Central District, Hong Kong

"Cacilhas" is an harbour in Tejo river, facing Lisbon.

For those who knew Lisbon before the construction of the first bridge, Cacilhas was… the other side of the world, a world of hard work, hard conditions, but the charm of the adventurous crossing in a “Cacilheiro”, the generic name given to the boats and ferries used as the only solution available to cross.

The bridge reduced the importance and use of the “Cacilheiros”, but they keep on working, and going to Cacilhas to drink a “Ginginha” is a tradition known by many Lisbon inhabitants.

Now you may understand (and allow) my discreet smile when I saw a “Cacilheiro” in Hong Kong.

Signs of the connection to Macao, of course, but… what about a Ginginha?

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Hong Kong is well known for its glitzy shopping and even if it's not always the case, visitors will still visit Men's or Women's Street.

But there is still life in Li Yuen Street West. Clothing, shoes and even children's ware can be bought at a snip, but the tricky bit is that you'll need to bargain and with stall holders knowing that you are a foreigner, it will be a battle of who can hold on the longest wins. i.e. If I suggest a price and the shop owner feels it not a good price, you can either further negotiate, or totally give up on purchasing the goods. No hard feelings!

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It is not exactly a place that most people associate with tourism, but if you wind up in Causeway bay, you may want to spend a few minutes to stop by HK central library. It is pretty impressive in design - I would not say it is a library if there was no sign on the front.

Here I quote the introduction on my map: "The world's longest network of escalators snakes its way up from Central,through SOHO,and into the mid-levels residential area which is popular among Hongkong's expatriate community".

The escalator consists of many sections. There're lots of unique bars and restaurants along the way. While going upward you can enjoy viewing local lifestyle and street scenes along the hill. On the midway, there's a mosque on the left side.

At the start of the escalator there's a machine. Screen your Octopus card on it. You'll pay HK$2 less if you take the metro on the same day. Unfortunately I forgot to take a picture of the machine.

Okay
This isn't very secret its obvious actually just go to the top of the peak and at the right hand corner near the bend in the road theres a great walk straight down to the mid-levels
Takes about an hour nice views of HK Island and Kowloon Side.

This escalator is not found in a popular part of Hong Kong and therefore remains quite undiscovered. But it allows you to see a lot of the back streets in Hong Kong and can truly make you appreciate what you have, as some of these areas do not have a high standard of living. This 'path' is actually used by the locals as a mean of getting up a steep hill, but it does give you time to rest your legs whilst still exploring the hidden part!! But dont be surprised at where the escalator finishes, as it is quite random!! From the end you can easily find public transport and commute your way back to more conventional attractions!!

Duddell Street is a very short road connecting Queen's Rd Central and Ice House St. But the stone steps and 4 gas lamps on the end of the road have already over 100 years' history and the lamps still work well. It's said in many movies there're scenes shot here. Pay a visit if you drop off at MTR Central Station.

The Central-Mid-Levels Escalator and Walkway System is the longest escalator in the world!! It is 800 m long and ascends 135 m from Central to Conduit Road, Mid-Levels. It serves 34000 users daily. We had a lot of fun using it!

And afterwards take a ride on one of the old trams of Hongkong - we had two hours of fabulous sightseeing for almost nothing!!!