Based on his very first trip to Asia, travel journalist Vladimir Jean-Gilles tells us how to make the best of a long layover in Hong Kong.
In October 2025, my friends and I embarked on a trip to Bali, Indonesia, that would take us to the other side of the planet. Collectively, it was going to be our first time in Asia and the longest we had ever traveled. I knew that this would be the kind of experience that could permanently define a friendship, and after looking at the itinerary for our trip, I found an opportunity to greatly enhance the experience and create more unique memories—a seven-hour layover in Hong Kong on our way to Bali and another five-hour layover when we returned. That would be more than enough time to explore, so long as we timed everything right.
It would also satisfy this long-standing, tantalizing fascination with Hong Kong that was heavily influenced by 1980s second-wave Hong Kong cinema. I’m talking about movies like Hard Boiled, The Killer, A Better Tomorrow, A Chinese Ghost Story, and other classics directed by the likes of John Woo, Ching Siu-tung, and many others. While I remember being captivated by its fast editing, unique storytelling, and breathtaking cinematography, it also provided such a dynamic view of Hong Kong, the city also known as the Pearl of the Orient.
We landed at nighttime, 7 p.m. local time, to be exact. The view outside my window provided all the context I needed for every part of my being to understand that I was now in a foreign place. Outside, a huge number of boats were waiting in line to make it into the harbor, surrounded by smaller marine vessels, probably serving as the local patrols for the South China Sea. Of course, Hong Kong had certainly changed a lot since the 1980s, but my excitement remained the same. It was time to let the adventure begin.
