Kowloon - Hong Kong City

To make the journey between India and Mongolia shorter, a little bit more ecological and less drastic, we made a short pit stop in Hong Kong. Honestly, it wasn’t a must-see on our list, but an ideal destination in between. Another positive side of visiting Hong Kong is the climate. Leaving India at 30 - 34 degrees, it would have been a big shock to enter Mongolia in freezing temperatures. Hong Kong gave us the perfect 15 - 18 degrees, and it felt so good! No sweating, no sunburn or searching for shade.

We didn’t really plan our stay in Hong Kong. The main plan was to relax and have some good rest before heading to our last destination. And it proved to be a good idea. Leaving India at 2 am with a 5-hour flight took a lot out of us. Arriving at the hotel we definitely wanted to take a nap but couldn’t check in yet. So, we left our bags and walked around the Kowloon district. We were surprised! Even though Hong Kong is a big, modern country with a lot of high-rise buildings, they also make sure to leave some nature. We walked around a park in the middle of the city with squares, sports equipment, pools with flamingos… a quiet, peaceful place surrounded by skyscrapers.

We crossed some streets that had been transformed into outdoor markets. Some had different foods, while others had clothing, accessories and souvenirs. The best part? You can walk and look around without being bothered. What a relief. While walking around there is one thing you can’t miss, Pandas! Everywhere you go and look you find a cute panda hanging around.

To close off the day, we walked The Avenue of Stars at the harbour. It’s like the Walk of Fame but with famous Asian actors’ handprints on the railing. And we found one of Arnaud’s favourite actors, Jackie Chan! It was no coincidence that we went to the harbour in the evening. We had read that there is a daily light and music show displayed on the buildings on the other side of the harbour. Not our first light show of the trip but still nice to watch.

The next day was still a bit challenging for Delphine. Even though we slept almost the whole morning (only waking up to eat some amazing breakfast), she still felt tired and a little bit sick. But we were so curious to see more of Hong Kong that we went back out.

This time, we went to Hong Kong City to go for a walk. Little did we know that Hong Kong is full of hills. Not the easy, flat city walk you expect when feeling tired. Still, it was worth it! We passed through some more parks. This time, they even had bird aviaries. Two where you could walk past the cages and one where you could walk through a bird’s paradise. We saw a lot of beautiful birds like parrots, pheasants, cockatoos and even hornbills. A little paradise for us in the city but sad for the animals in the cages. From one paradise to another, we found a crêpe restaurant!

A crêpe and tea later, we were back walking up some stairs. Or in other words, a lot of stairs. Only to visit another temple. A small old temple which Arnaud wanted to see. Delphine on the other hand expected something more even though it was a nice temple.

Apparently, Hong Kong doesn’t only have big buildings and nice parks but also some street art. It’s not a lot but there were a few nice pieces where we could take a nice photo to make Delphine happy. To close the day, we went back to the harbour but to the other side this time. At the Last minute, we decided to take a ride on the Ferris wheel which meant three rides. It gave us a different view of the harbour and city. Out of the blue, we witnessed a drone show from a company while being on the Ferris wheel. A nice extra treat.

Hong Kong was a surprise and we didn’t even see half of it. It felt like a less strict version of Japan. Everything was clean and organised, and there was easily accessible public transport. A lot of Japanese products, stores and food were also available. The happiness when seeing and tasting some calpis soda, sushi and noodles again! For now, our stay was too short to really get to know the city and its people. Maybe one day, we’ll come back for a few days to explore some more.