Hong Kong looks in photographs like nothing but towers, and then you arrive and discover that three quarters of the territory is country park, that the ferries are still the best way to cross the harbour, and that the whole place is built on a hillside.
Twenty-eight things worth knowing, in the order you will meet them.
Arriving and orientation
The airport express is fast but not the only option
A city bus takes longer and costs a fraction, and the route in is a good introduction.
Learn the three main areas early
Hong Kong Island, Kowloon across the harbour, and the New Territories beyond. Almost every direction you are given assumes you know which one you are in.
Autumn is the best season
October to December is dry, clear and comfortable. Summer is hot and humid, and typhoon season runs through it.
Rooms are small
This is a fact of the city rather than a reflection of price. Plan to be out of it.
Bring a layer for indoors
Air conditioning in malls and on trains is aggressive year round.
Transport
Buy a stored-value transport card immediately
It works on the metro, buses, trams, ferries and in convenience stores, and removes every ticket decision for the rest of the trip.
The metro is exceptionally good
Frequent, clean, signed in English and covering nearly everywhere a visitor goes.
Take the Star Ferry at least once
The harbour crossing takes minutes and costs very little, and it remains the best view in the city.
Ride the double-decker tram on the island
Slow, narrow, upstairs at the front. It is a sightseeing route disguised as public transport.
The mid-levels escalator is a commuter route
It runs downhill in the morning and uphill for the rest of the day. Check the direction before committing.
Buses reach the beaches and the parks
The metro does not go everywhere, and the bus network is where the coast and the hills open up. Taxis are colour-coded by region: red for the urban areas, green for the New Territories, blue for Lantau.
Neighbourhoods
Central and Sheung Wan reward walking
Steep lanes, antique shops and staircase streets, all within a small area.
Sham Shui Po is the everyday city
Fabric, electronics and street market stalls, and a completely different register from the harbour front.
Kowloon has the best skyline view
Because the skyline you want to look at is on the other side.
Go up the Peak, but walk down
The circular path around the summit is level and quiet, and the descent through the trees is better than the queue for the tram.
Take a ferry to an outlying island
Lamma and Cheung Chau are under an hour away, car-free, and change the mood of a trip completely.
Eating
Sharing tables is normal
In busy places you will be seated with strangers. This makes eating alone straightforward.
Dim sum is a daytime meal
Traditionally morning to early afternoon rather than an evening event.
Point at what you want
Many small places have picture menus or a trolley, and pointing is not considered rude.
Tea is poured for the table
Refill your neighbour's cup before your own; tapping two fingers on the table is the wordless thank you.
Cooked food centres are excellent value
Usually on the upper floor of a municipal market building, and often the best meal of the day.
Hills, islands and the outdoors
Country parks start at the edge of the city
Some trailheads are a bus ride from a metro station.
There are real beaches
The southern side of Hong Kong Island has several, reachable by bus in half an hour.
Hiking needs more water than you think
Humidity does most of the damage, and shade is intermittent.
Travelling alone
The city is easy to be alone in
Public space is busy late, transport runs frequently, and nobody pays a solo diner any attention.
Signage is bilingual throughout
Getting genuinely lost takes effort.
Check the typhoon signal in summer
When a high signal is raised, transport and shops close and the sensible response is to stay indoors.
Give yourself an island day
It is the best antidote to three days of vertical city.
Hong Kong is denser and greener than its reputation, and it is one of the most comfortable large cities in Asia to explore by yourself.