Part of Hong Kong’s charm is that it never switches off. This Special Administrated Territory of China is described as Asia’s largest transit lounge and to pause to take a breath seems to be an act of sheer self-indulgence. Some of the world’s best hotels, shops, and the finest restaurants in the Orient can be found here. Add to this the pulse of an ancient, complex culture, most evident in the city’s night markets, which stand cheek by jowl with gaudy wayside temples and shrines. Indeed it is a wonderful place to visit which can even be planned as the last moment exotic holiday destination!
Hong Kong is one of the few destinations which Indians may visit without a visa. An entry permit is stamped in the passport on arrival at the airport. Hong Kong-based Cathy Pacific and a number of other airlines operate flights between India and Hong Kong. Many people visit Hong Kong even at last moments notice. However, last-minute flight and hotel bookings might make travel expensive, but all is not lost. If you have the right travel credit card then you can avail huge discounts, cash backs and reward point on your flight and hotel bookings.
The best travel credit card can also offer you free tickets to Hong Kong and access to an international airport lounge. What’s more, you can also get free stay breakfast or meals at your favorite 5-star hotel chain. So even if you book luxurious hotels and last moment flights you can earn huge savings thanks to the best credit card.
Hong Kong has two distinct faces: Hong Kong Island and the New Territory, which includes Kawloon, on the mainland. The metro system is a price-effective and time-efficient way of getting around the city.
Also read: Why do I love using Credit Cards on my International Travel?
Despite their belief in fortune-tellers and superstitions, the Hong Kong Chinese are practical, entrepreneurial people, always in the pursuit of capital and happiness. The dollar-driven dynamism probably finds its best expression in the city’s night markets which are drenched in colorful neon lights. Amidst the crush of stalls that compete to draw throngs of people, one may pick up a brilliant fashion statement – an Armani look-alike, or super exotica like turtle jelly, once an emperor’s delicacy – from a wayside stall.
Temple Street Night Market in Yau Mei Tei and the Ladies Market at Mongkok are normal commercial streets by day. However, after 2 p.m. makeshift stalls and carts bulging with casual wear, accessories, watches and more seem to materialize out of thin air. There is a sense of packed frenzy here, as one has to wade through a sea of shoppers united in their pursuit of the ultimate buy.
Stepping into a night market is like entering a combat zone. At one level shoppers battle each other trying to squeeze through the narrow streets cluttered with stalls. At another level, there is the constant tussle between vendors and customers; one seeking to extract the maximum profit, the other to get the best bargain. The understanding here is a deal is final, and there is no exchange policy. Shoppers go into the fray, knowing that they could be buying imitation watches that may stop working the next day or give years of trouble-free service. Yes, it’s a little like gambling.
Here it does not matter if one does not understand what the shopkeepers are saying; the medium of communication is the universal language of money. And the simple calculator is the translator. Vendors will quote prices by punching in the numbers and if the buyer is not satisfied, invite him to punch in his offer. Remember, it is a bargain hunter’s paradise where prices could drop by 20 to 50 percent and sometimes even more. And it is also possible that the bargain you thought you got might cost less in a full-fledged department store.
Night markets are also a good place to have one’s palm read or catch a street play or an opera where richly costumed performers ply their trade with artistic intensity hoping that maybe a talent scout in the crowd will spot their talent and rocket them to international fame and fortune.
And what is a night market without the rich fragrance of local cuisine, the authentic flavor of the city? The aroma of the food stalls that punctuate the narrow street and the cries of the vendors hawking their wares served to remind one of one’s growling stomachs. Snake soup stalls remind one that the legacies of the past are still very present in the here and now. Further, down the road are a number of Chinese Medical Halls where portions are mixed from exotic ingredients which they claimed could cure everything from common colds to cancer.
Kids can have fun at the famous Disneyland and at attractions like Victoria Peak, Ocean Park, Victoria Harbor, etc.
For ultimately, this is Hong Kong, a Chinese city dressed in Western clothes where the old blends seamlessly with the new. A visit there is must even if it is just for a few days.