An awkward length of layover. 2 - 3 hours, no question - you stay in the airport and wait. 12 hours or more, you probably want to get accommodation and do something fun. So what can you do with 6 hours?
Some of my more conservative influences told me i was crazy to consider a trip into the city with only 6 hours between my flights, but I figured I've never been here before, and it could be years before I come back, so there was no way I was wasting the time in the terminal.
Getting to the city couldn't be easier - a train runs right from the terminal every 10 minutes or so, and costs 115 Hong Kong dollars; to convert to pounds sterling is approximately 1/10. Good value in my opinion.
On this occasion I didn't really do my homework to see what the best options are, and I relished the experience of stepping off the train into a massive, confusing city, with no game plan whatsoever. This kind of adventure comes along so rarely, but is absolutely the most engaging and rewarding part of life. I did have a few rough goals in mind, despite having no idea how to achieve them.
First; to take a decent picture of the amazing Hong Kong skyline.
Like an idiot, I left the train station and started walking down the pavement (idiot!).
I twigged pretty quickly I was missing a trick, when I realised I'd walked 2 blocks and not really seen another person. In one of the worlds most densely populated cities.
Lesson one; everyone walks on elevated platforms which seem to run all accross the city!
I got myself up onto one of these platforms, and followed it in a general downhill direction until I was right in the harbour. As good a place as any to get a snap of the city....
Second; find something interesting to tell people about
A tricky challenge. I basically set off walking roughly uphill & away from the harbour, and it was great!! I'm the sort of person who can be completely engrossed by walking down any street in a strange city, and just sucking up all the really tiny details which differentiate the place, but which most folks may not even notice. Too much great stuff to put here, but a couple of really memorable hours for me. And then I found it....
There's a bloody great zoo right in the middle of the city! It's free to enter, more like a park I suppose, and because it was about 8 in the morning absolutly no one else but me, a couple of joggers, and the zookeepers were there. The city itself is basically a rain forest on the side of a mountain, which makes me think the animals must be relatively happy (despite their incarceration). I spent a half hour or so hanging out with the apes and leemurs etc., getting those valuable photos for all the folks who need a 'thing' to focus on, to justify why the day was good.
Here's me struggling terribly with the humidity, in front of some orang-utans!!
Third; Indulge my passion for Dim Sum
This one was unbelievably easy, but so satisfying!! I took a wander down one of the really obscure looking back lanes where the hawkers hang out. I actually got some really nice Chinese silk for my Mrs from one of them, but that's not the story. Behind the hawkers was a little dumpling place, really unassuming with perhaps only 4 or 5 seats, and no customers. They did me an order of their signature chicken & prawn steamed dumpling from scratch while I waited. Total cost, about 3 bucks sterling. Amazing!!
So there you have it. 6 hours available, 4 consumed pretty well by dipping my toe into a new city, and leaving with a few stories to tell. Loads of time left to take the fast train back to the airport where i can enjoy a couple of overpriced beers and write up this story :)
Thanks Hong Kong - I hope I get to see you again soon xx
You've got a really nice post here. I'm sure it was very exciting the moment you decided to go for it and get to the city. I'd like to nominate this to our daily compilation at @ocd. This could get more attention to your blog and maybe some extra votes. Reply if you accept this nomination.
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Hello @elteamgordo, sure - carry on and share whatever you like from this post.
Cheers.
Sounds like you made the right choice and had a damn fine time. I feel I probably would have made the same decision, although, I do get mild terror when it comes to travel logistics (and any sort of logistics usually!) so I probably would have returned to the airport unnecessarily early, after an enjoyable but panicked sit on an unspectacular bench while wolfing down some noodles. Glad to hear you had the brazen courage to immerse yourself in the pleasures of a zoo.... :)
I'm glad to hear you got to explore Hong Kong briefly. I think deciding whether to go into the city or not would be a bit of a dilemma for me at the HKG airport on a first visit layover as well but it sounds like it turned out perfectly for you.
I've had the good fortune to visit Hong Kong a couple times and found it exciting on both occasions. There are so many people so the city really feels alive. Of course all the lights and skyscrapers help with the atmosphere too.
If you find yourself there again with more time you might like to go to the peak. It's a great view and taking the Peak Tram is nice if it's not too crowded but it can be cheaper and/or faster to take the bus or Uber.
One of my other favorite experiences there was eating beef brisket soup and rice or dan dan noodles at Sister Wah. Tiny little place but fast, delicious and a good value.
Hey thanks for the suggestions! If I do get a chance to go back I'd love to get up to the top of the hill - I had been considering trying to get up there on foot but the climb was making me perspire so much I think I was upsetting the locals :) If i'd have known there was a tram things would have been different!