In Hong Kong, I felt the dormant shopper in me stir. Who wouldn’t feel the burn of their credit card, standing under the bright lights and big brands of what feels like the world’s biggest shopping mall?
Somehow, I resisted. Perhaps it was the discipline borne of a year where every cent has been tracked against a daily budget. Or a subconscious aversion to the prospect of a Vivian Ward moment when the grubby backpacker is spotted browsing the designer threads of Burberry. Maybe I was just too busy marvelling at the extraordinary irony of it all: the neon-lit champion of free market capitalism right there on the front porch of the world’s largest communist state.
But Hong Kong is a city of irony and contrast. Huge shopping centres carrying the latest fashions sit next to traditional markets selling incense and noodles. Steel-and-glass monoliths tower over a smattering of elegant colonial buildings. Cashed-up foreign expats push rents up and up while almost a fifth of the population live below the poverty line in high-density hi-rise clusters. Thousands of migrant workers leave behind their families to raise other people’s families but few support them in their fight to stay on, even years after Hong Kong has become their home.
It’s a city where east truly meets west. In our neighbourhood of Kowloon, Cartier, Harvey Nichols and Starbucks give way within blocks to vibrant market streets, peaceful temples seeping incense, and tiny restaurants emanating hypnotic smells. In a wee backstreet bar in Soho, we watched as a suited Aussie expat effortlessly alternated between post-work banter in English with colleagues and fluent Cantonese with the bar owner.
Where east meets west, cultures also collide. In the flower market, we were fascinated by species we’d never seen before. In the goldfish market, we felt disturbed for the same reason as we encountered bag after bag, tank after tank, and shop after shop crammed with brilliantly coloured reef fish. We could only ponder dejectedly at the implications of so many species removed from their own habitats.
Our wander through the Bird Garden did little to lighten the load, especially when the first bird we came across was a native Australian sulphur-crested cockatoo, chained to his cage roof, a ring of bald skin around his neck. Tiny cages packed full of parrots, finches, budgies, mynahs, sparrows…live animal markets will always be a difficult and confronting experience for us. And yet it’s these fundamental differences of culture and place that draw us to travel, that give us ample food for thought.
The next day, as we walked through Hong Kong Park, a familiar screech pierced the air. On looking up, we saw a large flock of cockatoos happily tearing up an orchid tree. A nearby sign described them as an introduced pest doing great damage to the native flora. I may have done a little happy dance.
On a whim, we also day-tripped to Macau to explore the World Heritage sites of this former Portuguese colony. An equally intriguing city of irony, Macau’s charming oldy-worldy historic centre sits side-by-side with the surreal sights of Fisherman’s Wharf (think man-made volcano, Amsterdam streetscapes, etc). Its huge casino complex has positioned Macau as the gaming capital of the world.
After several happy hours wandering cobbled streets in the rain, we sought refuge in a little restaurant called Henri’s Galley where, overlooking Sai Van Lake and Macau Tower, we wrapped up our brief visit with the famous Macanese speciality African Chicken, an unattractive yet tasty concoction of peanut butter, red chilli, garlic, paprika and coconut milk.
With just four days in Hong Kong – and despite hours and hours exploring the fascinating streets of Kowloon, Central, Admiralty, Wan Chai and the Mid-levels; tramming our way up to the Peak; searching out mouth-watering Peking duck, noodle soups and dim sum; and catching up with old friends in the back-streets of Tsim Sha Tsui – we hardly scratched the surface of this amazing city.
But from its heaving markets, green spaces and impressive soaring skyscrapers to its addictively good food, crumbling old tea houses and superb metro system, we couldn’t help but be captivated by its unique blending of the traditional and modern, the foreign and familiar.
We’ll definitely be back. And next time I’ll be armed with a credit card.
Good to know
Getting there:
Hong Kong is one of the world’s great flight hubs. It also has a super-efficient, fast and safe public transport system so getting around is a breeze. Jump on the light rail to travel between suburbs and then hit the pavement to explore!
Macau can easily be visited as a day trip from Hong Kong. Ferries make the hour-long journey from the China Ferry Terminal in Tsim Sha Tsui and from the Hong Kong Macau Ferry Terminal in the Shun Tak Center on Hong Kong Island. Don’t forget your passport as you’ll need it to travel between the two.