People have different responses to Hong Kong. Some can’t have enough of the sharp, cheap suits made by Shanghainese tailors in the region. Others might get poetic about the pebble gardens in the parks or the Bauhinia Blakeana in bloom. And the night markets - you cannot visit Hong Kong and not go to one. But for cinephiles, Hong Kong brings to mind a long list of old horror films, featuring the city’s grey, skyscraper-filled landscape as a fitting background to deranged tales (Dr Lamb and Human Pork Chop).All the more reason why I thought my visit was well-timed, bang in the middle of the Halloween weekend. While the malls and theme parks went about the holiday in the accepted fashion - with mischievous M&Ms, skeletons, houses of horror and pretend torture chambers - it was on the streets in Lan Kwai Fong, the entertainment precinct in Central, and the MTR (Mass Transit Railway) stations, that the fun unfolded. Vampires, witches and zombies hung around in groups, school girls with blood splattered tights and eerie faces trawled the subways, proving that the city could get into character if required.Feeling right at homeYou don’t really need a guide to get around Hong Kong - Victoria Harbour is at the centre of the city, Central is the main business district, Wan Chai is where all the clubs and restaurants are, and in Causeway Bay you will find Japanese department and fashion stores. Throw in Kowloon and Tsim Sha Tsui for the hotels and more shopping, and Mong Kok, and you have yourself a busy week ahead. For the adventurous, there are theme parks, like Hong Kong Disneyland Resort on Lantau Island and Ocean Park, on the south side of Hong Kong island, with aquariums, roller coasters and pandas. Young families and romantic couples wouldn’t want to miss the long ride in glass-floored cable cars to Ngong Ping 360, also on Lantau Island, where you will find (drum roll) the largest seated Buddha in an outdoor setting. From what I noticed, these offerings are popular with local families with children, organised groups of Chinese tourists and, yes, Indians. Later in the week, over lunch, Alice Chu, PR for Hong Kong Tourism Board, confirms that tourists from India like ‘‘everything included in the package.’’ She is referring to how we like to squeeze in as much sightseeing as we can into our day, with designated stops for food and shopping. I try to convince her that the new age Indian traveller enjoys singular experiences, challenging hiking trails, visits to fishing villages and bespoke services.Step back in timeOne such experience is Tai O, a fishing village on Lantau Island that stubbornly clings to the past. With houses on stilts, and everything moving in slow motion, it gives you a perspective of what the city used to be like before it became a financial giant. Look out for little shops selling cured fish, especially blowfish that go into soups and other local dishes. The village has good, affordable seafood as well. It is a reminder that Hong Kong is a city of contrasts, of yin and yang. Even as you count the many Rolls Royces on the roads and reminders of a colonial past (the official handover by the British took place in 1997), don’t be surprised to find fortune tellers and an older culture lurking in street corners and below overhead passes. Another example, the skyscrapers. While the mirrored, razor-like structures are as imposing as anywhere else in the world, these buildings are governed by feng shui. The belief is that the surrounding environment affects human harmony. It explains certain anomalies like the ground level area under the towering HSBC bulding that allows pedestrians to pass - the opening yields good feng shui, apparently.Calm in the cityAnother unusual sight is the wooden Tangstyle Chi Lin Nunnery. An unscheduled stop on a previous visit, it afforded a few relaxing hours amidst lotus ponds, well-cared-for bonsai and silent nuns making offerings to Buddha. Only on looking up to see the looming skyscrapers did I recall that I was still in the city, in the Diamond Hill area.Banking on traditionA good way to pass an evening is to stop for late afternoon tea, a British tradition, at any of the star hotels in Hong Kong, like The Peninsula. Or the InterContinental Hotel. At the latter, make reservations for dinner at the incomparable Japanese restaurant, Nobu, by chef Nobu Matsuhisa. For something to brag about to friends back home, Alice Chu from the Tourism Board suggests snake soup at HK$38 a pop - visit a wet market, choose your snake, get it skinned and turned into broth. Local friends in the city insist they would eat anything with four legs and belly facing down, something both Chu and our guide confirm. Later, at the impossibly crowded but Michelin-recommended dimsum restaurant, Tim Ho Wan, in Mong Kok, chef Fai Keung Leung creates quivering shrimp dumplings (a basket of four for HK$22), soft brown sugar cake and BBQ pork buns. With the growing queue, it’s no wonder the place closes early, at 9.30 pm.No meat, pleaseThat said, for people who have dietary restrictions (as my companions on this trip, vegetarians), Hong Kong has tasty offerings, but requires some leg-work. For starters, the city’s idea of vegetarian is not yours and could include egg, pork fat and fish paste. But if you make yourself clear, you could find Indian-Lebanese restaurants or contemporary vegetarian restaurants like Aashirwad in Tsim Sha Tsui that offer butter ‘chicken’ made with soya. For those who want to eat local and stay vegetarian, there are decent Shanghainese-style restaurants that serve vegetarian noodles and mock duck - complete with a mock head!View from a busTechnically, anyone born after the 70s can read and write English, but expect to meet a lot of blank stares as you ask for directions. A good way to take in the sights and get your bearings, therefore, is to hop on to the Rickshaw Sightseeing Bus at Central. It comes by every half an hour and gives you a working knowledge of streets that bear the names of British royalty or governors. You will come across what used to be the sea and the waterfront - it is now a shopping strip, with Lamborghini, Toyota and Honda showrooms. Reclaimed in the 1900s, these places used to be barren, with 300 people at the most. You will pass by bustling streets in Old Wan Chai, where locals satisfy their furnishing and building needs. Or local jewellery shops, where display windows advertise the significance of jade - I’m told every baby gets a piece of the stone. And as you watch from your spot on the bus’ roof, and note that people are always on the move, you will also agree that the clean air initiatives in the city - which became smoke free in 2003 - are working.(The writer was in Hong Kong at the invitation of the Hong Kong Tourism Board)
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