One of my favourite DJ acts “Above & Beyond” recently celebrated their 300th podcast episode with a dance party in Hong Kong at Asia World Expo Convention Centre, and I just had to go. I’ve been following them for almost ten years since I started listening to their podcast when I was studying my Masters in Digital Media. I thought I would share a quick few words and some happy snaps from my trip. Hope you enjoy!
I got a friend on board, we booked tickets and started planning a flying 5 day visit to Hong Kong.
We flew Cathay Pacific and couldn’t be happier with their Economy Class service. Check in at Melbourne airport was a breeze with automated Terminals that printed our luggage tags and then we simply scanned those in at the bag drop and were on our way.
We booked into the Dorsett Hotel in Mongkok which is situated in the heart of Mongkok and very easy to navigate around the main parts of the bustling city. We flew overnight and arrived nice and early around 7am Hong Kong time and very easily caught our shuttle to the train and got to our Hotel quite early. The hotel staff literally bend over backwards to help out customers so they arranged for an early check in and I found that our room was quite small, so I requested an upgrade and it was worth it. We got up on the 25th floor with spectacular views, two separate rooms and a massive lush bathroom. The linen was crisp and fresh and the beds really supportive yet soft and comfortable.
With limited time each day we wasted no time in getting out and around the place and were amazed by the public transport system. It works seamlessly.
First timers tip: First thing you need to do is buy a return trip ticket from the Airport which you do when you land. Then you should buy yourself an ‘Octopus’ card which allows you to top it up like a prepaid credit card and use it for trains, busses and even convenience stores. It works a treat! Tap on, tap off, away you go. Top it up almost anywhere.
Highly recommend: a visit to the Star Ferry! This takes you across the water onto Hong Kong Island and you can use your Octopus card to catch it to and fro, really spectacular views at night!
Shopping galore: something they do really well in Hong Kong is the retail experience. With a super humid climate and higher than normal temperatures much of the year you will really want to escape the heat and disappear into the air conditioned comfort of any of their mega shopping malls.
My favourite Mall was the Langham Place with it’s ‘spiral’ architecture which is a visual treat worth it of itself. You travel up these huge escalators right to the top floor then wind your way down via short stairs through each level to a grand variety of different shopping experiences.
The highest bar in the world: atop the Ritz Carlton Hotel on Hong Kong Island in Kowloon, is the highest bar in the world called Ozone at 490 meters above sea level! They have an amazing menu and even more amazing drinks that are served in an open air rooftop bar that is simply spectacular.
Culture: there is a really friendly vibe and locals are often happy to help a confused tourist, check out the local markets for some trinkets to take home or a designer ahem bag on the cheap!
Food is amazing everywhere, don’t be shy and try the street food, everything we ate was fresh and delicious and we ate from stalls, restaurants and everywhere in between without any problems at all.
Overall: Hong Kong is a busy city! Full of people and things to do, amazing sights, great transport and yummy food. We barely touched on any of the major tourist attractions but took in so much over our short stay that we needed a holiday to recover from our holiday but wouldn’t change a thing and would happily do it all again in a second.