TRAVEL
Hong Kong
With its vibrant culture, heady aromas and
brightly lit persona that never sleeps, Hong
Kong continues to entice even the weariest of
travellers, as local resident Ed Peters explains
Above: Locals catch up on
the news of the day at this
fairly traditional tea house
in Lockhart Road, Wan Chai,
which is in direct contrast
to its modern day image
as a centre for after dark
entertainment. Right: Old
and new in perfect harmony.
The modern Hong Kong
skyline of Victoria Harbour
provides an angular backdrop
to an ancient mode of
transport: the Chinese junk
14 Ascott LIVING
Photos: Getty Images (Main); Aurora Photos (Chinese Junk)
“No money, no life,” (moh cheen, moh
meng) was one of the first Cantonese
phrases I learned, and it rings more
truly with each passing day. Modernday Hong Kong – home for much of
my adulthood – was conceived to
make money; has blossomed and
flourished; and continues to beat
its pecuniary breast with the same
sort of brio that it conjures up heroic
skyscrapers around its iconic harbour.
More than anything else, it’s a thrilling, exciting place to live, somewhere
that puts the “wham” in dynamic. Step aboard the Airport Express train
right outside the Arrivals hall at Chek Lap Kok International, and in less
than half-an-hour you’re whisked to Central, aka Ground Zero Hong
Kong, the seat of government, home to the mightiest mercantile houses
and doughtiest banks, site of the plushest private clubs and what travel
writer and historian Jan Morris quaintly described as “caravanserai”.
If ever there was an economic success story, not so much writ large as
carved in massive blocks of stone, it’s this Asian harbour city that saw
its (British) management contract cancelled, was given some Chinese
replacements, and promptly got on with the business of doing business.
For much of the early 1990s, admitting to outsiders that I lived in Hong
Kong was an invitation to cast a horoscope for the city post 1997. Two
decades on, it’s almost as if the Handover never happened, though the city
– designated one of China’s Special Administrative Regions (SAR) – still
enjoys Western characteristics that are as distinct as its Oriental mien. One
of the city’s best-known entrepreneurs and philanthropists, Sir David Tang
Wing Cheung, summed it up succinctly: “Hong Kong’s gone from regarding
Mainland [Chinese] as country bumpkins to hailing them as its saviours.”
And indeed, cold hard cash (and some of the warm soft variety) has
poured in from north of the border, primarily into luxury apartments
that are as much a trophy as they are an investment and bolthole, but
also into myriad business ventures. Yet Hong Kong’s public face is little
changed. Queen Victoria’s statue still squats distinctly un-amused in
Octopus Smart Card
Numerous cities around the world
have mimicked Hong Kong’s
home-grown Octopus smartcard (octopus.com.hk), and no
wonder. It works seamlessly on
public transport, in convenience
stores and supermarkets – even
phone and photo kiosks. Buy one
at the airport – HK$150, which
includes a HK$50 deposit.
Shopping
Most of the larger shopping malls
— such as IFC (ifc.com.hk) —
sport a free downloadable app,
but it’s worth seeking out the (human) concierges who can make
restaurant reservations, lend
an umbrella or a sewing kit and
perform other helpful tasks with
a smile that’s invariably sunny.
8 Finance Street, Central,
Hong Kong (MTR Hong
Kong Station Exit F)
Tricks
Bargaining is more or less
expected in any one of Hong
Kong’s many markets. Start by
offering half the requested price,
and work your way up gradually
to a maximum of about 75 per
cent of the asking price. Releas