Hong Kong city walking tour, like a perfectly assembled Lego toy
I just went to Hong Kong with my friends for 3 full days! What an amazing city, like a Lego toy that fits together perfectly. Hong Kong + Fuji filter + suitable season + friends who like to take photos of you and can rest assured that ugly photos will be taken of you + common interests and hobbies = a perfect trip.But it is also necessary to say that it is not very friendly to people who can only speak Mandarin. I have listed some small details that are not mentioned in the online guide for your reference!
đź’°HKD
It is best to exchange some HKD, but not too much. The only place where we really need cash for two people in four days is probably 500 yuan. Alipay and WeChat are widely used, but if you are going to some niche bookstores or other more local stores, prepare more. Many street shops will not accept 1,000 yuan. If you can't exchange small denominations directly, try to exchange them in large shopping malls first.
đź‘—Clothing
The temperature in early December is between 18 and 24 degrees, which is neither too hot nor too cold, and the temperature difference is small. It is very suitable for travel. You can wear thinner long sleeves + long pants/long skirts. Short-sleeved T-shirts may be a little cold at night. Bring a few sets of clothes and socks if you go for a few days. It is much more humid than in the north, and it is still easy to sweat. The wind on the top of Victoria Peak is relatively cold. If you go up the mountain, you may need to bring a small jacket or stay a shorter time. Although it is by the sea, it is not cold around Victoria Harbour, and it is not cold when taking the Star Ferry.
The overall color contrast of Hong Kong streets is relatively high. Very local markets and residential areas will be dark. It is suitable to wear a combination of large areas of light colors + small areas of bright colors/bright upper body and dark lower body. If the whole body is darker, it will not be so photogenic (but you can also show more skin). Wearing sunglasses will make you more Hong Kong! It also requires less expression when taking pictures.
This wall is near aesop on Hollywood Road, very photogenic
đź‘źShoes
Make sure to bring comfortable shoes! The geographical area of ​​the central area of ​​Hong Kong is not actually that big compared to the city center of Beijing and Shanghai. The distance between many places is 1-1.5 kilometers, which is an awkward distance where it is a pity to take the subway and a bit tiring to walk.
But the more important reason is that before I went there, I didn’t know that Hong Kong might be a "mountain city" that is better than Chongqing. The road slope is very steep. There are many long slopes of nearly 70 degrees near Central and Sheung Wan, and it is not easy to replace them by public transportation. But the roads in this city are really more beautiful than the attractions. It is very suitable for citywalk. If you like walking and watching street scenes, comfortable sneakers are a must, and it is best if the bottom has a certain thickness.
Just a quick experience, Canon original image straight out
đź“·Photography
I don't know anything else, but Fujifilm's micro-single filter is really suitable for Hong Kong! If two people travel together, one can have a Fujifilm and the other a zoom SLR, and the advantages complement each other. When taking photos in darker scenes, you can try to use the flash even during the day, which is very Hong Kong and big.
For scenes like this where you want to avoid overexposing buildings and people being very dark, try using the flash!
đźš—Transportation
Hong Kong drives on the left, so pay attention to the direction when looking for bus stops. There are also many intersections, so don't just look at the directions on Google Maps, but rely on the road names to confirm.
Common means of transportation include subways, buses, trams (trams that run along tracks), minibuses, taxis, and ferries (Star Ferry). If you use Google Maps, it is best for tourists not to take buses with green signs (minibuses), as it is easy to go the wrong way, and many times you can't find the bus stops. It feels like you have to rely on your ability to take the bus... Some stations are not clear to locals.
You can take the red and yellow bus lines with the logo. I didn't take taxis and trams (the logo on Google Maps is green, and looks like a two-story car, different from a bus) this time, but I can confirm that Octopus is accepted for all other routes, including the Peak Cable Car. Different buses have different prices, but the whole journey is the same. The price is the same for one stop and several stops, ranging from 5-16HKD. When waiting for the bus, you need to wave to stop the bus, and press "stop" in advance to get off the bus.
The subway charges by distance. The farthest I took was from North Point to Lok Ma Chau Port, which seemed to be 55HKD. If you use Alipay and WeChat, go through the purple gate. My friend took a taxi from the airport to the hotel and encountered a very bad and discriminatory driver. The experience of taking Uber on the return trip was much better.
🚌Octopus
If you have an iPhone, there is no need to apply for a physical card. Download the "Tourist Octopus" app, pay RMB according to the exchange rate (I haven't studied the exchange rate ratio, but it's roughly the same), add the card to Apple pay, and you can swipe it directly. There is a 50HKD deposit, and you don't have to worry about charging too much money. The deposit and the remaining money are refundable, and a 11HKD handling fee is charged. Octopus is a bit like Alipay/WeChat in the mainland. It can be used for taking a bus, eating, and buying clothes. When you get on the bus, pay attention to the place where you punch in. Some buses have two punch-in machines.
🏖️ Attractions (I feel like I can write a separate article...)
My friends and I are not very interested in buying high-end luxury goods. Causeway Bay, Central, and Tsim Sha Tsui are all business districts, and there are so many people that we didn't stay for too much time, but many stores in Tsim Sha Tsui were beautifully decorated during Christmas, so you can take pictures.
Photos taken by a friend near K11
It is still worth going to the viewing platform "Peak Tower" on Taiping Mountain. If you don't go, you can go out to an outdoor platform in the shopping mall. You can go there first and then decide whether to pay extra to go to the Peak Tower. It is on the level where there is a separate ticket platform for the Peak Tower. Go to the left of the ticket office. The cable car is also at this location when going down the mountain. It is worth going at sunset, so you can see the daytime and night scenes.
If you like literary shops and local characteristics, I recommend Sham Shui Po, Sheung Wan, and Mong Kok. There should be a lot of guides on Xiaohongshu. I also recommend a store called "HO Records" in Sham Shui Po. It is right next to the popular online store "Ya Su Gong Xiang". There are many old European, American, and Japanese CDs and vinyl records at a reasonable price. My friend bought the vinyl record of "The East is Red" here. The main thing is that the boss is very friendly. He is the best boss I have met in Hong Kong. He will take the initiative to say that he can play the records we want to listen to. There is a store selling humanities and social science books in Mong Kok, "Xu Yan Book Room", on the 7th floor with a very narrow entrance. Literary youths can go and have a look. It feels different. The road from Sheung Wan MTR Station to "Jian Shan Bookstore" and then to Hollywood Road is quite beautiful. You can take a citywalk.
The boss played Sakamoto Ryuichi for us (I paid $10 for this ticket)
If you are a fan of Hong Kong music, you can pay attention to the road signs and subway station names. The "Poetry and Dance Street" where the small airport sang is also near Sham Shui Po, and there is a very beautiful road. At the end of the Avenue of Stars (search for Starbucks Avenue of Stars store to locate it) there is a McDull paw print. You can visit all universities in Hong Kong. The opening hours of the University of Hong Kong are until 5 pm (but you can't enter the teaching area). You can also study movies! Sometimes some old movies are re-screened (such as the Hong Kong French Film Festival in December), and Hong Kong and Taiwan movies that have not yet been shown in the mainland can also be watched. You need to buy tickets on the website. The night view of Victoria Harbour from the Avenue of Stars is beautiful! But when I went there after 11 o'clock, there was no light, so I couldn't see the handprints clearly.
đź‘śShopping
When planning your trip, pay attention to the opening hours of the shops. Many local specialty shops are open after 11 or 13 o'clock, and there are some special opening and closing dates (some are closed on Tuesdays/Wednesdays/Thursdays).
Many local shops do not allow taking photos, especially non-literary shops, such as the Goldfish Street, Yasu Gongxiang, and Jianshan Bookstore that I visited this time. Be sure to respect the wishes of the owner (I took a lot of photos when I didn't know, private Marseille).
🥪Eating
There are almost no thunders, and the desserts are not too sweet. What needs to be paid attention to is that many small shops do not provide free paper towels and drinking water (there are paper towels in the toilet, no need to prepare), and the spiciness in Hong Kong is quite spicy. I am a person who can eat spicy food. It's enough to order medium spicy here. The hot sauce here is delicious! You can try it.
The habit of paying for meals in Hong Kong is to pay after the meal, and take the small note on the table to the front desk to pay. In addition, it should be said that the area of ​​the shops here is generally small, and it is very common to share tables.
Ps: It is best to bring a bottle of water when playing outside. Walking, sweating and chatting will still consume a lot of water.
🥂Hong Kong Night Dining Fun
This is a 100 Hong Kong dollar gift from the Hong Kong Tourism Board to tourists. There are four locations where you can pick it up. You can do some research on Xiaohongshu. The range of places where you can directly use it for discounts is smaller than the previous "Hong Kong Gifts". Many of them are stores with relatively high per capita prices. It is recommended to search and pick it up after you arrive, and bring the small note given when entering the country. We picked it up on the last day, so we didn't have a suitable opportunity to use it.
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