It's Friday morning. We had just arrived in Hong Kong the evening before on May 26th. It was another new country for both of us on this extraordinary Asian adventure. As we were standing in Kowloon City amidst all of the high-rise buildings surrounded by thousands of people, we started to ask ourselves a lot of questions. Hong Kong seemed so familiar yet so different.

Nick waiting in the MRT surrounded by people

Consider this: NYC and Hong Kong are roughly the same size, 469 square miles versus 426 square miles, respectively. Even the populations of both areas are relatively close at 8.550 million (2015) for NYC and 7.257 million (2015) for Hong Kong. However, where the big difference lies is that less than 25% of the land in Hong Kong is developed. In other words, while we never feel alone in NYC, in Hong Kong you are never alone. There are people everywhere! The population density in Hong Kong (based on usable land) is essentially 81,727 persons per square mile versus 28,923 in New York City.

Of course there are tall buildings everywhere which led to ask "how many?". A skyscraper is defined as a building that is 150 m/492 feet in height or approximately 40 floors/stories. For the most recent statistics in 2016, NYC has 241 buildings that are classified as skyscrapers. Hong Kong has 315. Again, as we were standing in the middle of Kowloon, we were clearly surrounded by high-rise buildings. If you can't build outward, build upward and clearly both Hong Kong and NYC have adopted that philosophy though Hong Kong is on steroids as evidenced by the cranes that we saw everywhere.

Hong Kong is clearly a city of people. It moves and it moves well. Their transportation system, the MTR, is clean, efficient and fast and nearly everyone in the city uses it which means street congestion did not feel as bad as NYC. We used the MTR a lot starting with our trip from the airport to downtown Kowloon. We took the Airport Express, a super cool and efficient train that shuttles you from the airport to downtown Kowloon and Hong Kong island in 30 minutes every 10 minutes or so. And better yet, when you're ready to head back to the airport you can check in with your airline downtown and drop your luggage. We didn't actually take advantage of that luxury but we were super impressed. Once we got to Kowloon, we also purchased our own Octopus cards which is an electronic card with money that can be used to swipe into the subway and all other forms of transportation. It can also be used at nearly all stores to purchase goods. While convenient, it also seemed a bit creepy. At one point, we went to check the balance on our cards and it instantly showed all of our transactions.

Hong Kong is known for it's tailoring and thanks to Michael Shinn, on our first morning, we met with Luke Samtani, a tailor in Hong Kong who fitted us for a new suit and shirts. Luke, his father and his son (3 generations) all work at the shop and helped us pick out patterns and styles to accommodate our NYC needs.

After meeting with the tailors, we headed off to the Hong Kong Museum of History. The culture and history museums of each respective country that we visited ended up being "first stops" as they helped us understand the cultural, economic, and political influences that helped shape the countries and cities we were visiting. One of the more interesting aspects of Hong Kong history had to do with the Opium Wars which took place about 155 years ago and helped determine how Britain ended up colonizing Hong Kong and taking it from the Chinese.

As we discovered in many of the countries we visited, the East Indies Trading Company was very influential and had a big role in exporting valuable spices and goods from China and other Asian countries back to the British colonies. However, during this time, trade between Britain and China was one-way. The Chinese did not want anything nor did they feel that they needed anything from Britain which led to a huge trade imbalance.

At the same time (and as early as 1729), the Chinese government had taken strong measures to end the sale of opium due to its debilitating effects. The British, who were growing and manufacturing opium in British India realized that opium was in high demand so while the Chinese were doing everything they could to end the opium trade, the British were doing everything they could to increase it. Opium sales had risen gradually from 2,330 chests in 1788 to 4,968 chests in 1810. Once the British had a monopoly on opium trade throughout the world, they forced it up to 17,257 chests in 1835, worth millions of British pounds. The Opium Wars took place from 1839-1842 when the Chinese imperial government attempted to prevent British ships from bringing opium into the country.

When the Treaty of Bogue failed and the Chinese refused to pay the British for the opium lost during the war, the British seized Amoy, Tinghai, Chunhai and Ningpo.

After the deaths of thousands of Chinese, the first Opium War ended on Aug. 29, 1842, with the Treaty of Nanjing. The treaty forced the Chinese government to pay $15 million to the British merchants. Furthermore, it opened up five ports to English trade. Finally, it ceded Hong Kong to the British.

During our visit to the Hong Kong History Museum, we also learned about the Walled City of Kowloon and got a chance to visit the former walled city which is now a beautiful park. The Walled City was originally a military outpost set up back in the 11th century to manage the trade of salt. After the Treaty of Nanjing was signed, the Quing Emperor of China felt it necessary to improve the fort in order to rule the area and put a check on British influence. The Convention for the Extension of Hong Kong Territory of 1898 handed additional parts of Hong Kong to Britain for 99 years, but excluded the Walled City, which at the time had a population of roughly 700. China was allowed to continue to keep officials there as long as they did not interfere with the defense of British Hong Kong. Shortly thereafter, Chinese officials abandoned the walled city but people continued to live there.

The Walled City is described as a sort of historical accident. It never fully came under the regulation of the British colonial government in Hong Kong. As a result, its residents were free to build their dwellings as they wished, ignoring safety codes.

The Kowloon Wall City in 1994 before being torn down

Kids playing on the roof of the Kowloon Walled City

Fast forward to 1994 and prior to the Walled City being torn down, over 33,000 people lived within an area covering one city block. At the time, it was the densest settlement in the world. Homes were built on top of homes were built on top of homes. Buildings were built next buildings, Holes were punched out in the walls between buildings to use staircases. Many people on the ground level or in the center of the structure did not have access to sun, fresh air, or open space. Kids played on the roofs. And at night, drug use was rampant on the roofs. And this was all happening a little over 20 years ago!

In 1994, the Hong Kong government relocated everyone within the Walled City and demolished the city to create a park. We visited that park during our visit with Chialing and Bo and saw a fascinating part of Hong Kong history.

Nick and Tim in the Kowloon Walled City which is now a park

Keith and Nick at the start of the Wilson Trail

When we imagined Hong Kong, we imagined a concrete island. As we indicated, less than 25% of the land in Hong Kong is developed and we got to see that first hand when our friend, Keith Chowdery, took us on a hike/run on Stage 1 of the Wilson Trail from Wong Nai Chung to Stanley, a 4.8 kilometer hike labeled as very difficult. It was difficult but it was also lush and green and truly beautiful. Hong Kong is definitely a lot more than concrete. To add an extra level of difficulty, we started the hike/run at dusk, did most of it in the dark, and also ran into the town of Stanley from the end of the hike adding a few kilometers. Later on, we also realized that there was a level 3 upside T typhoon warning which essentially means, "Strong winds are expected or blowing generally in Hong Kong near sea level, and the wind condition is expected to persist." Frankly, the winds were refreshing as we were completely drenched when we finished. Later on Keith admitted that his Dad, Chuck, with whom Nick works, told him to "Make it hard. They can take it." The Magners at the end never tasted so good.

View of Hong Kong Island from the Top of One of the Wilson Trails' Twin Peaks

After the run, we headed back into city and went to Hong Kong's version of SoHo, South of Hollywood, for dinner and drinks. The area, built on a hill, consists mostly of restaurants, bars, nightclubs, art galleries and antique stores and appears to be mostly an expat neighborhood. SoHo also has the Central-Mid-Levels escalator which was built in 1993 and, at the time, was the longest escalator system in the world. In the morning, it goes down to accommodate all of the commuters and, at night, it goes up. As Hong Kong is certainly very humid, it was easy to see why the escalator is helpful if not critical to remaining sweat-free.

Our Saturday adventures had us meeting up with Chialing, Bo, and Chialing's friend, Chia Hui Lu, for dim sum followed by other adventures in the city. Dim sum is always an adventure and, thanks to Chialing, we tasted our first ever chicken feet. They were good but since they are mostly bones, a lot of effort was exerted for very little 'meat.' We don't see chicken feet in our future diet but they were fun to try.

At Dim Sum with Chialing, Chia Hui, and Bo.

Later that morning, we took the Star Ferry across the bay from Tsim Sha Tsui to Central Hong Kong. We were hoping and planning to ride the peak tram to the top of Victoria Peak but since it was raining, we bailed on that idea and instead went to a place that Chialing described as "where people are beat up." It wasn't until we actually arrived that we more fully understood what we were doing. The "Beating the Petty Person" is a spiritual ritual that is performed for the general blessing or exorcising purposes, but may also aim at a particular "petty person" who is a real human being. Bo, Nick and Tim all received a 'beating' but went for the general blessing rather than 'beat' a particular person.

Nick getting his "Beating of the Petty Person"

Tim getting his "Beating of the Petty Person"

Following the blessing, we got on the subway and headed to dinner at Tung Po. Aside from Anthony Bourdain frequenting this restaurant and writing about it, Tung Po is famous for its traditional Guangdong-influenced Cantonese stir-fried and deep-fried dishes. The restaurant was very informal in nature and included lots of large tables with plastic chairs. Keith and his friend, Samantha, joined our group for dinner and we all shared large dishes of exquisite Cantonese food along with beers.

Following dinner, Nick and I joined Keith and Samantha and headed back to SoHo to enjoy some live music and drinks at several of the local bars. After a long night of festivities, we stopped at one of Keith's favorite food joints and had shawarmas before heading back to our hotel. The Hong Kong natives love their drinks, dancing and food and we whole-heartedly partook in the festivities.

On Sunday, we ventured out early again to meet up with Chialing and Bo for brunch and toured the park where we discovered the history of the Kowloon Walled City which we described above. After an exhausting two and half days, we bid farewell to Chialing and Bo at the train station. On a personal note, Chialing and Bo, thank you so much for visiting us in Hong Kong and touring us around the city! You made our trip to Hong Kong so much richer by introducing us to so many hidden, non-tourist sites and restaurants, and by spending quality time with us. We look forward to doing this again.

Later that evening, we met up with Keith again for dinner in SoHo and to bid him adieu. Keith, we cannot even begin to thank you for your hospitality during our visit, for giving us one of the most rigorous athletic activities of our trip, and for showing us the fun and active side of Hong Kong. We had a fantastic time and can't wait to come back to visit you and everyone else we met in Hong Kong.

Some of the site on our tour through TST

On our last day in Hong Kong, before we headed to the airport to board our plane home, we ventured out early to do a walking tour of Tsim Sha Tsui which includes vestiges of local and colonial life. Our tour included the Former Kowloon British School and St. Andrew's Church (Kowloon's oldest international school and Anglican church); Carnival Mansion (a vortex of rickety postwar homes); Rosary Church (Kowloon's oldest Catholic church); St. Mary's Canossian College (next to the Catholic church); the Gun Club Hill Barracks (now occupied by the People's Liberation Army); and the Kowloon Union Church.

Following our tour we headed back to the hotel to prepare to depart back to NYC. While we generally don't talk much about the hotels in which we stay, it's worth talking about the W Hotel Hong Kong. The staff at the hotel made our stay incredibly enjoyable. Everyone went out of their way to welcome us and provide us with the perfect suggestions to make our stay unbelievably comfortable. Francis was a constant, pleasant presence from when we checked in until we checked out. Billie's unbounded enthusiasm made us smile. He had perfect suggestions for things to do! Evangeline's genuine interest in our experiences and our lives was also a pleasant surprise. Overall, the staff made us feel as comfortable in Hong Kong as we do in NYC. Thank you to everyone at the hotel!

There is so much more that we could share about Hong Kong. Like NYC, it has an incredibly vibrant and diverse culture, a beautiful geography, a storied history, and a wonderful selection of foods and restaurants. We look forward to going back and experiencing more of the city in the near future. Thanks to everyone who helped make our last country on our Asian adventure a rich and enjoyable experience!

Thanks for a wonderful visit to Hong Kong!

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