Hong Kong - modern, bustling, and extremely cramped

After our stay in Singapore, we continued to Hong Kong. We were eager to see what awaited us there. Admittedly, we hadn't prepared or researched much. Only one thing was clear - we wanted to go there!

We were able to stay with Kate, an acquaintance of Jakob's uncle Bernhard. Kate had warned us in advance that her apartment was very small and not to be surprised.

On our travel day, we got up super early to catch the first subway to the airport. Everything checked in and off we went!!

In Hong Kong, we first took the Aiport-Train within the airport to immigration, where everything went very quickly. However, you don't even get a stamp in your passport anymore, just a slip of paper that states how long you can stay. With the Airport Express, we went to Hong Kong Station where Kate picked us up. Her apartment is located in the center of Hong Kong - basically the 1st district - on the top floor (24th) of a high-rise building. The apartment is small by Austrian standards, but I think it's quite large by local standards. There is a living room with a small kitchenette, a bathroom with a short bathtub, toilet, sink, and space for one person, and two rooms where exactly one queen-size bed fits. It is absolutely cozy and Kate has the coziest bed imaginable! And the best part is the rooftop terrace!!! From there, we had a great view of Hong Kong!

Kate was a great tour guide, showing us around the city, going out with us every night, and always available and helpful during the day when we didn't know the best way to get somewhere.

Hong Kong is a very crowded city and if you arrive here from Singapore like we did, it seems extremely bustling. During the two and a half days we spent here, we used almost all the extraordinary means of transportation available: ferries, double-decker trams and buses, as well as a covered escalator system. The only thing we skipped was the Peak Tram, an extremely steep tram that takes you to the viewpoint over the city, as the queue there would have taken over an hour.

Two particularly worthwhile destinations we visited are the small port town of Stanley and the shopping district of Sham Shui Poh.

Stanley

On the way to Stanley, we noticed this high-rise building... 

In the evening, Kate explained to us why there is a hole in the high-rise building. So that the dragon can pass through from the mountain to the sea - of course! 

Sham Shui Pho

Here, there are still real small specialty shops in the business premises along the streets: fabrics, buttons, vegetables, fish, meat, mobile phones, televisions, shoes, backpacks, sportswear, and anything else you can think of is neatly separated and offered by product groups. After more than three quarters of a day, we still haven't walked through all the streets, but we decided that we've seen and bought enough.

We spent our last evening together with Kate in a great rooftop bar where we could enjoy the view of Hong Kong's skyline. It was truly breathtaking!