Hong Kong in 1 day

I am currently the holder of a Q2 visa in China, this means that I have to leave the country every 60 days.  Generally, I leave earlier than that.  Since I live in Guangzhou, I mainly go to Hong Kong for my visa runs which means I am in and out of SAR every three months give or take.  I normally take a bus from where I live in Guangzhou down to the border, then I go through customs.

Now a lot of people will just turn right around and then come back up to Guangzhou.  For that just sounds horrible.  If I'm going to spend three hours on a bus then I want to be able to at least walk around and see something.  So what do I do when I'm down there?  Is it possible to make the most of one day in Hong Kong and see several sites?

Well, it really sort of depends on when you come in and how much time you have.  Some places like some of the islands or Disneyland will probably take you all day.  However, if all you want do is maybe go shopping then you could do that in the morning and in the afternoon possible see the peak or hit up Big Buddha.

Personally what I like to do is when I arrive I either go to the guitar stores in Hong Kong, yes I think I'm a musician, or I got to SoHo and bum around.  All of that being said if you wanted to see some stuff and you only have one day what could you do and how would you do it?

Breakfast: If this is your first time in Hong Kong and has never been there before then you should try the traditional Hong Kong breakfast.  It's not that weird but I have had I a few times and I don't think it's all the great.  What is it?  Scrambled eggs, some type of breakfast mean, normally ham or spam, toast, milk tea, and macaroni in a tomato sauce.  A word of warning it is lightly seasoned and does mean lightly.  Your milk tea will require sugar.

Morning: You could do Big Buddha in the early morning.  There is a bus, a hike, and a cable car.  For the sake of time and the scenery go for the cable car.  It is located at Tung Chung station on Lantau Island. 

Midmorning:  For this time of day you have a couple of options on what you want to do.  First, you could go back down the cable car, and head into the main island for shopping.  Head to Central walks out to find various shops as well as a great view of the bay as well as the skyline of Kowloon across the water.

A second option is to go to Po Lin Monastery.  It’s a relaxing stroll that is accompanied by birds, Buddhist iconography as well as a restaurant that serves vegetarian food.  I’ll be honest the food was not great when I went.  There is also another restaurant near Big Buddha that serves food as well if you get stuck up there for most of the morning.

A third option is to hike back down from Big Buddha if a nature walk is something that you would find more enjoyable. 

A fourth option is to head to Admiralty and go up to the Peak.  You reach the peak by tram that you can get on at Grand Road Admiralty or Victoria Peak.  Once at the top, you have to have an additional ticket to get to the very top.  You can also go by taxi.

Lunch: Hong Kong is known for its dim sum which in some restaurants can be rather expensive.  Another option is Indian food, which while delicious can either be expensive or cheap depending on where you go and buy it.  Other options are fried noodles or rice.  However, I would recommend trying some Hong Kong barbeque.  Where American barbeque is smoked, in Hong Kong they steam it.  Options include duck, goose, chicken, pork and seafood.  I recommend the pork.  Your meat will come with steamed vegetables and rice.

Early Afternoon: A couple of options again.  You can go shopping.  If you need a new place to go shopping, you can always go to Kowloon near Nathan Ave.  You get there by going to Tsim Sha Shui station.  You want the one that is at the end of the red line.  Lots of shopping in the area, that being said it’s very crowded with Hong Kong Chinese, foreigners and ex-pats.  If you are looking for watches, jewelry or a tailor just look for an Indian man and he can probably help you out.   A second option is going to SoHo and walk around.  There are a lot of art galleries and cafes in the area so it cabs rather relaxing.  You get to the SoHo, which is south of Hollywood road and northing of Central station. 

Late Afternoon: You can do one of the things that have already been mentioned or you could find a British pub, they are all over the place, as well as a few Irish ones.  You have to remember that Hong Kong was once owned by the British and it has left an impression.  Get a beer, a cider or pint of bitters, the wait is bitters beer?  Sit on a stool and watch people go by.  Hong Kong for the most part still an island city and there is some resemblance to a relaxed lifestyle, especially amongst the ex-pats.

That is one day in Hong Kong and bear in mind this is mostly based around my own opinion.  Things that I suggest might not be something that would be of interest to you.  If you have found something that you think is more interesting to do in Hong Kong with only one day, please leave a comment and tell us all about it.  Also please support this blog, I don’t want to go back to teaching.

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