It's our first day in Hong Kong and as Americans, we are experiencing our first East Asia country and city and forming our true first impressions of Hong Kong. We arrived early in the morning ready to explore but Hong Kong really surprised us. It's such a huge, impressive, and fast city and our culture shock was so real. So much was happening, with so many people all busily moving it was really hard for our shocked American Midwestern brains to comprehend!
How We Got Free Hong Kong Plane Tickets:
Let's start this description out with basically the whole reason why we went to Hong Kong.. we were able to get free Hong Kong Airlines tickets. Now when I say "Free" I should clarify, that although the base fare of the ticket was "free" this does not include the taxes and fees, which actually end up being more expensive than the base fare anyway. So to say these tickets are free is a bit of a stretch, but hey, if the airline can claim it's free so can I for my video title! In total our free tickets cost about $80 each, which really isn't too bad either. The Hong Kong Board of Tourism is doing a bunch of special offers to try to get more tourists into the city. When I found this out, I searched how to get free tickets and we were lucky enough to snag two of about 100,000 tickets they were giving away for this promotion. I doubt there are any left, but you can try to search for it on Google and see. We ended up getting about $50 off tickets to Hong Kong because of the promotion.
How to get to Hong Kong from the Hong Kong Airport:
After an early flight, we arrived at the Hong Kong airport which is located on an island off the coast of the actual city. To get to downtown Hong Kong from the Airport, the easiest way is to take the Express Train which will bring you directly from the airport to downtown Hong Kong. It will make a few stops on the way to different popular spots and finally end in the business district of the city at Hong Kong Station. From there you can connect to pretty much any other place in the city.
Americans First Impressions of Hong Kong;
When we got off the Express Train, we were instantly thrown into what we suspected was the business area of Hong Kong. Massive glass skyscrapers as far as the eye can see, tons of business people walking around in suits, and just so many dang people/cars everywhere. We were amazed, overwhelmed, and overall just having a great time trying to figure out this busy city. We stopped at the best place for breakfast in the whole city, McDonald's (Sarcasm but it was good) and figured out exactly where we wanted to go. We walked through the streets for about a mile. Through the business of the famous area Central and up to the Hong Kong Botanical Garden which was another unexpected surprise. It was probably the best Botanical Garden we've been to in Asia so far. There were abundant walking trails, beautiful views, and most importantly a full fledge free fracking zoo. It also had free wifi like many other places in the city. From there we walked to Hong Kong Park and once again were thoroughly impressed with what a free park had to offer. It was a beautiful park with manmade waterfalls, more animals, sculptures, and a spiral tower with one of the best views of the city you can get.
From there, we headed into a VERY fancy mall and did what we love to do... check the grocery store for unique snacks in food. Let me just say, this grocery store was something else. So many items from all over the world, the fruits were for some reason MASSIVE, and the place was just filled with fresh food stalls and bakeries. So we walked around that area for a bit, got a pastry, and went down to the bay across the street. Now we were on the South Island of Hong Kong and I would argue that the view from the other side is better, but, it's still a magnificent view either way. It was shocking just how steep and massive the mountains are all around the city.
Finally, around 4 PM we started heading to our hotel in the most populated area of Hong Kong, Mong Kok. Let me just tell you, the vibe of this area was totally different. The number of tourists increase as did the number of people (and we thought I was busy before). We stayed at the Metropark Kowloon for about $100. It wasn't cheap but nothing decent in Hong Kong was. The hotel room was pretty nice and the water pressure was killer. We would have gone out in Mong Kok to eat delicious Hong Kong dinner but unfortunately, I came down with some pretty rough stomach issues that would haunt me for the next 2 days. Don't eat McDonald's guys, no matter how much better it is in Hong Kong!
#HongKong #FirstImpressions #TravelVlog #MongKok #Kowloon #Travel

Chapters:
0:00 Arriving in Hong Kong: Airport Express Train
3:40 Central Hong Kong
10:46 HK Botanical Garden is Awesome
22:55 Checking Out HK Park
27:25 The Best View of Hong Kong
36:56 Super Fancy Mall & HK Bay View
43:23 Mong Kok & Hotel Tour