HONG KONG - In a Hurry: a report by Alison Serrurier on a quick stopover on the way to Australia , November 2004...

Qantas have introduced a new route to Australia via Hong Kong, which adds to their existing stopover destinations of Singapore and Bangkok .

WOW!! What a city….

I was only there for two days which was enough time to get a good feel for the city, but not enough to travel to nearby beach areas or local villages.

There is the chance to shop practically around the clock, with many stores open till midnight. It has a wide range of restaurants from friendly Oriental snack bars to famous restaurants within hotels, and everything in between. I ate in two different restaurants on the Canton Road, both mainly frequented by locals, and we had delicious fresh, Oriental food. It seems customary to share tables, which although a little unusual to us, isn't really an imposition, merely friendly, and offers a good opportunity to ask about dishes on the menu. Most menus came in Cantonese and English, so it wasn't a problem understanding what was on offer.

Every night at 8 p.m., there is a display of laser lights and music along the attractive Avenue of Stars, which stretches along the waterfront promenade. There are twinkling lights set into the pavement and stars lining the route, which is still being completed. The buildings are amazing – full of reflections by day, and changing lights at night.

Down in Kowloon , where I was based, there were few signs of older, smaller buildings. From our hotel room, you could look across into the small rooms occupied by the many tailors.

We took the Star Ferry across to Hong Kong Island , which operates distinctive green and white boats on a quick, commuter ferry across the Victoria Harbour, which are cheap and regular. From there it is a short bus-ride before picking up the tram, which travels up to The Peak. These old trams make the steep climb at an extraordinary angle. The view is spectacular when you arrive and there are plenty of viewing points, as well as shops, restaurants and other attractions to entertain you, such as a guided circular walk, Ripley's Believe It or Not! ® Odditorium, the exciting Peak Explorer Motion Simulator and Madame Tussauds.

There is no shortage of markets to visit. Down narrow side streets, people set up stalls selling anything from second-hand ink stampers to clothing and jewellery. Whilst the city feels very safe, in the main tourist street there are men standing on pavements handing out cards to tempt you into their tailoring premises or to buy fake watches. We came across a temporary flower market where the stallholders were creating lavish arrangements using exotic flowers in an amazing mix of colour and textures. Some finished displays were nearly a metre long!

Some of the food markets were enough to put you off, with streets of shops dedicated to single items like dried shark meat or deer antlers!! There was also amazing smells wafting from the numerous Chinese medicine shops – but we weren't tempted here either!

We managed to include a brief visit to the Hong Kong Museum of Art which is a huge and quite imposing building, being mostly concrete, which stands out from all the glass in the city.