Pottinger Street / Central (Hong Kong) -- Even though this wasn't my first trip to Hong Kong, I…read moremust've conveniently forgotten how steep the hills can get to elevation-challenged tourists like myself, especially the steep inclines to be found in the Central district on Hong Kong Island. That's why there are helpful automatic walkways and escalators under long canopies over certain roadways. That was definitely a smart urban renewal move built back in the '90's, but Pottinger Street has been left intact. This atmospheric walkway consists of a series of steps and inclines on terra firma and retains its vintage Hong Kong charm with seemingly random stone slabs that connect Connaught Road Central up to Hollywood Road. Souvenir kiosks line the street on both sides, and they apparently change depending on the holiday season. Jamie W and I were here too early to see Christmas trinkets and decorations, but we saw stall after stall of local tchotchkes and T-shirts. It's worth the stroll in either direction. RELATED - Exploring Hong Kong? Here's my collection of places I've visited and reviewed: https://bit.ly/3AGgadg

A touristy three or four block sloping street made up of granite slabs that aren't quite stairs…read more Its official name is Pottinger Street, named in 1858 after Henry Pottinger, the first Governor of Hong Kong, serving from 1843 to 1844. Fun fact was that in the early days in HK, Chinese and European residents used to live separately in different neighborhoods. Pottinger street once acts as a rough boundary between the two groups. The Chinese used to mainly live west of the street and westerners to the east. Today there are various vendors selling trinkets and services such as caricature painting on the street. Many blockbuster HK movies have had iconic scenes filmed here including "Lust Caution", "October Besieged City", "Infernal Affairs III", and "Dragon and Phoenix Fight".

Temple Street Market is a must-visit in Hong Kong. The vendors are incredibly friendly and clearly…read morelove to bargain, which makes the experience fun and engaging. There's an endless variety of merchandise to browse, along with plenty of food stalls offering tempting local eats. The area felt safe, lively, and was very easy to get to with a quick Grab ride. A great spot to soak in the energy of the city.

Temple Street Night Market / Kowloon (Hong Kong) -- By the time Jamie W and I made it here on our…read morevacation, we visited two legendary night markets in relatively quick succession, Raohe Street in Taipei (review: https://yelp.to/iQFcRkmz6h) and Jalan Alor in Kuala Lumpur (review: https://yelp.to/5ShCfX6Vhg). Both were bustling cultural microcosms full of a wide and diverse variety of culinary delights. My expectations were set high. This is my roundabout way of saying I found this market to be on the meh side. Even though Temple Street might be the most organized of night markets, it came down to a lack of enthusiastic energy on the part of the thirty-plus hawkers and purveyors here. They didn't help motivate us as much to try anything that looked appetizing beyond one grilled octopus skewer (photo: https://yelp.to/ZmGraLPefh). It was pretty good for what it was. The food stalls took up just the first block of Temple Street. The rest of the market consisted of tents and stalls where they sold gadgets, toys, electronics, cheap souvenirs, and T-shirts of which Jamie bought a couple from an enterprising senior (photo: https://yelp.to/caewEJ9-pR). I've read that lingering COVID restrictions may have caused a change in the dynamics of the market. If true, the impact apparently snuffed out much of the unique character it might have had. RELATED - Exploring Hong Kong? Here's my collection of places I've visited and reviewed: https://bit.ly/3AGgadg

I love the ancient temples, it speaks with volumn without saying anything since it's right there in…read morethe walls, the structures, the gates, the set up, the statues, the burning incense, the folks that comes over the years, decades...it's such a peaceful, tranquility and calmest being there.

A must visit treasure in HK. Pretty easy to get to if you take the MTR. Walk from Sheung Wan stop…read morefor about 15 minutes. Lots of local markets to visit. Plenty of coffee shops around.

Central Market in Hong Kong was the first wet market in the city. Now it is a fresh food market…read morethat also has dry goods and restaurants. It is a fun food market to explore. Central Market is one of two existing Bauhaus market buildings in Hong Kong. Beside the market was the first public female restroom in Hong Kong. At one point, Central Market was the largest meat market in Asia. The building was renovated and most recently reopened in 2021. So nice to explore the stalls and sweet treats that are available to buy. Make sure to have yen as not all of the vendors accept credit cards. Love the anime characters. Try the roasted goose. (Thanks to our Houston CM Jandito, for that recommendation.)

Lots of cool vendors, snack spots, sit down restaurants, etc. has a bit of everything. Located in a…read morenice area with tons of different entry points. Very clean as well. Not as busy on weeknights, super busy on the weekends closer to lunchtime and after.

The first time I visited Hong Kong I had never heard of this place, despite all of the Hong Kong…read morefilms that I had watched. However, after watching an awful lot of youtube I ended up discovering this notorious place. However, it no longer exists, and it has been turned into a park. Despite that, there are a number exhibits, including a model, on the former slum. It is quite a nice a peaceful park though.

The park is really nice to stroll through, but the main attraction is the history of the Kowloon…read moreWalled City. You'll reach a section where it talks about the Kowloon Walled City, interesting facts, and a small statue of how dense the apartments were. As you walk further in, there will be people giving away vouchers (free) to walk inside the Cinematic Journey (movie set). You get free entry and for 15 minutes, you can view the movie set, get a sense of how the apartments used to look, and read more history. It was very interesting and worth checking out if you have the time. Tip(s): - Visit the Cinematic Journey for free (someone will be handing out vouchers)

Bumbling around Mongkok at night is so very sketchy until, I stumbled upon Langham Place Tower:…read more The bright lights inside entice you to go exploring inside the ominous building structure. Hmmmm? What's in this building, I wonder? Let's go check it out and see what's inside. The escalators climbed to dizzying heights; I have never rode an escalator climbing at such a steep slope so very fast: I was actually frightened when I turned around looking downwards towards the main entrance! Photo-Just look at the angle looking up!! Looking down, I had the eebee-gee-bees!!! Ooof~I'm not going to look down anymore! Still, I kept riding the escalators seeing what's on the top floor. I bought a beige, designer overcoat because it was beginning to rain outside from a she-she-foo-foo store-it wasn't cheap but, years later, the overcoat still look brand new! Arriving at the top floor, I ate dinner at a five-star restaurant boasting stunning views of Mongkok; rather than taking the escalators, I took the elevator down: What a grave mistake!!! The G-Force of descending almost made me regurgitate my expensive, five-star dinner! Oooooof!!! Going outside Langham Place Tower, I snapped a photo of the building before heading to the Ladies' Night Market.

I went to Hong Kong for the first time last month. I know nothing about Hong Kong comics or comic…read morecharacters. I didn't even know this magical place existed. I was just wandering around Kowloon, trying to figure out what to do for breakfast, then I got distracted by the entrance for the Hong Kong Avenue of Comic Stars in Kowloon Park. There are statues of comic characters from Hong Kong comics and Hong Kong comic artists. It's fun, and cheesy, and cool. If you're like me and have no knowledge of any of these characters there are little plaques (in English and Cantonese) that tell you some information about these characters and the artists who created them. The attraction is free to check out, and it's fun to pose for selfies with statues of penguins and super spies. Kowloon Park itself is really nice and is definitely worth checking out. Kowloon Park is a short walk from the Jordan MTR Station. The Tsim Sha Shui Station is close by as well. I went here 3 times in 5 days. That's how much I loved it. Maybe I'm just a nerd, but this is a fun place to visit and worth seeing if you're in Hong Kong.

Stumbled upon the Avenue of Comic Stars walking around Kowloon Park…read more I love the huge cartoon characters. Very fun and colorful. I had no idea who any of the characters were but it was still cool. The stairwell exiting was pretty awesome. The super hero pig was my favorite! My pose when I pig out! If you are at Kowloon Park, stop by here and check it out!

This place is basically like a giant Etsy shop/Instagram photo opp…read more Came to take selfies in front of the koi staircase. Left with nearly a dozen pairs of cute and unique earrings crafted by HK-based jewelry maker @ashayatheone, for $8 to $15 (USD) a pair. Though I definitely spent more than I would have for souvenirs at the Ladies Market, it was worth it not to feel stressed out having to haggle on the streets of Mong Kok. Plus, I walked out with better quality stuff, supported a local business, and got to check out the current art exhibit ("LONG TIME NO SEE": a set of hand-drawn murals paying homage to the history of the PMQ building).

I'm glad that I decided to come on the recommendation from my friend. I wasn't sure what to expect…read morebut I enjoyed going through the different levels to browse the shops and exhibits from local artists and entrepreneurs. This is definitely not your average mall where it's the same brands and shops like at every other mall. It's too bad that the rooftop garden was under renovation when I went. It would've been nice to sit outside. I liked the exhibit that showed an example of what a home of a police family would've looked like. The video playing in the unit depicted happy tenants that loved living there and got on well with their neighbours. There was also a mahjong exhibit that was quite enjoyable and informative. I wasn't able to see the underground interpretation area, that'll have to wait for next time.