We stayed last week in the Causeway Bay District of Hong Kong, in a very well designed, but small flat (I’ve posted separately on the flat itself) which if you’re looking for a live like a local sort of experience would be a good location for you to choose. There are numerous hotels in the area (The Excelsior was the our first place of residence when we moved to HK forty years ago – we lived there for three weeks (I seem to remember) before we found a flat to live in. It doesn’t feel like it’s changed that dramatically. Of course it has a new wealth of high quality shops in the Lee Gardens area, but the general buzzy late night local feel isn’t any different.
Causeway Bay Hong Kong is one of Hong Kong’s prime shopping destinations; a rabbit warren of streets stuffed with markets and family owned shops – renowned for it’s independent and typically styled fashion boutiques – hence it’s got a particularly authentic local feel about it. It differs from other areas of HK (mainly Central) by the majority of the shops being on the street rather than in shopping malls. Although it is astonishing that they can still afford the rent in the shopping areas, because it is ranked as the second hightest in the world after New York’s fifth avenue and nearly double the third place of Tokyo’s Ginza.
You get the real feel of old Hong Kong (this was the view from our third floor flat):-
Mixed with the new:-
There is also a massive Japanese department store called SOGO that has been there even since my day sitting amongst a lot of new far more high end shops including the likes of Ralph Lauren, Cartier and Chanel. Hysan Place contains the second Apple store in HK. The crowds are phenomenal, even late at night shops open quite often until midnight – it’s a popular spot for young people – hence, I assume one of the occupation spots is currently here (see separate post about that).
For years Jardine Matheson has fired a cannon shot at noon every day in Causeway Bay, by Victoria Harour. The gunshots have served as time signals for many generations now and the tradition still continues today. This is the ‘Noonday Gun’ mentioned in the Noel Coward song ‘Mad Dogs and Englishmen’
Nearby attractions include:-
Times Square shopping mall – 230 world renowned brands on 16 floorsSOGO One stop Japanese shop
Lee Gardens – tree lined road full of top international designer shops
Jardine’s Cresent (Ladies Market): Great shopping area – long packed roadside market great for inexpensive clothing, accessories and domestic goods.
Victoria Park
Opened in 1957 and covers over 19 hectares. The largest park in HK island – open space and green scenery including tennis courts, bowling greens, and so on
Public transport
HK’s underground train network – the MTR is second to none and by far the quickest way to get around the city (especially at the moment with all the blockades). Get an Octopus card which is an electronic currency that uses the stored value format – like the UK Oyster card. Most public transport accepts it and it’s very easy to use and much quicker than buying a ticket every time.
