Hello Hong Kong!

We’d planned and saved for months, sold our belongings, said our emotional goodbyes and then suddenly we were actually off!

The first stop on our adventure is Hong Kong. A truly international city, it made an easy transition from our London lives. It’s not hard to see why there are so many expats here, it’s super clean and safe, people are really friendly and it’s so easy to do everything. Oh and the food is unbelievable (but more on that later…).

We stayed between Mongkok and Tsim Sha Tsui, an area that we loved. It definitely feels like a local area, with fewer tourists, and it’s easy enough to get to the sights because the transport is so good.

Most of our days here were spent walking around, exploring the different neighbourhoods and dodging rain showers in cafés (probably should have read up on the weather in May before we booked our flights).

We tried to do the tourist sights but there was a lot of cloud and visibility was low … as in pretty much zero.

The city can be so crowded, but it’s surrounded by beautiful countryside and beaches. Only 15 minutes on the bus from Central is Deep Water Bay and Repulse Bay beaches. We managed to escape the rain for a day and this was such a nice break from the hectic city. You can walk along the coast between the two beaches on the Seaview Promenade, which takes about 20 minutes.

Something we found surprising is that horse racing is really big in Hong Kong (who knew?). Happy Valley racecourse is right in the middle of the city and lined with skyscrapers, so the view is great. Food and drinks are sold around the edges and there’s a social atmosphere, with an interesting mix of tourists and locals having a fun night and serious gamblers focused on their betting slips.

Next up, what we spent most of our time occupied with ... Hong Kong food!