Findings from our wanderings:
- wow, Hong Kong is a dense city
- much like Disney world there are lines/queues for just about everything
- the city is a very three dimensional with walkways above and below street level, making maps rather difficult in some locations
- nearly all metro stops have underground shops, and most have one or more exits into a mall. There was even a mall at top of Victoria Peak… You can not say that you didn’t have an opportunity to shop.
SoHo & the mid-level escalator
On our first day we found a number of interesting pubs and restaurants along this section and ended up returning every day for one meal or another. Each visit was via a different path due to the three dimensional aspects of the city.
Since the escalator only runs one way it can be a challenge to ascend or descend depending on the time of day.
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Malls and shopping
Hong Kong has more shopping then I’ve seen just about anywhere we’ve been yet. No matter where you were you could find something to buy. There are shops and restaurants on top of mountains, underground in the subways, on the streets or in glitzy multistory malls, covering the gamut from very cheap to extraordinarily expensive.
One night we wandered through the Temple Street night market and the Jade market. Compared to our experiences in Chiang Mai these markets were a bit more sedate and were filled with many of the same knock-off style clothing items. I did find some inexpensive socks and a great PoLo shirt (yes, that’s how it is spelled on the shirt) :)
The multitude of ‘adult toy’ tables near the Jade Market were a bit of a surprise!
Avenue of Stars
On our last morning we made a point to walk along the Tsim Sha Tsui waterfront along the famous Avenue of Stars.
With views of the Hong Kong harbor and skyline on one side and the statues and handprints of famous Hong Kong film stars on the other this was a heavily touristed but worthwhile stop.
