Hong Kong

We flew SCOOT from Singapore to Hong Kong, a four-hour flight.

The first thing you should do when you arrive in Hong Kong is to get an Octopus Card, a rechargeable card for use on the metro (MTR), buses, ferries and trams. We bought it from the kiosk at the Airport and used it to get around everywhere. The card costs HK$150 which includes a HK$50 refundable deposit and HK$100 worth of travel. Hong Kong is very spread out and there’s a lot to see so don’t rely on being able to walk everywhere, you will have very tired legs!

We were staying on Hong Kong Island and had the choice of taking the Airport Express train and changing once for a bus or taking two buses. Time wise this ended up being much the same, but taking the two buses was a lot cheaper. The Airport Express is a quite pricy, but there’s a package you can buy that gets you a return ticket and three days on the MTR in certain areas, so this option may be cost-effective if you know you’ll be using the MTR a lot.

Some key ways to get around in Hong Kong:

Star Ferry – connects Hong Kong and Hong Kong Island. A great scenic route to take if you’re out exploring.

Tram – the two-story “heritage” tram that runs along the coast of Hong Kong Island. This was our main mode of transport from our hotel into the centre. Make sure you get on these at least once because they’re a great way of taking it all in (head upstairs and get a seat at the front) but don’t rely on these when you’re on a time schedule as buses are much quicker and they also go the same route.

Peak Tram – this is a funicular railway that takes you to Victoria Peak, the highest point on Hong Kong Island. Travel tip, this gets super busy in the late afternoon ahead of sunset so if you want to take a ride on this get here early. We went late afternoon and didn’t fancy waiting for a couple of hours to get up there (the line was winding around the station and across the road) so instead we took the No.1 bus straight to the top. Quicker and cheaper!

MTR – the Metro Island Line connects Central and Wan Chai and the Metro Tsuen Line connects Central (Hong Kong Island) and Tsim Sha Tsui (Hong Kong). Quick and easy to use if it’s too far to walk.

Central-Mid-Levels-Escalator – a series of long, covered escalators that connects several areas around Hong Kong Island. Great for tired legs!

Another large and bustling city with countless choices of hostels, hotels and Airbnb spots. There is so much to choose from it really depends on your budget and where you want to be based. We chose to stay on Hong Kong Island which we highly recommend. It felt a lot less touristy than the mainland, especially when we went walking through Tsim Shi Tsui.

We stayed at the Dorsett Wanchai hotel. It was in a great location, only a short tram away from Central, there’s a small in-house gym (basic cardio and weights) and it even came with a free “Handy” smartphone so we had WiFi on our phones wherever we went. Even though the rooms themselves were quite small, we’ve heard this is normal for Hong Kong and it was a very comfortable place to come back to after a big day of walking around. We spent a lot of time researching hotels, even months ahead so there was plenty of choices, and this was the nicest hotel we found for the price (but we’ve also heard Airbnb is a great option).

To this day some of the most delicious food we had in Asia was in Hong Kong, and we would love to go back there even just for a day to revisit all of the same spots! We tried a lot of food spots during our stay but we’ve just listed our favourites below.

Tim Wo Han – this is the famous Dim Sum restaurant and known as the cheapest Michelin Star restaurant in the world. We understand why! The food was so delicious we wanted to try it all, so of course we came back for round two. Tip, there are a couple of chains in Hong Kong and we were told to visit the northernmost one in Hong Kong (check it out on the map above).
 We would start listing all of the dishes we tried but we loved them all, so we suggest ordering a few different options and sharing.

Din Tai Fung – a second Michelin Star restaurant, this one recommended to us from a friend and it did not disappoint. A more “expensive” restaurant when compared to Tim Wo Han, but still cheap in comparison to western prices. As usual, we ordered several dishes to share and left in a food coma. We remember thinking it was a reasonable amount to share between the two of us until we realised the table of four next to us had ordered the same amount…


Joy Hing Roasted Meat – definitely not your usual mainstream restaurant, but this one we highly recommend if you want to experience a local Hong Kong dining experience. Prepare to be squished inside and sharing tables with others while sitting on tiny chairs. When we were asked what we wanted, we shrugged and asked for Char Siew. Next minute the old boy was yelling to the kitchen and five minutes later we were served roast pork on rice, along with their homemade sauce and hot tea. By far the best Char Siew we had in Asia, so much so we went back a second time…

Mammy Pancake – you can’t leave Hong Kong without trying egg waffle. These can be found at any of the food markets or as street food, otherwise, head to Mammy Pancake. We tried the Original and Chocolate Chip…delicious! There are a few chains around Hong Kong, check out the map for the one we went to in Tsim Sha Tsui.

Boring, but if you need to visit a supermarket then head to Park n Shop (see the map) for everything you need. Tip, basics are very expensive in Hong Kong but we ended up buying some muesli and yoghurt so we could have breakfast at our hotel. Breakfast at the hotel restaurant was really expensive and we usually get hangry if we don’t eat before we go out exploring (correction…Hayley gets hangry).

Before we arrived we did the usual Google search on travel guides in Hong Kong, but what we found were heavily detailed travel itineraries down to the hour. We’re definitely not the type of travellers who get up at the crack of dawn and are off sightseeing til dark. We usually manage a half day on our feet and then retreat to a cafe, park or back to the hotel for an afternoon siesta before dinner. You won’t find a jam-packed hour by hour itinerary here, but a list of sights that we recommend as the must dos.

Central district – we hopped on the tram from our hotel and spent half a day walking around the business and retail district while taking it all in. This is also home to the famous Central-Mid-Levels escalators: the world’s longest outdoor covered escalator system. We had no idea where we were going, but it was a chance to give the legs a rest and it was fun to hop on an off to explore new areas.
 We went mid week and enjoyed people watching as we walked around, feeling very small in the midst of this iconic skyline.

The Peak Tram – Victoria Peak is the highest point on Hong Kong Island and offers a stunning view of the skyline at sunset. The Peak Tram is a funicular railway that takes you at the top, but this gets super crowded in the afternoon. We didn’t fancy waiting for a couple of hours to get up there so instead we took the No.1 bus straight to the top (Google Maps will guide you). There are restaurants and shops at the top so there is enough to keep you occupied from late afternoon until dark so you can get shots at sunset and then later once its dark and the skyline is lit up.


Wan Chai – this is where our hotel was and the area is known for its nightlife but also the Bowrington Market. Here you will also find the Wan Chai computer centre. We stocked up on electronics here including our tripod, battery pack and memory cards, it’s got everything you could possibly need!. You will also find Hong Kong Times Square!

Star Ferry – take in the incredible skyline from the water by taking the ferry from the Convention and Exhibition Centre on Hong Kong Island to Harbour City. Dinner cruises are also popular on the water to take in the view but these can be quite expensive. We took the ferry across in the morning and spent a half day exploring Hong Kong mainland.

Avenue of Stars – once you arrive at Harbour City by ferry, take a walk along the waterfront to the Avenue of Stars. From here head north (or hop on a bus).


Ladies Markets – if you love to visit markets when you’re travelling then you’ll love the Ladies Market. Well worth a visit where you’re sure to find a bargain and some “genuine” clothing brands as well as bags and other accessories. A one-km stretch on Tung Choi Street where you can practice your haggling skills! After the markets, we went further north to Tim Ho Wan for lunch.


Choi Hung Estate – ever wondered where you can find the famous basketball courtyard with the colourful apartments in the background? You’ll find this at Choi Hung Estate. Easy to get to, just a short walk from the Choi Hung MTR station. You’re likely to see a bunch of other people here for that same “Instagram” shot so you might be there a while. We would recommend bringing a basketball to keep yourself occupied, but for some reason there are signs around saying “no ball games”…


Yick Cheong Building – the other famous “Instagram” spot well known from the Transformers movie. This is one we didn’t get to (it was hard to fit in from all of the eating we were doing) but it was on our list so we’ve shared the location here.


Tian Tan Buddha – on our third day we visited the Tian Tan Buddha, also known as the Big Buddha at Ngong Ping, Lantau Island (zoom out on the map above). This is known as the second largest outdoor sitting Buddha in the world (Taiwan has the largest). There are two ways to get here, the most popular is the scenic Ngong Ping cable car. Unfortunately this was under maintenance while we were there so we took the New Lantau Bus No.23 instead. Tip: if you take the bus then make sure you take motion sickness medication beforehand: the drivers are known for their crazy driving skills and we definitely felt sick when we arrived. The Buddha sits 34m (270 steps) high and faces north to look over China, which we learnt as very unique as the Buddha usually faces south. Once at the top, there are great views over the mountains and greenery, and you can even enjoy a meal at the restaurant at the monastery.

How to get there:

CABLE CAR: MTR Tung Chung Station Exit B and take the Gong Ping Cable Car (25 minutes) followed by a 10-minute walk.


BUS: MTR Tung Chung Station Exit B and take New Lantao Bus 23 from Tung Chung Town Centre (45 minutes) followed by a 10-minute walk.