I’ve now had the good fortune of visiting Hong Kong two different times and experiencing it two very different ways. The first was during my ‘round the world’ trip as a ‘flashpacker’ of sorts.  I was on a budget since I was traveling for a few years and not making much income.  I recently returned to the ‘Pearl of the Orient’ as a guest of Cathay Pacific Airlines and Shangri-La Hotels, and oh, was it quite a different experience.

So what’s better – traveling on a budget ‘lower’ to the ground or living the ‘high’ life of luxury?
Let me break it down for you here.

Arrival

Budget LL:  I arrived at Hong Kong International Airport and after schlepping my luggage through customs, I found the public, double-decker city bus into the city.  I was dropped off somewhere along busy, crowded Nathan Road in Kowloon.  Sweaty and tired, I walked around and found my tiny, somewhat inconspicuous hotel.

Lux LL:  I arrived at Hong Kong International, grabbed my bag off of the luggage carousel and was greeted by ‘happy men in red coats’ from the Shangri-La hotel with warm smiles and…a luggage cart.  The rest of my small group and I were whisked into plush, air-conditioned Mercedes cars and chauffeured to the Shangri-La Hotel on Hong Kong Island.  I don’t think I ever picked up my luggage again the entire time there.

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Hong Kong fascinates me as a city of old a new. Soaring skyscrapers sit adjacent to centuries’ old temples and medicine shops. This coastal city offers a full-on assault of sounds, sights and smells. A simple stroll down busy Nathan Road in Tsim Sha Tsui is invigorating and ends with the spectacular and unrivaled view across Victoria Harbour to Hong Kong Island.

Disclosure:  My flight to Hong Kong and my stay were provided by the folks at Cathay Pacific & Shangri-La Hotels.  All views, writing, and photos are my own.

So I wasn’t able to get business class as expected on my flight from Vancouver to Hong Kong on my first ever flight on world-renowned airline, Cathay Pacific.   I got FIRST Class! Holy rice balls!

Wow, the life of Richie-rich – I was whisked through security in about 2 minutes thanks to the ‘fast track’ line for us ‘privileged’ flyers.  Then I took an elevator up to their fancy-schmancy business class lounge where all kinds of nibbles and beverages were on offer.  If I wanted some fresh squeezed juice, it was available. How about some dumplings and noodles? Check. Or a glass of wine to even out any pre-flight jitters? Cheers.  How could I ever hang out at the gate with the rest of the riff-raff? Oh please. How gauche.

Seriously, I felt a bit out of place. Will someone soon reveal my true identity?  Will they kick me out knowing I’m just a poser, a budget travel gal who rode here on the icky subway? Ew.  When will the jig be up?

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Chicago is a one of the largest cities in North America.  In this city of four million people, there is something for everyone whether you live here or are just here on a visit to tour Chicago: world-class theater, professional sports, cutting edge restaurants, fortune 500 companies, and arts of all kinds.  And then in addition to all that…we are lucky to have this huge body of water right outside our door, virtually creating one big park and beach as the front yard of the city.   Lake Michigan’s surface area of 22,400 square miles, makes it the world’s largest lake within one country and the fifth largest overall.  When you stand on the beach in Chicago, it is impossible to see across the lake to Indiana or Michigan.  Sorry, coastal folks, but we have our own virtual ‘ocean’ without the seaweed or the salty burning-eyes and it’s pretty damn cool.

The Chicago Park District’s nine lakefront harbors stretch from Lincoln Park in the northern part of the city to Jackson Park in the south. When you think boating, you probably think Miami or Southern California or even Seattle. But with accommodations for more than 5,000 boats, the Chicago Harbors surprisingly constitute the nation’s largest municipal harbor system.   That’s right…Chicago.

I’ve been out on the lake before in various tour boats and even a bit above it in a 4-seater plane, but this summer I got to enjoy the lake from a friend’s sailboat.  My friends Christine and Bill invited us out for a day on the lake. I couldn’t say ‘yes’ fast enough.

“I’m on a boat!”

Take a look at this short video of our day:
If you can’t see the embedded video or would like to see it in sparkling HD, please go here – it’s worth it!

Riding my bike out to Montrose harbor made me more aware of this whole lake/boating culture here in Chicago that I am SO not a part of.  It’s a whole other world out there.  Just walking onto the dock felt like we were in Margaritaville.  People with Hawaiian shirts milled about.  Reggae music was playing out of at least two stereos.  Folks were wheeling their big plastic coolers in and dockside grills were being cleaned for the day.  There was a whole other ‘feeling’ in the air. It was like we weren’t in a big city anymore. We were in a beachside or island community.  The only thing missing was the clangy sound of steel drums.  These regular boaters are out here every weekend, enjoying the Chicago summer days, some never even taking their boat out, but just hanging out all day in a couple beach chairs on the dock.

The day could not have been more perfect.  We took the boat out. Got a semi-crash lesson in sailing by Bill. Cooled off (it was a very hot day) by jumping in the 77-degree lake (warm for us!) not far out from Foster Avenue beach. Enjoyed a tasty vegan lunch of quinoa salad, hummus, veggies, fruit, chips, homemade guacamole, and some cold beers of course (I am not vegan, but have been eating less meat and love all this stuff).

Then we spent the rest of the day sailing around, chatting, and just soaking up the sun (a little too much sun).  Just another perfect summer day in Chicago and another reason to love this city.