Woohoo, a friend from home! A girl I used to play volleyball with in Napier is studying here for a semester so we met up to play tourist for a day. We both use the same nerdy guidebook for HK and had read about the cheap ‘n cheerful tram ride you can do the length of Hong Kong Island so that was our first mission. They call them “ding dings” (the warning sound they make when they approach pedestrians) and they are a very fun way to check out the city. Firstly I have to mention the price, for a grand total of 50c NZ you can travel for over an hour from end to end, that is value which is hard to beat. The second thing is you are travelling above ground, as much as I love the convenience of underground rail, sometimes it’s nice to see the scenery of the city you are in. The trams themselves are also noteworthy, they are very tall and thin and often painted interesting colours and patterns and inside they are quite quaint with small wooden seats and lots of windows to watch the city roll past. We went from Central to Kennedy Town on our virgin tram ride and jumped out for a stroll once we got there. Kennedy Town is right on the water's edge and we were treated to the first of our skyline views across the harbour for the day.

Next mission was a vegan restaurant called Grassroots Pantry that a full-on meat-eating friend from home had sent me a message especially to tell me that we MUST go eat there. A day out with a vego seemed the perfect opportunity to try the infamous jackfruit nachos. They did not disappoint, smallish serving but very delicious. The popcorn “chicken” was also a winner, super funky restaurant too.

Another HK classic in the transport arena is the Star Ferry which goes back and forth between Hong Kong Island and Kowloon, across Hong Kong harbour. Starting from the heart of the city 45c (NZ) will get you across the water whilst enjoying epic skyline views. Another bargain in this otherwise high roller city! So we jumped on the ferry and headed across to explore. With not much of a plan in mind, we wandered around and stumbled across Chung King Mansion, which despite the name is definitely not glamorous. It’s known as the cheapest accommodation in Hong Kong and underneath it is a rabbit warren of tiny shops, mostly electronics, knock-off watches, Indian and African food stalls, and lots of currency converters. I feel like very good butter chicken could be eaten there, must return!

Via yummy ice cream from a random mall, we grabbed a beverage and headed to the waterfront to watch the sunset and enjoy the daily light show. Hong Kong tourism at it’s best.