Exploring The Vertical City: My Hong Kong Travel Story

"Laughter is timeless, imagination has no age, and dreams are forever." - Walt Disney

Hong Kong was not on my radar of countries to visit for the year. Funnily enough, our long-standing group chat name for this was Vietnam 2025 which then became Taiwan but somehow ended up buying tickets to Hong Kong. As crazy as it was – I honestly wouldn’t have it any other way. 

Known as “The Vertical City” for having the most skyscrapers in the world, Hong Kong exudes wonder and vibrance. It’s an absolute neon-drenched place where you can travel from one country to another in a day via train, plane, ferry or automobile.  

Hong Kong is a year-round destination. However, make sure to check the current weather projection during the time of your visit otherwise, you’ll end up like us with seemingly same OOTDs the whole trip because girlie only brought one jacket for a relatively cold month of April. 😅

🏩Where We Stayed

Perhaps next to Singapore, Hong Kong is one of the Asian countries that could be generally expensive for tourist. For our crash pad, we opted to stay at Hotel Ease ‧ Tsuen Wan which we booked for 5 nights for ₱ 9,867.74 per person with their spacious and well-lit rooms as the biggest selling point. The place is about 2.4 Km away from the city center and about 820 meters from the nearest MTR (train) station. Depending on your preference and needs, there are tons of other available accommodations around Hong Kong which unfortunately for us are either too cramp or too expensive. 

🛄The Essentials

1. Hong Kong travel adaptor – this is a must have! If you are coming from the Philippines, your type A plug is gonna be absolutely useless in Hong Kong so make sure to get one on your first day or buy one before your trip if you wanna save some money. 
2. Internet/Data connection – Wi-Fi are generally standard offers now by different accommodations however, if you are like us who absolutely relied on maps and internet in general to get around, you might wanna have your own internet connection. As a tourist, you always have two options: (1) a sim card/e-sim (2) a portable/pocket Wi-Fi. For absolutely no reason other than we’re too lazy to spend few extra minutes of returning the pocket Wi-Fi before departure, we once again opted for option 1 which we availed on Klook for ₱750.00.
3. Octopus IC Card – just like in Japan, this is an extremely versatile stored-value card which you can use in most forms if not all, public transportation systems and convenience stores. We got ours from a vending machine at the airport for about ₱1,150.00 but you may also avail of this from Klook or from any MTR station in Hong Kong.

🏰The Disney Magic

As boring and/or sad as it may sound, I am never and perhaps will never be a fan of thrilling adventures. However, as I am already in Hong Kong, I may as well get my dose of pure unadulterated whimsy by exploring the “happiest place on earth.” After all, it is not only designed for thrilling (read: scary) rides, but it is also one of the very few places where we could collectively relieve our childhood dreams, fantasies and memories.

Of the many rides there is at the land of magic, I’ve managed to do three (3) – which at this point I think is my limit 😂:

• Frozen Ever After – where we belted out “Let It Go” as we are being plunged down to the abyss because if you don’t, then I think you’re doing it wrong and that’s saying something coming from me 😅
• Ant-Man and the Wasp Experience – basically a battle ground where you get to shoot enemies with lasers, but the enemy are your friends trying to outscore you on the number of kills. The walk up to the actual ride is honestly more entertaining. 
• Big Grizzly Mountain Runaway Mine Cars – This perhaps is my favorite. It was fast, twisty and completely unexpected. Ugh! That crazy mama bear.

And then there’s the absolutely magical Momentous – a breathtaking nighttime spectacular that has become the crown jewel of the park’s entertainment offerings. Not gonna lie, this part is actually worth staying for – the fireworks, the music and visuals it was a full-blown nostalgia bringing you back to the Disney and Pixar shows of your childhood.

⛰️The Urban Jungle and Neon Dreams

Being one the world’s significant financial and commercial centers, Hong Kong is pretty much known for its urban areas but in fact, it is one of the greenest cities in Asia. 

Ngong Ping 360 – I am greatly terrified of heights; that’s no secret but I wouldn’t just pass up on the opportunity to get a bird’s eye view of the Hong Kong jungle through CNN’s one of the world’s most amazing cable car experience – the Ngong Ping 360.

As an archipelago with over 260 islands, Hong Kong has multiple transportation systems and one of the most famous that has in itself became a tourist activity is the 25-minute cable car from Tung Chung to Lantau Island and vice versa. If you’re also on a budget, you can take after us and just book a one-way ticket on Klook at about ₱1,500.00 per person and take the bus going to Citygate Outlets for the other leg of the trip.

Ngong Ping Village and Big Budha – The other end of the Ngong Ping 360 is a culturally themed place called Ngong Ping village. If my observation was at all correct, this is not exactly inhabited by locals but rather a commercially built quaint tourist attraction housing different establishments like restaurants, theatres and souvenir shops. 

From here though, you can walk up to the foot of the 268 stair-steps of Tian Tan Buddha statue or famously known among tourists as The Big Buddha. It’s a 34-meter bronze statue with a right hand held up as a manifestation of the great vow to eliminate suffering from all sentient beings (Fear-Not mudra) and left hand resting on its thigh with palm faced out and fingers pointing slightly downward signifying the compassionate vow to grant happiness to all men (Wish-Granting mudra).

Entrance to the temple is free but oh boy is it hard to climb up. 😅But reaching the top however tiring, was rewarding ~ kinda like a cultural and spiritual workout.

Hong Kong Cultural Centre – Other than perhaps Disneyland, I feel like most if not all who travelled to Hong Kong will somehow have a photo at this multi-purpose performance venue and I’m unashamedly one of them. 

Can’t blame me (or us) though, this aesthetically architectural marvel has that pulling charisma over chronically online people like me. 

Avenue of Stars & Symphony of Lights – If the United States has the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Hong Kong which was once dubbed as the “Hollywood of the East” has the Avenue of Stars only instead of stars, they have handprints which I think is far more meaningful to fans.

By 8:00 PM, here is also one of the best spots to watch the Guiness World Records’ largest permanent light and sound show – the Symphony of Lights. Featuring over 40 buildings and attractions around Victoria Harbour illuminated nightly with countless lights, lasers and LED screens, this is a show worth watching, highlighting the vast creativity and innovation of a city that unites. 

Quarry Bay Monster Building – no more words whatsoever, I just had to do it. I just had to recreate the Joy and Ethan pose. 😂

🍜Unsolicited Food Recommendations

As the city with around 70 Michelin-starred restaurants, Hong Kong surely know how to make good food. To that, here are 3 places I have photos of that you may also try:

1. Ki’s Roasted Goose – my first time to have goose meat and it sure is a life experience. 
2. Tong Jee Bao Dimsum – located along the way to our hotel, we fueled up here constantly (mostly at night).
3. Ichiran Mong Kok – authentic Japanese ramen. I mean, need I say more?

✨ Final Thoughts

Hong Kong is not an overrated travel destination. After all, it’s visa-free for Filipino tourists for up to 14 days. However, just as what Joy at Ethan said “May mga lugar na pang-matagalan, may mga lugar na dinadaanan lang, parang Hong Kong.”  

So for now, so long Hong Kong!