One of the things I was looking forward to when I first arrived in Japan was using it as a hub for exploring other parts of Asia. Of course, I had to familiarise myself with Japan first but once that had happened, I would be jetting off regularly on my own to nearby countries. That probably took longer than expected though and it wasn’t until 2006 that I finally did some solo travel in a place which had been part of the UK less than a decade earlier.

Despite the connection to my home country, I think I was still expecting Hong Kong to just be another Asian place akin to Tokyo but how wrong I was! The heat hit me as soon as I left the airport for Kowloon by bus. I checked into Chungking Mansions which I’d been told was a place of real character.

That may have been so, but it really was a bit of a sh*thole with 15 floors of guest houses in a very decrepit and dilapidated building ironically located next to one of Hong Kong’s finest hotels. I was given a very cheap sweatbox on the 15th floor with a view of another wall in a dirty alley.

It didn’t bother me too much anyway as slumming it a little on holiday was always more interesting for me at that time. Better for anecdotes too! Anyway, I threw my bag in and headed out straightaway to a nearby street bar to sample the local beer and watch a World Cup match among a huge crowd of Ghanaians whilst enjoying food dished up in portions much bigger than in Japan.

On my first full day, I took the star ferry to Hong Kong island but as soon as I disembarked the heavens really opened up and thundery showers soon followed for a few hours leaving with me no choice but to buy an umbrella. It wouldn’t be the last unexpected expenditure of the day!

Riding on the world’s only double decker trams was cheap, fun and something I wasn’t aware of ahead of this trip.

I also ventured into a local street restaurant for some tasty local-style noodles.

The Botanical zoological gardens and Hong Kong park were next and offered some calm and respite from everything else.

A bit later, I took a cable car up to The Peak which is Hong Kong’s premier sight. Despite the dark clouds and showers, it still provided an amazing view of the Harbour and the skyscrapers. Unfortunately, I hadn’t charged my digital camera battery and had also forgotten to bring the charger with me so had to buy a new battery which was not cheap at all!

The next morning was a much sunnier and brighter day, so I took a bus down to Stanley in the south of Hong Kong island. It has a famous market, but I went there to catch some rays on the beach and inevitably ended up getting sunburned in true British fashion!

My knowledge of world food was rather poor 20 years ago, but I did know that dim sum (steamed dumpling snacks in a bamboo basket) was a thing so found a restaurant on the waterfront. It hit my wallet hard, but I thought I should sample this traditional Chinese snack which was absolutely fantastic.

After a heavy night on the beers with a German guy and a couple of Brits I was woken up at 11:40 am on my final day by a woman knocking at my door…………and then I let her out!! Seriously though the staff member wanted to know if I was staying another night which shocked me as I never thought I would miss a check-out time of 11:30 am!

Having quickly packed my bag I made a quick exit and took a ferry to Lanteau Island to see the Big Buddha and monastery via a rickety bus ride which was not good for my hangover. It was an impressive place overall though and worth the effort in my opinion.

Following that I sampled “real” Chinese food as I knew that McDonalds had a burger called Chicken Fantastic with the buns made of rice rather than bread. Very nice it was too!

Even though I wasn’t staying there, I still returned to Chungking Mansions early evening to eat out at one of the many Indian restaurants located on the ground floor.

It was really delicious and I took a stroll along the harbour front afterwards as the sun set.

There was a spectacular light show when it got dark and I then went to my regular bar to watch a couple of World Cup quarter final matches into the early hours. My time in Hong Kong was up at 5:00 am as I had to take an early bus to the airport. It was a very long and tiring day, but it did save a night’s accommodation. Two decades on and I cannot imagine doing such a thing and would probably just get a room for an extra night!

I’ve been back to Hong Kong a couple of times since then with my wife and they’ve been wonderful trips but it’s often the first time in a country which is the most memorable and that is certainly the case here.

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