I’ve visited Hong Kong and Kowloon quite a few times over the years but I still get a thrill at every opportunity to go there and if someone came and went Jerry Maguire on me I’d be the first to pack up and welcome my new home. In this particular instance I was travelling over for a creative pitch presentation and extended my stay over the weekend.

When I think of Hong Kong … I generally imagine Singapore but bigger, faster, sexier and grittier … so basically, nothing alike. The other word that comes to mind is ‘density’ … Hong Kong manages to squeeze more into small spaces than anywhere else bar Japan. When you can’t build sideways, you go up and down. Half the city is underground, hidden in laneways you’ll never find behind doors you’ll never unlock unless you’ve got a local showing you around. Even the excellent Hong Kong MTR system offers you a chance to get squished against strangers and accidently grope that weird sweaty guy who winks back while you pray the doors open quickly. Lucky then the system is so efficient.

I stayed at The Courtyard by Marriot (nice, recommended) and The Mira hotel in Kowloon, which was very stylish and in a great location for shopping and wandering around in circles which immediately identify you as a tourist. I was dreaming of W Hotel but I’ll have to save that for next time, otherwise The Mira is highly recommended. Across the road was Kowloon Park, a lovely way to spend the afternoon practicing my Chai Tea (wait is that right?) and taking photos of birds, leaves, water and other stuff that is meant to be calming but mostly just makes you long for a nightclub.

Staying at The Mira in Kowloon offered a real highlight … next door is The One shopping mall which has a fantastic evening view of the whole city. Prepare yourself for dinner or drinks on the high floors (20+), the view from Cocky Bar and Miyabi Japanese Restaurant outside is spectacular. The dazzle of the neon lights at nights mean you’ll literally see the rain come across the bay and hit you in the face before you realise you should have stepped inside.

My former colleague and talented creative Eric Goh also took some time to show me around some of the numerous dinner places before shouting a few bottles of french red wine at the exclusive and hard-to-find Speakeasy 001 bar, LG/F, Wellington Street. He also recommended shopping at Citygate Outlets if you’re looking for brand name bargains and don’t want to go street level into the markets for the copies.

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