So for those of you who don’t know me super well, I used to live in Hong Kong! I lived there for three years from 5th-7th grade and I talk about it a lot because I really miss some things from there, it became a second home for me in addition to my life here in Naperville. Obviously the things I miss most about Hong Kong can get pretty personal, especially with my friends and mentors there, so I’ll try to focus on things here that can be visited or applied to most people. If you ever get the chance to go to Hong Kong, I hope you at least check these things out or take them under consideration. Without further ado, here are five things I miss about Hong Kong in no particular order.
1. The Sea, the Mountains, the City
Needless to say, Hong Kong is known for amazing sight-seeing views! They become daily occurences when living there but they’re stunning nonetheless. There are some issues with this so I want to preface everything by saying that Hong Kong has immense political and socio-economic issues and everything I bring up here is definitely skewed in a positive light by my nostalgia and comes from a pretty privileged perspective, but I want to show some of the great parts of Hong Kong in addition to later addressing more of the issues there. In terms of the view, Hong Kong is incredible as it has the best parts of a tropical island with mountains and the sea, mashed together with an incredible cityscape. Hiking in Hong Kong is a pretty popular activity and looking down from the top, it’s an amazing sight to see. I also highly recommend walking through the city (in populous and safer areas) at night to look at the nightlife and lights. Most buildings have special light shows for holidays and it’s a great form of free entertainment and beauty!
2. Wet Markets and Food
While they took me a little time to get used to at first, wet markets are one of the best sources for local produce and meats and they’re always interesting to walk through! As a heads up, they can get pretty busy and loud, and if you are someone who can’t stomach the sight of butcher shops or fish shops this probably isn’t the place for you, but there are still street markets with great food and bakeries. Food in Hong Kong is an incredibly important part of the culture, from high class dim sum and top tier restuarants to spectacular street food and barbecue. Wheverever you end up going in Hong Kong, good food is definitely a crucial part of the experience. If you’ve never experienced Hong Kong’s food before, I recommend finding smaller local shops and bakeries (egg tarts and pineapple buns are family favorites) that are especially prominent in Wan Chai. There are also lots of amazing international foods (a couple French and Spanish restaurants are some of my favoriet places in Hong Kong) due to the diverse nature of products and people in Hong Kong. It’s function as a gigantic port also means that Hong Kong has delicious and fresh produce from around East and Southeast Asia so tropical fruit is a must!
3. Hong Kong International School
One of the places I miss most in Hong Kong is my old school. I went to HKIS for all three years I lived in Hong Kong and while there are definitely a lot of pros and cons, the campus itself is gorgeous and there were so many resources available for use. The middle school and high school are connected in a building on top of a mountain by the sea, so there are a lot of possibilities when it comes to PE and clubs. I was personally a part of the sailing club and found some of my happiest memories sailing into the sea. For PE, we had paddle board units and adventure units where we could rappel off the side of the school building and a zipline on the top floor of the middle school section. The middle school was structured as an open spaced building around an amphitheater which was beautiful and great most of the time, unless it was raining and there were no ceilings between your classrooms. One of my personal favorite areas of the middle school was a garden we had on the third floor by our culinary classrooms. As a sidenote, the food at the school was also amazing (sticky rice, ramen, breakfast sandwiches, and iced chocolate were daily favorites!).
4. Wellcome/Convenience Stores
Weirdly enough, one of my favorite parts of Hong Kong that I’ve been missing a lot recently are convenience stores and a grocery store chain called Wellcome. In the city, 7-11s and other convenience stores were great spots for quick snacks and hangouts due to the immense variety and decent quality of their products. From counters of hot pot to stacks of triangle kimbap, these convenience stores were havens of delicious comfort in a busy day. On the other hand, Wellcome was more like a grocery store and a convenience store combined. In addition to a wide mix of European and Asian products, they offer fresh sushi and fruit juice bars where customers can purchase full platters of decent quality sushi (Whole Foods sushi is incomparable) and large bottles of custom-made, freshly blended and squeezed fruit juice made from the exceptional slew of fruits Hong Kong has to offer (my favorites were a mango-coconut-pomelo-tapioca mix, kiwi, mangosteen, and black currant). Their snack selection was also a popular aisle for HKIS students, full of uniquely British, Chinese, Korean, and Japanese treats.
5. Transportation and Octopus Cards
One of my most treasured items from Hong Kong that is often unknown to those who have never visited is the versatile Octopus card. A much-needed object for anyone living in Hong Kong, Octopus cards have child and adult versions and functions essentially as a debit card without any attachments to bank accounts. These cards can be purchased at MTR (metro) stations and used in almost every part of Hong Kong, from school cafeterias and public transportation to grocery stores and museums. They can be refilled with money in a variety of places, though the most popular choices are grocery stores and MTR stations. In addition to buying daily products, Octopus cards are most widely used for the fantastic public transportation system in Hong Kong. In the denseley populated city, most residents get around through double decker buses, green mini buses, red taxis, or the MTR. There is essentially some form of public transportation to most places (even a specific MTR just for Hong Kong Disneyland) and besides the green mini buses which may take a while to get used to for newcomers, they are all pretty user friendly. Octopus cards and public transportation provide a lot of safe independence for younger teens and kids in Hong Kong and they’re definitely one of the parts of Hong Kong I miss most.
Although I’ve never been to Hong Kong, I would really like to visit someday, and your blog post only confirmed my wishes. The pictures that you provided of the city do look really pretty, especially with the sea framing all the buildings. I’ve never heard of Octopus cards before, but they seem like a great idea and a really easy way for people to get around the city regardless of age. I have been to wet markets and street stalls in Asia before though, and I definitely agree that they’re one of the best parts of visiting. I can remember leaving my grandparents’ apartment to buy fried dough and soymilk from the street vendors in the morning and then eating it at their tiny kitchen table back in their apartment. There’d also be people selling fruit, clothing, vegetables, and live seafood, with some selling freshly cut sugarcane that they would prepare in front of you. I also agree that Asian convenience stores are a great place to visit given their often small, cozy size and wide selection.
Hi Claire! I’m so glad I stumbled upon your blog about Hong Kong and all of the great things about it. I’m actually super fascinated with Hong Kong and since I haven’t been there yet, I really want to go sometime in my life!
Right now, I’m actually doing a research project in my Illinois Global Scholar Capstone course about Hong Kong and their air conditioning, and while that doesn’t really relate to this, it makes me even more intrigued to see what someone who’s lived in Hong Kong thinks about the culture.
When looking at your list, there are multiple things such as the city and nature, the food, and even the stores that most people would suggest visiting when going to any new city. However, Hong Kong International School and the Octopus cards were what stood out to me. I’ve been to China before and I know what their schools can look like, but even from the pictures of your school, I can tell it was a really nice place to be. Tbh, it looks like an advanced cruise ship with a mall, multiple stories, and open-air exercise courts. I feel like I could live for a large portion of my life like a resort. I think this just goes to show just how different schools in Hong Kong and the US are, especially when it comes to private vs. public schools. There are some schools in the US like Harker in California which have similar facilities to HKIS, but overall, I do think more elite schools in Asia are way more unique compared to the US and NNHS in particular. Also, the Octopus cards are really cool because it really places emphasis on a culture of independence and also public transportation. I recently watched a video on how the US is so car-centric and essentially has failing public transportation. In many large cities around the world, public transportation is at the center of their infrastructure, contrasting the US. Thus, Octopus cards are a feature unknown to most Americans and I’d love to use one some day.
Do you think you’ll ever go back to Hong Kong? If so, when?
Thanks for the amazing blog Claire!
Hey Bill, thanks for reading! I think it’s super cool that your Capstone project is about air conditioning in Hong Kong, in general the air conditioning and humidity issues are pretty distinct and overlooked when people think about life in Hong Kong. I hope I can go back to Hong Kong someday soon, years ago I wanted to go back during the summer after my senior year but as that seems pretty unlikely with the current conditions, probably just as soon as I have the time and it’s safe to do so:)