It is way past midnight and we are at the infamous and bustling Temple Street Night Market on the island of Kowloon, a short ferry ride away from Hong Kong.
Surprisingly, our group of journalists, all men, decided to go shopping on the last day here, instead of clubbing the night away at SoHo.
"Something for the wife and kids," said the devoted husbands and fathers.
Michael Poon, our patient host from the tourism board, had earlier taken us to a fancy shopping arcade but the stuff there was beyond our budgets.
He politely replied to my query, saying it was impossible to buy pirated DVDs of Hollywood movies.
"The fines are huge," he said. So, when a man wearing a cloth cap and a cigarette dangling from his lips, started arranging fake movie DVDs on a makeshift table, I asked him how much? He grunted out a figure, which worked out to Dh7 a copy.
Vigilant police
Very cheap , I thought to myself and started choosing the titles. But I sensed something and looked up and saw a man in the distance pretending to send an SMS on his mobile.
Immediately the fakes were rolled up in the tablecloth and I had to quickly hand over the money and leave. As I looked furtively over my shoulder, a beefy policewoman came into view.
The Night Market seems unreal, like you are on a movie set. The narrow streets are choked with stalls and vendors sell you anything from the risqué to the quaint. One even offered an aphrodisiac, but it looked suspiciously like snake oil.
We got to Kowloon on the rolling Star Ferry, which runs between the islands every nine minutes. It was drizzling, but the night scene of the blazing lights from the Hong Kong office towers was worth much more than the HK$ 1.20 (60 fils) we paid for our seats below deck. (It's double on the upper deck.)
Hong Kong (Cantonese for 'Fragrant Harbour') is made up of a lot of islands (200 in all) and includes the Kowloon Peninsula and the New Territories.
There is also Lantau Island, where the Precious Lotus Monastery is located high in the mountains. Its key attraction is the world's largest seated outdoor bronze Buddha. The 34-metre-high statue sits on a lotus throne and weighs 250 tons.
The rugged coastline of Lantau is also home to rare barking deer and has some interesting hiking trails. It is also here that the world's fifth Disneyland is located.
A pilot once told me that landing at Kai Tak Airport was a nail-biting experience, as the approach cut almost through the middle of the skyscrapers.
"You can see the families sitting and eating their dinner," he said, as his plane went whooshing past their windows.
Unfortunately, that experience was not for me. Hong Kong shifted its airport away from the residential towers and built it on reclaimed land.
The approach to the new Chep Lap Kok (or Hong Kong) International Airport is now mundane. But you can see from the skies why real estate is at a premium in Hong Kong.
Moving skywards
There is no place for buildings to go except skywards. With living space in short supply, rents are also sky-high.
A glance at the Standard Property, a free classified tabloid, shows that Macau, another special administrative region of China, is billing itself as a cheaper alternative.
"Spacious properties at a fraction of HK prices. Invest in booming Macau and be eligible for residency," reads one advertisement.
"Passengers with fever", said the sign at a counter at the airport, but nobody walked through that line. The man at the counter wore a mask on his face, a quick reminder that you are in the area where SARS and bird flu were, till recently, big news.
The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is spectacularly ritzy.
It is the transportation and logistics hub of the Pearl River Delta Region. That is why the lobby of the JW Marriott, right in the heart of the Central District, was usually overflowing with tall, back-slapping American businessmen and women.
The largest expatriate population are the British. You can ladies lunching at the Hard Rock Café and hear them tut-tuting about the Americanisation of the former colony.
On our penultimate day, we took the causeway to Lantau to spend the night at the Disneyland Resort. Incidentally, Hong Kong controls its maddening traffic with toll bridges, an idea that Dubai, as you know, will soon try out.
Go there... Hong Kong
From the UAE
Emirates and Cathay Pacific fly to Hong Kong from Dubai. It is a 9-hour non-stop flight.
How much
The fare is Dh2,500, plus taxes.
What to do
Take the tram to Victoria Peak. As you slowly travel to the top, the trolley car reaches a 45-degree angle. Hang on tight and take in the literally breath-taking view to your left. This elegant mountaintop is home to the city's billionaires, the Taipans.
Visit the Man Mo Buddhist and Tao Temple. Inside the dimly lit temple hang giant coils of burning incense from the ceiling, which an elderly caretaker moves around with a stick from time to time as the worshippers make their offering. On the altar are gold statues of various deities. If you give a coin for the upkeep of the temple, a Buddhist monk will tap a gong three times. It is to inform you the deities are aware of your generosity.
Take a day trip to the coastal district of Sai Kung on a junk and swim off a white sand cove. A late afternoon seafood lunch in town ends the trip perfectly.
Catch the amazing multimedia show at 8pm from Victoria Harbour. The towers on both sides of the harbour erupt in a musical "Symphony of Lights" as laser beams and searchlights perform a synchronised 20-minute dazzling display. It is the world's largest permanent sound and light show.
At Hong Kong Disneyland, kids will love the Disney Parade down Main Street USA and the Festival of the Lion King. Take the Space Mountain rollercoaster ride at your own peril. The high-speed launch careens through the darkness of space.
