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The business and shopping district of Central is a great place to get your first (and last) impression of Hong Kong, with its shiny skyscrapers, narrow street markets, Star Ferry and international cuisine. Sheung Wan is very traditionally Chinese, with the Macau Ferry Terminal, Western Market and Sheung Wan Gala Point and its wholesale trade in Chinese medicine. East of Central is Wan Chai, rather sleazy in the old days and now great entertainment, especially the bars of Lockhart Road and thrift-shopper’s heaven Hennessy Road. Causeway Bay is intense consumerism: always crowded and polluted, with chic Japanese department stores opposite cramped stalls selling plastic watches. Happy Valley is dominated by the racecourse which every Wednesday night sees millions of dollars spent (and usually lost). Towards the northeast of the island is North Point, less upmarket commercial and more traditional, with Marble Street market and a couple of interesting museums and temples around Shau Kai Wan and Sai Wan Ho, including the new Hong Kong Film Archives. A ride up to The Peak, preferably on the historic Peak Tram, reveals the best harbour views and some of the world’s most valuable property. Villages around the south of Hong Kong Island range from the traditional fishing village of Aberdeen with junk boats bobbing around the harbour, to the holiday-friendly Stanley, famous for its market. Ocean Park is a favourite with kids with plenty to occupy a full day. Shek O is a wealthy expat enclave with a dramatic setting via a breathtaking bus ride and Repulse Bay has one of the best beaches in Hong Kong, packed at weekends. Kowloon peninsula is not as glamorous as Central, but has some great sights and very traditional Chinese areas. Tsim Sha Tsui represents Hong Kong’s shameless commercialism at its very, er, best and it takes a strong stamina to conquer crowded Golden Mile on foot. The walkway by the Cultural Centre offers a wonderful harbour view and every morning sees the calming tai chi sessions. North along Nathan Road is Kowloon Park, a swathe of green, complete with outdoor swimming pools and an aviary. Further north, the streets between Jordan and Yau Ma Tei reveal Chinese culture in all its glory, laden with street markets selling live snakes, frogs and chickens. Temple Street Night Market is the place to haggle for souvenirs, experience amateur traditional Cantonese Opera and even get your palm read. Mongkok, typically Chinese, is one of the world’s most densely populated areas but you can escape the crowds in the Bird Garden where old men take their caged birds for walks. Eastern Kowloon’s Diamond Hill and Wong Tai Sin are uninspiring residential areas but worth visiting for the graceful Chi Lin Nunnery and the Wong Tai Sin Temple. This northernmost area of the territory between Kowloon and the Chinese border has witnessed radical development of parts of its rugged coastline, mountains and vast green expanse, although there is still a sizeable area of country parks and traditional walled villages. Sha Tin is one of its biggest towns and, although not pretty, has a couple of great attractions including the Museum of Heritage, one of Hong Kong’s best. Sha Tin racecourse buzzes at weekends and the nearby Ten Thousand Buddhas Monastery is worth trekking up the 400 steps to. Further north is the Chinese University with a wonderful art museum that plays an important role in promoting Chinese art and further north still is Tai Po, one of the oldest-known settlements in Hong Kong. A short cab ride away, Kadoorie Farm and Botanical Garden is a huge hilltop farm with walking trails, animal conservatories, exotic plants and animals. Ornithologists will love Mai Po Marshes on the northwestern border. In the eastern New Territories, Sai Kung is a fishing village and popular expat enclave, and a good base for hiking around the surrounding acres of country parks and isolated beaches, especially over to Plover Cove. Lantau is the largest of the Outlying Islands and twice the size of Hong Kong Island, with small villages dotted around its open spaces. As home to the airport, transport to and from Lantau has substantially improved since 1999. The immense Big Buddha sees daily busloads of visitors, thankfully less to the peaceful, traditional fishing village of Tai O. Cheung Sha beach is one of Hong Kong’s best and blissfully quiet during the week. Lamma has had a longstanding reputation as a hippie haven and, although its main village is like a badly designed holiday resort, it has some lovely short walks, a couple of decent beaches and good restaurants. Lively Cheung Chau is tiny, yet the most densely populated island, with a string of great seafood restaurants along the waterfront and is famous for its huge Bun Festival. Peng Chau is even smaller and worth a walk around for its relatively undisturbed island life and the picturesque Po Toi Islands are some of the most remote and unspoilt areas of Hong Kong. A Portuguese colony until 1999, now reverted to Chinese rule, Macau is a favourite weekend getaway for Hong Kongers who take advantage of its legal casinos. With a relaxed ambience, Macau’s beauty lies in discovering its churches, fortresses, temples and cobbled squares, plus the Mediterranean flavour of its architecture. And, of course, the Macanese cuisine and love of long lunches washed down with Portuguese wine is a hugely enjoyable part of the experience. Away from the main peninsula, part of the China mainland, are two islands in the Pearl River Delta: Taipa has restored elegant mansions, old shophouses, a Sunday market and a whole host of good local restaurants; while Coloane has a couple of beaches and country parks good for trekking.
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