WHAT I DID ON MY FAMILY TRIP TO HONG KONG
First, to preface this article, I would like to mention that I had no idea about the ‘1,000 Places to See Before You Die’ travel book when I visited Hong Kong for the first time with my family. So the pictures will be sparse and taken more so as a true tourist of the city (rather than a blogger). I hope to head back there soon to take much more extensive photos of the city and its attractions!
Getting to Hong Kong, I flew Cathay Pacific by myself while the rest of my family took Asiana Airlines. I had a bunch of miles saved up and decided it was finally time to splurge on a first class ticket! And it was amazing. I took a red eye flight out of LAX and didn’t sleep a wink while up in the air. I took advantage of every moment in that seat, making sure I was constantly stocked up on their wonderful Cathay Pacific-version of milk tea. It probably is still one of the best first class rides I have taken, and I would highly recommend it to anyone to splurge on those seats.
So, while we were in Hong Kong, we experienced a bit of a culture shock. The people, although not necessarily rude, were brass. Even with Hong Kong being a tourist destination, I didn’t think they were very good at catering to that audience. However, besides their nature, it's a cool and lively city with lots of things to do! Being a loyal SPG member at the time, we stayed at the Sheraton Hong Kong Hotel & Towers, which is next door to the famous Peninsula Hotel. It was a great hotel that had delicious breakfast and spacious rooms. It was also located conveniently near tons of shops and restaurants.
Our first stop of the day was Victoria Peak, where you take a steep tram up the mountain to get some cool views of the city. I'm not a big fan of city views, so the steep tram ride up was the better part of the experience for me. Another thing the List says to do was to check out Victoria Harbour. Since our hotel was across the water from Victoria Peak, taking the ferry from the harbour was necessary. The book recommends to take the Star Ferry on the top deck (which is more expensive) if you want to see great city views from the harbour. If you prefer to people watch instead, you would need to sit down on the bottom level (which is the cheaper fare). I actually preferred the views I got from the ferry ride than up top on Victoria Peak. But I’ll let you be the judge of that when you visit.
Even with our short four day trip in Hong Kong, I made it a point to stop by Sam's Tailor to get a suit for my dad and I. This was my Christmas gift to him, but it also was a perfect excuse to get a suit for myself as well. And surprisingly, I got a really amazing tailored suit out of it! I recommend going there the first day you arrive to get yourself measured out. You can pick out the materials and style of your suit, with lots of high end fabrics to choose from. Apparently the fabric I chose was the same material used in Tom Ford suits, but obviously at a fraction of the price! Trust me, these suits will fit you like a glove. If you don’t believe me, check out their wall of fame that showcases all the celebrities and diplomats that have stopped by to get a suit from them (including Bill Clinton and George Bush). After your initial selection, you will end up visiting the store to do 2-3 more fittings before they can deliver the final product. We were there for 4 days, so feel free to use that as your measuring base. Don’t fret if you think you won’t have enough time! We didn’t have time to pick the suits up so they delivered it to our hotel, free of charge. The suits can also be shipped worldwide for a fee. I was also told that they store your measurements and purchases in case you decide to order from them in the future. There are a few more tailor shops that I have to visit on the List, so check back often to see how the others compare!
Before we headed to Korea for the last leg of our family trip, we wanted to make a stop in Macau (the Asian version of Las Vegas). I think Macau is definitely a bigger city than Vegas, but the hotels are so spread apart that it's not pedestrian friendly like it is in Vegas. We had to constantly take shuttles from hotel to hotel for us to get around. And even some hotel shuttles were limited to where they can go, so you’d have to maneuver and position yourself at the right hotel so that you can take the right transfer to your own hotel. Things might have changed since I was last there, but that was one thing I didn’t enjoy in Macau. And if you wanted to gamble, the minimum bets in Macau are ridiculously high! Just imagine minimum bets at the High Limit tables in Vegas as Macau's normal minimum. Even though I call it the Asian Version of Las Vegas, don't expect it to be the same though. In Macau, the focus is on the gambling. Whereas in Vegas, it's all about food, entertainment, shopping, and nightclubbing.
The one thing I enjoyed the most in Hong Kong and Macau were the fashion sales at high end luxury stores! You rarely see Gucci, Saint Laurent, or Burberry having sales at their stores in the U.S., but in Hong Kong and Macau they do! If I had more room in my carry-on, I would have bought a ton of stuff to take back with me. So if you end up going during the holiday season (Christmas/New Years), be sure to pack light so that you can bring back all those discounted high end goods!
