HONG KONG & MACAU
Hong Kong & Macau - Luxury Travel Magazine
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A Pearl of a Place | |||||
| By: Jenny Caspersonn, Issue 36 – Summer 2008 | |||||
| (Hong Kong & Macau, China) | |||||
| HONG KONG AND MACAU PROVIDE PLENTY OF LUSTROUS REASONS – SMALL AND LARGE – TO VISIT. | |||||
| Just five minutes…you wait please” said the woman as she began deftly knotting each pearl. We’d struck a deal and she was not letting me escape. Global financial markets might have been collapsing all around us but the pearl woman and I were market forces – supply and demand – in the truest sense. Her dexterity notwithstanding, with a quick estimate of time per knot by number of pearls, I calculated I’d be waiting longer than five minutes amid the stalactites of pearls and jade dangling here in Hong Kong’s Jade Market. Sufficient time, then, to ponder colourful, crowded, capitalist Hong Kong. From a19th century opium port Hong Kong has grown into a leading international nucleus with one of the highest concentrations of corporate headquarters in the Asia Pacific region. Always known as a commercial centre, many of Hong Kong’s 23 million annual visitors come to test its reputation as a legendary shopping destination. But to consider Hong Kong on just this level is to sell it way short. Its landscape, culture and energy offer so much more than a fancy shopping expedition. Spread over 1,100 square kilometers Hong Kong is located on the southeastern coast of China. It comprises Hong Kong Island and adjacent islets, Kowloon Peninsula and the New Territories which abound mainland China to the north. Hong Kong Island is located south of Kowloon, separated by Victoria Harbour. Britain claimed the collection of fishing villages in 1841 and leased Hong Kong from China in 1898 for 99 years. In 1997 Hong Kong reverted to China and is today an autonomous Special Administrative Region of mainland China. More than 70 per cent of Hong Kong’s total area is rural and almost half is designated as protected parkland yet, with a population of almost 7 million people, Hong Kong has one of the world’s highest population densities. It’s this density that makes the visual impact of Hong Kong so spectacular. Endless towering high-rises cluster around the A Victoria Harbour harbourfront and cling impossibly to hillsides. The sight by day is astonishing; by night simply magic. It’s a challenge to find a dayfree from haze, but the tram ride to Victoria Peak for a 360 degree panorama is a must-do for any Hong Kong firsttimer and in the evening catch the Aqua Luna junk harbour cruise to witness the mesmerizing Australian-designed laser light show illuminate the skyline. The clichés all apply: old v new; East meets West. While about 97 per cent of the people of Hong Kong are Chinese, predominantly Cantonese, the British influence is still very evident. Hong Kong boasts a dynamic dining culture. Restaurants like Water Margin with its spicy Northern Chinese cuisine and lychee wine, and the buzzy Sevva’s sprawling terrace vistas compete in an ever-changing restaurant scene. The sultry OVOlogue in Wanchai, featuring dining-cum gallery displays set in the gorgeous 120 year old former pawn shop, along with ‘demon chef’ Alvin Leung’s eatery Bo Innovation, are two more exciting culinary newcomers. In Soho antique dealers sit comfortably alongside the newest designers. The Chinese essential elements of metal, water, earth, wood and fire are the inspiration for Elements, a new upscale shopping development on West Kowloon. Yet the classic open markets, like Stanley Market on south Hong Kong Island, still provide tourists with the charm and challenge of the bartering bazaar. The wet markets exhibit their wares in fascinating displays from the interesting animal anatomy of traditional Chinese medicine ingredients to meat, poultry, live seafood and frogs. From June to September crowds of enthusiastic locals and interested tourists flock to the Happy Valley race course. The Happy Valley track is an unlikely oasis of green overlooked by soaring apartment towers. Minimum wager is HK$10 and all profits are re-invested into the community by the Hong Kong Jockey Club. In 2007/2008 the Club’s contribution in terms of taxes, duties, charitable donations and other payments exceeded HK$15 billion. The classic grandeur of the Peninsula Hotel competes with glamorous newcomers like W Hong Kong. From the oversized horse sculpture made of recycled stereo speakers on entry level, to the stunning roof top pool area 76 floors up, W challenges hotel stereotypes with style and an endearing sense of the ridiculous. The vibrant colours of the massive pixelated screen behind the beaming welcome agents (don’t call them reception staff) is a hint of the contemporary intentions of W’s designers. No sterile lobby here: check-in is a 6th floor lounge area called the Living Room that by night morphs into a club bar complete with DJ. Housemaids are ‘room stylists’ and room categories range from “Wonderful”, through “Cool Corner Room” to “Extreme Wow” for the top suite. Thoughtful design has ensured the hotel’s fun features and edgy look don’t compromise comfort and amenities. In the rooms technical touches – like iPod docking stations, bath-tub LCD screens touch pad lighting and sophisticated sound systems – accompany grand views, quality furnishings, rainforest showers and even splendid coffee. Fire restaurant’s red banquettes beckoned and the meal did not disappoint. Similarly Kitchen for casual and breakfast dining has special touches like a bespoke ‘teppanyaki’ muesli where guests select their own ingredients and a large kitchen table for those travelling alone not wishing to dine alone. The spellbinding view from the gym make working out almost a joy and W’s Bliss Spa could not be better named. Twenty minutes and one hundred pearls later I prepared to farewell the pearl woman. “Ah not yet” she said “now for the bracelet…”. Macau’s design and ostentation add to the fun and flavour... From Hong Kong it’s just an efficient hour-long ferry ride to the former Portuguese colony of Macau. After Hong Kong’s bright lights, Macau dazzles on a whole new level. Macau consists of Macau Peninsula and two outlying islands, namely Taipa and Coloane. Like Hong Kong, Macau was originally a fishing village. Handed back to China by Portugal in 1999, Macau is now deemed a Special Administrative Region. The introduction of new casino licenses in 2002 saw an explosion in casino development in Macau, now said to take in more money than Atlantic City and the Las Vegas strip combined. The result today is a curious juxtaposition of colonial Portuguese heritage and gleaming gambling palaces. Fortunately the Historic Centre of Macau was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2005. Restraint is not a word generally associated with casino architecture. Their flamboyant design and preposterous ostentation just adds to the fun and flavour of the place. The arched plumes of the dazzling Grand Lisboa tower appear to defy physics as it dominates the Macau skyline and The Venetian’s canals and colonnades are a riotous opulence. The MGM Grand Hotel by comparison looks almost demure although the jade and coral inlay foyer and lapis lazuli elevator floor seem a little excessive. The mood is lavish and over-indulgent – just right for encouraging extravagant spending at the tables. | |||||
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| W Hong Kong | |||||
MGM Grand Macau | |||||
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