Lost in Hong Kong

Hong Kong is situated on China’s south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea. It has a land spread of 1104 sq Km and a population of 7 million people consisting of 95 percent ethnic Chinese and 5 percent from other groups.

The first opium war (1839-42) between the Qing Dynasty and Great Britain lead to the cessation of Hong Kong to Britain under the Treaty of Nanking in 1842 . The Kowloon Peninsula was handed over in 1860 and a 99-year lease on the New Territories, comprising the area north of Kowloon up to the Shenzhen River plus 235 outlying islands, was granted to Great Britain in 1898.

Under Sino – British Joint Declaration signed in 1984, under the unique principle of 'One Country, Two Systems', Hong Kong returned to Chinese sovereignty on 1 July 1997 as a Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China. This arrangement allows Hong Kong to enjoy a high degree of autonomy, retaining its capitalist system, independent judiciary and rule of law, free trade and freedom of speech for a period of 50 years.

The Jewel in the Crown stands out and position itself on the top bracket of international rankings in many spheres. A high index of economic freedom, e-readiness, market for business access to capital , a magnificent harbor, has made Hong Kong a leading international financial hub. Good governance, low taxes, free trade, quality of life, corruption perception, high life expectancy  has attracted hordes of people . The lack of space caused demand for denser constructions, which developed the city to a center for modern architecture and ranks itself as the number one in the world by visual impact of its skyline.

Hong Kong is a five and a half hours flight from Mumbai. Number of airlines like Air India, Cathy Pacific, Jet Airways etc operate daily between Mumbai – Hong Kong and back. We landed at the Hong Kong International Airport early in the morning setting our watches by adding two and a half hours to the Indian Standard Time.The World Clock – Time Zones. The weather was cool and sunny with the temperature hovering around 22 degree C.  Check on the weather forecast and the best time to travel to Hong Kong. through the site  7-Day Weather Forecast Hong Kong Climate, Best time to travel to Hong Kong.  The Hong Kong currency is  $HK       XE - Universal Currency Converter

  

The HKIA is one the busiest  airports in the world and handle more than 50 million passengers a year. The escalators, automated people movers, the underground train system, the cleanliness, the dining and shopping experience left us spell bound. One should not get unfazed by the size and swanky Hong Kong International Airport but just enjoy the surroundings and follow the direction sinages. The HKIA even had an underground train to take the passengers to the Immigration counters. A few minutes train ride and few escalator rides brought us to the immigration counters.    Hong Kong International Airport

The immigration was swift and professionally handled. Visa free period for visitors for Indians in Hong Kong is not exceeding 14 days. However one needs to have confirmed return air tickets to their next destination and the address of their stay in Hong Kong. By the time we obtained immigration clearance, the luggage was waiting to be collected. "Visit Visa / Entry Permit Requirements for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region"

The paucity of  space in Hong Kong also led to a highly developed  mass transportation network and the public transport travelling rate exceeding 90 percent, the highest in the world. We were amazed by the number of options one has, for commuting to and fro from the HKIA. We gathered that most of the residents of Hong Kong do not know how to drive a car, because with the excellent, neat, fast, in time schedules mass transportation system in place, there is no need of learning to drive a car. 

Taxi is a option where most of the international travelers prefer since one feels safe of not losing their way to their City destination.

In Hong Kong, different taxis have designated operating areas  Urban taxis ( Red) operate in most areas in Hong Kong (except Tung Chung Road and roads in south Lantau). New Territories taxis (Green)  mainly operate in the north-eastern part  and north-western part  of the New Territories. Lantau taxis (Blue) operate only on Lantau Island . All taxis are allowed to provide services at Hong Kong International Airport and Hong Kong Disneyland.

Taxis are installed with a taximeter to calculate the fare based on the distance travelled together with any waiting time incurred while the taxi is hired. The fare on a taximeter is in Hong Kong dollars and cents. Passengers needs to pay taxi fare as recorded by the taximeters in accordance with the law. Also, passengers are required to pay additional charges according to the circumstances. www.td.gov.hk

Hotel coaches are also available at HKIA to take passengers to and from major hotels in Hong Kong. Service counter no 15 inside the Coach Station of Terminal 2 may be contacted.

We opted for the Airport Express to get to our City destination. The Airport Express takes passengers to Hong Kong Central Station in just 24 minutes. Quick and comfortable, trains depart at about 10-minute intervals and operates till mid night.

The convenient mode of payment for Transport in Hong Kong through Airport Express, MTR , taxis, buses, trams, ferries is the Octopus card. This Octopus Card can also be utilised for making payments  in Retail. parking, self service, leisure facilities, hospitals, schools etc. We understand that in a 7 million population of Hong Kong, the number of Octopus Card in circulation is 10 million cards. This speaks volumes in success and convenience of the card.  To get access to the Airport Express, MTR, Buses, trams & ferries every person should be carrying a Octopus Card. We have seen children smartly waving their octopus card in MTR stations & bus rides.

During the time of our visit to Hong Kong there was a incentive for tourist to travel by the Airport Express, @ HK$300 (including security deposit of $ HK 50 for the card ) , one could travel one time to & fro Airport to Hong Kong Central in the Airport Express plus three days of free MTR travel anywhere in Hong Kong.

The Octopus Card can be  top-up  at any public transportation company's Customer Service Centres, MTR stations' Octopus Add-Value machines or convenience stores such as 7-11 or Circle K.

We  had  to just wave the Octopus Card over the Octopus Reader (even if it's in your wallet or handbag), payments will be deducted instantly (provided one  has enough funds in the Card). The reader will also tell the new balance of the Octopus Card.

At the end of the visit, tourist can return their Octopus Card at any of the service centres and avail the refund of the balance and the security deposit of HK$ 50. One can find a service centre of Octopus Card just as one steps out of their return journey by  Airport Express to the Airport  Terminal.

Octopus

We waved our Airport Express octopus card at the card reader gate of the Airport Express. Train attendants were standing before each compartment to greet the passengers. The Airport Express Train has an  aeroplane style  seats, neat , well lit, carpeted and gives a royal feeling. Has a baggage hold beside each door. In addition to the station route indicators, announcement in English also is made for the next station.

The Airport Express zipped through the stations Tsing, Kowloon  and we soaked ourselves in the Hong Kong skyline, skycrappers, roads, water bodies, parks, traffic and the people.We made the journey from the Airport to Hong Kong Central in under twenty five minutes. 

We were met by our host in Hong Kong, at the exit. We hailed a Urban (red) taxi to take us to Kornhill Apartments, Quarry Bay. The taxi ride was equally amazing as we enjoyed being part of the journey and watched the huge skycrappers and the world best of the best vehicles zip by.  Suddenly our host realised that the taxi driver has taken a wrong turning. The taxi driver accepted his mistake stating that he did not get the English pronunciation of the place right. On reaching the destination the taxi meter showed  $HK 110. The taxi driver charged us only  HK$ 100 stating that it was his mistake. It  gave us an insight of the corruption perception in Hong Kong. 

Hong Kong is the most expensive for rental accomodation in the world. Our host's flat  was a modern & compact one. Round the clock security, access control, modular kitchen, pipe gas for cooking & heating, air conditioned etc. We were shown around the flat and explained us as how to reach the nearest MTR station Tai Koo. " Just take the green mini bus outside the B block, which will take you to a parking lot " was the last instructions to us before our host left for office. 

With the excitement of reaching Hong Kong receding and the jet lag slowly took over, it was time to eat and take some rest. Around 0530 PM we decided to venture out and meet our friends at their Hotel Metropark at Kowloon.

We walked up confidently to the B block and found two green mini buses, one  parked near B Block and the other  on opposite sides of the road with the U turn connecting each other. As luck could have the  green mini bus on the opposite side of the road started to move. We crossed the road, got up on the bus, waved our octopus card on the reader  and took our seats. In Hong Kong buses charges according to rides in a particular route and not on destination.There are no ticketing conductors. The bus driver just keeps a tab on the beep produced by the octopus card on the reader. Hence neither the bus driver nor the co passengers know where one will get down. As and when a passenger had to get down at a stop, one had to  indicate to the bus driver

The bus moved through the streets of Hong Kong and we began to enjoy the surroudings. A time came when all the passengers had got off from the bus and we were the only one left. The parking lot was no where in sight. By impulse we got down in the next stop and found ourselves in a busy market place. We approached the first shop and asked about how to get to  MTR station Tai Koo. They just waved their hands, the expression said it all, We were not understood. We tried with a number of shops, with people around but the response was the same. By then it began to rain. We could not even contact our host , as we did not have a mobile connection and finding a public phone booth was equally difficult as getting to Tai Koo MTR station. Suddenly it dawned on us that we have lost ourselves in Hong Kong. All the preparation of reading, surfing the net, talking to people who had visted Hong Kong before seems to go in vain. Since it was raining, we moved from shelter to shelter and by sheer luck, from one of the places we stood, we show the entry to MTR Shau Koi Wan, (two stations away from Tai Koo).It was a moment of reliasation that we were back in track as we were confident  the MTR in Hong Kong will take us to our destination.

The Mass Transit Railway (MTR) is the lifeline for the people of Hong Kong. It has 11 MTR lines (including the Airport Express and Disneyland Resort Line). The four major areas i.e Lantau Islands, New Territories, Kawloon & Hong Kong Islands is well connected by the MTR. Each stations consists a number of exits and some stations have a changeover to another MTR line. All the lines are color coded for easy identification.  MTR maps are available at every station. One has to know the end to end station of a particular MTR line and the station for the requisite change over to another MTR line and the rest is a cake walk. The stations seems to be self sufficient for the people living nearby in catering to their needs in the form of shopping, dining, parking, malls, movie halls, banking and one of them even had an ice-skatingring
MTR                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

The Hong Kong MTR Stations was the most impressive among all. It has four lines connecting the Airport by Airport Express, the Island line Sheung Wan to Chai Wan, the Hong Kong to Tsuen Wan line and the Hong Kong - Tung Chung line. The MTR station has a number of exits leading  to the famous International Financial Centre, Mall, tramways, taxi stand, Bus terminus, Foot bridge and escalator to mid level, piers for waterway transport to various places around Hong Kong, and parking. It is well facilitated with automated people movers, escalators, lifts, direction signage, clean, swanky, fully air conditioned and looks like a town by itself.    International Finance Centre, Hong Kong - ifc - Location

We rode the Island MTR line from  Shau Koi Wan to Admiralty and changed over to the MTR line Hong Kong - Tsuen Wan. The Admiralty station were full of people and looks the evening rush hour caught us unaware. However the crowd was disciplined one and column lines were formed to get into the train. We stood in the line awaiting a  usual experience of pushing in trains during a rush hour. The train arrived, people were allowed to get down and then the passengers moved into the train disciplined as ever. As train  was getting full, suddenly a MTR personnel stood in front of every compartment with a STOP sign. The crowd stopped getting inside the train and the MTR moved on. We admired the discipline and the patience of the passengers of Hong Kong. The next train arrived in a few minutes time.

We got down at Monkok MTR station and on enquiry on which  exit to take for the Metropark Hotel, we were directed to  MTR Customer service. The lady was kind enough to direct us : Take exit B2 and bus no 27M. Make sure you take a bus because taxis are expensive in Hong Kong. This showed how proud the people of Hong Kong were about the mass transportation systems. Out we went of exit B2 and found ourselves in a place full of shops. We managed to find the  stop for bus 27M. We stood in line and only to be turned back by the bus driver as our Octopus card did not have the requisite balance for the bus ride. We located  a 7 / 11 store. On topping up our octopus cards, we went back to the bus stop  and  stood in the line for the bus 27M . Suddenly we realized that we have no knowledge of the bus stop pertaining to Metropark Hotel, so how do we indicate the bus driver of our intentions of getting down at the bus stop. Just as we were contemplating to take a taxi to Metropark Hotel, a co passenger joined us in the line. Fortunately she spoke English. The lady assured us that she will indicate the driver at the Metropark Hotel stop. The bus arrived and making sure that our lady co passenger will get a seat in the bus, we waved our octopus card and took our seats. Metropark Hotel bus stop was at a few stops away. We got down at the stop thanking our co passenger with the great help rendered.

The first errand after meeting our friends at Hotel Metropark was to obtain a mobile connection. It took us three hours to reach Metropark Hotel from Quarry Bay. Looks we did not do justice to the mass communication system of Hong Kong, as the same distance could be covered in maximum forty five minutes. 

It was time to explore Hong Kong. We rode the Hotel Metropark shuttle bus to the waterfront in Kowloon.Once we reached the waterfront, we were awestruck by the night sight  of Hong Kong Islands.


The Victoria Harbor night scene in among the best in the world. It is one of the most photographed harbour in the world too. The view was really breathtaking and one has to see to believe it. We could not resist to go to the other side, so we availed the Star Ferry to cross over from Kowloon to Hong Kong Islands. This time we feasted our eyes to the view of Kowloon night scene which was equally breathtaking. The Star Ferry service was so convenient that we once again crossed over to Kowloon waving our Octopus card.

Being a weekend night, the crowd were in the best of their attire. People moved around freely and seems to be enjoying the evening out and the famous Kowloon Harbour City  Mall was the star attraction. . It has a floor space of 185800 sq m with 700 shops and it is a shopping & dining experience one should not miss.

 It had been a long day and it was time to go back home. We caught one of the last ferry to Hong Kong Islands and walked up to Hong Kong Station and then the MTR to Tai Koo to reach home well past midnight.

The second day we planned to cover the Lantau Islands. We rode the Island line MTR from Tai Koo Station  to Hong Kong station and changed over to Hong Kong - Tung Chung line. Exit B at MTR station Tung Chung lead us to the escalators which went up to the ticketing counter for the rope way to the famous Giant Buddha and the Po Lin Monastery.

The Ngong Ping Cable car ride was mesmerizing. One must experience the cable car ride when in Hong Kong. It is a gondola cable car that travels about 6 KMs between Tung Chung and Ngong Ping Village and takes around 30 minutes. One gets a 360 degree  view of the green top jungles and the south China Sea from the large all glass cable car. The view was breathtaking and the morning fog added to the awe . The Ngpong village has been built like a theme village, full of sovenior shops, eating houses, outdoor games shows and tea houses. As we moved around the theme village, we got our first glimpse of the Giant Buddha through the roof tops, sitting serenely atop Nyong Ping plateau amid the spectacular mountain scenery of Lantau Islands. 

The Big Buddha is also known as the Tian Tan Buddha, a large bronze statue measuring around 112 Feet, weighing 250 tons. The statue was unveiled in 1993 amid religious ceremonies attended by distinguished guest from all around the world.

Visitors have to climb more than 200 steps to have a close glimpse of this majestic Buddha statue. It gives a calming effect on the visitors as one climbs the steps to come face to face with The Buddha with the right hand raised to deliver a blessing to one and all. The Po Lin Monastery is also situated amid the Ngong Ping plateau.

It was time to move to our next destination, Hong Kong Disneyland. The 360 degree Ngong Ping Cable brought us back to MTR station Tung Chung. We  detrain the MTR at the next station Sunny Bay from where the Disney Resort Train took us to the Hong Kong Disneyland. The theme of the resort train has been made in the line of Disneyland.

The Hong Kong Disneyland  Disney's fifth, smallest  and latest resort in the world after California (1955), Florida ( 1971), Tokyo (1984), Paris ( 1992 ) and Hong Kong  (2005). The resort is located in Penny Bay, Lantau Island with a daily tourist inflow of 34000, clocking around 5.2 million guest per year.

The Disneyland creates a tangible sense of happiness. In this man made environment one can find themselves smiling and laughing continuously and leaving all their troubles behind for another day and another time 


The main attractions of the resort are Main Street, USA, Fantasy Land, Adventure Land, Tomorrow Land & Toy Story Land along with several Retail and dining experiences. 

The United Nations World Tourism Organisation predicts that the Hong Kong Disneyland Resort will become one of the world largest tourist designation in the next fifteen years.
The fireworks in the evening over the Sleeping Beauty Castle is a must see for everyone visiting the Hong Kong Disneyland. The theme for our evening was Alice in Wonderland. The fireworks, the music, the castle, the voice compering the show kept crowd captivated. There were thousands of camera  flashing all around. It was indeed an enchanting evening and will be indeed be one of the top of the recall of our visit to Hong Kong. Thank you Disney.


The third day in Hong Kong, we planned for the visit to The Ocean Park. We traveled on the Island Line MTR  to Admiralty and Bus no 629 to Ocean Park. The park covers an area It covers  an area of 870,000 square metres of land, the park is separated by a large mountain into two areas, The Summit (Headland) and The Waterfront (Lowland) respectively. At the Lowland we rode hot air balloon that soars 100 metres into the air and saw the  majestic view of  Hong Kong. The area also featured a  a carnival setting with clowns, jugglers and acrobats. The walk through the 1930 Chinese market was a back to future experience.We rode  the 1.5 Km long cable car to the Summit. It is a less than ten minutes ride, has a capacity of 4000 passengers per hour with 252 cable cars on two pairs of rope ways. The ride was awesome. The first to welcome us was the Pacific Pier, a home to the resident seal and sea lions. Next was a ride on the Ocean Tower, which rose 200 meters and the deck rotated to give us a  360 degree view of the Ocean Park, the sea faced buildings and the South China Sea. It was just amazing. We went to the Atoll Reef aquarium and the Chinese Surgeon Aquarium - Yangtze River Exploration to view the Chinese ecosystems. The all weather second longest in the world 225 M long outdoor escalator took us to the Adventure World. The ride on the Mine Train roller coaster on the edge of a cliff overlooking Aberdeen Harbor had our heart in our mouth. The Raging River a ride through tropical waterfalls, narrow ravines and a finish by sliding down a slide  was breathtaking.

We had a delicious lunch of Chicken poach at the Boardwalk Cafe and after a few rides at the Thrill mountain we rode the Ocean Express, a funicular railway system capable of transporting between the Summit and the Waterfront in three minutes with a capacity of carrying 5000 people per hour.One can view the themed multimedia effects on the top of the Ocean Express which simulates the feeling of travelling into the depths of the sea. We missed the Pandas, Gold fish and the dolphin sights at the Waterfront as it was time to move to our next destination The Peak. The Bus no 629 took us back to the Admiralty MTR station.

We planned to utilise the oldest among mode of communication in Hong Kong i.e The Tram, in vogue since 1904 and one of the cheapest mode of transport in Hong Kong. Today it is just $ HK 2.30 for one tram ride. In case one has all the time in the world, take Tram (Red) 

from Shau Kai Wan to Happy Valley. Change over to Tram (Blue) to take you to Kennedy Town and again change over to Tram (Purple) to go back to Shau Kai Wan. One will pass by Soho East, Takoo Shing City Plaza, Victoria Park, Sogo Departmental Store, Time Square, Southern Playground, Pacific place, Lan Kwan Fone, Legislative council, Mid level escalator, western maraket, Exchange square, Happy valley Race Course. colonizal cemetry. We rode the tram from Admiralty to reach the Peak Tram Station.

Hong Kong Tramways, Limited

Victoria Peak is also known as the Mount Austin and locally the Peak is the highest mountain on the Island.  In 1883 the Hong Kong population was one lac seventy thousand and only thirty to forty families resided at the peak. It was the exclusive residential area of the non Chinese till as late as 1947. Now its open to all who can afford it.The Garden Road Peak Tram lower terminus is located at a short walk from the Hong Kong Station. The Peak Tram commenced in 1888. In the year 2007 a Peak Tram Historical gallery opened at the lower terminus, a time tunnel through the 19th and 20th century displaying the history of the peak tram.  

The ride on the tram to the peak was amazing. The tram is pulled by steel ropes to a height of about 1200 feet. The climb was very steep and we felt all buildings passing by were leaning on us.We reached the Peak and the all towering Peak Tower welcomed us. The omnipresent escalators took us to the viewing gallery and we looked down from the Peak on the surrounding skyline of Victoria Harbour and Kowloon. Our eyes were feasted to one of the most amazing sights of lights and it will took a while for us to realise that we were not dreaming but were actually viewing a night sight. A estimated 7 million tourist from all around the world come to view this spectacular view every year.  After a awesome Chinese Dinner at one of the signature restaurants on the Peak, we rode down the tram to the lower terminus, a short walk to the Hong Kong MTR station and we were on our way back home.

It was the day to leave Hong Kong. We packed our bags, and availed  a red urban taxi to Hong Kong Central. We checked in ourselves at the Airport City Terminal check in counter and rode the Airport Express to the Hong Kong International Airport. We boarded the China Eastern Airlines flight to Shanghai and as our flight took off over the towering sky crappers of Hong Kong, we bid adieu to this wonderful country but knowing in our hearts that in times to come we will return to revisit this man made Paradise.