By Layla
When we first planned to come to Hong Kong for this year's International Film Festival neither of us had any idea of (a) how good the city is, and (b) that I'm going to be living here for three months. But within an hour of arriving, Hong Kong had charmed us.
First, amazing public transport. Next, a station full of British food places like Pret a Manger and Marks and Spencer, crammed full of delicious vegetarian food as though it were not a freakish delicacy requiring special research and expeditions to track down (I'm looking at you, Tokyo). Then delightful streets (Star Street, Sun Street, Moon Street) crammed with our very favourite types of hipster cafes and restaurants. Everyone dashing past with cute dogs and yoga mats. Views of the harbour and the hills. Everything in English. And an adorable little AirBnB apartment for us to live in. Never mind that the apartment was up four flights of stairs or that the weather forecast said rain for our whole stay. We could already tell that Hong Kong was going to be our kind of city.
After stocking up on M&S food in a manner reminiscent of a gleeful supermarket sweep, we dashed home in the torrential rain with our spoils. Then went out for dinner to a random restaurant brimming with delicious vegetarian options, then hopped on a subway train and a bus. It was time to head to the obscure destination of Metroplex for our first film festival film! It was animated shorts. They were okay but depressingly themed... Afterwards we had prosecco at a charming Italian restaurant under our apartment and rejoiced in lovely Hong Kong.
The next morning we realised Roz didn't have her wallet and briefly felt wrathful about Hong Kong. But we decided to overlook it and go on a free walking tour which was really interesting. We learned all about how Hong Kong came to be British, and then no longer British. Fascinating stuff. All while strolling along harbourside parks and admiring the famous banking buildings and fancy shops and clusters of maids from the Philippines clustered in impromptu picnics on their day off, all at the Central area of Hong Kong Island.
After a huge vegetarian lunch we popped home to change into warm clothes: that cinema the night before had been freezing! But before we entered today, we asked at the cinema front desk and hooray: they had found Roz's purse, complete with money and cards! We did a jubilant dance and celebrated by buying her a pair of heavily discounted Vivienne Westwood shoes from an adjacent shop, and going to two films. We messed up the times and missed the first half of Window Horses which was very good, about Iran and poetry and family. Then we saw our best film of the festival so far, Our Finest, a British and surprisingly feminist film about making a film about Dunkirk during the war. Don't miss it.
After our cinema extravaganza, we gathered our things, returned to our neighbourhood, and stood in a long line for Pica, a very popular local Italian restaurant. It was a beautiful night and the whole street was convivial and we were drinking more prosecco and when we finally got seated, the food was amazing. Hooray!
The next day's weather looked unpromising but it was time for a hike so we headed to one of Hong Kong's most famous hikes: Dragon's Back Ridge. Initially a massive queue reminiscent of Disneyland to get the bus, we were delighted to find ourselves hiking in the surprising quiet, over undulating hills with fabulous harbour views, and a Pret a Manger picnic to round it off! A beautiful hike. The rain didn't start in earnest til we were near the bus stop, and soon we were back in town, settling down in a lovely cafe called Elephant Grounds. They had ice cream sandwiches and I was very happy indeed.
That evening we dined in Beef and Liberty - yet another hip, brilliant place brimming with veggie options. Then headed to The Grand, a cinema in west Kowloon, to see a film about Emily Dickinson with Cynthia Nixon that turned out to be pretty rubbish. But we recovered the evening back in our neighbourhood at Classified cafe where Roz had a cheeseboard, I had a sticky toffee pudding, and we mused on how fat I'll get when I live here...
To combat the expanding waistline, today was another hiking day. We walked through Hong Kong park (which I say looks like a miniature golf course) and then took a very fun, very steep funicular train (aka tram) up to Victoria Peak. As is often the case with our scenic expeditions, the view was obscured by dense white mist. Nevertheless, we set off on a hike on the Victoria Peak Loop, then merged onto the Morning Loop, and walked for a couple of hours amidst lush forest and sort-of harbour views and dogwalkers aplenty til we were spit out... At exactly the building that I'll be living in from the end of August! This was most exciting (well, til I realised it is perched at the top of a large, steep hill) and we pottered around Hong Kong University til we found the train back to Central. We then walked up many more steep hills to Soho and delicious grilled cheese sandwiches and halloumi in a charming cafe, before catching a bus home to rest our weary calf muscles.
When we first planned to come to Hong Kong for this year's International Film Festival neither of us had any idea of (a) how good the city is, and (b) that I'm going to be living here for three months. But within an hour of arriving, Hong Kong had charmed us.
First, amazing public transport. Next, a station full of British food places like Pret a Manger and Marks and Spencer, crammed full of delicious vegetarian food as though it were not a freakish delicacy requiring special research and expeditions to track down (I'm looking at you, Tokyo). Then delightful streets (Star Street, Sun Street, Moon Street) crammed with our very favourite types of hipster cafes and restaurants. Everyone dashing past with cute dogs and yoga mats. Views of the harbour and the hills. Everything in English. And an adorable little AirBnB apartment for us to live in. Never mind that the apartment was up four flights of stairs or that the weather forecast said rain for our whole stay. We could already tell that Hong Kong was going to be our kind of city.
After stocking up on M&S food in a manner reminiscent of a gleeful supermarket sweep, we dashed home in the torrential rain with our spoils. Then went out for dinner to a random restaurant brimming with delicious vegetarian options, then hopped on a subway train and a bus. It was time to head to the obscure destination of Metroplex for our first film festival film! It was animated shorts. They were okay but depressingly themed... Afterwards we had prosecco at a charming Italian restaurant under our apartment and rejoiced in lovely Hong Kong.
The next morning we realised Roz didn't have her wallet and briefly felt wrathful about Hong Kong. But we decided to overlook it and go on a free walking tour which was really interesting. We learned all about how Hong Kong came to be British, and then no longer British. Fascinating stuff. All while strolling along harbourside parks and admiring the famous banking buildings and fancy shops and clusters of maids from the Philippines clustered in impromptu picnics on their day off, all at the Central area of Hong Kong Island.
After a huge vegetarian lunch we popped home to change into warm clothes: that cinema the night before had been freezing! But before we entered today, we asked at the cinema front desk and hooray: they had found Roz's purse, complete with money and cards! We did a jubilant dance and celebrated by buying her a pair of heavily discounted Vivienne Westwood shoes from an adjacent shop, and going to two films. We messed up the times and missed the first half of Window Horses which was very good, about Iran and poetry and family. Then we saw our best film of the festival so far, Our Finest, a British and surprisingly feminist film about making a film about Dunkirk during the war. Don't miss it.
After our cinema extravaganza, we gathered our things, returned to our neighbourhood, and stood in a long line for Pica, a very popular local Italian restaurant. It was a beautiful night and the whole street was convivial and we were drinking more prosecco and when we finally got seated, the food was amazing. Hooray!
The next day's weather looked unpromising but it was time for a hike so we headed to one of Hong Kong's most famous hikes: Dragon's Back Ridge. Initially a massive queue reminiscent of Disneyland to get the bus, we were delighted to find ourselves hiking in the surprising quiet, over undulating hills with fabulous harbour views, and a Pret a Manger picnic to round it off! A beautiful hike. The rain didn't start in earnest til we were near the bus stop, and soon we were back in town, settling down in a lovely cafe called Elephant Grounds. They had ice cream sandwiches and I was very happy indeed.
That evening we dined in Beef and Liberty - yet another hip, brilliant place brimming with veggie options. Then headed to The Grand, a cinema in west Kowloon, to see a film about Emily Dickinson with Cynthia Nixon that turned out to be pretty rubbish. But we recovered the evening back in our neighbourhood at Classified cafe where Roz had a cheeseboard, I had a sticky toffee pudding, and we mused on how fat I'll get when I live here...
To combat the expanding waistline, today was another hiking day. We walked through Hong Kong park (which I say looks like a miniature golf course) and then took a very fun, very steep funicular train (aka tram) up to Victoria Peak. As is often the case with our scenic expeditions, the view was obscured by dense white mist. Nevertheless, we set off on a hike on the Victoria Peak Loop, then merged onto the Morning Loop, and walked for a couple of hours amidst lush forest and sort-of harbour views and dogwalkers aplenty til we were spit out... At exactly the building that I'll be living in from the end of August! This was most exciting (well, til I realised it is perched at the top of a large, steep hill) and we pottered around Hong Kong University til we found the train back to Central. We then walked up many more steep hills to Soho and delicious grilled cheese sandwiches and halloumi in a charming cafe, before catching a bus home to rest our weary calf muscles.
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