We spent four nights in Hong Kong and fell in love with the city immediately. It has beaches, mountains, and an incredible bustling city all wrapped together and connected by an excellent public transportation system. The weather couldn’t have been better while we were there – it was consistently in the 70s and sunny – so we opted to spend lots of time exploring Hong Kong’s great outdoors.

Dragon’s Back Hike

John’s cousin Jeremy and his family live in Hong Kong and recommended this hike and we are so glad they did. We took the bus to the trailhead and spent the next few hours wandering along the top of peaks overlooking beaches and cityscapes below.

The hike ends at Big Wave Bay Beach, a cute town with a beautiful beach area. We spent some time relaxing post-hike in the shade, watching the many surfers catch some waves, before taking the bus back into the downtown area.

We were shocked at how crowded the hike was. At any given time we were walking in what felt like a parade of people making their way to Big Wave Bay. At first it was surprising to see so many people on the trail, but we got used to it and found it awesome how many folks take advantage of the local hiking opportunities.

Big Buddha

We took a day trip to Lantau Island (Hong Kong’s biggest island) to pay a visit to Big Buddha, the world’s largest outdoor seated bronze Buddha statue. We climbed the steps up to the Buddha and wandered around the small museum located inside the base of the statue. Big Buddha sits on the grounds of a monastery so we also had the opportunity to explore the grounds and see several of their shrines. It was a beautiful place.

Victoria Peak

Victoria Peak sits above the city, offering incredible views of the Hong Kong skyline. The “peak” is a mall complex with several observation decks and tons of restaurants from which to view the skyline. We just happened to go on the night of the super moon so we had an extra special view from the top.

Star Ferry

Hong Kong is split by Victoria Harbour and the Star Ferry connects the two sides. For less than $1 USD we  took the ferry from Hong Kong Island (where we were staying) to Kowloon Peninsula (the part of HK connected to mainland China) to explore some of the markets. Taking the ferry affords visitors the unique opportunity to see Hong Kong’s two skylines at the same time.

Markets

Hong Kong has a ton of outdoor markets and we strolled through two of them – the Ladies Market and the Temple Street Night Market. Ladies Market reminded me of Canal Street in New York with tons of knock offs and knick knacks for sale. It’s probably a good thing we have several months of travel to go, otherwise I would have been tempted to flex my bargaining skills and come home with some cute new bags and souvenirs. Instead, we left empty-handed.

The Temple Street Night Market has more of a mix of things, including more food and drinks. We stopped at an outdoor vendor to eat some noodles and grab a beer to celebrate John’s birthday.

Other HK Highlights

Awesome food! Check out our post about eating at Tim Ho Wan, the Michelin-starred dim sum restaurant, here. We also loved snacking on street treats (like fish balls, egg waffles, and fresh fruit juice) and trying many varieties of noodle soup!

Another major Hong Kong highlight – visiting John’s cousins Jeremy, Catherine, Max and Dylan at their home in Repulse Bay. We had a great time getting to know them and learning about expat life in Hong Kong! Thanks for a great dinner, guys!