I continue to write about Hong Kong and my impressions, of which there were a lot for four days of my stay. And if in first article about skyscraper Hong Kong, I wrote about its two main features that struck me on the first day, then this post will contain all of its other features, which I noticed and no less interesting.
The content of the article
- one The whole city under a concrete shell
- 2 Almost nothing is impossible, but how clean
- 3 The dominance of taxis and buses
- 4 Full shopping
- five Comfortable climate
- 6 Chinese food
- 7 A few last prices for budget travelers
The whole city under a concrete shell
What is quite difficult to get used to is that everything is rolled up in concrete, and there are almost no islands of land in the city. Yes, there are trees and parks, and they are very pleasant (and there is even free wifi in Kowloon Park), but even there there is a feeling that all this has sprouted through the concrete. And when I was walking around Big Buddha and Victoria Peak, it was evident that the slopes were also artificially petrified. It is clear that this was done, most likely for safety, but I just want to exclaim that this armored shell still lacks a glass dome 🙂
Slopes in concrete walls
Small seating area in the city center
Large trees hang over Nathan Road
Instead of flies, butterflies fly in the city
Nan Lin Garden - the most beautiful oasis among concrete
Hong Kong may be like that
Tree on a pedestal
Big Buddha on Lantau Island
Hong Kong from Cape Victoria
Almost nothing is impossible, but how clean
Also in Hong Kong there are a lot of bans and fines (I just don’t know if they are levied) and this is probably why it is so clean here. And, what cannot but rejoice, is the widespread smoking bans in public places, despite the fact that there are special bins for smoking everywhere on the streets, where smokers are crowded. True, some prohibitions may not be entirely pleasant - you cannot ride on anything in the park, or lie on a bench.
A sign warning of the fine for smoking hangs in every elevator
There are many things you can't do in Kowloon Park
For spitting and rubbish, you can get a fine
Special urns for smoking
Separating trash is a common thing
Dogs need to be cleaned and rightly so!
Special containers for old clothes
The dominance of taxis and buses
It's amazing, but most of the country can be reached by metro (Hong Kong subway map). It connects the mainland and the two islands with each other, which is very convenient. The traffic on the streets is quite dense, and mainly taxis and double-decker buses. But on scooters, a fairly small number of people move, more likely on bicycles, but only in areas remote from the center. And of course, it's not a problem to meet a Porsche or Bentley..
Double-decker tram on Hong Kong Island
Double-decker buses and taxis
Scooters are rare
Taxi dominance in Hong Kong
Left-hand traffic and there is a reminder at every crossing
There are bike paths in the sleeping areas
Everywhere in the subway and public places if the guides are for the blind
The metro has handicapped ramps or elevators
There are a lot of taxis in the city, models are old Toyota
Porsche meets on the street all the time
Full shopping
Repeatedly I caught myself thinking that the Nathan Road area reminds me of Gorbushka, only of large sizes. Telephones and cameras are sold on every corner. As I understand it, everything is sold here in Hong Kong, and often, you need to look for new items here, since they are the first to appear here. Since I'm not a shopper at all, and even «anti-consumerist», then I could not appreciate all this excitement and sparkling showcases.
The only thing that bothered me was that the street can easily pass through the shopping center and sometimes you have to wind kilometers to get out of the maze of boutiques - I spent an hour looking for the departure terminal ferries to Macau. And the fact that the exits from the metro often end up right in the bowels of the shopping center, I generally keep quiet.
Shopping on Nathan Road - advertising and shops
Shopping on Nathan Road - advertising and shops
Traffic in the city
Sneakers are traditionally sold in film
In the shopping center, shops in the form of eclairs
Shopping with the dog
Comfortable climate
Despite the environmental problems in the country, it seemed to me that breathing is easy enough for a metropolis, especially when you come closer to the embankment, everything is blown through there. And the climate is paradise! In October it was + 25 + 29, in winter it will be about +15, in summer +35. Gorgeous! There are seasons, but it's always warm. And also in Hong Kong has beaches and you can swim.
Chinese food
To be honest, I was not at all prepared on this issue, as well as on the rest (everything was decided along the way). Therefore, I did not find anything tasty for myself. I don't go to restaurants, I wonder what ordinary mortals eat, that's why I went to local eateries, of which here, as in any other country, there are not many, compared to Thailand. Chinese noodles with shrimps wrapped in dough, rice with eggs and shrimps, curry rice with vegetables, drinks on the street, various rubbish from the supermarket, that's all we could try. Somehow after Thai food, nothing at all. Well, only the shrimps in the dough I liked and the sea kale from the supermarket.
By the way, if in a Chinese institution they asked how much spicy to make, it is better to say that quite a bit. I flung myself up and gave out «middle spycy», as a result of which, while eating, he burst into tears and could not eat his vermesh.
Miscellaneous dried stuff - worth taking mangoes
Traditional chinese noodles
Chinese noodles with shrimps wrapped in dough
Chinese food in narrow streets
Street drinks
Russian Bortsh - but it doesn't look like Russian borsch at all
There are very few similar street eateries and only in certain places.
Everybody eats the yellow thing
Supermarkets are ordinary, like all the others in the world
Some creamy stuff from the supermarket
A few last prices for budget travelers
Prices are everywhere indicated not with the abbreviation HKD, but with the $ icon, which confuses a little on the first day. A convenient conversion rate in rubles is the multiplication of the price in Hong Kong dollars by 4 (with an increase in the exchange rate in 2015, the coefficient is already 7-8).
Average housing price for a double room 400 HKD per day (1600r)
Chinese noodles with fishballs and mushrooms 35 HKD (140 rub)
Rice with egg and shrimps 45 HKD (180 rub)
Dried mango on the street or in the supermarket 20 HKD
Cupcakes at 7/11 at 7 HKD (28r) and chocolates 10-20 HKD (40-80r)
Coffee in Starbucks 12 HKD (48 rub)
Hot tea 12 HKD (48)
Bus from the airport to Nathan Road 33 HKD (132r)
Metro 4-16 HKD and more (16-64r) depending on the duration of the trip
Ferry Hong Kong-Macau 151 HKD (604r)
Case for Galaxy S3 70 HKD
Magnet 35 HKD (140r)
Ascent to Big Buddha back and forth by cable car 125 HKD (500r)
Hong Kong dollars are everywhere referred to as $, which is scary at first
In total, I spent in Hong Kong in 4 days about 4600r for everything and 3400r for housing. I think that this is quite acceptable for such an expensive country, provided that nothing bothered me in terms of comfort, and I also visited Big Buddha, on the pique Victoria, on the Silverstrand Beach, and walked several tens of kilometers along Kowloon and Hong Kong Island. It could have been cheaper, probably, but there was no time for that. The upper limit of spending is not limited by anything at all..
