We were not planning to visit Hong Kong. Goal…

… getting a tourist visa for China is quite easy, but for a work visa and a residence permit, you need a little time, patience and help from a local agent, once you are in the country.

Chinese visa laws are complicated and obscure even for local visa specialists. Foreign employers have to leave China, cross the border for just a couple of days, receive the Z visa, then they can return to the mainland and get a work permit. It is easier to cross the border to Hong Kong. (Even though Hong Kong is now a Special Administrative Region (SAR) of China (PRC), the border still exists.)

Hong Kong (HK) is located on the southern coast of China and is bordered to the north by the city of Shenzhen in the Guangdong province. If you want to be better oriented, you need to understand that the HK area consists of Hong Kong Island, Kowloon Peninsula and the New Territories and more than 200 islands. The largest of these is Lantau Island. The northern part of Hong Kong Island together with Kowloon forms the urban core of Hong Kong.

We had been (had to go) to Hong Kong twice and spent about 7 days there in total. Our impression was different on each of these visits. Of course, it depended on the hotel we had stayed at and the places we had visited. Hong Kong is known as an expensive city. The price of hotels and hostels inappropriately high, but it depends a lot on the place.

When I researched on internet sites, I saw many terrible comments about cheap hostels and hotels in the city center. I decided to book a remote hotel far from the center of interest and our visa agency (Tsim Sha Tsui area). The hotel was in the area called Tsuen Wan (new territories). Internet sites showed that it is a good standard hotel with a relatively low price. It seemed to be a good decision: spacious room, pool and sauna after a long trip in and out of the city can improve any damaged impression. But it required additional expense for the highway to the city center. Hong Kong’s transportation network is highly developed. To avoid traffic jams, it is better to use the subway (MTR). A big plus is a courtesy bus service, which runs between the hotel and Tsim Sha Tsui MTR station.

On our second arrival, we wanted to be closer to the visa agency, so we booked a room in a hostel in Kowloon. I think it was the worst room we’ve ever seen. Kowloon is one of the most densely populated places on the planet. The streets in that area were so crowded that we could only move in the same direction with other people. We recommend that you do not try to move against the current, because if you do, in a minute you will run into 1000 people.

The room was like a small cardboard box, with no windows, reminiscent of a terrible movie… The funny thing is that even though the size of the room was only a quarter of the Royal View hotel room, it was not saved a lot of money. . Location: This is what we were paying for here.

During our stays in Hong Kong, we have managed to visit Hong Kong Park, Flagstaff House Tea Ware Museum, and Ocean Park. In Kowloon we have visited the promenade, Avenue of Stars and Ladies Market. We spent two days in the Sai Kung district and one on the island of Lamma. Both Sai Kung and Lamma made a great impression on us, and both deserve a separate post to write about.

hongkong park

Hong Kong Park is like a beautiful little island of nature, a breath of fresh air within the urban area of ​​Hong Kong. In the park you can find a number of old garrison buildings built between 1842 and 1910. They are the remains of the powerful government of the Great British Empire.

In the center of the Park there is an artificial lake and a waterfall. There is a flowing water through the park, which has been used as a theme motif to link the different features of the park through waterfalls, streams, ponds and artificial rock cliffs.

The Tea Ware Museum is located within the park. The museum includes displays of teapots from different provinces and various other tea items as they have evolved over time. More interesting for us were the examples of different types of tea and the explanations about the history and ways of preparing the tea. If you are a fan of Chinese tea, you must visit the Tea Ware Museum in Hong Kong.

Note: You can reach the park by MTR, Admiralty Station, Exit C1.

The next day we have visited the Ocean Park. It is located on the southern side of Hong Kong Island and you will need to set aside a full day to visit it. You can buy the tickets in many places, including “Seven Eleven” and other small shops, but the prices may be different: from HK$250 to HK$350. It is better to buy tickets at metro stations, because they are cheaper there. Transportation to the park is very well organized. From Admiralty metro station, follow the indications and take bus number 629. The price of the bus is around HG$10 per person.

The park is separated by a large mountain into two areas, The Summit (Headland) and The Waterfront (Lowland) respectively. The areas can be reached by cable car with spectacular views of the nearby islands and the sea. The big aquarium was good, the dolphin/sea lion show was great too and we only tried a few of the rides, because the queues seemed endless.

avenue of stars

The waterfront Avenue of Stars is like the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Stars with the names and handprints of Hong Kong actors and singers are embedded on the sidewalks of Kowloon’s waterfront: Jackie Chan and Jet Li, Andy Lau, Maggie Cheung and many others. They are all famous people, but I admit it, there were many Chinese names that we saw for the first time in our lives. At the beginning of the avenue is the life-size statue of kung fu legend Bruce Lee. We couldn’t resist taking a photo there.

On the other side of Victoria Harbor we saw the famous skyscrapers of Hong Kong Island, probably the best scenic spot in the city. Every night all the skyscrapers come alive with an incredible light and laser show.

Oh yeah and don’t forget to check out the Starbucks which is nicely located on the boardwalk overlooking the harbour.

ladies market

Almost all travel guides advise you to visit the Mercado de las Damas for cheap shopping. In fact, it can be an interesting experience. It is a long street full of many things, sometimes, not to say “most”, of very low quality. But here you can find beautiful traditional Chinese souvenirs and test your bargain muscles. On the sides of the street, behind the stalls of a market, we have found many good little restaurants of different types of food (Japanese, Korean, Chinese, etc.). They are cheap and really delicious. So if you are tired of shopping, you can escape to one of them.

Culture shock… again.

When we crossed the border again, back to the mainland, our friend – “culture shock” was waiting for us there. It is difficult to describe this feeling. It felt like we had left the organized, clean, and quiet house and walked straight into the noisy market, filled with the smells of bad cigarettes, toilets, and dust. Right now we feel how strong the difference between life in Hong Kong and mainland China still remains.