Casual International Teacher Conference Day 2: Hong Kong

Monday, November 24th, 2025

8:12 AM

Eaton HK, Kowloon

Hong Kong feels a bit like Chinatown in New York City, especially during the day. With all the Chinese and the English writing, the major difference is that 90% of the people I see are Asian. This was especially true because of where I was walking, since I had to go through some non-touristy parts to get there.

The view from the elevator in my hotel. I'm on the 14th floor.

I think the comparison makes sense anyway. They are a similar size, on the east coast of their continents, right by the water, both with long histories of being important politically and economically.

Also, I gotta say, Hong Kong seems to love McDonald's. I passed by at least 6 McDonald's on my hour-long walk.

When I got to Kowloon Walled City Park (my destination), I decided to finally get something to eat. It was 3:15 PM at this point, and I was starving. I hadn't eaten since Beijing. I found a Thai restaurant that let me pay with card even though the sign said I needed to spend 700 Hong Kong dollars to do so (about $90 USD). The waitress spoke enough English for me to ask what had nuts, and she suggested this basil beef dish with fried eggs and rice that changed my life. She asked me how spicy, and I said normal, which actually ended up being the correct level! (She may have just agreed with me to soothe my ego and then told them no spice, I don't know.) Anyway, between that and a Thai Iced Coffee, it might have been the best meal of my life.

And I ate the whole thing, because I was hungry, and it was delicious, and it absolutely ruined my plans for dinner.

I walked to Kowloon Walled City Park, and I don't know what i was expecting, but it was a city park. Which is nice, but I am 16 time zones away from home, and this is not why I came to Hong Kong. So I looked up what landmarks were near me, and about 30 minutes farther from my hotel, I saw Nan Lian Garden. At this point, it is about 4 PM, and Nan Lian is open until 9 PM. Easy.

Kids playing at Kowloon Walled City Park.

Why would you choose KFC when that restaurant with the whole poultries is right next to it?

And, oh my god, it was beautiful. I was worried, at first, since I thought it was a small little park underneath a highway overpass, but that's just the entrance! Inside was a beautiful public city garden with bonsai trees and koi ponds, with a zen garden art installation and a monastery/nunnery (it had both titles, so I'm not sure!), and some incredible views of Kowloon. (I am technically not in Hong Kong right now, but Kowloon, right across the river, but Kowloon is pretty neat.)

Walking into Nan Lian made me a little nervous about how nice it would be.

But it was beautiful.

At some point, the sun sets, and I am sleepy and I want to get back to my hotel. Right around the corner from my hotel is the Temple Street Night Market, where I plan to grab dinner by eating various skewers. Like I said, I ruined my own plans with my late and large lunch, but I still wanted to see the market. However, at this point I'm tired. I've been traveling for days (literally, I just missed Saturday), and I'd already racked up I think 19,000 steps at this point, so I decided to take the subway. 

It wasn't until I got on the train that I did the math. Lunch ran me about 146 HK dollars, which is just about $20 USD. The one-way ticket I got at the subway was 10.50 HK dollars, which is less than $2 (laughable, especially compared to New York or London). The airport Uber was a normal city amount, about $40, but even that feels not super crazy when compared to other metropolitan areas, and it was about a 40 minute drive. It takes us 25 minutes to get home from the airport in San Diego, and that thing will run us $50. It cost me $40 to get to LAX from Eamon's house, and that was only 15 minutes. Besides, Uber is an American company, not local.

All this to say... is Hong Kong a major city that is also affordable? Did the cost of living crisis just skip over this part of the world?

I rested for about an hour before forcing myself out of my room to go to the Temple Street Night Market. It was tempting to stay in, even though it was only 6 PM. I was not at all hungry, and I was tired, but I was also in Hong Kong for only 2 nights, so I wanted to explore. And god, I'm really glad I did. A good city really comes alive at night, and Hong Kong is no exception. Of course it does -- it's famous for the night markets, after all. And while I typically hate a crowd, I love a night market. The last time I went to one was in Chiang Mai, and while this feels a bit more touristy, the vibes are similar.

Food was this way.

Goods were this way. The guy playing guitar was Russian, according to his little sign.

In fact, it's definitely more touristy, because suddenly I was not the only white person walking around. I heard a ton of English. My first step was to get another coffee drink, even though it was late. I was tired enough that I figured the caffeine would keep me going just long enough to enjoy the market (and I was right). The food was skewers of seafood and duck and pork and chicken and beef, and rice balls, and dumplings, and Indian and Thai food, and a Turkish/Mediterranean stall, and some desserts, and fruity drinks. The rest of the market was knick knacks, souvenirs, t-shirts ("Bruce Lee is my homeboy" was a standout graphic tee), and I ended up getting some small steamed pork dumplings at the end of my sojourn.

Small steamed pork dumplings.

To cap off the night, I visited the hotel bar Terrible Baby, which was a great vibe, a rooftop on the 4th floor with a view of Kowloon. While I don't usually indulge in this vice, upon seeing a hookah, I decided that smoking shisha in Hong Kong on a rooftop sounded like an incredible way to end my first day here. 

I sipped on chamomile tea, looked out at the night sky, and realized -- this was very cool, I really like Hong Kong, I do enjoy traveling by myself (I do what I want to do, on my own schedule, etc etc) --

-- and, oh god, I miss my husband.