Hong Kong Island

Within Hong Kong island lives approximately 1.6 million of the total population of 7 million people. This area is very diverse and is also the financial center of Hong Kong. I will focus primarily on 3 areas I think is the most fun and interesting:
  1. Central / Admiralty
  2. Causeway Bay / Happy Valley
  3. Arberdeen / Ocean Park / Repulse Bay / Stanley

Take a look at Hong Kong island in White:

Central / Admiralty
This area is considered the main financial area of Hong Kong. This area is filled with skyscrapers with beautiful architectural designs. Some buildings I especially like include Exchange Square, which houses the Hong Kong Stock Exchange; The Lippo Cente r Building; Bank of China Tower-the most outstanding building; and Hong Kong and Shanghai Corp. Bank building. They tower over Hong Kong and can be admired best across the harbour in Tsim Sha Tsui. You can take very beautiful pictures at night with thes e building's lights shinning in the background. The most prestigious and expensive shops are also located in this area, but I'll talk about that in the Shopping section. Click here to see map of Central / Admiralty. Here are so me places you can visit while your in Central / Admiralty:
  1. The Peak
  2. Hong Kong Park
  3. Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens
  4. St. John's Cathedral
  5. Lan Kwai Fong
  6. Governor House
  7. Shopping Centers

The Peak
Next to the Bank of China building and Hong Kong park, on Garden Road, you can take a tram up to the peak of Hong Kong island. This is a must go place, especially during the evenings. At the top of the peak, you have the most magnificent view of Hong Ko ng. There are many shops for tourists and is a perfect dinning place. Having gone to HK so many times, I still enjoy going up the Peak to get away from the usual HK environment. The air up there is much fresher and cooler and can be quite relaxing.
Hong Kong Park
Exiting the Central MTR station is a convent way to get to Hong Kong park. There are signs that direct you there within the station. In the midst of these enormous skyscrapers is a large park (for Hong Kong standards). It offers and very interesting co ntrast as well as a beautiful one. The park is also a good place to have lunch or relax. There are many water works as well as a man made water fall. The trees and plants are from various places and are carefully tendered daily. Enjoyable to walk arou nd as you can find many places within the park that are hidden from view. The roads are twisty and leads you all over the park. I often see couples walking around the park at night holding hands and having lots of fun. During the day, many people come to the park to take pictures, there are even amateur photographers there with their camera offering their services. The Zoological and Botanical Gardens are located within the park. I've visited it a few times. It is usually free admission for a ll to enjoy. The Zoological Garden consist of this enormous "bird cage" in the park. A definite must see.

St. John's Cathedral / Governor House / Lan Kwai Fong
Across Hong Kong Park and the Bank of China Building is St. John's Cathedral. It is the oldest Anglican church in the Far East, inaugurated in 1849. Its city-center park land is a tropical grove of birdsong and handsome red-brick colonial buildings.
The Governor House is close to the Cathedral and is next to the U.S. Embassy. I don't think you can go in, but you can still take pictures; if you are lucky, you might bump into the Governor (currently Chris Patten).
Lan Kwai Fong is a Western area within Hong Kong. It is renowned for it's Western bars and drinks there. Many Americans and Europeans hang out there to relax. Western food dishes are also available. It is a good place to have a drink after a lo ng day's sightseeing in Central.

Shopping
The best places to shop in this area include:

Causeway Bay / Happy Valley
Causeway Bay is a shopping paradise. The neon lights glow so bright that you can see it from virtually anywhere in Hong Kong. Dozens of enormous department stores line up right next to each other. I think of Causeway Bay as the best shopping area in Ho ng Kong because of it's variety. Japanese, Chinese, European, Hong Kong, and other various department stores are there. I'll talk more about shopping in my shopping section, but for now lets talk about what you can do in Causeway Bay. Besides shopping and spending lots of money, you can do other less expensive things. There are a few theaters, many restaurants, bookstore, arcade, and CD stores there. I particularly enjoy going to HMV, a large CD store chain in found everywhere. I spend hours at HMV looking at and listening to many different CDs. There are songs from all over the globe there and every type you can imagine. So this is a great place to go no matter if you like Rock, Rap, Heavy Metal, Jazz, Classical, Pop, etc... from Hong Kong , America, Europe, Australia, etc...

If you like computers, Causeway Bay is the place to be! Within one of the Malls there (Wong Bo Zhut), there are a few floor solely dedicated to selling computer products. Everything from software to hardware to accessories you can find at a pretty good deal. You can also find the largest computer book store in all of Hong Kong in Causeway Bay. I also spend a bit of time reading there.

It is difficult to tell you all you can do there, but be sure to visit this area before leaving Hong Kong!

If you like horse racing, the Happy Valley racecourse is the place to be; it is one of the most prestigious race tracks in Asia and a haven for gamblers.

Arberdeen / Ocean Park / Repulse Bay / Stanley
Arberdeen is nice relaxing place to visit. The view is beautiful and there are many restaurants there. Aberdeen is known for it's seafood. There are a few floating restaurants (large restaurants in the middle of the harbour there), which offer v ery good food. I personally like the Jumbo floating restaurant. It is also a interesting place if you want to see some of the many boat homes in Hong Kong. Because land in Hong Kong is extremely expensive, so families live on boats. These floating hom es is an interesting contrast. Some people live in large multimillion dollar homes and others live in a wooden boat.

Ocean Park is the largest playground in Hong Kong. A very fun place to go, it combines a large amusement park with museums and a zoo all in one. It usually takes an entire day to go enjoy Ocean Park. Within Ocean Park is the second longest outd oor escalator system in the world. As you ride up these escalators you can enjoy a fabulous view of the Southern Side of HK. Many tourists enjoy taking pictures while on these escalators although it can be somewhat dangerous. Within Ocean Park is the Mi ddle Kingdom and Waterworld. The Middle Kingdom is a living museum of China for the past 5,000 years and Waterworld has many water coasters and is a very fun place to go especially during the summer to cool down. Here is the admission prices to Ocean Pa rk and Waterworld (You have to pay to get into Waterworld from June to October:

General Info. on Ocean Park (In HK dollar)
Admission Price Operating Hours
On-Site Adult-$140 Child(age3-11)-$70 10am-6pm
Citybus Tour Package (Including round trip transportation to and from Admiralty and Central) Adult-$163 Child(age3-11)-$82 10am-6pm
Individual Annual Pass Adult-$375 Child(age3-11)-$215 10am-6pm

Free Admission Policy

General Info. on Waterworld within Ocean Park (In HK dollar)
Admission Price
Day Adult-$65 Child(age3-11)-$33
Evening (After 5pm) Adult-$44 Child(age3-11)-$22
Citybus Tour Package (Including round trip transportation to and from Admiralty and Central) Day: Adult-$88 Child(age3-11)-$45 Evening: Adult-$67 Child(age3-11)-$34
Individual Annual Pass Adult-$220 Child(age3-11)-$165

Repulse Bay and Stanley
Repulse Bay has one of the nieces beaches in Hong Kong. Many people enjoy relaxing there during the summer, thus during that time, it can be very crowded. I won't suggest you going there to relax during hot weather because of the crowds, but it is a nice place to visit. The scenery there is pretty good too. There is a large Buddhist (Goon Yum) worship area there. I was told that this small temple area was created at the side of the ocean to give good luck. There are also restaurants and a bi t of shopping there.
Stanley not only offers good scenery, but also lots of good food, shopping, and Western bars and restaurants. The Stanley market is a great place to get good deals for clothing and tourist items. Many tourists go there for the local made items, p ottery, and clothing all at competitive prices. It usually takes half a day to sight see at Stanley. The Western bars in Stanley is loved by everyone, be sure to at least have lunch there!
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