10hrs in Hong Kong - A Layover Trip to Asia's World City Posted on: 12 January 2019 :: Photo Credits: Huaiwei Mate SE ::
Previous Article: Fall Colors and Great Lakes - Road trip in Michigan, USA
Preface
One of the best travel hacks while flying from India to the USA is taking a side-trip to explore new destinations during layovers. During my winter vacation trip to India, luckily, I got a cheap Cathay Pacific flight from Delhi to New York with a 10hrs layover in Hong Kong ($520, all other flights were more than $700). Since Indian nationals can visit Hong Kong without a visa (only a pre-registration is required), it was very easy to get out of the airport and explore the city.
Location : Hong Kong
After spending more than 3 weeks in India, attending weddings of cousins and catching up with friends, I boarded the Cathay Pacific flight to New York via Hong Kong from Delhi. The first leg of the journey took 5hrs30mins and I reached Hong Kong airport at 9.30AM.
The immigration was a piece of cake. I just had to fill an arrival card and present it to the immigration officer along with the pre-registration receipt, passport and boarding pass, and she gave me a landing slip (no stamps!). Since my luggage was checked-in till New York, I didn’t have to wait at the baggage claim nor find a locker to store it. I exchanged US$50 to HKD at a currency exchange in the Arrivals Hall and bought a local sim-card (HKD68, 3GB internet for 3 days). Also, with an HKD50 refundable deposit I bought an Octopus Card for public transport. All these steps took much less time than I had anticipated. Therefore, instead of taking the fast and expensive Airport Express to the city (HKD100 one way), I decided to take the slower, cheaper and much scenic option: a double-decker bus! Luckily, I got the front seats on the upper deck and spent the next 1hr admiring the numerous sea-links and skyscrapers of Hong Kong.
I had decided to explore Kowloon, the northern part of Hong Kong, and then go to the central district. I got down from the bus in Tsim Sha Tsui. This area of Kowloon seemed very much like Manhattan. Shopping malls, crowds, huge screens and skyscrapers! One notable difference was that the skyscrapers were surrounded by lots and lots of trees. I exchanged another US$50 to HKD in the market. The rates here were much better than the airport. Then I walked to the Flower Market road, which, as the name suggests, had rows upon rows of stalls, shops and stands brimming with flowers and saplings.
As hunger rolled in, I searched online for dim-sum restaurant recommendations. The top result was Tim Ho Wan, the worlds cheapest Michelin-star restaurant’. After a 30min walk from the flower market, I reached the Hoi Ting Rd branch of Tim Ho Wan. The restaurant was full and there was a small queue at the entrance. A young lady was handling the waiting list and was screaming token numbers in Chinese. I managed to converse with her through sign language and got myself on the waiting list. After 10 minutes, she led me to a table in the restaurant. After another 10 minutes, she came back to take the order. When I asked her for vegetarian options, she suggested Egg cake, Rice rolls and poached vegetables. Those were the only three vegetarian options on the menu, so I ordered them all. The rice rolls and egg cake were delicious, though I had a lot of trouble eating them with chopsticks (the person sitting next to me was using a scissor to cut his noodles!). This sumptuous meal cost just HKD58 (~US$7.5).
After lunch, I took a bus to Victoria Harbour. The stunning skyline of Hong Kong was beyond any words!
I walked along the Victoria Harbour all the way to the Tsim Sha Tsui Promenade. Unfortunately, the Avenue of Stars was under renovation and the iconic Bruce Lee statue was covered in sheets.
The Garden of Stars had other movie set related statues like the director’s chair, camera and sound engineers. It also had the handprints of some of the famous Chinese movie stars (surprisingly, not of Jakie Chan).
After walking back to the Victoria Harbour, I boarded the Star Ferry to Central Hong Kong. For just HKD2.7, it offered spectacular views of Hong Kong’s skyline with the Victoria Peak, which was above the clouds, at the back. This short 10min ride is a must-do thing in Hong Kong!
The next to-do thing on my list was taking the Peak Tram to the Victoria Peak. I took a bus from Star Ferry pier to the lower tram station. There was a long queue for tickets, but thanks to the Octopus Card I could skip the queue. But there was another long queue for the tram itself. I had to wait for the next tram as there was no space on the first one.
The ride was worth the wait! As the tram climbed up the hill with a steep gradient, jaw-dropping views of the city emerged below. The skyscrapers appeared tilted as my neck strained to remain horizontal. I didn’t have much time to spend on the Victoria Peak, so I quickly clicked some pics from the viewing deck and took the tram back to the lower station.
With the Airport Express from Central, I reached HKG airport in time to catch my flight to New York. This short 10hrs layover in Hong Kong gave me amazing glimpses of Asia’s World City!
