Steve Cain wrote:
But Bob, how would you describe or compare HK Island if you'd taken
the Star Ferry and had tea at the Mandarin Oriental and taken the
subway back to Kowloon?

Huh? Not sure I understand your question. I've done the above -
well, except for the tea at the Mandarin Oriental; I prefer to find
the small local places over five-star hotels, giventhe choice (not
when looking for a place to stay, but definitely for dining). The Star
Ferry is certainly an essential part of a "Hong Kong experience."
Hell, even walking past the tourist-trap stores lining Nathan Road
is fun in my book (just don't actually BUY anything there...:-)).
And there are certainly many other places on HK Island I'd rather
visit than just Central - maybe that was your point?

I guess Alfred judges a city solely on its "historical" content, and if
that's all that matters to you, then yes, HK comes up short compared
to some others (at least if you DON'T venture out much beyond
Central). But to me, there is just so much more to experience in
a city. And as I said right from the start, I do like Seoul as well, and
yes, it does have a number of places of historic significance. But I
certainly can't compare the overall experience of Seoul (which for the
most part strikes me as somewhat restrained compared to other major
Asian metropolitan areas) to, say, a Hong Kong or Tokyo.

Bob M.