Hong Kong is a comfortable co-existence of Eastern and Western cultures. Like individual waves lapping on the shore the two cultures carve out their marks on the world, sometimes overlapping and sometimes merging completely into one another. The relationship between the cultures is fluid, and impressions of both background are visible in nearly everything. In this place both East and West embrace the other while maintaining distinct identities alongside one another. This makes Hong Kong an easy and fascinating place for Westerners to visit.
Hong Kong offers a large variety of things to see, do, eat, and buy. For those visiting from English speaking countries, you will find that most native Hong Kong residents speak English as a second language, making it fairly easy to navigate. Most Hong Kong natives speak Cantonese primarily, but range between conversational and fluent in English. Nearly all signs are written in both Chinese and English and all public announcements are made in both languages.
Hong Kong is very friendly toward tourists. While we visited Hong Kong we were approached by ambassadors of the Hong Kong tourism board and invited to participate in a free trolley tour of the city celebrating the Rugby 7’s Tournament taking place during our visit. Our trolley tour was complete with contests, gifts, and free beer. Overall I’d recommend a visit to Hong Kong to anyone thinking of a visit to Asia and it’s a great destination for a new or less adventurous traveler.
You Should Visit Hong Kong If:
- You enjoy cities. There are a lot of parts to Hong Kong that are not metropolitan, however, if you want a nature vacation or to lounge on a white sand beach, you will be disappointed. There are many parks and hiking opportunities as well as several beaches if you think you would enjoy a day excursion. If you like the idea of a primarily city trip with the opportunity to throw in a dash of palm trees, you will enjoy Hong Kong.
- You don’t mind being a little crunched for space or you have a large hotel budget. Space in Hong Kong is limited. We shared a hotel room for a little more than $80 USD a night with two twin beds and no storage space. I insisted we stay in a facility that put the shower and toilet in separate compartments and that had a bathroom with a door. We made it work, but it required a bit of extra time every day to dig through our luggage, find what we needed, and shove everything back into the bag.
- You’re interested in visiting an Asian country but are a picky eater. Many articles about Hong Kong praise its cheap, delicious dim sum. I have always loved eating the local fare in the countries I visited but discovered that I despise most dim sum. This turned out not to be an issue. Hong Kong attracts a wide variety of expats from many parts of the world who bring their cuisine with them. Sai Ying Pun, where we stayed, offered a large variety of delicious Western style restaurants. I observed that this was true throughout the city. While it’s true that you have the opportunity to enjoy a local feast for only a few dollars, you also will have the opportunity to eat hamburgers, spaghetti, or a perfectly cooked steak for prices similar to those in the States.
- You’re interested in a foreign vacation but have limited travel experience. Hong Kong is incredibly easy to navigate due to its extremely efficient metro system. The airport is nearly as easy to navigate as any American airport I’ve been in and customs and immigration is a breeze in Hong Kong. Additionally Hong Kong has all of the modern amenities you are likely accustomed to if you’re coming from the States. While it’s true you will need an electrical outlet convertor if you want to charge or use any of your electronic devices, you can buy these products in Hong Kong if you forget them before you arrive.
- You are looking for an active trip. During our time in Hong Kong I walked between five and ten miles every day. Hong Kong is not a flat city and much of this walking is on an incline. The midtown area is so steep that escalators are installed next to the sidewalks. On one day when walking to and through the city botanical gardens and zoo, my Fitbit recorded me walking 65 flights of steps. You might be able to avoid reaching this level of activity by relying on cabs more heavily, but this is not a relax in one spot type of destination if you want to do much sightseeing. If you are visiting Hong Kong for shopping and dining, you could get by with significantly less walking.
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