Hong Kong was a “Want to go to Hong Kong for the weekend?” trip. Roy and I were living in Saigon and decided to go to Hong Kong for Chinese New Year which also happened to coincide with Valentine’s Day. The flight is only 2 hours from Saigon and so I said sure! Why not?! Hong Kong is a clash of cultures and a cacophony of light, sound, smells like no other. It feels more crowded than New York City because of the concentration of people, particularly on the Kowloon peninsula, so it definitely has that “hustle and bustle” vibe! Because we were there during Chinese New Year, there were street performers, open air markets everywhere and even dragon dancers at the airport putting on a show. It's a very easy city to navigate. I’ve lived in NYC for many years and the Hong Kong subway system at rush hour can make your head spin, however, it is cleaner, more organized, more modern, and not outrageously priced for a major metro area. You can also get around by taxi, tram, ferry, and even illegal Uber if you're so inclined. Here are some of my favorite things to do in this great city. Let's go!

Eat your way through Hong Kong - we did. From fried octopus to custard tarts to noodles, noodles, noodles, great food is everywhere, inexpensive, and delicious! Sample some street food, visit a noodle shop, and be sure try some great dim sum.

And check out this guy! It's so busy in the noodle shop, he's assembling dumplings at a table on the sidewalk!

If you take the tram to Victoria Peak (and I highly recommend that you do) be sure to arrive early. We arrived at opening and waited about 20 minutes. By the time we descended, the wait was more than 2 hours with the line snaking around and around and those just arriving being corraled on the other side of the road to wait their turn. Having said that, the view is definitely worth the trip! There is a welcome center at the top called “The Peak” where you can eat in one of several establishments and enjoy the spectacular views. However, beware the squatty potty! (That’s what I call a hole in the floor. I was unprepared for this in such a modern facility!) This was surprising as every other bathroom I had used in Hong Kong was a western style toilet. Just be prepared. There is also a lovely hiking trail of easy ability so you can get in a bit of exercize after you enjoy that view!

One activity I would highly recommend in Hong Kong is to get on a city tram, or the "ding ding" as locals call it, and ride to the end of the line. We did exactly that to get away from the more touristy areas and I’m so glad we did! We found a delicious noodle shop with just locals standing in line to be served. The menu was entirely in Chinese characters with no translation but the locals we shared a table with immediately offered assistance to help us navigate the menu. As a result, we had a delicious and filling lunch that fortified us for our walk along the harbor as well as an opportunity to make friends with some locals. A 20 minute trip on the ding ding got us back to the center of all the activity in a hurry.

Don’t miss a ride on Victoria Harbor. We took the local ferry and paid about 2 USD each for our ride from one side to the other. The ferry ride provides spectacular views of the harbor and gets you easily from one side to the other in 10 to 15 minutes.

Also make sure to see the light show, A Symphony of Light, in the harbor every night at 8PM. The lasers shooting into the sky from the top of the buildings and the flashing patterns of lights make for a fun evening — bring snacks! It will be crowded! Great vantage points are to be had all along the waterfront. We stood on the promenade in front of the Peninsula Hotel in Tsim Sha Tsui district.

Take a stroll through the night markets. If you want to do some shopping, Temple Street night market and the Ladies night market are well known for the variety of goods for sale and snacks are never far away.

It was a fun, fast, and furious 2 1/2 days in Hong Kong. We barely scratched the surface of all there is to see and do. Hopefully, one day I will get back to Hong Kong for another, more in depth look and another ride on the ding ding!