(It’s too long to include both Chinese & English in this post, just keep it as a English one for the time being!)
A good inspiration from the Big-Blog-Exchange: asking bloggers to share traditions or landmarks that travelers shouldn’t miss when visiting my home-country – Hong Kong (it’s not a country officially, but…anyway!), I come up with this post! Other than those typical things every one already knows: seeing Victoria Harbour, shopping everywhere and trying authentic Dim Sum, my recommendations are as follows:
1. Feel the crowd!
2. You are sure you like Chinese/Hong Kong food?
3. Trotter Trotter – Happy Valley racecourse!
4. Pink dolphin & fishing village!
5. Beaches Beaches!
6. Look at the green and smell the freshness!
7. Villain hitting
8. Add a Cantonese finish particle to finish off your sentence ‘la’!
9. Seek for a Never-ending-night!
10. Act FAST!
and the reasons behind are…
1. Feel the crowd!
If you think big cities like New York or London are busy and crowded, you really need to re-define these 2 words in Hong Kong! Just squeeze yourself in Mongkok, which has the highest population density in the world, with 130,000 people per square km, or take the MTR (metro) at around 8.30am, then you will understand what it means to feel the crowd!
2. Are you sure you like Chinese/Hong Kong food?
If you happen to be my foreign friends visiting Hong Kong, I am not sure whether it is lucky or unlucky for you, but I will definitely try to make you eat weird food like chicken feet (it’s a dim sum dish!) or chicken testicle (it’s something some people,mostly men, eat during Hot Pot!)! I will be even more proud of you if you are also eating snake’s soup!
3. Trotter Trotter – Happy Valley racecourse!
A tradition after being a British Colony, visiting the Happy Valley racecourse on a Wednesday evening will make you feel like you enter another world in Hong Kong. Surrounded by mostly westerners with beers and hot dogs in their hands, perhaps you will forget you are in Hong Kong for a second! If you want to feel the real local gambling atmosphere, then better go to the ShaTin racecourse during the weekend!
4. Pink dolphin & traditional fishing village!
Dolphins may not sound very special to you, but what about a pink one? The pink dolphin is an endangered species which is also called the ‘Chinese White Dolphins’. I don’t want to recommend those dolphin-watching tours to you because it’s not good for the dolphins, but you can go to Tai O, where the locals can take you to the sea on a small boat, and then you may have a chance to catch a glimpse of them! It’s cheap and it also gives you another reason to visit one of the remaining traditional fishing villages you can find in Hong Kong!
5. Beaches Beaches!
Thought that Hong Kong is only full of skyscrapers? Being a city along the coastline, there are at least 40 beaches around the island for you to chill and relax!
6. Look at the green and smell the freshness!
Other than beach, three quarters of Hong Kong are actually covered by countryside! (I think that makes more sense why we need skyscrapers!) Take a day or two to the New Territories or some outlying islands: camping in Tai Long Wan for a night or a little day trip to Lamma Island will be my recommendations! If you like monkeys, you can also visit Monkey hill! Be careful of your food/plastic bags, they are so smart and they love to steal things from you!
7. Villain hitting!
If you want to curse someone you dislike, we can help you with our tradition! Just go to ‘Goose-neck Bridge’ in Causeway Bay, our professional ladies will help you to ‘beat’ him/her up! It is considered the best way to get it off your chest!
8. Add a Cantonese finish particle to finish off your sentence ‘la’!
Influenced by the way we speak Cantonese, many Hong Kong people like to finish their sentence in other languages with expression like ‘la’, ‘wor’, ‘ah’, ‘ga’, ‘ma’…etc. So remember to do the same ‘ah’!
9. Seek for a never-ending-night!
When I live in London, many of my friends told me they love London because there is always something to do! Then I will always invite them to visit Hong Kong! If you want a restaurant to eat anytime of the day, under whatever weather condition, we have Tsui Wah Restaurant! If you want to party all night, visit LKF (Lan Kwai Fong, a drinking area with lots of bars, pubs, clubs…etc.)! If you just want to chill and chat while enjoying the Victoria Harbour, a secret place I will recommend is the rooftop of IFC (International Financial Centre) or the Star Avenue in Tsim Sha Tsui!
LKF (Lan Kwai Fong, a must-go if you want to party!)
View from Star Avenue, Tsim Sha Tsui
10. Act FAST!
Living in such a massive and busy city, I have to confess that Hong Kong people are pretty impatient. If you just started deciding what you want to order when you reach the cashier at McDonalds, please forgive the person behind you for showing his/her impatience. Also before you get to the machine to tab your octopus card (a card we can use to pay the transportation and food in Hong Kong) in MTR (metro)/bus, make sure you already have the card in your hand! We can’t bother to wait!
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Other related articles: 50 reasons Hong Kong is the world’s greatest city , 20 things I never know before going to Europe
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