by Anne Carter

How do you define a ‘flying visit’?

I booked a three night visit to Mongkok, Hong Kong and then, too late, realised I would never be able to cram all that I wanted to do into the time I had alloted myself.

What to do? I decide to write an itinerary on what had to be done each day and in the sequence that would provide me with the most time to do it.

There is plenty of transport in Hong Kong, hotel shuttle buses, trains, public buses, taxis, ferries and shank’s pony for the more energetic. Next question – how to best adapt them to fit in with the itinerary. I needed to see HK as well as shop.

First day and first stop – Stanely Markets, the crema de la creme of HK markets. I took what I thought was the fastest and most direct route but also something I could enjoy, using the shuttle bus from the hotel to the Star Ferry then a five minute walk to catch a bus from Central bus depot to Stanley.

The ferry is always restful with plenty to see on the harbour and waterfront and there is also the bonus of the ride being free to Seniors. The Stanley bus trip reminds me of a roller coaster ride but it has been enjoyable – so far.

The route to Stanley passes by the roadway leading to the Peak Tram, a cable-pulled tram carrying people between Central and Victoria Peak. From the pinnacle of the Peak one can see a beautiful panorama of the city including the harbour, Kowloon and the nearby islands.

Also along this route is Happy Valley Race Course, Hong Kong Cemetery and Aberdeen fishing village where people live on their junks and will take you for a sampan ride so that you can have a closer look at how the ‘water people’ of HK exist.

Ocean Park is at Aberdeen. It is an educational theme park with hundreds of different types of fish including sharks and dolphins, rides of different types and even a couple of Pandas.

A little further on, the road turns into Repulse Bay – once the home to visitors like George Bernard Shaw, Noel Coward and Marlon Brando. It is an oasis of tranquility and is full of lavish homes which have replaced the old and serene Repulse Bay Hotel (1920-1982).

When you drive along the road to Stanley and look out at the sparkling ocean and quiet little beaches, it is hard to imagine that this was once the area of death to hundreds of young soldiers, medical staff and ordinary civilians who were trying to defend themselves against the Japanese invasion. My aunt was one of those young nurses now buried in a mass grave at Stanley War Cemetery together with the doctor who was present at my birth and many, many others.

The Waterfront Walkway is a quiet place to grab a bite to eat, sit and water the water in the Bay and relax from the rigours of bargaining! There are two buildings here which have been transplanted from Central, one is Murray House, now a museum and the other is Blake’s Pier, used for one of the ferry lines.

The journey back to Central passes close by the Wan Chai 62-storey Hopewell Centre which houses a revolving restaurant where a delicious lunch can be had for approximately A$20. There are all sorts of Chinese dishes, Indian curries and masses of delectable looking desserts.

Next stop Central and shank’s pony to Li Yuen Streets East and West. This is always a hive of industry and full of shoppers at all times of the day. There are stalls down the sides of the streets and shops across the pavements from the stalls. The streets are narrow and some of the steps are quite steep. There are clothes shops, shoe and bag shops, accessory shops, silk material shops etc. etc. You name it – they have it!

Back to Kowloon by ferry and then a short walk to Mody Road past the Peninsula Hotel. There was some sort of construction going on along Salisbury Road and plenty of disruptions to the traffic flow. Hong Kong is always changing, always busy, always ALIVE!

The Ladies Market will either drive you insane or you will accept being in something similar to a budgerigar cage and persevere if you really want to buy something. The best way of looking around is to be in a group so that your eyes can scan the walls and shelves inside the stalls, without drawing attention to any particular item. Never make eye contact with a sales person unless you either want to be pestered or really want to spend some money.

The sensation the place gives you is like the urge to swat flies. Saying that, there are some incredible buys you can make including sandals, shawls, paintings, bags and backpacks and many small nick nack type souvenirs. Always check the goods properly before paying.

On the second morning I arrived at Fa Yuen Street just as they were opening their fruit markets. The fruit is displayed to make it look very colourful and inviting. There were huge pomelos, huge strawberries and grapes, plenty of large oranges, pawpaws, mangoes, mangosteens and dragon fruit which I have never seen before and did not know the name of before checking the internet.

You can walk through these markets and browse to your heart’s content. There are plenty of shops selling all types of clothing including childrens’, wool shops, material shops, pots and pans, tiny hardware shops and best of all not one person asked me to buy!

These markets are more for the locals than tourists and, as long as the stall holders treatment of tourists remains the same, they will probably have plenty of willing customers rather than those who scurry away.

Mongkok is full of restaurants, mainly Chinese but you can find others. There are pictures of food in restaurant windows and if the written English word is not there to describe what you think you may like, you can always grab a waiter/waitress and point to the picture.

My last day was spent wandering around the back streets, absorbing the atmosphere and taking photos.

Then it was back to the hotel to pack my acquisitions, weigh them on the bathroom scales and check out!

Until the next time…

Do you have any other suggestions for must-see or do attractions in Hong Kong? Please let me know in the comments below.

Anne Carter is our Hong Kong Specialist writer at Nick Bowditch Travel. Anne was born in Hong Kong and still travels back there from Australia very often and loves the people, the place, the beautiful harbour and the islands. A lot of Anne’s early trips back to HK were to do family research and in that time she has seen it change dramatically. She has been doing tours to Hong Kong since 2005 and has written tour itineraries to Hong Kong as well as other places in Asia including one to Tibet which is still used today by Wendy Wu Tours.