If there is one place in
the world I could live it would be Hong Kong, my favorite city in the world!
While there are several tropical islands I could spend my life on, I love
Hong Kong. It is Chinatown meets New York, no pun intended!
The history and culture is awesome. Every time I go whether it was
under British rule or the current Chinese regime I have a great time.
It is a remarkable city! There is nothing I don't like. I loved
flying into HK when the old airport was around and you flew so close to
the buildings that you could wave to the people in them, take offs and
landings were like being on a roller coaster. The new airport on
its own island with its own little city is an unbelievable site, definitely
a more tame landing and take off. The airport alone is state of the
art and huge, plenty of things to do if you experience a delay or long
layover. Hong Kong has some of the world's best hotels such as the
Mandarin Oriental (once ranked number one in the world), the Conrad and
the Peninsula, with its huge suites and one of the most beautiful pools
ever! My favorite is the Mandarin Oriental which is located right
along the harbour near the Star Ferry station. It is a fabulous hotel
whether you are sitting in its cigar bar in its lobby drinking a scotch,
or eating dinner in the famous Vong's restaurant located on the top floor
with speculator views of the city and habour or sitting on your patio overlooking
the habour sipping on some hot tea and planning your itinerary. Make
sure you make time to visit the giant Buddha statue (world's largest)
on the mainland and to take the tram to the top of Victoria Peak to watch
the sunset and/or sunrise on the city! In addition to Vong's, a trip
to the East End Brewery and the floating restaurant are great places to
eat. Remember to take the Star Ferry (under thirty cents US) over
to Kowloon to have a drink at the Peninsula Hotel and visit the outside
markets to buy some souvenirs. If you are really brave hit the Blue
Parrot for a beer;-) It would also be worth your while to have a
few shirts and/or suits tailor made either on Kowloon mainland or the central
district on Hong Kong island. Even though you can't get a rickshaw
ride these days (now outlawed) you can at least take a few pictures of
the ones by the Star Ferry Station. One thing I haven't done is to
ride on my favorite boat (an oriental Junk) around Victoria Habour, something
for my next trip!