Hong Kong is a place of density – a bustling city with crowded skies and streets which pulse and steam with cooking, transport, art, and business. Hong Kong is also a quiet monastery, a blistering sun over a swathe of turquoise sea, a vast, hazy mountainscape endlessly unfurling into the distance, a fishing boat rocking gently under a lanterned bridge. Lesser in land size than London, but rich in contrasting environments, travelling to Hong Kong provides endless possibilities for pleasure. Below is my alternative guidebook – a list of hits and misses to steer you in your adventures.
miss:
The Big Buddha, Lantau Island
I’m kicking off proceedings with a big-hitter. Lying front-and-centre on Time Out’s ‘Top Attractions to visit in Hong Kong’, this giant bronze statue of Buddha, while captivating, is often more manic than serene.
Unless you’re hiking there — the Lantau country trail is mighty and beautiful – then the rigmarole of the ‘Ngong Ping 360’ cable car is expensive, can take hours of queuing to ride, and drops you, somewhat anticlimactically, practically right at the foot of the statue. The Buddha is popular for a reason – it’s strikingly large and beautifully made. However, the surrounding village is, as a result, a heaving bottleneck of tourists all vying for the perfect selfie spot – not much peace-on-earth, as the statue stands to represent. (To offer a caveat – my lovely colleague recently did Ngong Ping 360 with his family and loved it, so I guess the jury is still out).
hit!
Tsz Shan Monastery, Tai Po
Twice the size of its little buddha brother, this dramatic white statue of Guan Yin, settled in the northern mountains of Hong Kong, is a gorgeous centre of serenity within a stunning Chinese buddhist monastery.
Visitors are guided on a journey of mindfulness and reflection with a series of thoughtful tasks to complete on your journey to Guan Yin. The practising monastery is architecturally remarkable, beautifully clean, and the ticketing process (it needs to be booked around a month in advance) means it is so wonderfully quiet. The monastery houses a museum on chinese buddhism, and holds calligraphy workshops and forest meditation too. If you’re lucky, they might even feed you with a complimentary vegetarian char siu bao or afternoon tea and cake. If you’re planning a day trip, I would recommend cycling to the monastery from Tai Po and then heading into Tai Mei Tuk afterwards to visit Lung Mei beach/eat Thai food/watch the sunset at Plover Cove Reservoir. If you are looking to escape the noise of the city (or your own mind, for that matter) then Tsz Shan Monastery is the place.
miss:
The Peak, Central
Now, this isn’t a total character assassination of Hong Kong’s most popular city viewing point. The Peak Tram is, although busy, a charming way to reach the top and see Hong Kong’s spectacular skyline. However, ‘The Peak Galleria’, its wok-shaped piste de resistance atop the mountain, is where I lay my disappointment. After purchasing your return tram tickets, you’ll find that the best view, in the Peak Tower’s ‘Sky Terrace 428’, is, aside from its lack of atmosphere, also only available at a hefty price. Maybe I’m being stingy, but to me the wonder of a view is partly in its access to all, and, coupled with the gigantic adjoining mall, this all feels a bit exclusive and commodified. If you do visit The Peak, I’d recommend walking up the path towards Victoria Peak Gardens and enjoying the view of the city on your own terms.
hit!
Literally any other hike or viewing point in Hong Kong
Dragon’s Back, Sunset Peak, Lion Rock…if you visit Hong Kong I implore you to hike. The Twin Peaks hike to Stanley Bay is a tough but rewarding introduction to the magnificence of Hong Kong’s landscape. Hiking it in the heat of summer nearly killed my dad and sister, but the spectacular views of vast aquamarine waters studded with grassy islands, make up for the pain. Tai Lam Country Park and its winding hike to see the Thousand Island Lake is a surprisingly easy walk in exchange for a striking postcard of an otherworldly land. For a view of the city and Victoria Harbour, without the need to hike, the West Kowloon Art Park offers a breathtaking panorama with great places to sit and eat too. You can make use of the nearby galleries like M+, and then join the groups of friends and families who frequently spend the day there with day tents and picnics (It’s so wholesome). I also highly recommend taking the Aqua Luna boat tour from Tsim Tsa Tsui to see the city at night from the water – it’s breathtakingly stunning and well worth the ticket price.
miss:
Lan Kwai Fong
LKF a.k.a the party capital of Hong Kong. Someone actually once asked me ‘But how do you get to LKF?!’ when I told them that I live in the Northern Territories of Hong Kong and not on Hong Kong Island. To some, it is clearly inconceivable that you’d want to spend your saturday night anywhere else but Hong Kong’s version of a strip. It does what it says on the tin and it’s fun to observe the hustle and bustle. However, you do feel like you’re at the end of a uni night out and the streets, lined with bars competing for your attention and for musical supremacy, are overflowing with expats so drunk that they’re practically horizontal. If you do fancy a visit, expect some novelty, or go when you’re already a few drinks deep.
hit!
SoHo / Peel St.
This is far from an original thought, but if you are in LKF and wander slightly west, you will come across Frank’s and Iron Fairies (both a perfect alternative for that nostalgic-but-slightly-grimey night out you might be seeking in LKF) before hitting Staunton Street and its perpendicular companion, Peel Street. This intimate, sloping road comes alive at night. Wandering from door to door, you’ll find unique cocktail bars, interesting restaurants, and hidden jazz venues harbouring the city’s best musicians.
Hong Kong has many personalities – you can go from mountain to club to beach to boat quicker than you’ll learn to pronounce ‘m goi saai’. Brave the humidity, pack robust footwear, and don’t be shy in steering away from the popular hotspots – a land of opportunity awaits.