road by Barker Road Tram Station. Continue along Barker Road for about 1km and then just after passing some tennis courts on the left and the Old Victoria Hospital on the right take the signed Chatham Path which leaves on the left. This is actually called the Central Green trail - this is a really nice descending path which has many shrubs and trees either side of it and also lots of birds.
Further down the path ignore a dead end path going right - just continue to
reach May Road - cross this busy road and then go left for a short distance to
reach Clovelly Path leaving on the right. This path soon joins Brewin Path, turn
right and follow Brewin Path to eventually reach Magazine Gap Road - cross this
and continue down steps onto the Tramway path. The path is clearly marked as it
continues down mostly on steps to finally arrive at the Peak Tramway Terminal.
The variety, shapes and sizes of the numerous boats wandering about in and around Victoria Harbour were really excellent to watch - and we took quite a few boat photos whilst down on the Kowloon side of the waterway.
There is actually an excellent pedestrian area along here - lots of seating around plus cafes and restaurants etc. - and of course this is where Kowloon's clock tower is situated.
You may be interested in our pages about Lantau Island
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