Hong Kong: Asia's New York

Having spent some time travelling throughout Southeast Asia, I had been planning to visit Hong Kong for the Chinese New Year. One day when sitting on a beach in Phuket on a surge of spontaneous energy, I loaded up my Skyscanner app and booked my flight to Hong Kong. It was official. I would be in Hong Kong to welcome the Year of the Snake.

I arrived at Hong Kong International Airport slightly under dressed on 10 February 2013. For the first time in a long time on my travels I was cold, my shorts and t-shirt that allowed me to gently burn my skin everyday in Phuket were no longer adequate, apparently, in Hong Kong, winter had arrived. After collecting my luggage and following the signs to the bus station, I was greeted by a small lady with a huge smile telling me where to buy my bus ticket. Having loaded my Octopus travel card I walked to the allocated bus stop to the city centre where I was amazed to see such huge similarities to the red buses in London.

Within an hour I was in the city centre. Due to the automated voice that tells you the location of the next stop and an LED screen which permanently displays the name of your next destination, my first impression was that the city was easy to navigate. Having already glanced briefly at the map, I walked in the direction I believed my hostel was located. Of course, this was the wrong direction, but within twenty minutes of wandering I was on track. I arrived at Sincere House, the building of Dragon Hostel. I had almost arrived at my hostel, there was just one more obstacle before I could lay on my bed; I had to find the door. Whilst I gazed up at this grey sixteen storey tower block, I was trying to work out the point of entry. There was one door open and inside an old fragile man who only smiled at me when I asked him where Dragon Hostel was. Having realised his English was as good as my Cantonese I walked around and even spoke with a security guard in the adjoining shopping centre. Thankfully, he guided me back to the first door where the old man was sitting and pointed at a worn out sign saying 'level seven - Dragon Hostel'. I was too tired to feel embarrassed about missing this rather obvious sign and went straight to reception. I asked if they had a room available, a single, double, a dorm, anything, even the sofa outside was fine. I was told to wait for the receptionist to come back and he can check their availability. I felt like I was on who wants to be a millionaire waiting to find out if my answer was right. After waiting thirty minutes, I checked in to my single room.

Travelling is quite amusing. Mentally I break the trip down into various goals. The first of course is to get to the airport in time and board the plane. From here you can rest for the duration of the flight, but as soon as the plane doors open, the flare guns fire and the race is back on. The next goal is finding accommodation. But of course once this is done, you lay on your bed feeling tired but satisfied of your achievements so far. But then what? You realise you've finally arrived! It's time to get back up and explore your new surroundings. As it was late I didn't wish to travel too far from my hotel and just explored the area nearby. To my surprise the streets were bustling with various stalls selling anything from electronic goods, foods and juices to clothes and shoes. I quickly realised this was a twenty-four hour city - and I loved it!

The next morning I woke up before my alarm; eager to see more of the Kowloon district. I left my hostel which is fortunately located on a corner of Argyle Street and only a few minutes walk from Nathan Road. I decided as tonight was the night of the fireworks, I should check out the prime location of the famous 'Avenue of the Stars' so I know where to go when I return at night. I walked past Kowloon Park and Chungking Mansions which is where I was to stay on my third night when I needed to move from Dragon Hostel. I kept heading south where I eventually ended up at Hong Kong Cultural Centre and then stumbled onto the Avenue. It was a great sight, seeing the buildings which were in every Hong Kong skyline photo. I was finally here. To my surprise there were many ameature and professional photographers already selecting their locations to take their perfect photograph. I pulled out my digital Canon camera next to one Chinese man who had a lens on his camera the same length as my shoe. He looked over at me 'tonight, many firework' he said. I nodded in agreement and slowly walked away, feeling my camera was rather inadequate compared to his.

I decided to head back slowly to my hostel and browse around the shops off Nathan Road. So many electrical shops I thought as I looked up, mesmerised by the many neon lights. I went back to my hostel to charge up my camera batteries (I always carried two batteries and two memory cards) to prepare for the big event. Time soon passed and it was time for me to return to the Avenue of Stars. There was a buzz of excitement in the air, couples were hand in hand while friends laughed. The police had started to block the roads off from around 22:00 and I was starting to worry I would not reach the Avenue in time. People were rushing, trying to avoid being caught in the dead ends created by the police. After a little longer than planned, I had made it, I was ready to witness one of the greatest New Years on earth! I was taken back by how many people there were. Perhaps if I had left the hostel earlier I would be at the front and would therefore not be able to see how many people were there. Nonetheless, it was a warming experience, everyone coming together from around the world, no common language, only a common purpose. Finally the count down had begun, and with perfect timing the firework display commenced.

Beautiful colours with clear and crisp sounds crackling away in the fresh midnight air; the show lasted just under twenty minutes and is by far one of the best firework displays I have ever seen. The fireworks were constant and so too were the smiles on everyone's face. I was switching from my camera and my phone so I could send the photos to people and save them on Dropbox. After ten minutes I looked around and noticed in fascination how everyone was doing the same thing; holding up their smart phones and watching the display through their phone. It dawned on me this is a sad truth of many societies now, we're so busy saving that perfect moment that we don't enjoy it when it's here.

Unfortunately, despite the display being perfectly synchronised I find fireworks rather boring after around ten minutes. Therefore, I decided to start leaving before it finished in the hope that I could avoid the stampede of people all trying to exit at the same time. Just as I looked around to find my nearest exit, the display stopped, everyone cheered and clapped and then the race was on! Once up the main stairs I crossed the bridge over Salisbury Road and started heading northbound for my hostel. As always on New Years Eve when it turns midnight it seems to trigger extreme hunger. And as always, not much is open in the early hours of New Years Day. However, Burger King came to my rescue and I enjoyed every minute of my Quarter Pounder with Cheese. Not the best way to start my healthy new year resolutions.

When I got back to the hostel I started speaking to Paul, a Spanish guy from the party island of Ibiza. He was in his late thirties, spiky dark grey hair, tribal tattoos over one arm and an infectious friendly smile. He had just arrived and missed the firework display because his flight was delayed. We made plans for the following day and agreed to walk to Hong Kong's Museum of History. It had been a long day and the gastric consequences of eating Burger King started to develop. I decided to sleep and hope everything would be OK in the morning.

Paul and I set off for the museum with another person staying in our dormitory, John, a Chinese Language student on his way to study in Beijing from America. We followed the smell of street food vendors and stopped at a shop window which had a queue of locals outside. My impulsive Britishness lead me to join the queue having taken a peak over what they were waiting for; freshly made BBQ pork filled buns known as Cha Siu Bao. Delicious!

Having finally arrived at the museum after stopping at various stalls and shops for a tapas like breakfast, we realised we didn't have much time before we would have to check into our new room that night. So we leisurely walked around the museum and then decided to head back to Dragon Hostel to get our bags and move to our new accommodation in the (in)famous Chungking Mansion. Our room was not for the luxury traveller. Yet we were happy, we were that little bit closer to the harbour which would make the next day's adventures that little bit easier. We walked to Wan Chai Pier and waited for one of the traditional looking ferries which crosssed Victoria harbour, connecting Kowloon and Hong Kong island daily. This was our first time on Hong Kong island and it had a great European vibe to it. Bars and restaurants were squeezed in next to each other on the hilly terrain. We decided to go to Pizza Express for valentines, three guys; three pizzas; beer and a brilliant city. We got a taxi back to our room and the next day I had an early morning flight. I would be departing at 01:15 heading to Osaka, Japan.

Hong Kong: a wonderful city with such charm and so much to offer. One day, I shall return.