Hong Kong: The Grime (Final Thoughts)

It's taken me quite some time to get through all of my Hong Kong posts, but we've finally reached the last group of photos for my final thoughts. The trip was in November of 2014, over a year ago, but I can still remember the experience quite well!

In many ways, Hong Kong lived up to my expectations. In the iconic waterfront downtown business area, the city is full of beautiful shiny high rises, while Kowloon and commercial areas are a bit more gritty and have more personality.

Hong Kong is a city to be explored. I only had a few days there, but more than one entire day was spent just walking. And yet there is so much more to be seen. I never made it to the former walled city and there are so many neighborhoods and coastal towns scattered outside the main city that are just begging to be seen.

There are other museums and tourist attractions I haven't seen yet, either. The big Buddha statue near the airport, the railway museum. There must be more shopping, too. The markets I visited deserve better exploration and I couldn't check them all out.

On the other hand, I feel like I missed out on cuisine. Perhaps it comes from living in and traveling around Japan, but I don't have a gastronomical connection to Hong Kong. I only had one opportunity to try an egg tart, and I'm glad I did, because it was really good. I got the classic Hong Kong-style western breakfast/brunch, which was also pretty tasty. But I didn't get any wanton noodles, fish balls, dim sum, duck, or curry. I would have loved to try whatever kung pao chicken really is in China, or some other spicy Chinese chicken dish. What did I eat on this trip, exactly?

I hope to have another opportunity to spend a few days in Hong Kong. A return trip will probably be less hectic, since I've been to most of the museums already. And I can spend more time finding good restaurants or at least places to find tasty real food.

I'll leave you with this, my final photo taken in Hong Kong very early in the morning. I was on the top of a double decker night bus on the way to the airport, somehow weaving its way through this market warehouse street.