After two months in Indonesia, I had to leave the country. My visa simply could not be extended and so I decided to visit a friend in Hongkong. The flight was not expensive and my friend made every effort to show me as many sides of Hongkong as possible.
I had heard a lot about this city, but I didn’t realise that it was so diverse. You can decide every day whether you would rather be in Asia, Europe or South America. Do you prefer Italian, sushi or good, real bread?
Do you want to go to a bar, a restaurant, the park, the mountains or the sea? Hiking, swimming, playing football or cycling? So much is possible and the choice is enormous.
We did a guided tour of the Shan Shui Po district. The theme was to see how people live outside of Downtown. Locals are entitled to social housing. These range in size from about 5sqm to 50sqm. Hong kong is the most expensive city in the world next to Sydney.
We walked through a textile factory and visited various markets. One thing is for sure, everyone gets their money’s worth here in terms of cuisine. And there are so many more strange things to see. Here you can buy some sea creatures directly and take them home. Whether turtles or frogs in all sizes and colours (even albino is available), the most colourful saltwater fish, snails and mussels, as well as dogs and cats, whether puppy or adult, you can look at them in the shop window and take them home right away.
If you want to know your future, you can go to a fortune teller in one of the many tents at the side of the road, and if you prefer live music in karaoke style, you can go a little further to the singing girls, who keep on singing as long as the gentlemen watching them give them money.
We went to Victoria Park. This is where Hongkong residents can spend their free time. There is a sports field, a swimming pool, tennis and volleyball courts. Even a pool where not only the children can launch their remote-controlled boats. A really relaxing place in the middle of the big city, surrounded by its famous skyscrapers.
Hongkong has many parks in the different districts. At lunch time, people come out of their offices to these very parks to have their lunch and look at the greenery. There is always a park within walking distance. Speaking of walking. That is also possible in Hongkong, because the high-rise buildings in the centre are connected to each other, so that you can easily walk from one to the next and shop at the same time. So we walked down to the ferry without even crossing a street.
My girlfriend lives on Hongkong Island but the mainland is only a few minutes’ ferry ride away. There is an infinite amount to see on both parts.
After five days, I flew back to Indonesia with a new visa in my luggage. This time to Sulawesi. Hongkong really impressed me, but unfortunately also minimised my budget quite a bit and I didn’t pay anything for accommodation because I was staying with my girlfriend. So if you want to experience this fascinating city, you should budget a bit more. But it is really worth it.