Tag Archives: hong kong

Hong Kong. Must-see – by everyone – obviously. However, from the sightseeing-tourist point of view, there isn’t actually all that much to do: in just two nice-weather days you can take a ferry ride and get up to the Peak, check out Hong Kong’s Big Buddha (more on that later), take an evening boat ride (more on that later too), and stroll along the promenade – and that’s basically it: you’re just about done; well, that is – if you or the party you’re with aren’t shopaholics. Oh – but if you want to see the “other side” to Hong Kong – the one away from the tourist traps and the famous skyscrapers and the large digital screens – that’s a bit diferent, and for that you need a really good local guide.

I’ve been to HK plenty of times: according to my photo archive, this was my 13^th trip. My first was way back in 2001, for a Virus Bulletin conference. (Woah: I thought Virus Bulletin was no more, but having just looked it up – turns out it’s still alive and kicking!) Wait – another mix-up: it wasn’t for the Virus Bulletin conference; it was for the AVAR conference.

Fast-forward to 2025, and Hong Kong’s Museum of Art made it clear all over again why there are so few tourist attractions in Hong Kong.

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I’d long dreamt of visiting Hong Kong’s Victoria Peak – known locally as simply “the Peak”. I tried my luck last year hoping for good weather, but it was a total flop. Sure, we got up there, but the cloud cover was so low you literally couldn’t see a thing. This time though everything worked out!…

There are a few ways to reach the tops of the hills surrounding Hong Kong. For example, you can rent a car for the whole day, which you pick up from and later drop back off at your hotel; sure – it’s comfortable being in air-conditioned comfort all the way, but it’s also a bit boring. So we decided to do it differently: first take the ferry across the bay, and then the funicular all the way to the top. And on the way back, sure – why not take a cab?…

So. First up – ferry! ->

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When you hear the words “Hong Kong”, what springs to mind first? Go on – what images just appeared in your mind’s eye just now? Was it a film you’ve seen set there – maybe one starring Jackie Chan or perhaps Bruce Lee, or was it a Bond movie? Was it the skyscrapers and bright lights? For me, it’s normally a mixture of all the above…

Hong Kong is a very distinctive city (or special administrative region, to be precise). One could call it the result of a historical symbiosis between traditional Chinese and Western (British) cultures. And the views to be had here today often highlight this symbiosis perfectly; like here ->

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As part of my plans I have a brief one-and-a-half-day stopover in Hong Kong. If memory serves me correctly, the Chinese name of the city 香港 means “fragrant port”. It’s always useful to check these things though… Well, I was almost right – it’s closer to “incense harbor”. The meaning of these hieroglyphs were once explained to me a long time ago by a Chinese man who wasn’t that fluent in English :)

“Incense harbor”. What a beautiful name! For some reason, I got to singing the golden oldie by Vertinsky: “Your fingers smell of incense, and sorrow sleeps in your eyelashes…”.

A beautiful city! … I’m not here to discuss prices and the quality of housing or any other problems or troubles. As a tourist with less than two days to spare, the city is fantastic! Both at night and during the day.

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It had been what seems like eons since I’d checked into a hotel which I simply had to tell you about separately due to its specialness. I get to stay in some real nice hotels on my travels, it has to be said, but only once a blue moon do I come across one that’s just… exceptionally and extraordinarily exquisite :).

So I must show you a few pics of where we were last week. We were in Hong Kong, having our APAC Partner Conference – in the HK InterContinental on the shore of Kowloon. And, oh, by the hammer of Thor, what views it offered of the skyscrapers across the bay. I won’t come up with OTT adjectives, I’ll just let you have a look for yourselves…

One thing I will say is that these views never fail to impress no matter if it’s day or night, or clear and sunny, or during a typhoon! It’ll be here we’re staying at next time, that’s for sure…

Read on: More skyscrapers, close shot…