Top 10 Things to Do on Your First Time Visiting Hong Kong
No matter which part of the world you’re from, visiting a foreign city is always a treat and an adventure. However, you need to do your homework prior to visiting the place so that you’d know which landmarks to visit and activities to indulge in.
Photo by Diliff
What to Do when You’re in Hong Kong
Let’s say that you made plans to venture out to Hong Kong, one of the most beautiful cities in East Asia. Hong Kong is the Cantonese term for ‘fragrant harbour’ – and its being a former British colony allowed it to grow into a multi-faceted city. The best months to visit weather-wise are anytime from October to December.
Hong Kong is made up of several districts including Hong Kong Island which is the site of the original British settlement; Kowloon which is the most populous area in the city; New Territories which is made up of farms, villages and country parks; Lantau and the Outlying Islands.
Now, here is a list of the top 10 things to do if it’s your first time visiting Hong Kong:
1. Check out Victoria Peak
If there’s only one touristy activity that you should not pass up doing while visiting Hong Kong, it is none other than checking out the view of the city from Victoria Peak. The immediate vicinity is something amazingly more sophisticated than Manhattan, and beyond that is the rest of China.
Photo by Andrew3000
2. Have a tour of Dragon’s Back
In Hong Kong Island, there is a place called Dragon’s Back where first-time visitors can take a ridge for a magnificent view of the city. Cap off your visit by dining at one of the fabulous restaurants In Shek-O Village.
Photo by jgaerlan
3. Ride the world’s longest covered outdoor escalator
The world’s longest covered outdoor escalator is located in Hong Kong. The escalator is 800 meters long and it carries thousands of people everyday through a slew of cafes and restaurants where you can relax, dine and people watch.
Photo by Siim Teller
4. Ride a bat-winged boat around Victoria Harbour
These bat-winged boats (or junk boats) used to be a symbol of Hong Kong as a city – until they were overtaken by ferries and fishing trawlers. A handful of them still remain in Victoria Harbour, however, so don’t pass up on the opportunity to ride them.
Photo by Kartografia
5. Sample what the local cuisine has to offer
There’s no better way to immerse yourself in the local culture than by sampling what the local cuisine has to offer – and Hong Kong is the perfect place to do just that. Take your pick from Chinese, Asian and Western cuisines.
Photo by Arthur Chapman
6. Shop, shop, shop!
If you went to Hong Kong to shop in the first place, the best months to do so are July and August where almost all stores take 50% to 70% off the original price.
7. Try placing a bet at the Hong Kong horse races
Betting at horse races is a national past time and Happy Valley is the place to go if you want to try placing a bet.
Photo by lecercle
8. Visit Disneyland Hong Kong
Are you visiting Hong Kong with the rest of your family? Then you should definitely put Disneyland on top of your places to visit.
Photo by Coconut Wireless
9. Visit one of the temples of Hong Kong
There are numerous temples that you can pay homage to in Hong Kong, some of which are more than a century old.
Photo by linkahwai
10. Visit the Hong Kong Heritage Museum
Lastly, check out the Hong Kong Heritage Museum or any of the other museums in Hong Kong to give yourself a preview of the fascinating past that the city has gone through.
Photo by nekotank
As you can see, no matter what activity you prefer indulging in as a traveller, there is something that the beautiful, culture-rich city of Hong Kong can offer – so it is definitely worth a visit. Take your time choosing what to fit in your next Hong Kong trip.
UK travel group organizes Mount Kilimanjaro Charity Climb
UK travel group UNIGLOBE (through one of the companies they own, CT Business Travel) is the organizer of a challenging charity event, the Mount Kilimanjaro Charity Climb. The climb aims to raise 35000 British pounds which will be donated to an education project in Mwanza, to the north of Tanzania. The project goal is to build a girls’ school residence allowing entire community of girls to receive the education they need to break the cycle of poverty.
The charitable project is managed by Plan, one of the largest child-centred community development organisations in the world, through its “Because I’m a girl” program. Plan helps children and their families in 48 of the poorest countries in the world break the cycle of poverty and its global “Because I’m a girl” campaign was designed to raise awareness for the plight of girls around the world and the unique role they play in the fight against global poverty. Read more…
Photo Wednesday – Hidden Beaches of Sardinia
If you’re planning a beach holiday in Sardinia, there are a few things you should know. Most of the smaller, quieter, private beaches are hidden, or at least they seem so. No signs pointing you in the wrong direction, minuscule entrances that you’d hardly know lead you in the right way, few people walking by to give you directions, they’re already sun bathing or swimming!
Yet you know they’re there, you’ve heard of them and feel like spending an afternoon on a semi-deserted beach where it’s quiet enough to have a pleasant conversation, read a book, or fall asleep to the sound of the waves.
So what can a tourist do to reach these pieces of heaven? Read more…
Sardinian Treasures – Agriturismo Ca’ La Somara
If you’re visiting the beautiful island of Sardinia and are looking for a green retreat that’s quiet, relaxing, breathtakingly gorgeous, friendly, inspirational and also has donkeys and a cool pool, Ca’ La Somara is just the place for you.
Friendly staff, enough grounds to loose yourself and let your thoughts fly mixed with a communal dinner table allowing for fun and light conversation with the other guests, a modern spa and an authentic barn and farmhouse design and decor, this hidden treasure (yes, literally hidden, as the local taxi driver had a bit of a hard time finding it) suits almost everyone. Read more…
Looking for a place where to get away from the heat?
It’s extrmely hot in Bucharest. Somewhere around 40 degrees Celsius. It rained a bit, but the positive effect was short lived. So I started looking for places to run away from the heat, at least temporarily. And I am proud to say I found the perfect solution!
What do you think of when hearing Absolut Icebar? Nothing sounds chillier to me! A tiny bar with a constant temperature of -5°C where everything is made of ice – the bar, the chairs, the entire room, even the glasses you drink Absolut cocktails from! And not just any ice, but natural frozen Swedish Torne River ice! Usually part of a complex, together with a hotel and restaurant, Absolut Icebar welcomes a limited number of bar goers for only 20 minutes at a time. It is too cold to stay longer, on one hand, and there are lots of people that want to get in on the other. The friendly staff will prodive warm coats to you, to make sure you don’t catch a cold or freeze while visiting them 
Read more…
New tool to help you better plan your DIY vacation: Stay.com
As you have probably guessed by now, I am all for taking charge of your vacation and planning it just as you want it to be. Being able to do it requires a few things: good knowledge of what’s available where you’re going, from hotels to places to visit to good restaurants, reliable advice from people who have been there before and a well thought plan that allows you to both experience everything you want, rest and have fun.
The new public beta release of social trip planner Stay.com gives you all that information: spots to check out on 50 major cities around the world, recommended guides created by Stay’s travel experts, a community to discuss your trip and to share your advice with, personalized travel guides you create from scratch with all the relevant data you need, from opening hours to maps and pictures of the place. Read more…
The wonderful treats of just wandering off
When we travel, we often get sucked into this powerful vortex taking us at a wild place from one tourist attraction to another. We have a plan, we need to stick to it if we want to see everything that’s beautiful in a certain location. We are dedicated tourists with a plan in our mind, a map in our hands and determination in our hearts.
But an important part of experiencing any place is allowing it time to surround us, take us over and introduce us to its spirit. To do so, we need to slow down, put the map away and just go where our intuition takes us. Stop for a coffee on a terrace, talk to the people we meet, look around, observe and just get lost in all the marvelous details surrounding us. Colors, scents, the light, the way people act or walk, they all differ from one place to another.
Besides, you can always discover little treasures! A passionate kiss of two dark statues…
Amsterdam