Hong Kong – Around Kowloon : Kowloon – Tsim Sha Tsui (part 1)

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On one level, Tsim Sha Tsui (universally truncated to
“TST” in a merciful gesture to non-Cantonese speakers) is still a
parody of a tourist quarter in an Asian port: its tailors and camera
salesmen do not suffer fools, its hostess bars are the scene of many a
ruinous round of drinks. But there is also much more to TST than that.
There is a profusion of world-class cultural venues, galleries and
museums. There are hotels – the Peninsula, the Inter-Continental, the
Langham – of jaw-dropping luxury. And in the monolith that is Harbour
City is every product and service the human mind can conceive of.

Chungking Mansions

This grim and
squalid collection of guesthouses, flops and fleapits amid the glitter
of Nathan Road has become the stuff of legend over the years, resisting
attempts to knock it down. The bottom three floors are full of fabric
shops, fast-food joints and lurid video shops. You may trip over a
collapsed drug addict in amongst the rats and firetrap wiring. Hong Kong
auteur Wong Kar-wai made this the setting of his 1994 hit film, Chungking Express. The best way to experience the Mansions is in one of the cheap Indian restaurants (see Gaylord).




Sights in TST

  1. The Golden Mile

    This
    strip that stretches up Nathan Road from the waterfront could be more
    accurately dubbed the “neon mile”. It’s less glitzy than Central and
    comprises mainly bars, restaurants, tailors, camera and electronic shops
    and the odd desultory topless bar. The crowds are so great that walking
    the Golden Mile becomes a major challenge.




    The Golden Mile



    Gargoyle, Boom Bar

  2. The Peninsula Hotel

    The
    last word in luxury accommodation and service. This venerable hotel
    sits like a proud old dowager, gazing sedately across at the vertiginous
    Hong Kong Island skyline. The cheapest rooms start where many other
    luxury hotels stop, although special offers sometimes apply. A night in
    the opulent Peninsula suite will set you back the price of a new car. It
    boasts eight bars and restaurants, including the Philippe
    Starck-designed Felix and cognoscenti-favoured Gaddi’s. If you desire, you can swoop onto the roof by helicopter. Otherwise you’ll be collected by Rolls-Royce.

    • Salisbury Rd, Kowloon




    Oysters, Sheraton Hotel

  3. Museum of History

    This museum was built at a cost of almost HK$400 million, half of which was spent on its pièce de résistance,
    the Hong Kong Story, which attempts to chronicle the 400 million-odd
    years since Hong Kong coalesced from the primordial ooze. The story is
    told across eight galleries contain-ing more than 4,000 exhibits, which
    vividly outline the natural environment, folk culture and historical
    development of Hong Kong.

    • 100 Chatham Rd South

    • 2724 9042

    • 10am–6pm Mon & Wed–Sat, 10am–7pm Sun

    • Adm (free Wed)

  4. Space Museum

    When
    you’ve had enough of history, come and peek into the future. This
    odd-looking dome in the heart of Tsim Sha Tsui includes an omnimax
    theatre and interactive exhibits such as the jetpack ride.

    • Cultural Centre Complex, 10 Salisbury Rd

    • 2721 0226

    • 10am–9pm Sat, Sun, 1pm–9pm Mon, Wed–Fri. Closed Tue

    • Adm (free Wed)




    Space Museum

  5. Science Museum

    Some
    fascinating interactive displays here if you don’t mind fighting your
    way through the giggling, pushing throngs of schoolchildren. There are
    enough buttons to push, gadgets to grapple with and levers to tweak to
    satisfy even the most hard-to-please kids. Basic principles of
    chemistry, physics, biology and other sciences are explained but in a
    much more entertaining and less dry manner than in the classroom.

    • 2 Science Museum Rd

    • 2732 3232

    • 10am–9pm Sat, Sun, 1–9pm Mon–Wed, Fri

    • Adm (free Wed)

  6. Museum of Art

    You
    may well be fed up with museums by this point. If not, here you’ll find
    oil paintings, etchings, lithographs and calligraphy. One display
    features pottery shards and suchlike from southern China dating back to
    Neolithic times, and there is also a fine collection of elegant
    porcelain from various Chinese dynasties.

    • 10 Salisbury Rd

    • 2721 0116

    • 10am–6pm Fri–Wed, (to 8pm Sat)

    • Adm (free on Wed)

  7. Kowloon Mosque

    When
    the muezzin calls the faithful to prayer, the Jamia Masjid Islamic
    Centre is where you’ll find most of Hong Kong’s Muslims. You can stop by
    for a look, but take your shoes off and be respectful. Entry to the
    inner part is not permitted unless you are a Muslim come for prayer.

    • 105 Nathan Rd

    • 2724 0095

    • 5am–10pm daily

    • Jumah (Friday) prayers at 1:15pm

  8. Cultural Centre

    With
    a peerless view beckoning across the water, the geniuses in charge
    decided to build the world’s first windowless building, and covered it
    for good measure in pink public toilet-style tiles. Wander around and
    marvel at one of the great architectural debacles of the 20th century.
    That said, it hosts some good dance and theatre.

    • 10 Salisbury Rd

    • 9am–11pm daily

    • Box office 10am–9.30pm daily

    • 2734 9009




    Cultural Centre



    Cultural Centre

  9. Clocktower

    The
    Kowloon-Canton Railway, which now ends at Hung Hom, used to finish at
    this clocktower, as did the rather more famous Orient Express .
    A newly-opened extension now once again brings trains to the tip of
    Kowloon. From here, you can walk for more than a kilometre around the
    TST waterfront and marvel at the odd optimistic fisherman dangling a
    line in the harbour.




    Clocktower

  10. Kowloon Park

    While
    in TST, if you feel one more whisper of “Copy watch? Tailor?” may
    provoke you to irrational violence, then venture through the park gates,
    find a well-shaded bench and watch the world go by. There’s a big
    swimming pool (reputed to be something of a gay cruising zone), an
    aviary and a pond featuring flamingos and other aquatic birdlife.

    • Haiphong Rd

    • 6am–midnight daily




    Kowloon Park