Why food and fitness go hand-in-hand here
Landing at the Hong Kong airport is a traveller’s dream. it is like a well-oiled machine. The trip to the immigration counter is seamless—they have the most effective signage that literally shows you the way. The lines are long—really long—but it takes no more than six minutes to get your visa on arrival. They often have staff clocking progress to make sure timelines are kept. That sort of dedication to efficiency gladdens my heart. For those who go through the e-channel, the process only takes 20 seconds. Put your passport on a scanner, your fingerprint is identified and you get a tiny receipt that is your visa. I don’t know any other country that lays out this kind of welcome mat. Your baggage is invariably waiting for you, unlike at Mumbai’s T2, and then it is a 24-minute journey to the heart of town. The Airport Express is no ordinary train—it is fast, regular and dummy proof to the extent that it even announces which side the doors will open. It’s like manna for spatially challenged people like me who are invariably confused between left and right.
Leaving HK is as easy as getting in. Just hit reverse.
But the best part of the HK travel plan is the fact that, in the Central district, it all happens at the IFC (International Financial Centre) mall. Dim sum fans can head down to Tim Ho Wan for a quick meal. Here, too, the queues are endless and, this time, the wait is long. But it is worth it—this is perhaps the cheapest one-starred Michelin restaurant in the world.
West-wards, the terribly chic Central area has its fair share of uber trendy restaurants too. On the top of my list is Sevva for its outdoors deck and India-inspired snacks. And Duddell’s (run by Chef Siu Hin Chi, it got its Michelin star this year). A drink at its bar/lounge/deck dominated by iconic images from Harper’s Bazaar magazine is a style must.
(This story appears in the Sept-Oct 2014 issue of ForbesLife India. To visit our Archives, click here.)