Most people think of Hong Kong as, primarily, an exotic shopping destination. In the past decade, however, Hong Kong has revved up its sightseeing potential, opening new city parks and attractions and revamping older ones, expanding museums or developing new ones, and redesigning organized sightseeing tours to reflect the territory's changing demographics. On the other hand, if all you want to do is hike or lie on the beach, you can do that, too.
If you really want to do Hong Kong justice, plan on staying at least a week. However, since the city is so compact and its transportation is so efficient, you can see quite a bit of the city and its outlying islands in 3 to 5 days, especially if you're on the go from dawn until past dusk. To get the most out of your time, it makes sense to divide the city into sections when planning your sightseeing.
Temple Street Night Market -- The Temple Street Night Market is named after the street on which it's located. This market, with some stalls open from 4pm but busiest from 7 to 10pm, is an entertaining place to spend an evening, with its countless stalls that sell clothing, watches, lighters, imitation designer handbags, sunglasses, sweaters, Chinese souvenirs, cassettes, and more. The name of the game is bargaining. There are also seafood stalls, where you can eat inexpensive meals of clams, shrimp, mussels, and crab. Be sure to follow Temple Street to its northern end past the overpass and around the carpark; in the vicinity of the Tin Hau Temple, you'll find palm readers, musicians, and street singers (who favor Cantonese operas and pop songs). Several of the palm readers speak English.
The market is famous for its dai pai dong (Cantonese for "big rows of food stalls") that specialize in seafood. Fifty years ago, dai pai dong is where most Hong Kong families dined on an evening out, and they were found almost everywhere. Now the government has moved most food stalls into covered markets. The dai pai dong at this market are among the few remaining that retain their original ambience. You'll find several under one roof at the Temple Street Food Store at the intersection of Temple Street and Public Square Street, where you can dine inexpensively on clams, shrimp, mussels, and crab, sitting at simple tables in the middle of the action.
