Hong Kong – A Return After 23 years

Hong Kong Island

It was strange seeing the change to the areas I had visited before, the hotel we stayed at, The Hilton no longer exists but not much as changed when catching the ferry from the island over to the mainland, just a shorter journey.

Returning with someone who has lived here and also has a large group of friends made the trip special.

We visited The Peak for a birthday lunch, the Hong Kong Cricket Club for a wonderful fish pie, a trip on the ferry to Kowloon for Tracey’s favourite diamond shop and to sort out the Peninsula and some wonderful meals at The Pawn and Wooloomooloo Steakhouse in Wan Chai. We also went to Ozone at the top of the Ritz Carlton, although the lift was terrifying for me. Then we returned to The Pen for drinks at Felix.

Repulse Bay

A disputed history, one story is that it was originally a pirate base and they were repulsed by the British Navy, another that it was named after HMS Repulse but no records show that the ship ever visited Hong Kong.  The earliest recording of the name was in 1845.  In 1920 the Repulse Bay hotel was built and welcomed such guests as Marlon Brando and Earnest Hemingway and later was used as a military hospital by the Japanese during World War II.  The hotel was demolished and a shopping mall was constructed on the site in the style of the lost colonial architecture.

We went over for lunch one day at Limewood which was excellent and located on the lovely boardwalk which has more restaurants and shops.  The bay shows a different side to Hong Kong away from hustle and bustle where you can relax at the beach and go make a wish at the Chinese temple.

The Peak, Central and Kowloon

On the second visit Jon and I went back up The Peak by taxi and came down by the tram, I remember doing this in 1985 but certainly did not remember the terrifyingly steep angle. We then walked miles around Central and caught the ferry over to Kowloon to try and find the Jade Market. Ended up in the Mall right by the Star Ferry terminal, this place is huge.  Caught the MRT to Jordan Road but managed to totally missed the market but we did find the street full of shops selling very nice but expensive Jade pieces.

On our way back towards the ferry and found a Chinese Department Store on the way. I remember these stores were great for Chinese souvenirs at very reasonable prices so it was great to spent a few hours again buying a chinese dinner set (why?), prawn crackers and tea.

Causeway Bay

We also wandered around Causeway Bay and found a great little Chinese restaurant a few minutes from the Lanson Place hotel called Red Pepper.

We again ate at Wooloomooloo which has a great rooftop bar for views over the island and also tried Gordon Ramsay’s Bread Street in Lan Kwai Fong.

Ventured over to Stanley for a meet up after NY at one of the bars on the seafront, I remember Stanley Market from 1984, this is where you went for knock off designer clothes. Now there is a small shopping mall as well as the market and an H & M store.

New Year's Eve

The highlight of the trip was the New Year’s Eve Celebrations. A junk was hired from the Hong Kong Yacht Club for the evening and we first went out to Lantau Island for a typical Chinese meal at the seafood restaurants.

Then we headed for Victoria Harbour complete with drinks and nibbles and managed to be in the front row of boats to watch the fireworks and celebrations….absolutely spectacular….I think the best New Years Eve ever!

Conclusion

Again fell in love with Hong Kong, it is a great city with some excellent restaurants and nightlife options.  The shopping was brilliant especially with the sales being on in November.  Getting around is easy either by taxi, MRT, bus, tram or even walking, plus a trip on the ferry is a must.  Jon even commented on how quiet it was when we were shopping in Causeway Bay and he also loved it and cities are not his thing.  

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