Hong Kong has always been one of the popular shopping heavens for tourists from all over the world. You will always find discounts, great bargains, promotions and almost anything that your heart desires. One thing that I also like about Hong Kong is that it is so easy to go from one place to another. You can hail a taxi cab, take a tram, travel by MRT, catch a bus, ride the escalators or simply WALK!

I always look forward to walking in Hong Kong. I get to enjoy every single detail – feast my eyes on the brightly colored merchandise, savor the smell of food that is being cooked from a nearly street stall, and enjoy the feel of wind on my face. For me, the best time to walk in Hong Kong is at night the streets are transformed to one big galaxy of lights.

Hong Kong is known for its neon lights most especially the ones that you get to see in and around Nathan Road. These neon signs are hard to miss even during the day. But they are just much more impressive and more noticeable at night when they come alive. These huge neon signs, that are both in Chinese and English, characterize Hong Kong so much that a lot of tourists take souvenir pictures along this road with the neon signs as background.

Depending on which of the numerous hotels in Hong Kong you are staying in, you can easily reach Nathan Road which is one o f the major streets in Kowloon and stretches from Tsim Sha Tsui to Mong Kok. It is lined with some of the best restaurants, luxurious hotels, tailors, money changers, boutiques and stores that sell jewelry, electronics, camera equipment, souvenirs, etc. This street is packed with people 24/7 and one of the busiest streets in Hong Kong.

The following are just some of the landmarks that you’ll get to see during your walk along Nathan Road:

KOWLOON PARK – The park, which is located in the heart of Tsim Sha Tsui in Kowloon, was officially opened to the public back in 1970. You can easily get there by taking a short walk from a nearby MTR or bus station. It is a huge park (with a total area of around 13 hectares) where you can take part in a number of recreational facilities like playgrounds, gardens, an aviary, a swimming pool, etc. You will also find conservation centers here like the Hong Kong Heritage Discovery Centre and the Health Education Exhibition and Resources Centre. It is open as early as 5am and close very late at 12 midnight.

KOWLOON MASJID AND ISLAMIC CENTRE OR KOWLOON MOSQUE AND ISLAMIC CENTRE – Another prominent landmark that is located at the corner of Nathan Road and Haiphong Road — right beside Kowloon Park. It can accommodate up to 2000 people at a time and is the biggest Islamic House in the city.

ST. ANDREW’S CHURCH – This place of workship is located at 138 Nathan Road, Kowloon. It is the oldest Protestant church in Kowloon. Services in this church are available during Sundays and can be in both English or Putonghua depending on the schedule.

CHUNGKING MANSIONS – It is located at 36-44 Nathan Road in Tsim Sha Tsui and is considered to be the place where you’ll find the most inexpensive accommodation in Hong Kong. How inexpensive? Well, a single bed would only cost you less than US$ 10 a night! I suggest that you check their rooms first before you decide to stay here as reviews are not that good. Aside from guesthouses, the Chungking Mansions also house restaurants, retail shops and a lot of money changers. I personally prefer to change my money here as rates are pretty good compared to other foreign exchange offices. A lot of ethnic minorities in Hong Kong gather here like Indians, Pakistanis, Middle Eastern People, etc.

SINO CENTRE – The Sino Centre is located at 582 – 592 Nathan Road, Mongkok in Kowloon. It is known to be the shopping mall that carries the hippest and the trendiest merchandise that young people go for. Merchandise that are sold here include compact discs, watches, cutesy novelty items, comic books, Japanese magazines, etc.

PENINSULA HOTEL HONG KONG – The Peninsula Hotel, which opened its doors in 1928, is strategically located at the junctions of Salibury Road and Nathan Road in Tsim Sha Tsui. A number of prominent people like celebrities, government officials, etc have stayed here as they say that no hotel in Hong Kong comes close to the Peninsula Hotel because of its luxury and exceptional service.

These are only some of the interesting sights that you’ll see during your walk. The rest, I would have to leave to you to discover. No need to worry that you’ll lose your way in the middle of swarms of people that you will see or in the maze of side streets that you’ll be exploring. You only have to look up and search for the giant billboards with blazing neon lights and for sure you will find your way back to Nathan Road.

Posted in Hong Kong, Things to do

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