hecklersworld

Hong Kong is a comfortable co-existence of Eastern and Western cultures. Like individual waves lapping on the shore the two cultures carve out their marks on the world, sometimes overlapping and sometimes merging completely into one another. The relationship between the cultures is fluid, and impressions of both background are visible in nearly everything. In this place both East and West embrace the other while maintaining distinct identities alongside one another. This makes Hong Kong an easy and fascinating place for Westerners to visit.

Hong Kong offers a large variety of things to see, do, eat, and buy. For those visiting from English speaking countries, you will find that most native Hong Kong residents speak English as a second language, making it fairly easy to navigate. Most Hong Kong natives speak Cantonese primarily, but range between conversational and fluent in English. Nearly all signs are written in both Chinese and English and all public announcements are made in both languages.

Hong Kong is very friendly toward tourists. While we visited Hong Kong we were approached by ambassadors of the Hong Kong tourism board and invited to participate in a free trolley tour of the city celebrating the Rugby 7’s Tournament taking place during our visit. Our trolley tour was complete with contests, gifts, and free beer. Overall I’d recommend a visit to Hong Kong to anyone thinking of a visit to Asia and it’s a great destination for a new or less adventurous traveler.

You Should Visit Hong Kong If:

1. You enjoy cities. There are a lot of parts to Hong Kong that are not metropolitan, however, if you want a nature vacation or to lounge on a white sand beach, you will be disappointed. There are many parks and hiking opportunities as well as several beaches if you think you would enjoy a day excursion. If you like the idea of a primarily city trip with the opportunity to throw in a dash of palm trees, you will enjoy Hong Kong.
2. You don’t mind being a little crunched for space or you have a large hotel budget. Space in Hong Kong is limited. We shared a hotel room for a little more than $80 USD a night with two twin beds and no storage space. I insisted we stay in a facility that  put the shower and toilet in separate compartments and that had a bathroom with a door. We made it work, but it required a bit of extra time every day to dig through our luggage, find what we needed, and shove everything back into the bag.
3. You’re interested in visiting an Asian country but are a picky eater. Many articles about Hong Kong praise its cheap, delicious dim sum. I have always loved eating the local fare in the countries I visited but discovered that I despise most dim sum. This turned out not to be an issue. Hong Kong attracts a wide variety of expats from many parts of the world who bring their cuisine with them. Sai Ying Pun, where we stayed, offered a large variety of delicious Western style restaurants. I observed that this was true throughout the city. While it’s true that you have the opportunity to enjoy a local feast for only a few dollars, you also will have the opportunity to eat hamburgers, spaghetti, or a perfectly cooked steak for prices similar to those in the States.
4. You’re interested in a foreign vacation but have limited travel experience. Hong Kong is incredibly easy to navigate due to its extremely efficient metro system. The airport is nearly as easy to navigate as any American airport I’ve been in and customs and immigration is a breeze in Hong Kong. Additionally Hong Kong has all of the modern amenities you are likely accustomed to if you’re coming from the States. While it’s true you will need an electrical outlet convertor if you want to charge or use any of your electronic devices, you can buy these products in Hong Kong if you forget them before you arrive.
5. You are looking for an active trip. During our time in Hong Kong I walked between five and ten miles every day. Hong Kong is not a flat city and much of this walking is on an incline. The midtown area is so steep that escalators are installed next to the sidewalks. On one day when walking to and through the city botanical gardens and zoo, my Fitbit recorded me walking 65 flights of steps. You might be able to avoid reaching this level of activity by relying on cabs more heavily, but this is not a relax in one spot type of destination if you want to do much sightseeing. If you are visiting Hong Kong for shopping and dining, you could get by with significantly less walking.

 

I live in Ohio. If you have never lived in Ohio or been to Ohio for a significant period than what you need to know is that it is gray here a lot of the time. It isn’t as bitterly cold as some places and the weather doesn’t reach miserable extremes very often. During the winter we have snow, but not the whole time. During the summer the heat can rival Florida – but just enough to make swimming pleasant and not so much that we spend much time hiding in the air conditioning from the heat. It can be beautiful. If you drive through the state you’ll find little red farm houses surrounded by grazing cattle, enough hills and valleys to keep the landscape from being boring, and most of the state has beautiful trees of all different kinds. We have little rivers, some beautiful hiking places, and satisfying points of culture and shopping. It isn’t a horrible place. There are enough restaurants, museums, and shopping to keep one entertained, but not enough to make it a tourist destination. It’s a nice place to come back to  – a good place to call home.

The problem with Ohio is winter. Winter is gray here. The cold is not nearly the problem that the gray is. In Ohio we dutifully ignore Winter’s coming until the holidays have passed. “The Holidays” are a season of their own that come just prior to winter. After New Years when the Christmas lights have come down all of Ohio buckles down in their homes and impatiently waits for the first indications of Spring which normally arrive sometime around mid March. If the calendar was a road trip, January and February are the part of the drive where you check your GPS every five minutes to see how much closer you are to your destination. It’s a lonely Friday night with nothing on TV when everyone you know has plans and your cable has gone out. It’s complete boredom with a dash of loneliness and despair. The end of the world could come and you would meet it with a shrug. There’s ice and snow, and those aren’t particularly pleasant, but mostly there’s gray.

It’s during this time of year every year when I feel compelled to do something to escape. I check my bank account and calculate how much I need to make a break for it. My Pinterest travel board swells with pictures of beaches and sunshine, cobblestone walkways and cafes, and well manicured gardens with blooming flowers. I dream of adventure. It was during this time of year my friend asked if I’d like to go to Hong Kong. I had a limited amount of time left at my current job, so I had the time to go, but a little more money set aside would make it more comfortable. It would probably be smarter to stay put.

Gray skies do not make you smarter. Gray skies encourage you to throw it all on the line to break free.

In less than one week I get on a plane and go half way around the world. I’ll tell you all about it. January and February are not the only gray. Maybe you can break free too.