Author: Traveling Rockhopper

People say, that you’re never far from the sea in Hong Kong.
It’s absolutely true and it’s nice. 🙂

A long time ago, I had the impression that Hong Kong is a large, busy city.
Actually, a better description is the one I gave you a few days ago, that Hong Kong is a fishing village with skyscrapers.

Hong Kong consists of 5 districts and more than 200 islands.

Hong Kong was my first Asian country so many dishes were quite new to me.
I remember well, eating many different green vegetables, I have no idea how to name them, but they were delicious!

For many, shopping in Hong Kong is one of the main activities while being there.
Well, you can by (almost) everything in Hong Kong, but be careful what and where you’re buying.
And, if the offer is too good, it’s suspicious!

You can find some tips on discoverhongkong.com.

Hong Kong is not Singapore, but there are also many skyscrapers;
a fishing village with skyscrapers. 😉

Hong Kong is famous for “Symphony of Lights”.
It’s a spectacular light and laser show.
A nice way to finish a day in Hong Kong. 🙂

Visiting night markets is a must-do experience in Asia.
In Hong Kong, you’ll also find nice places with delicious food. 🙂

In many Asian countries you can buy dried sea-food. But in Hong Kong, I’ve also seen a dried shark… (today’s picture)

Like it’s usually in islands, fishing is important in Hong Kong. That makes local cuisine more delicious. 🙂

I already mentioned that Hong Kong looked to me like a civilized jungle.
Another reason for it, were these cute white parrots (cockatoo) flying over your heads and skyscrapers; kind of local pigeons. 😀

Hong Kong is proud of having a great and cheap public transport system.
Whenever it’s true or not; I think they have lovely trams!
Look at this old, narrow double-decker tramway; isn’t it nice?

Hong Kong’s official languages are Chinese (Cantonese) and English.
And that’s a good news for tourists, however not everyone in Hong Kong can really speak English; well, it’s still better than in mainland China.

After a few days in Hong Kong, I had the impression that it’s a “civilized jungle”. 😉
You walk along the street, see all modern buildings, and trees roots getting out everywhere like showing “we’re still here, we’re still powerful”…

Hong Kong is a very important destination for business people.

Hong Kong has its own rules concerning entering its territory, what is in many cases much easier than for entering mainland China.

Visitors from many countries can enter Hong Kong for a given period without a visa.

Hong Kong has it’s own official currency; it’s called Hong Kong dollar (HKD); so Hong Kong doesn’t use Chinese Yuan.

Like in other countries that used to be British colonies, in Hong Kong you’ll find many “British”-things, e.g., left-hand traffic or three-pin electrical sockets.

For many years (1841-1997), Hong Kong was a British colony.
This long period made Hong Kong a very special place, and I think in a positive way.

Hong Kong is kind of autonomous region, however it’s rather treated internationally like a small country with it’s own rules on many aspects;
almost having more common with the UK than with China; kind of…

I have to finally mention what’s the status of Hong Kong.
Is it a separate country? – No.
Is it part of China? – Kind of, it’s an autonomous territory.

It is officially called the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China.

In the next days, I’ll tell you more, what it means.