Hong Kong - Causeway Bay Happy Valley and North Point Travel Guides | Hong Kong | Sub Regions | Hong Kong - Causeway Bay Happy Valley and North Point

East of Wan Chai, Causeway Bay is one of the most concentrated areas of consumerism on the island, as well as the most crowded and polluted. Chic Japanese department stores sell the best imported food and cramped stalls are laden with Hello Kitty watches. Times Square is a neon-flashing shopping centre into which most of Hong Kong descends in the evenings and also a good area to rest weary feet and eat. Happy Valley is dominated by the racecourse, a highlight of everyone's holiday, especially the sight of the brilliant green track surrounded by dull grey concrete at night. Further east towards North Point it’s less prestigious and commercial and more traditional.

Sights

Happy Valley, T 1817, http://www.happyvalleyracecourse.com Wed evenings 1930-2230 Dec-Jun. MTR: Causeway Bay, or tram.

The racecourse was built on reclaimed marshland and hosted its first races in 1846, so it’s something of a Hong Kong institution. Today the course is one of the most sophisticated in the world with computerized betting and races broadcast on enormous screens.

For many people a night at the races is a highlight and if gambling is not a priority, the roar of the crowds and the thundering of hoofs, are entertainment enough. Otherwise it’s a good, cheap night out – providing you don’t throw too much money at the Hong Kong Jockey Club, the only legal gambling outlet in the city. Minimum bet is $10, and the small betting cards are tricky for the novice although staff are happy to explain the different combinations (quinella, trifecta etc). It isn’t always easy to get the odds at the ground – the complicated screen has confusing lists of numbers – but go armed with the Racing section of the South China Morning Post and look like an expert. The biggest races of the year are the Hong Kong International Races (December) and the Queen Elizabeth II Cup (April).

The public enclosure costs $10, with the option of watching the races at ground level or sitting in the terraces. On production of a passport, foreign tourists may sit in the members’ enclosure for $50, closer to the winning post but more restrained and plush. The public enclosure has a few stalls selling chicken’s feet, pork chops, hot dogs and noodles, and beer is available from there or from the furtive sellers with large shopping bags. For something more exotic, dine at the trackside Moon Koon Restaurant, or the stable bend terrace with a barbecue buffet, both costing $288 each. Bookings must be for a minimum of four people but two people can book on the day.

2/F Happy Valley Stand, Happy Valley Racecourse, T 2966 8065. 1000-1700 Tue-Sun and some public holidays, 1000-1230 racedays, closed Mon and some public holidays. MTR: Causeway Bay, or tram.

Opened in 1996, the museum tells the story of Hong Kong’s racing scene, from its early years in the 1840s, through the building of the Sha Tin course and up to the present-day high-tech wonders.

Opposite Excelsior Hotel, Causeway Bay typhoon shelter. Gun fired daily 1200.

One of the most charismatic colonial relics, still firing away, is the Noon Day Gun – keeping alive Noel Coward’s lines from Mad Dogs and Englishmen: “In Hong Kong, They strike a gong, And fire off a noonday gun, To reprimand each inmate, Who’s in late.” The short ceremony still gathers a small crowd, all guaranteed to cover their ears and giggle as the boom echoes across the water. The typhoon shelter is hardly picturesque, but there are houseboats with washing lines and plant pots, and some more elaborate junk boats and yachts belonging to members of the adjacent Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club. The odd dead fish in the murky water indicates its filth and the summertime stench gives a whole new meaning to the words ‘Fragrant Harbour’ (translation of Hong Kong).

Take a closer look at life on the water by flagging down a sampan from the Noon Day Gun steps, pointing your index finger down and making a stirring motion. This will give you a 15-minute trip around the shelter (check the price first, $40-50 for the boat is a reasonable amount, and don’t be surprised if you pick up other locals). Watch out for the gin palaces, tour boats, junks and the tiny rowing boats that people actually live on, plus a floating Tin Hau temple – fantastic during the Tin Hau festival.

Causeway Bay. MTR: Causeway Bay.

This area of Causeway Bay is not for the faint-hearted. It’s possibly the most crowded, congested and polluted area of Hong Kong with a high volume of department stores, hotels and markets and it’s a natural meeting point for many other parts of the city. Step out into Jardine’s Crescent from a sassy department store or the MTR and you are instantly hit with a slow-moving sea of people along the narrow market street. Like the rest of Causeway Bay, the stalls stay open until late evening and, like many other street markets, it mainly sells cheap clothes, Hello Kitty watches, buckets and brooms and plastic jewellery. The dazzling lights of the neon and bright covers contrast with the looming grey buildings.

Gloucester Rd/Causeway Rd/Victoria Park Rd, Causeway Bay. MTR: Causeway Bay.

One of Hong Kong’s largest public parks, in the heart of Causeway Bay, Victoria Park has swimming pools, a football pitch, running tracks and tennis courts. As at most open areas, tai chi practitioners gather every morning and just watching them brings a feeling of calm amidst the chaos. The park’s highlight is during Lunar New Year, when a flower show covers a huge area of the park, featuring exotic flowers from here and abroad. The evening before the first day of New Year it’s open all night, a seething mass of Hong Kongers buying flowers for their house and the temple. Annually on June 4 a vigil commemorates the events at Tiananmen Square in 1989. Let your weary feet go naked and walk around the oval-shaped foot massage path, covered with specially selected massage stones designed for stimulated circulation, and barefoot walking heaven.

North Point, tram or MTR.

Try North Point for a taste of a traditional Chinese street market without the crowds of Mongkok or Wan Chai. Chun Yeung Street, where the tram runs down, has a fish, meat and vegetable market on one side and ultra cheap clothes opposite. At the end, under the flyover, it continues onto Marble Street with some interesting shops like No 10D (selling frogs and snakes, live of course). Further down, incense, candles and tiny wooden statues are for sale.

423 King’s Rd, North Point, T 2856 0161, 2856 0162. MTR or tram, North Point.

For the most authentic Cantonese Opera experience, this cinema has performances most evenings starting at 1930 and lasting up to three hours, with tickets costing between around $100 to $300. Although nothing is in English, it makes for an unusual and enjoyable night out, especially after visiting the Chinese Opera exhibition in the Heritage or History museums. The tiny ground floor stall sells cassettes and posters of popular opera stars.

Travel Guides | Hong Kong | Sub Regions | Hong Kong - Causeway Bay Happy Valley and North Point
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