Well, i took the bus from Shenzhen airport straight to Kowloon , or more precisely Tsim Sha Tsui (Harbour city) just next to Victoria Harbour. 5 minutes walk from the hotel where i was staying. Bus costs 90rmb and the trip is quite fast and simple. Passing through customs at HK was no problem at all either when i went to HK or back to China. Took about 10 minutes to pass.
So uhm .. well. My first impression of Hong Kong
, not what i expected and far from what im used to here in Beijing. After stepping of the bus, it took merely 5 minutes to get to the hotel where i was met by the horrid sight of a pakistani druglord beating up a foreigner who was bleeding from the head. I quickly checked in and left my stuff in the room and went out for a walk which lasted about 10-15 minutes when a couple of ill-natured-looking stonehigh Africans questioned me about my needs which i kindy explained whatever they offered would fail to suffice. Another ten minutes walk and a handfull of moslems would had me questioned where im from, where i live, how long, etc etc. For what reasons remains a mystery but these guys certainly didnt look like anyones i would trust for a second back home.
I cant say i would recommend Hong Kong as a safe place for a lonely traveller. Certainly not an inexperienced. However i certainly would recommend hong kong if u just want to buy some cheap ladies and drugs. I did not feel safe and i had to look over my shoulder constantly. The staff at the hotel was a+++, and theres alot of indian people everywhere who i have nothing but positive to say about. Very friendly and helpful, even if you dont want to buy anything from them. The black guys all looked like hardened criminals and whatever they wanted to sell im sure i did not want. And plenty of middle east drugdealers. The whole area inside Chungking Mansion smelled like someone just smoked a boatload of ganja. For a second i almost thought i was back in Sweden
Now i only had limited time and only spent time around Harbour city so i shouldnt judge all of HK by just that. But my impression of Harbour City wasnt all that impressive. We are going back this summer to spend some longer time on both HK and Macau and hopefully i will have some better impressions then. Also i was alone this time and i felt that i would probably had enjoyed it more in good company.
But in 90 days from now when i need do exit and re-enter again ... i will take a 24h trip to Tokyo instead. Flights are even cheaper then go to HK.