Aberdeen, Hong Kong

Aberdeen was one of Hong Kong's most popular tourist attractions because thousands of Hong Kong's boat people lived on junks and sampans, following a tradition that preceded the arrival of the British in Hong Kong…

This is actually a restaurant, but I've heard the food is not really worth the price. Anyway, I didn't eat here, but it is a famous restaurant on the other side of the island. Maybe take a picture like I did. ;)

Hire a boat ride around the Aberdeen Harbour. If you are going to the Jumbo Floating Restaurant (quite expensive but a nice experience for a one time thing), hire a boat to get there and take the free shuttle back.
We paid $60 HK for three of us to get on the sampan with a nice old woman. She wanted $150 HK originally but my friends bargained it down. She was a cute old lady and took us around areas the shuttle boat wont go. Very romantic and interesting!

A tour in the Aberdeen harbour is interesting. People live and work on these boats. It is realy a small village in itself. There is also a huge restaurant called the Jumbo Foating restaurant that look like a palace or temple, very ornate in the chinese style. I did not go in the restaurant because it felt a bit too touristy.

Hong Kong Island is the glitzy big brother of Kowloon - a tightly packed, towering paean to market capitalism that hasn't been dented one jot by Chinese rule. The bustle of people living and working is the biggest attraction on the island, although many visitors head around to Aberdeen, on the southern side of the island, where 6000 people live or work on junks anchored in the harbour. Sampan tours of the Aberdeen Harbour are definitely worth the expense. The other major draw is the floating restaurants.

There you will see the largest floating restaurant (did not have time to eat there). But, you may take a ride in a sam pan (small boat) which will take you around the harbour of Aberdeen. You will see all sorts of boats, some of which people live in all year long. This is a fishing place.

Go south to Aberdeen, the 'fishing village' I don't like to use the term 'boat people' but there are people using these boats as their humble home. These settings set a stark contrast to the multi-million dollar complex in the background. Asked the guy who took us around what they do for a living and he says anything from selling sun-dried fish to fixing motors. Some even go on land to work before returning to their water home.

It's hard to resist a harbour cruise in Hong Kong, especially in the evening as the lights begin to twinkle upwards behind the massive bank towers on Hong Kong island. And every cruise will take you to Aberdeen harbour, with its thousands of small boats and its world-famous floating restaurant, which has featured in many novels and films. But it tends to get crowded. If you are looking for a more intimate dining experience, you'd better try a different place.