It is difficult to narrow down what to do in Hong Kong on a short itinerary. It is a city that is better experienced than toured. By that I mean that while there are some main highlights to see, it is not a mecca of historical sights like Beijing, or even London. No, Hong Kong is an international metropolis to rival the biggest cities in the world. It is unique in its history, culture, people, location (spread out across several islands) and more. I’ll share with you my itinerary in Hong Kong and the impressions of the city I gleaned along the way.

My first night in the city I decided to explore Central, the main downtown area of Hong Kong island. There was a plethora of high rise buildings, bright lighting, designer shops, and well-dressed pedestrians on every block. I found myself in a restaurant and bar district teeming with people, where cuisines from all over Asia could be found. I ended up having dinner at a Thai place there which was good but pricey (note to self – eat before going into the tourist areas!), then walked down towards the ferry port to get a view of the night skyline behind me on Hong Kong and across the water in Kowloon.

The next day I tackled the Dragon’s Back Hike, easily the top highlight of my trip to Hong Kong. It is a beautiful hike that follows a ridge along the mountains of Hong Kong Island, providing sweeping views of the city and coast. You can read the details in my post on the Dragon’s Back Hike.

The hike took most of the day as it took some time in transit to reach, so I spent a lazy evening exploring the Kowloon district where I was staying. It felt more residential, more reflective of ordinary life than the main city areas, but it was still teeming with shops, restaurants, and people. There was a park not far from my hostel where I watched several groups of women practicing tai-chi while children were taking a martial arts class. It was fun just to watch people going about their lives and enjoying some leisure time.

My final day in Hong Kong I went to Victoria Peak, which is a point about 450 meters above sea level that provides a bird’s eye view of the city. I decided to take The Peak Tram up as it is considered one of the main tourist attractions in Hong Kong, but I admit it would have been better to take the bus. I had to wait about an hour for the tram, which cost HKD75, and ended up having to stand as there were not enough seats. The ride is almost entirely vertical, which is cool, but the views from the tram are not nearly so spectacular as I had thought they’d be. The view from the top of The Peak is nice, but heavily commercialized. Malls line both sides of the summit selling a plethora of sugary snacks and souvenir trinkets. The view of the city was pretty, but nearly as impressive as the view from the Dragon’s Back Hike. If you want a pretty view of the city without too much physical exertion, The Peak is probably a good place to go, but if you want a better experience, I’d recommend skipping The Peak and doing the Dragon’s Back Hike instead.

I took the Star Ferry across to Kowloon, which was a pretty ride across the water providing views of the buildings on both sides. I had read that the Avenue of Stars on the Kowloon side is one of the best places to watch the nightly Symphony of Lights show put on by the city of Hong Kong. I had some time to kill, so I decided to try a vegetarian restaurant, which was quite good (they even had fake meat versions of all the traditional Sichuanese dishes like braised beef!). The waiter was nice and sat me in front of a window with a lovely view of the Hong Kong skyline even though I didn’t have a reservation (he warned me the restaurant was almost fully booked for the evening so he needed the table in 45 min, but that was more than enough for me!).

After dinner, I claimed a place along the waterfront at the Avenue of Stars to watch the Symphony of Lights show. It was cool to watch, as several of the buildings on the Hong Kong and Kowloon side flashed lighting in synchrony to music.

I enjoyed my visit to Hong Kong, but it is probably not a place I would return to. It had too much of the big city feel to it. You can read my post on how different Hong Kong is from most big cities in China here. It was fun to experience though and I’d recommend it for people who enjoy more of the commercialized, big city style of traveling.