HONG KONG BY NIGHT

Hong Kong, known for it’s bustling crowds, night life, food and shopping. The skyline is quite a change from Melbourne, with skyscrapers every which way and bright lights and billboards on every corner. The population is also heavily condensed so if you’re short (like me) you can get lost in the sea of Asian heads bobbling down the street.

I first came to visit Hong Kong about 5 years ago and instantly fell in love with the city. Here’s why:

• Shops don’t open until close to midday so everyone gets to enjoy a sleep in (except white collar workers)
• Shops stay open till at least 10pm every night so it’s like Melbourne’s super late night shopping all the time
• If you’re a petite person you can find pants that fit – no alterations in length necessary
• If you have small feet you can find any style shoe in size 5 and don’t have to shop in the kids section at Target and Big W
• There is food on every corner to suit every taste bud – hot and cold snacks, drinks of any kind, dessert houses, hawker and restaurant style dining, stinky tofu
• You get to haggle – like every city you go to foreigners usually get the short end of the stick so being able to speak the language helps
• There is no goods and services tax so things are generally cheaper in Hong Kong, however over the last 5 years I have seen a steep increase in prices on all goods due to the influx of mainlanders from China
• If you get sick of the city life there is plenty of sightseeing to do – day trips to Lamma Island, Ma Wan, Sai Kung, The Peak, Lantau Island to visit the Giant Buddha
• The public transport system is amazing – the trains are always clean, they come all the time so if you miss one don’t fret as they’ll be another one in 1-5 minutes, the Octopus card (transport card) is a genius idea and can be scanned through your bag or wallet (Melbourne’s Myki cannot compare)

Thanks for the memories Hong Kong.

Maybe someday, just someday, you’ll be my second home.