Day 1:
- (2 hours) take a stroll around HSBC building on Des Voeux Road. Walk into the square in front of that building. Take a look at the former Supreme Court (now the legislature) building, and the square that commemorates the war dead. Then walk up Battery Path on the slope opposite HSBC to the St John's Cathedral compound, where you can feel the days when the British were around.
- (2 hours) take the peak tram opposite St John"s Catheral to the Victoria Peak; find a spot around the tram terminal where you can have a commanding view of the harbour and enjoy the view below. Later, take a walk along Lugard Road, the path which circles the peak and starts from and ends just outside the tram terminal to have a 360-degree view of Hong Kong. Make sure you enter Lugard Road on the right side of the terminal, so that you can have a good view of the harbour. The walk takes one hour to complete, but if you have seen enough, you can turn back.
- (1 1/2 hours) go inside the two shopping malls: Peak Tower and Peak Galleria nearby. There are several restaurants which have a good view of the harbour, pick one and have lunch there.
You can go up to the observation deck of the Peak Tower, but it charges a fee and the view there is no better than what you can see from the restaurants that overlook the harbour.
- (2 hours) after lunch, take the tram or a bus (the bus terminal is on the ground level of Peak Galleria) back to Central. Then walk around Admiralty, where you can see several impressive glass towers, including the new Bank of China building. Do some window shopping at Pacific Centre nearby; this is a modern shopping mall with well laid shops.
- (2 hours) take the escalator on the west end of Pacific Centre up to Supreme Court Road, cross the road into Hong Kong Park, which is built on a slope. Surrounded by several hotels and office towers, the park has lots of plants and flowers on display. You may see brides and grooms posing for pictures there because within the park is the Marriage Registry. There is a tea museum where you can learn the art of Chinese tea appreciation. Futher up the slope is a large enclosed aviary which is well worth visiting.
- for dinner, take a 15-minute walk to nearby Lan Kwai Fong, where there are many restaurants and bars. Often by 7:30 pm, that area is crowded with patrons. So, time yourself.
Day 2:
- (morning) find your way to Ocean Park on the south side of Hong Kong. It is worth visiting because it has many different forms of entertainment all wrapped in one location. Near the entrance are the giant panda dens, and other animals on display. To go into the park proper, visitors have to take the cable car which gives you a view of some of the most beautiful bays in Hong Kong. When you get off the cable car, visit the multi-storey indoor aquarium (Atoll Reef) where one can see surface-feeding and deep-water fish at various levels as you walk down the circular path fringing the aquarium. At the Ocean Theatre are dolphin and sea lion performances. There are many other things you can see and do in this park.
- (afternoon and evening) After Ocean Park, either go to Aberdeen and have dinner in a floating restaurant, or go to Stanley and have dinner in the historic Murray Building in front of a beautiful bay.
a. Aberdeen option:
- Aberdeen is 15 minutes away from Ocean Park by bus. There, you can see the bay which is also a typhoon shelter. By noon time, the fishermen would have sold their catch and closed for the day, but if you are there before 1:30 pm, you can visit the wholesale fishermen's market where live fish is being sold. Hire a boat which offers guided tours to explore the area.
- for dinner, go across to the floating restaurant moored in the middle of the bay. In the restaurant, you can enjoy a seafood dinner and at the same time experience a life style which has been around for over a hundred years.
Alternatively take a bus from Aberdeen to Causeway Bay (about 30 minutes), the shopping and food district in Hong Kong, where shops do not close until at least 10:00 pm, and restaurants and snack bars even later. Find a food outlet for dinner, do some serious shopping and have a drink or snacks in a bar close-by.
b. Stanley option:
- take a bus or taxi to Stanley (about 40 minutes). Stanley is a small bay, which used to be a fishing village, but now has many shops, restaurants and boutique hotels for people to go there and have a good time. You can walk around the area, go inside shops which sell art pieces, clothing and souvenirs, and walk along the moon-shaped bayshore. If you like, you can drop in one of the food outlets facing the bay and have a drink while enjoying the view and sea breeze. Go to the far end of the bay where Murray Building is situated. In front of it is a pier where you may see people doing fishing or simply having a good time.
- for dinner, go inside Murray Building, which was dismantled and rebuilt stone by stone from its previous site in Central. There are several restaurants on the upper levels serving western and Asian food. Pick the one you like and have a good time there. After dinner, you will have to take the long ride of about one hour back to town.
Day 3:
- (2 1/2 hours) ride the Escalator which climbs from the Central District up the slope of Victoria Peak through streets lined with shops, cafes, restaurants and houses (the Escalator normally only goes uphill; it is only during early morning hours that it goes downhill). Get off at any exit point, take a walk, have a drink or meal somewhere, and get back on until you reach Robinson Road. From there, walk back down through the Botanic Gardens to Central.
- (2 hours) go from Central to the Star Ferry pier and cross over to Kowloon. Get onto the upper deck of the ferry so that you will have more comfortable seats and a better view of Kowloon ahead of and Hong Kong Island behind you. Try to take some pictures during the less than 10-minute ride. Once you land on Kowloon side, spend some time taking a stroll along the seafront and admire the view of Hong Kong Island. It will give you a different perspective of Hong Kong.
You are now in Tsim Sha Tsui. Near the ferry terminal are the historic Clock Tower, formerly part of the railway terminal which was relocated many years ago, the Space Museum, the Cultural Centre, the Meuseum of Art and the Avenue of Stars (i.e. movie stars). At least try to visit one of them. Afterwards, walk from the seafront to the world-renowned Peninsula Hotel, which has a long history in Hong Kong and still projects an atmosphere of the times gone by.
- (2 hours) next visit the "bird street", the Flower Market and the Goldfish Market in Kowloon.
To get there, take the MTR (subway) from Tsim Sha Tsui and get off at the Prince Edward station. You will find "bird street" on Yuen Po Street. Some distance away is
Flower Market Road, and Goldfish Market is on Sai Yee Street.
"Bird street" is the place where bird lovers gather and where "bird-ware" such as crafted cages and grasshoppers and other food for birds are sold. The Flower Market has over 100 shops spanning several streets where you will find an amazing display of brightly coloured flowers and potted plants, large and small. The Goldfish Market has stores which sell tropical fish and accessories.
- at night, if the weather is fine, go back to the Victoria Peak and have another look at the city below you. What you see on Day 1 and now is literally as different as night and day. The view will be even better if you are there around 8:00 pm (for the Symphony of Lights display) or when firework displays are on during festive seasons,
It is guaranteed to be an unforgettable sight because what you will see in front of you is a giant live show of a bustling city in motion, brightly lit by millions of lights, making the night view of Hong Kong absolutely the best in the world.
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