Joe had never been to Hong Kong and we had to stop there on our way to the Philippines, so we decided to spend a few nights there to get over the jet lag from the time difference before heading on to the Philippines. My last trip to Hong Kong was in 1996 when I traveled to Sipidan to dive. In 1996 HK was still under British control and I was curious to see the difference under Chinese control. We stayed three nights at the Kowloon Renaissance for $103 a night, which was a bargain in HK, especially since China was celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Peoples Republic of China during our stay.
We traveled to and from the airport on HK’s express train, then took the express hotel bus to the hotel. Taking the Airport Express train and bus to and from the airport worked out very well even with four large checked bags and four carry-ons.
The first day we rested some and then walked around the Nathan road area, which is the shopping district in Kowloon. Being retired and living in 400 sq. feet, we don’t need work clothes or ‘stuff’ so we just walked around. 🙂 The second day we traveled to Victoria Peak by walking to the Star Ferry then taking the Star Ferry from Kowloon to Hong Kong and then walking several blocks to the Victoria Peak tram station and road the tram to the peak. At Victoria Peak we looked around, had lunch and then took the tram back down to the station. At the station we took the local bus to the central bus station and walked back to the ferry terminal and took the ferry back to Kowloon and then walked back to the hotel. The third day we walked to the MTR station and took the MTR to HK then took a local bus to Aberdeen. We had lunch at the Jumbo Floating Restaurant in Aberdeen Harbor then took the local bus back to HK’s central station and then took the ferry back to Kowloon.
When possible, we enjoy touring an area using local transportation rather than buying an organized tour package where you’re not in control of where you’re taken or how long you’ll be at each point. We may not get to see as many sights that way, but we experience the local culture much more.
We’ll return to Hong Kong sometime in the future and will tour more of Kowloon when we return.
