Extremely well organized and efficient. That is Hong Kong. Well, I suppose that you need to be if you have one of the highest population densities in the world. It is said that Hong Kong has over 51 000 people per km2! And when you are stuck on a series of islands, and mountainous ones at that, you become incredibly skilled and very resourceful engineers. You can only build up, or down, or "make" new land. There seems to be a real will-do attitude here. Here there are no problems, just solutions yet to be devised!

HK is impressive in every way. The number of people in such a small area (highest population density), the density of buildings, their height and the location of the same, the ability to move the masses with ease, the sheer number of shopping malls, the amount of goods that you can buy here cheaply, the amount of shipping moving in and out of the bay; because of the sheer numbers of people everything seems bigger and better organized.

The airport is a feat of engineering. It is all built on re-claimed land. They needed a flat island, so they built one! Long gone are the days of landing at the old airport where pilots and passengers said that you literally flew between the buildings! No word of a lie. Have a look on google for photos like that! The airport is modern in every way. From the moment you leave the aircraft to the moment you get onto the train system. Far below the runways, the airport has its own automated train system! But you have no real impression of the scale of the infrastructure until you get out of the tunnels on the train from the airport.

The buildings here are testament to the ability of engineers too. A friend says that 40 storey buildings are the norm here. But that 120 storey buildings are a little bit more of a challenge. It was not unusual to see a 40 storey building seemingly balanced on a little sliver of man-made flat land cut into the side of the mountain. Generally these buildings are at the top of the range of mountains because that is the only place that there is any space. Needs must. But what makes these feats all the more impressive is that HK is exposed to some violent weather. Tropical cyclones are a norm here and the odd typhoon is not an exception.So all these buildings have to withstand some very high winds and lashings of rain! And a building that sits on top of a mountain must sway with the winds! But nobody seems bothered by that here! Or says they are, anyway.

Even the food I had on the first night was impressive. Where else can you go to your local neighborhood resto and order a "Satan Pork Chop"? Who would not be attracted to this option on a Chinese menu? Not only was the name impressive, but so too the size. The pork chops literally covered the plate! All Ing could say when it arrived was "Look at the size of that!". I just smiled.

One of the key nightly events was the Light show. This is not just a few lasers against the side of a building. Oh no. This show was whole buildings lighting up, plus lasers shooting off in to the dark across the whole Central Island skyline! Very impressive. It was fantastic! And knowing that the lights were synchronized with music was even more impressive. It is a case of China saying, "Look at what we can do!" Switch on the radio at the right time, and you expect thundering, stirring music to match the extravagance of the lights. You expect that the music will lift you, stir you and leave you breathless with exceeded expectations.

But, sadly not. The music is what you hear in an elevator somewhere - plinky-plonky plink! With so much potential, the authorities got this impressively wrong!

But be that as it may, there is plenty around the Bay to impress. The walkalator goes in down from the mid-Levels (read halfway up the mountain) in the morning and up again in the evening. Imagine a series of escalators that is a mile in total and goes between buildings, shops, over roads and passing right outside the windows and doors of pubs and restos and you have another of HK's transport attractions. It is strange to be within arms length of patrons as you take the walkalator home! Again, testimony to their engineering ability.

But it is not until you get onto The Peak above Hong Kong island that you get a real feel of the size of the city(spread across several islands), the density and the height of the buildings! From here you cannot be impressed. From here it looks like the buildings are merely Lego blocks upended onto their sides in every available space. And the cruise liners and cargo vessels are dwarfed in the waters below!

To the Peak, you need to take a bus up winding single-lane roads that cling to side of the treed mountains which snake their way between these massive skyscrapers. If peering into the void from the top of the bus is not your thing, then you can always take the tram.

The Tram was designed way back in the 1930's and has never had a problem significant enough to prevent it working every day. The only time it stopped was during WWII. Otherwise, it has gone up and down the mountain practically non-stop. What makes this tram spectacular is that it literally takes the shortest route from the bottom of the mountain right to the top. And the shortest route between two points is in a straight line. Yes, you guessed it. This beast goes straight up the side of the mountain! It is no word of a lie to say that in the 10 minute ride down the mountain, the tram was at between a 30 and 45 degree angle for most of it! You need to be holding onto something and tightly wedge somewhere otherwise you will fall to the end of the tram in an undignified heap!

You have to hold on tight and enjoy the ride!