Hong Kong : The Art of Non-Conformity

Travel

Sleeping in Hong Kong on My 100th Visit

I’m not actually sure I’ve been to Hong Kong 100 times, but that’s probably a close guess. HKG is my most frequently visited international airport, and more often than not I’ve stayed over for at least a day or two.

People say you can’t learn about a city in a short period of time. But what if you stay in a city for a short period of time over and over and over? In all of the visits, I’ve stayed in just about every possible range of accommodation.

On my very first visit, when I first made the decision to travel to every country in the world, I stayed at the Star Guest House. Fun place! As I recall, it cost about $30 a night. I arrived late at night but was—per usual—wide awake due to flying from Seattle via Seoul.

I took the airport bus and walked onto Cameron Road in wide-eyed wonder. Here I was! Hong Kong!

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Life

What Does It Mean to Be Rich?

When you’re a kid, you don’t have much concept of what true wealth is—so you tend to relate it to experiences, or at least I did. In my case, I understood wealth in the context of fast-food restaurants. I used to eat at my favorite restaurants, McDonald’s and Burger King, as often as I could.

I’m writing from the W Hong Kong, where I just arrived after beginning my latest Round-the-World trip. The W here has one of the best hotel breakfast buffets in all of Asia, which for all practical purposes means all of the world.

My breakfast is comped, thanks to my elite status with Starwood. As best I can tell, it costs approximately 10x what a meal at McDonald’s would. But if it wasn’t comped, I’d gladly pay. It’s so good! And I’m having so much fun waking up early, drinking unlimited macchiatos, and thinking about the world.

The lesson? Well, I’m jet-lagged, so you might have to wade through the muddle. But aside from not eating fast food, I think the lesson is to figure out what makes you feel rich—and it’s best if such a thing is somewhat obtainable.

Travel

Learn to Walk on Water During Your Next Trip to Hong Kong

This is a reader story. (Read others or tell us yours.) I read a long comment by Elena Kim in the 2014 Travel Roundup, and decided it deserves a post of its own. Here’s Elena: — This year I learned I could walk on water. I was in Hong Kong on my first overseas trip…

Life

Framing Decisions in the Context of Future Regret

The “Will I regret it in the future?” mindset can be very helpful in making decisions. From a New York Times article on protests in Hong Kong: “I’m not sure if this protest will really affect the decision by China, but I’m sure if I don’t come I will regret it in the future,” said…

Travel

Walking in Hong Kong

Hong Kong has been one of my favorite global cities for nearly a decade now. This short film focuses mostly on the city’s architecture, which has always been impressive and continues to develop as more people settle from mainland China and elsewhere. The last time I was there, I’d recently seen a series of…

Travel

The Wing by Cathay Pacific at Hong Kong International Airport

I love airline lounges and regularly spend four or more hours at a time working from them. This series explores some of my favorites from around the world. I travel through Hong Kong at least six times a year. Most of the time I’m flying on OneWorld, and I always look forward to a visit…

Travel

On the Road Again: Next Stop, Berlin (Eventually)

I’m heading out to Europe and taking a small side trip to get there. The first part of my itinerary is:

PDX-LAX-NRT-HKG-JNB-DOH-TXL

On the outbound I’ll be finishing up a Round-the-World itinerary I began in Johannesburg earlier this year—and then I’ll be beginning another one from there.

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Travel

How to Travel Alone

Last month in Hong Kong, I went to the New Territories, a part of the region I'd never visited before. It was only half an hour from bustling Kowloon, but it felt like a totally different part of the world.

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Travel

Do You Ever Get Lonely When You Travel?

Last month in Hong Kong, I went to the New Territories, a part of the city I'd never visited before. It was only half an hour from bustling Kowloon, but it felt like a totally different region.

On the eve of my departure, before I'd fly to Tokyo and then to Los Angeles, I was feeling anxious.

I went for an hour-long run, my longest in a while. I set out just as the sun was setting and ran along the water, looking at the Kowloon skyline across the narrow harbor.

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Travel

Jet Lag Is My Favorite Drug: And Other Notes from Hong Kong

On my first day in Asia last month, I took a long walk to reorient myself to a place I knew well through countless jet-lagged visits over the past five years. In Hong Kong, you can wander freely. You can eat milk tarts. You can be a Westerner and not feel completely adrift in unfamiliarity, something that isn't always possible in mainland China. If you're like me, you can buy a can of iced coffee at 7-11 in the mornings and a can of beer in the evenings.