Header photo: StokSnap, CC0
What impressed me about Hong Kong and useful information at the end.
There are two mega cities in Southeast Asia - Singapore and Hong Kong (well, Macau, okay, three). I was once told that if you want to see both, it’s better to go to Singapore first, then Hong Kong. By coincidence, this is what happened. And now I understand why: after Hong Kong, Singapore will not be so impressive, but having visited Singapore, on the contrary, I still like Singapore.
Start.
What immediately impressed me was the view of the embankment on the Kowloon side. You probably won’t see such a number of skyscrapers standing like a solid wall with greenery surrounding them, and you just want to sit and watch. Although the weather was cloudy and the haze made everything grey, it was still very beautiful.
They say about Hong Kong “concrete jungle” and, indeed, this name itself comes to mind when you look at the views of Hong Kong Island. And it’s quite unusual to wander the streets when huge skyscraper towers rise above you, making the streets look like narrow paths among all these giants.
By the way, the old double-decker trams, a colonial heritage of England, plying along the coastline of Hong Kong Island are absolutely captivating. I just really want to ride there. Cost of everything 2.3 HKD adult and 1.2 HKD children's
Tram lines remain only on Hong Kong Island, and are located along the coastline. They go there and back, more details can be found on the tram website. Tram drivers do not give change, so either count coins or pay with an Octopus card (more about it below).
You can, for example, take a double-decker tram to a shopping center Hopewell Center(Address: 62/F, Hopewell Centre, 183 Queen’s Road East) and go up for lunch at the panoramic restaurant, which also rotates with a 360-degree view. Previously there was a bar VIEW 62 by PACO RONCERO, featured in many blogs, but now here The Grand Buffet. Pay an entry fee and eat as much as you want while the city view restaurant rotates, giving you views from all angles.
Despite the increased development, when walking in the center you can still find quite a lot of greenery, beautiful cozy parks, where you can even see flamingos. I thought it was so cool. Imagine coming home from work and sitting in the office all day staring at the computer. And then again - a flamingo, well, just in a city park. Class!
By the way, this is Kowloon Park, located right next to the Tsim Sha Tsui (or Chims Tsui) metro station, admission is free. There is also a small bird house inside the park, also free.
Nicobar pigeon 
The park also has an outdoor swimming pool for a fee, but at the moment it was under reconstruction and was closed. Among other things, the city has several temples, Chinese and Buddhist, museums, for example, the science museum is a rather interesting place. But all this can be seen if you are in Hong Kong for one or two days. If it’s just a couple of days, then it’s definitely worth a trip to Victoria Peak and Lantau Island to Big Buddha. By the way, it is convenient to visit Buddha on the way to or from the airport, if you are light.
Victoria Peak is located on Hong Kong Island, it is from here that the very famous views that are the hallmark of Hong Kong were taken. Of course it’s better to come here when the sky is clear, otherwise good views It won’t work and the impressions may be somewhat blurred.
The mountain where Victoria Peak itself is located is a rather elite place to live. The first buildings appeared here at the end of the 19th century, when Governor Richard McDonell built his house here, and then other wealthy residents followed his example.
Get to the Peak The most convenient way is to take the Peak Tram funicular. You can also pay for the trip with an Octopus card, the cost can be viewed on the website Peak Tram. At the top you will find yourself on a platform on the mountain with cafes and shops, where you can go up to the observation deck Sky Terrace 428 (the ticket can be bought immediately along with the ticket for the funicular). The tower itself has a balcony on the second tier, where you can go out for free and look at almost the same view as from above, but not with such a large viewing angle.
At the observation deck itself there is an audio guide, free of charge, you can pick it up at the orange booth at the entrance. You will be given a player and headphones. True, they will only speak English there, but you can poke at the player screen and see what kind of skyscrapers are visible from the Peak, their names and a short description.
The views actually open not only to the skyscrapers, but also to the mountains and the sea on the other side, but due to the rainy weather almost nothing was visible.
More budgetary Victoria Peak can be reached by bus number 15, which departs from pier 5 or 7, there is a bus stop there. You can walk to the pier from the Central metro station or, if you are coming from Kowloon, you can take a ferry there. Cost of travel to the top 9.8 HKD.
Even more budget-friendly You can walk there, the easiest way to do this is from the end of the Mid-Levels Escalator - the longest escalator in the world, listed in the Guinness Book of World Records. You can get to it on foot from the Central or Hongkong metro or in 10 minutes from the pier if you arrived by ferry from Kowloon (by the way, you can download an offline map Maps Me V Google Play or App Store and navigate it).
In general, this is not really an escalator, just a road up with many escalators and travelators between the flights. There are just steps next to the escalator. The escalator system was designed specifically to take people down in the morning and up in the evening. Therefore, keep in mind that you won’t be able to go up and down on it, the escalator works from 6 am to 10.30 only down, and from 10.30 to 12 at night only up.
The escalator is free, to say that it’s worth going there not for the free climb up the mountain, but just to look... well, to be honest, we didn’t find anything interesting in it - just a staircase, just ordinary life around: windows of houses, courtyards, shops, laundry drying... Decide for yourself whether to waste time on it.
But there is a small bonus if you come just a couple of flights up, you can see the terminal for the Octopus card, by attaching the card to it you will be credited 2 HKD, just such a bonus. It will be very easy to find, he is the only one there, and everyone, passing by, puts their cards.
From the escalator at the top to Victoria Peak they say it takes half an hour to walk. We didn’t go because our goal was to get there in an interesting way, not for free. True, for a change, we decided to go down on foot and take the funicular up to the top (by the way, they say there are long queues at the ticket office, but we came in the morning and there was no queue).
But in the end, we didn’t really like the idea of “walking down” either, the road is quite long, although nice, and you can also get confused: the signs are not clear, the paths branch off, and you can get out at the other end of the island, which is what we did, why at the end of the path my legs felt like lead and I didn’t want to walk anywhere else.
Everything described above, in principle, can be visited in one day. But I advise you to spend another day on Lantau Island and Po Lin Monastery.
This is where it's really cool. I don’t know if this is connected with Buddha, but the place is incredibly energetic and peaceful. And also great views of the mountains. By the way, in rainy weather they were even more gorgeous. So unusually the clouds covered the tops, now sliding down, now rising to the top, completely hiding everything behind them. Sometimes it seemed like there were heavenly rocks or flying islands and Buddha was sitting on top of everything.
At the top, don’t be lazy, walk through the village of Ngong Ping, sit in a cafe with coffee, it’s so nice. There are also shops with souvenirs and various crafts. For example, a shop of Japanese cats Maneki-neko, which bring good luck and wealth. The choice is very large and varied.
Even in cloudy weather it is pleasant here. 
By the way, the route can be built like this: go there by bus, and back by cable car. The bus ride takes about 45 minutes, but the views are very beautiful, and at the same time you can partially see Lantau itself. Along the road there are views of beaches and mountains, as well as a very beautiful lake among the mountains, very picturesque, the road simply flies by. And back, when there are already a lot of impressions, return along the short cable car route.
This is what we planned to do, but the weather was rainy, which is not uncommon here, and in this case there is no point in taking the cable car, since you won’t see anything. Which means nothing, it’s like this :) And it’s not a bad shot, you really can’t see anything, the departing booths disappear from sight already 20 meters away.
You can get there from the city by metro to Tung Chung station, then or directly by cable car Ngong Ping 360(5 minutes walk).
By bus: near the cable car there is a ring of buses, take route No. 23, the bus runs quite often, fare 17.20 HKD.
From airport: by bus №s1 to the Tung Chung metro station and then either the cable car or bus 23. For example, we drove from the city to the airport, left our things there and went lightly to the mountain. But, if you decide to go to the Big Buddha during a layover in Hong Kong, then for a quiet inspection you need at least 4 hours of time, taking into account the road.
Information about Hong Kong
So, you've arrived. How to get to the city from the airport.
The cheapest option is a bus. By the way, this is what I recommend, since the buses are double-deckers, and if you are smart and sit in the front seats on the second floor, you can see the views of Hong Kong as if you were in the first row of a movie theater. However, if you have suitcases, you won’t be able to go upstairs; the stairs are very narrow. Or you can leave your suitcases downstairs, in a special compartment, and watch them on the screen on the second floor, since there is a camera installed. The numbers of stops and names of the nearest hotels are also written on the screen, so you can navigate where to get off. But don’t yawn closer to the center, there are stops literally every minute, everything is very close.
Many blogs write about how to find a bus, go to the terminal there f, d, b... go down, right to left... I don’t see any point in filling my head with this information. Hong Kong and Singapore airports are probably the most informed places in the world. There are signs, signs, and inscriptions everywhere. You can easily find where to go to the bus station, where to express trains and everything else.
Therefore, leave the arrivals area, look at the signs that are everywhere there, and go down to the bus stop. Immediately at the exit you will see a large board with bus numbers and routes. My accommodation was in Kowloon, if you go there, then for you bus A21. Price 33 HKD, (exchange rates he.som).
It also goes to the center - Airport express- fast and convenient, but not particularly budget-friendly. Although it is still more convenient to get to Kowloon by bus, in my opinion, it goes past the necessary hotels.
RECOMMENDATION: to pay for public transport use map Octopus, you can buy it at the MRI counter at the airport, the same place where express tickets to the city are sold. It’s very easy to buy, go to the MRI (large prominent counters in the middle of the halls), say “octopus card”, and they give it to you.
Minimum you can pay 150 HKD, of which 9 will not be returned (or will be returned if you stay in Hong Kong for at least 3 months), 50 is a refundable deposit, that is, there will be 100 HKD in the account for use.
If you are already planning from the beginning and know where you will go, what places you will visit, then you can immediately put more money on the card. But, since the exchange rate at the airport is not the most favorable, you can report it later, in special metro terminals or in any 7/11 store at the checkout.
The card can be used to pay for transport (bus, tram, metro, inter-island ferry, entrance fees to Victoria Peak, cable car to Lantau, purchases at 7/11, other stores, etc.). In general, you don’t need to carry money, it’s convenient in transport since drivers usually don’t give change, in some places there is a discount with this card. And for those who are not particularly fluent in English, it will be easier - you don’t need to figure out what’s what in the metro or ferry terminals, you just attach your card and go.
Accommodation
If you want a good hotel, then there is a large choice, compare prices of various hotel booking systems through special resources Hotellook or RoomGuru. If we talk about budget accommodation, there are entire complexes with a bunch of guesthouses in one building, they are located in Kowloon.
We stayed in one of these Chungking Mansion(the Mirador Mansion nearby, for example, is the same). If you are traveling by bus A21 from the airport, get off at stop No. 14. Several buildings of 16 floors with guesthouses and hostels on each floor. And the hall on the first floor is strewn with small shops, cafes, money changers, and barkers of all trades. Don't try to talk to them, just move on with your business.
The rooms here are usually small, very small. We chose from all the guest rooms, the room was clean and quite decent. Knowing that the rooms were small, we chose a room for three in advance, although we did not plan to be in a room of three. But, there is a point that applies to many guest rooms, not only this, if you book a room for one, and you arrive together, they may ask for an additional payment for the second, despite the fact that it is the same room.
this is the entire size of the room, there’s nowhere to go further :) 
But the location of Chungking Mansion is simply excellent: firstly, there is an embankment nearby with a view of Hong Kong Island, from here you can see the skyscrapers day and night. The view of Kowloon from the waterfront of Hong Kong Island is not so beautiful, since the bulk of the skyscrapers are located on it, and the adjacent jungle on the mountain behind simply perfectly complements the view. All this can be seen from Kowloon, and it is also convenient to watch the evening laser show “Symphony of Lights”.
Although... a few words about the show. It is probably technically complex, and this light and sound show is included in the Guinness Book of Records as the largest in the world. The use of bright lighting, laser beams and spotlights reflects the energy, spirit and diversity of Hong Kong, more than 40 buildings are involved, but, in principle, you will not see anything very special: green laser beams and floating images on some skyscrapers of Hong Kong Island . Therefore, in fact, I don’t know what you can see from Hong Kong Island itself with a view of Kowloon. Show free, begins at 20.00 every evening and takes about 15 minutes.
Also close to Chungking Mansion, The Avenue of Stars is 10 minutes away. True, it is now under reconstruction and the imprints of the stars are just located not far from the embankment on the site. But perhaps the reconstruction had already ended by the time I read it. You can also get here by direct bus A21 from the airport if you decide to go to the city during a layover in Hong Kong.
The Avenue of Stars is located on the site behind the embankment 
Here the statue of Bruce Lee does not look as impressive as on the embankment 
Jackie Chan 
And other celebrities Another convenient location: on the streets near Chungking Mansion there are a lot of cafes and restaurants, and right next to the exit from the mansion there is an excellent cafe on the second floor of the shopping center with very affordable prices and quite decent food. By the way, the dishes change all day (breakfast, lunch, dinner) and the menu also changes every day.
To find a cafe, you need to leave Chungking Mansion, turn right literally two steps and go up the escalator to the third floor of the Cke Shopping Mall, where the cafe sign will hang on the right.
The following amenities accommodation at Chungking Mansion - very close to the ferry pier Star Ferry, from where you can travel to Hong Kong Island, one way price only 2.50 HKD on weekdays and 3.40 HKD on weekends and holidays. They go every 10-15 minutes. But please note that two ferries depart from the Star Ferry pier in different directions.
It's very easy to understand If you have an Octopus card, go straight away; if not, then buy a token from the machine on the side. Ferries operate from 6:30 to 23:30.
Also, in Kowloon, a little further than the Star Ferry ferries from the China Ferry Terminal pier, from where they depart ferries to Macau — TurboJet(cost from 164 HKD there and 154 HKD back) and Cotai Water Jet, they say at travel agencies you can buy ferry tickets a little cheaper. Check it out, maybe so. 🙂 Ferries operating hours: from 7.00 to 24.00.
But ferries also run to Macau from the pier on Hong Kong Island: Hong Kong Macau Ferry Terminal and from the airport: SkyPier, their location is very easy to find in Google by typing the name.
And in Macau itself there is also more than one pier, this is Macau Outer Harbor Ferry Terminal and on Taipa Island - Taipa Ferry Terminal, so carefully look at the schedule of where you are sailing and from where.
Cheap tickets to Hong Kong convenient to search . Enter your city and click on specific dates or the cheapest month. When you find it, I advise you to check it, sometimes the same tickets are cheaper, but more often it’s the other way around.
If you have questions, you can leave them in the comments to the post.
If you find an error, please highlight a piece of text and click Ctrl+Enter.
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A trip to Hong Kong can be combined with holidays celebrated here, both traditional Chinese and those from the West. Traditional holidays in the Yueli lunar calendar do not have fixed dates.
Chinese New Year Chunjie ("Spring Festival") falls on the first new moon of the first month of the year (January - February) and is celebrated on a grand scale, with colorful parades on the water and magnificent fireworks displays over Victoria Harbor.
The Yuan Xiaojie Lantern Festival falls on the 15th day of the new year and is accompanied by the lighting of millions of lanterns.
Remembrance Day Qingming or Taqingjie (full moon of the third month, April) is a ritual day of remembrance of ancestors and memory of fallen heroes, accompanied by ancient rituals.
The Duanyujie holiday is very colorful - the Dragon Boat Festival (the fifth day of the fifth month, June), during which the poet Wut Yuan is commemorated and boat competitions are held.
In August - September, Yue Lian is celebrated - the Festival of Wandering Spirits (the first day of the seventh moon), when, according to legend, the souls of the dead visit the world of the living.
Worship of the Moon God takes place on the Zhongtsujie Moon or Harvest Festival (fifteenth night of the eighth moon, September), which is also considered a lover's holiday and a day of remembrance of the uprising against the Mongol conquerors.
The birthday of the great philosopher Confucius (September 28) is also a national holiday.
Hong Kong regularly hosts the grand Mid-Autumn Festival and the honor of the fullest moon of the year, the world's largest exhibition of toys and games "Hong Kong International Toys and Games Fair" (January), one of the largest in Asia, the Hong Kong Theater Festival (February - March).
Speaking of theater, be sure to visit the Cantonese Opera. As in the famous Peking Opera, much attention is paid to the entertainment side. Statically, the mise-en-scène allows the viewer to get to know each of the characters in detail, his appearance, character and role in the plot. But everything changes in a second - and now in front of you are agile acrobats, sparkling bright colors and loud music accompanying the action. Chinese drama is also of great interest; before the performance begins, it is advisable to familiarize yourself with the plot by reading the program. In any case, pleasure and good mood from performance are guaranteed.
Catholic Christmas, Orthodox Christmas, traditional New Year, and Chinese are celebrated here with pleasure. True, sometimes confusion arises because the traditions of one part of the world overlap with the traditions and understanding of another. Hong Kong has an incredible mix of cultural traditions.
European New Year and Christmas
European New Year and Christmas are celebrated here by not a very large group of people, although the city dresses up especially for tourists. In general, locals are never against celebrating something. In Russia, the symbol of Christmas and New Year is snow, a decorated Christmas tree and gifts. An English tradition has also taken root here - decorating houses with holly, a beautiful green plant with bright red berries, which is invariably associated with the holiday. The majority still celebrates Christmas on December 25, since the influence of Catholicism here turned out to be much stronger than Orthodoxy. However, if you want to celebrate Christmas on January 7, no one will mind.
There are currently 10% Christians living in Hong Kong. They are preparing for Christmas, many grow Christmas trees specially for this holiday. Charity is also common here: organized groups visit shelters, nursing homes, give gifts to the poor, and collect parcels for prisons.
The New Year itself is celebrated in a fairly standard way: walks through the festively decorated center, and in the evening there is the obligatory fireworks display.
However, since the latter has become something of a national art form here.
In the last days of December and the first days of January, tourists will find cafes, museums and restaurants.
Among the restaurants, Jumbo is considered the most famous. Built in 1976. This is one of the largest floating restaurants in the world, a three-story ship. It serves Cantonese and fusion food.
Chinese New Year Offices and houses are sparkling clean, parents give their children money in red envelopes, and you can see a huge number of people on the streets. Not a lot of people, but a lot! Fireworks simply amaze even those who have already seen enough of such spectacles.
If you're dreaming of a shopping frenzy in this city, then Chinese New Year is a great time for those who don't mind the crazy crowds.
Stores organize massive sales and delight customers with incredible discounts. Hong Kong is also hung with lanterns, and there are artificial peach trees everywhere, which in the East are associated with the holiday, like a Christmas tree in Russia. Another, no less popular attribute is the tangerine tree.
The city also hosts an incredibly beautiful parade, a huge festive procession.
Guides do not advise choosing black or white clothes for travel; they are associated with sadness and mourning.
Birthday of the Goddess Tin Hau
The birthday of the goddess Tin Hau is a special holiday. We are talking about a deity who patronizes fishermen and people associated with the sea. Hong Kong, located on several hundred islands and directly dependent on the elements of the sea, is sensitive to this date.
There are 300 temples dedicated to the goddess in Hong Kong.
On this day, festive prayers and services are held in her honor. People organize festive ritual processions and bring offerings to temples, mainly flowers, beautiful shells and rare dishes, such as roast pork. Not without processions and fireworks.
In honor of the goddess, many sailors decorate their boats and yachts.
Bun Festival Another unique event is the bun festival. The day of gratitude of local residents to the deities for the end of the terrible plague epidemic.
However, some historians specify that local residents were fleeing from a typhoon and pirates; in any case, after those events, it was decided that the deities demanded that they be thanked more often for their safety. The result was this unusual holiday. The holiday goes like this:
In stadiums, tall towers are built to house imitation buns. Teams of athletes compete with each other to see who will collect the most buns with special numbers and who will get the most important bun, located at the very top - the bun.
After the winner is determined, spectators are given imitation buns, which they can exchange for real ones made from rice dough. All this takes place in a festive atmosphere, accompanied by cheerful music.
The culinary basis in Hong Kong is Chinese, or rather Cantonese, cuisine. True, under the influence of Western traditions it has become a little more civilized. So, today they no longer serve cats, and there are fewer other exotics.
You can try amazing dim sum anywhere. This is a filling of chicken, shrimp, sometimes pork or fish, which is wrapped in dough made from starch. All this is steamed until completely cooked, and the dough is translucent.
Hong Kong boasts several establishments with Michelin stars, one of which was awarded to a chain establishment!
In some places you have to wait in line for 30 minutes, which is their only drawback.
Hong Kong is called the culinary capital of the world, and it’s definitely worth coming here for the Gastronomic Festival. During this festive event, you can meet not only local chefs, but also the best specialists from Japan, Thailand and many other countries who go to compete and demonstrate their skills.
Duanwujie or Dragon Boat Festival
The history of this holiday goes back to the life of one court poet, who died because of a dragon.
Since the deceased was a patriot who did a lot to improve the lives of the Chinese, after his death the residents decided to help his spirit calm down. They began to sail on boats, scaring away the dragon, which was clearly tormenting the poet. Since no one knew in which body of water the tragedy happened, people began to do this almost all over China.
Over time, it became a tradition: to gather every year on the 5th of the 5th month and sail on boats with the image of a dragon's face to scare away the evil spirit.
Gradually, the subtext of what was happening faded away, and the holiday acquired the characteristics of an event associated with a fun pastime on the water and competitions between different teams.
Tam Kun's birthday
Tam Kun is a deity associated with Taoism, who can influence the weather and can protect against typhoons and hurricanes.
In honor of him, there are many temples in Hong Kong, and a holiday dedicated to the deity takes place every day at the very beginning of May.
Everything is celebrated in a fairly standard way: incense and prayers in temples, sacrifices, processions and of course fireworks. The holiday is celebrated only in Hong Kong.
Mid-Autumn Festival One of the brightest holidays in Hong Kong, which is celebrated on lunar calendar
, so there is no exact date. Usually falls in September or October.. In addition, the streets are decorated with illuminated lanterns and entire glowing installations, and performances by artists are held in the parks.
It is considered one of the most colorful holidays in Hong Kong.
Total
Every holiday in Hong Kong means traditional worship of deities in temples, incense, gifts for relatives, a festive procession (with or without a dragon), fireworks and of course red lanterns, as well as smiles and good mood. But the biggest one is Chinese New Year.
