When deciding which places to add to the HoneyTrek itinerary we usually search out the tallest mountains, most ancient cities, picturesque beaches, and fascinating cultures…but in the case of Hong Kong it was all about our great friends: Nancy, Guillaume and their two-year old daughter JuJu. It was so great to stay with old buddies after months on our own but as it turns out their local knowledge showed us that Hong Kong is an incredible destination in its own right. A metropolis alive with culture, inspiring architecture, quaint neighborhoods, lovely landscapes, and the best dim sum in the world…Hong Kong was a world-class city and the ideal entree into China.
To celebrate the six years since our first date at The Hoboken Writers Hang, we went to one of Hong Kong’s most iconic restaurants…Jumbo’s Floating Restaurant. Built like a Chinese palace electrified from every eave, this place is as kitschy fabulous as it gets. To access it, we took this pagoda-style barge across the Aberdeen Harbor and went up to its chic new restaurant Top Deck for a romantic meal.
The following day Guillaume played hookie from work and took us to his favorite beach for some pick-up volleyball and a dip in Repulse Bay (fyi, aptly named after the British “repulsed” the numerous pirate clans who used this bay as their home base). After we got our fill of bump-set-spikes we meandered back through the beautiful mountains of northern Hong Kong to meet Nancy and JuJu for a few steins of our new favorite brew, Kronenbourg’s 1664 Blanc, at their local beer garden.
For a bit of family time Nancy’s parents took us all out to a traditional dim sum meal and taught us all the Hong Kongese dining tricks–from what to order to properly pouring a cup of tea.
To burn off one-too-many barbeque pork buns, the five of us went for a walk in Tai Po, the region north of the city center, where Nancy grew up. It was so great to explore the winding streets and food stalls with a local and to see our New York Nancy in full Cantonese mode. The highlight of our walk through town was stumbling upon this small 19th-century temple, smoking with incense coils, that even she had never even seen before.
Hong Kong is a shopping mecca, no two ways about it. If you put the electricity of the Las Vegas Strip, the glamorous store fronts of New York’s Fifth Avenue and the opulence of Dubai in a blender, the result would be something close to the endless shopping malls of Hong Kong.
As luck would have it, while exploring the temples and historic shops climbing in the historic Hollywood Road neighborhood, we stumbled upon this amazing lion dance celebration. Check the slideshow to see these mythical creatures dance 15 feet off the ground.
The architecture around Hong Kong is otherworldly, from skyscrapers that look like Transformers to skylines that would make any sci-fi director jealous to British colonial mansions, there is no shortage of excuses to look up.
After day trekking the city, we decided it was time to pull up a stool and order a frosty beverage and simply watch Hong Kong go by. We watched posh Hong Kongese strut down the cobblestone streets of trendy SoHo (South of Hollywood Road) as we sipped our two-for-one Asahis for a Sunday funday.
As the day ends, the night markets come alive. Jam packed with knock-off designer fashions (or are they knock off….hmmm) and all sorts of interesting foods, the Ladies’ Market is the premier place to shop cheap. Anne picked up some cute “Chinese MC-Hammer” pants, and I scored another terabyte worth of hard-drive space to house our ever growing collection of photos.
For the perfect ending to our stay in Hong Kong we went up to The Peak for lovely dinner with Nancy, Gui and JuJu at Cafe Deco. The views from the highest point in downtown, with twinkling buildings and waterways stretching in every direction, left us with a deep respect for this city and excited for what China has in store.
Thanks for the nice post guys, great memories of a fun (extended) weekend ! What the heck did we do on top of that spiraling tower? Ah yes, admire the surrounding urban architecture and the surprisingly robust structure…of beer cans ; )
such fun spending time with you guys and getting to know Nancy’s family and the beautiful juju! Though beautiful I their own right, the architecture was indeed enhanced by the beers ; )
i was going to look at photos which i can tell are absolutely stunning you know how to capture the moment. Maybe you should work for National Geographic My question is how can i look at the photos in slideshow format so I dont have to hit next 189 times. Thanks. Take care Glad you got to reconnect with some old friends
carol, i made a change that i have wanted to for a while, and your comment gave me the extra kick in the pants. now you dont need to move our mouse around for the next button. you simply click anywhere on the image to advance to the next image. let me know if it works.
carol, well for starters…YOU ROCK, for always looking at the photos and leaving such great comments. so for that, i went into the code and tweaked some things so you dont need to mouse around and find the next button, now you can click anywhere on the image and it will take you to the next slideshow image. not quite an auto-play solution but let me know if you like that better than the old way cc: @77a1cee5b202b84f4a7ecfdef84e47d2:disqus
Gorgeous pics of one of my most favorite places!!!
yeah, i still can’t believe we almost skipped HK. great city.
Thanks once again for a peak into another world. Loved the bikes/food carts.
It wouldn’t be a journey if we didn’t have great friends and family along for the ride Pattie!
Your photos knock me out! Gorgeous. I’m waiting for the coffee table book. You already have the title.
Thanks Val! What is the title?
Loved Hong Kong, although only did it for a day (very long plane layover).
Looks like Hong Kong a lot of fun 🙂 Loving these city photos, capturing the architecture and the nighttime colors …interesting contrast to your last couple of posts. You two are chameleons!
Chameleons
Have an excellent day indeed. Especially when we can get a good shower! glad you liked our city coverage!
Actually, the photos look like they’re from Nepal
LOL, yeah some of them definitely could be….some of them 🙂
Yeah the city was quite interesting and the country side was even cooler.
Those beaches almost deserted, just around the corner from one of the biggest cities in the world. Incredible!
I was shocked to find they had nearly empty white sand beaches!
Not as I remember it from 35 years ago…but better, much better!
Oh how things change…great city!
Gorgeous photos as always! Our Creative Director used to live in Hong Kong and loved it. Glad you had a great time.
Yeah we really had a blast @twitter-396959836:disqus ! How long did your Creative Director live there? Downtown?
@david and @travel transmissions. You are totally thinking what we were. How are these beautiful beaches so empty right next to Hong Kong. Amazing.
Ahhh I miss Hong Kong! Loved it there, and love your photos.
yeah we miss it now too….had a blast there. thanks for the photo love @ConfusedJulia:disqus !
These photos make me wanna go back. I got scammed by a camera salesman on Nathan Road in Kowloon and was served half-raw chicken, but that just added to the experience. Once you’ve been to HK you never really leave.
Glad our blog could bring you back @TravelingErik:disqus – camera scam and a half raw chicken eh? lol. sounds like a title of a book 🙂
Mike, it’s not a bad idea… I’ll at least do a blog story on it.
It’s such a treat when you have friends in a city during your travels! Looks like you had a blast in Hong Kong! I had been there in the late 80s, and when we returned for a visit last year, so much had changed (and so much hadn’t!) We gorged on the amazing food, enjoyed the contrast between old and new, and walked for miles and miles through the various neighborhoods of the city. We’ll be back for sure.
yeah visiting friends, or having a local contact totally changes how you experience a place….we love when we can do that….not as often as we would like though. are you guys big travelers? on and RTW now, or planning one?
We did our first RTW in 2008-09 and another in 2011-2012. We’re home (US) and working for a bit until we can make another escape. Our goal is for it to be permanent. We’ve been enjoying following your adventure! Safe travels!
I’m planning a trip to Hong Kong and found this so helpful, thank you!!!
So glad this post was a help! Definitely make sure you see the beaches and mountains in addition to the city. The contrast is remarkable.
Wow, Hong Kong looks awesome. I had no idea. And now with all the protests going on, I decided to look a little closer.
Yeah, we had an amazing time in Hong Kong. I would love to go back and support them.
What a great post Anne & Mike! I come to your blog and you’re always coming out with amazing stuff (not too often, but amazing none the less). I shared your blog on my Facebook page and my friends enjoy it! Keep up the great work =)
WOW, thanks for the kind words Roxanna…and especially thank YOU for sharing our blog with your Facebook friends, that means so much to us. Seriously.
This is my first time paying a visit on your blog and I’m truly impressed to rеad everything you guys have posted and been!
Welcome to @HoneyTrek Kristeen! Thanks for your kind words and love!
Hey there, terrific website! Does running a blog like HoneyTrek take a lot of work? Ff you have any suggestions or techniques for new blog owners please share. I know this is off topic nevertheless I simply wanted tto ask. Appreciate it!
Chet, oh man…is it an easy road to build a blog? Not by any stretch. If you want to build a successful blog, you need to create content about something you truly love, and are willing to put a lot of energy and time into. Good luck man!
Great post guys! Can’t wait to visit myself someday!
Hong Kong was waaaaaay cooler than we expected, especially the nature side really surprised us!
Loved this post. Your writing really brought me there and your photos are gorgeous!
Awwww…so glad we could bring you to Hong Kong with us Mira! Thanks for the kind words!
Great post guys! Love the way you laid out all the information about Hong Kong, so approachable!
Happy you enjoyed it Layarka…hope it makes your trip to HK that much more enjoyable!
Do you mind if I quote a few of your posts as long as I provide
credit and sources back to your site? My blog is in the very same area of interest as yours and my
visitors would really benefit from some of the information you provide here.
Please let me know if this okay with you. Appreciate it!
Jivy. If you’d like to quote us, please send us an email at MikeAnne@HoneyTrek.com. Thanks so much!