Hong Kong High

My first visit to Hong Kong took me to new heights. My second and third visit, I soared. This city gives me a high, the shopping leaves me on a high, the nightlife transports me to the high life. Hong Kong was, and still is, my New York rival. Pound for pound, or rather dollar for dollar, this is a championship fight.

I won't ramble about Manhattan. There is so much great going on there, it is a blog onto itself (...watch this space). This will always be a tale of two cities, each equally amazing for different reasons. There is no need for East to meet West, when you can have so much excitement from travelling between them both.

First impressions, driving into Hong Kong island over the Tsing Ma bridge - how many golden 'Made in' stickers have travelled from the tower toppling containers. Hong Kong means business, even before you've reached the city. 

My latest visit included a luxurious stay in the Island ShangriLa, welcomed like a princess and risen to highest happiness in a luxurious harbour view room, 56 floors up. There is a single eagle that soars around the harbour and I shared his outlook, swooping over Kowloon. Indoors, the Shangrila boasts the largest silk painting in their lobby, 16 storeys long, The Great Motherland of China drops down through the atrium into a Chinese garden, my personal art gallery from a glass elevator every morning and evening.

If you're not on an elevator in Hong Kong, you're on an escalator. The city is non-stop, and it is built to help you keep moving with it. Day to night, the escalators in the city centre move you from bar to bar, restaurant to restaurant, store to store like a video game. And there is plenty of treasure to collect along the way, with every new level you reach.

Shopping. Hong Kong knows how to shop. It's like the recession just forgot to visit here. Designer stores from home have gone extra-large. Über glitzy, luxuriously decadent, impossible to ignore. Collect, win, next level....

Fashion extends to food in Hong Kong, too. Which makes sense. You've just draped yourself in the latest season, accessorised with the latest bag, it makes sense to indulge in some haute-couture cocktails. And, in true Hong Kong high-life, the best wining and dining in the city are located double digit floors up from the ground, with roof terraces to make sure your hypnosis remains unbroken.

Armani prive, an opulent velvet cushion of red and tangerine surrounded in mirrors. The dark and seductive has a stairway to al fresco loungerino -cool music and even cooler exclusive collections of Moët and Bollinger.

Sevva, the hottest rooftop in the city, tucked above Charter Road and nestled in the middle of the financial power houses. Refreshing by day, enticing by night as the HK light show takes off around you, like a city-sized discotheque. Inside is even more eclectic - walls of foliage, Mad Hatter tea rooms, candle-lit sushi zens and gallery-worthy cake counters. This is social life as it should be lived, and it's addictive.

Across the harbour in Kowloon, look for the best seat in town to take in the infamous symphony of lights at Aqua. Three floors of glass, from cocktail bar to fine dining restaurant, is all that separates your from cinematic views of the skyline as it dances to the musical light show at 8pm.

There is so much to see in the city. Everything is sky-rise and the best way to appreciate it all is just like our eagle friend. Join the tourists at the Peak, ride the practically vertical tram to the top, and take in Hong Kong from its prime vantage point. The all-time high, top of the world in Hong Kong.

New York may never sleep but, in Hong Kong, you will never stop dreaming.

'Til next time, Pandora

Photos: Pandora Skies, Island Shangrila, Sevva