Not only does the HK government not object to you reading pernicious and seditious websites such as, well, this one, it actively encourages it by providing free wifi in and around government buildings, parks etc. Good on them.
I hadn't realised that HK is built on mountainous islands - you get a great view of these as you travel in from the airport, and you can admire how many tall buildings dot the steep green hills. The two main islands are Hong Kong, with the main financial centres etc, and Kowloon, which is more Chinese - but that's a very broad brush, and both are full of the same shops, malls, cinemas etc. It has the large buildings of a modern (but not quite brand new) city, with the gaps filled by what you might think of as older, scruffier Asian buildings.
Four things the guidebooks recommend are to ride one of the old (slow but very cheap) trams the length of HK Island to see the neighbourhoods change from Asian to business and back; to take a steep funicular up to the Peak on top of HKI; to ride the (very frequent and cheap) Star Ferry between HKI and Kowloon; and to see the lightshow involving c40 buildings on both sides of the water every evening at 8. All of these were a bit disappointing (although the nighttime cityscape for the lightshow is very impressive, above), and some of the views would have been better if not for mist and pollution. But the views on the way in are great; and we took a bus to Stanley Market on the quiet south side of HKI - that bus winds around much of the Peak and in a rare outbreak of sunshine we got great views of mountains, beach and sea.
HK isn't much of a sightseeing place - there are a few temples and gardens around which are quite nice but we've been a bit spoiled for this sort of thing lately... It is, as Lilly noted, a city well-equipped for shopping, cinema-going etc. (NB Avatar is one of the worst films I've seen in years.) It is an enjoyable, if not cheap, spot to spend a few days. It was also nice to catch up with my mate Faith (Joe's brother) who has been living here for a few years and was good enough to show us a fun spot for drinks and dinner, as well as recommending our hotel - which, probably of interest only to my Dad, is the BP [Baden Powell] International and sits on top of several floors of HK scouting activity.
After a few days here I feel well prepared for a new continent... Goodbye Asia, thanks for everything.
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