Hong Kong: Oasis for two

A trip to Victoria Peak is essential as you take in 360-degree views of Hong Kong and islands beyond.

Noel Gallagher has a lot to answer for. The linchpin of Brit-rock institution Oasis might be the most talented songwriter of his generation, but it's his fault I'm being beckoned towards an immigration office on the Hong Kong/China border.

Despite extensive international travel, I've never been summoned to a back room by a passport officer and I could scarcely feel more uneasy if I saw him preparing to snap a latex glove on to his outstretched hand.

The back room is a world away from the bright, bustling railway station outside, severe strip lighting and austere benches, one of which I and my wife of seven days are directed towards.

That's what happens when you try to leave Hong Kong on a different passport from the one on which you entered. I arrived on a British passport and dopily decided to leave for a day shopping in Shenzen, China's wealthiest city, on a New Zealand passport because the visa was cheaper.

But when they checked my New Zealand passport there was no record of me having entered Hong Kong, which naturally raised some suspicions.

I must have an honest face. After an explanation repeated to three progressively more important officials and plenty of grovelling we were ordered to get back on the train and return to the centre of Hong Kong.

It was a pity. Shenzen is a bargain-hunter's paradise - just make sure you've got permission to enter what is one of China's five Special Economic Zones. You should be able to buy a temporary visa on the border. And make sure you use the same passport you entered Hong Kong on.

But we hadn't come specifically to Hong Kong for the shopping. We were on honeymoon and our visit was specifically arranged around a concert by Oasis.

But there was a trade-off. My new bride said, jokingly, I had thought, that the rest of the week would be dominated by shopping.

I quite like shopping, but in Hong Kong it's like painting the Auckland Harbour Bridge. Just when you think you've done it all, you find yourself back at the beginning. And just when you think you've seen the best mall the city has to offer, you find yourself in another multi-storey temple to consumerism packed with killer haute couture.

I was happiest in the street markets of Kowloon. The Lonely Planet recommends a walking tour starting at the Yuen Po St Bird Garden and Flower Market.

In the bird garden, mostly old men sell a huge variety of birds, particularly songbirds, whose throats are lubricated with a honey and water mix. It's a riot of colour and a cacophony of trilling where the better the bird's vocal chords, the higher the price.

Next on the tour is the flower market: a handful of streets dominated by shops selling fragrant blooms of almost every description.

Perhaps the hottest spot for city-bound bargain hunters, and the place where the traditional working classes of Hong Kong shop, are the Tung Choi St Market, also known as the Ladies' Market, and the Temple St Night Market.

Even the most dedicated shopper might find it a bit overwhelming. You need to sharpen your elbows as much as your pencil and, if you're a woman, expect to be bombarded by calls of "Missy" as the traders try to reel you in.

Haggling is expected at the street markets, even from tourists. It's part of the theatre of street life, and actually quite fun when you get used to it. We were told that if you pay more than 40 per cent of the original price, you're likely to have been fleeced.

We stayed at the Langham Place, Mongkok, a five-star oasis of serenity slap-bang in the middle of the market action. And while an impressive mall attached to the hotel sells such sought-after clothing brands as H&M and Armani Express, it's the markets that provide the authentic experience.

The hotel runs a free evening tour of the night market for guests. Our guide Helen was funny, knowledgeable and passionate. The whistle-stop tour took in cages of frogs (yes, they eat them) and the kind of exotic fruits and veggies you'd never find in a Four Square.

The bustling streets may feel intimidating to some, but I felt safer than I do in downtown Auckland on a Saturday night. The only attack was on the senses, with stalls lit by harsh sodium lamps selling divine-smelling street food and dim sum.

The Langham was a great base from which to explore Hong Kong, with the public transport system ensuring everything was in easy reach. Most locals use an Octopus card, so called because it can be used on eight forms of public transport, including the MTR, buses, trains and ferries.

From Mongkok it's a zippy 10-minute metro ride from Central, the commercial heart of Hong Kong Island. A short walk from the station is the Bank of China Building, where you can get your bearings from a free public viewing gallery on the 43rd floor.

If you want a real feel for the sprawl, take a tram up to Victoria Peak. After a steep ascent, you reach a viewing platform boasting 360-degree views from the highest point on the island.

On a clear day you look north across Kowloon to the New Territories and the Chinese border. Turn around and you can see the lush islands to the south.

Far below is Happy Valley racecourse where, for the equivalent of a few New Zealand dollars, you can bag a prime trackside table and back a winner. The Wednesday night races are something of a Hong Kong institution, with the immense curving stand on the home straight beaming light across the lush track to the apartment towers beyond.

Hemmed-in Happy Valley underlines the lack of space in the heart of the city.

But it's easy to escape the bustle. One afternoon we took a 30-minute ferry to Lamma Island and the 4km paved walk across its centre to Sok Kwu Wan, where you can pick live seafood from crates at one of the many restaurants lining the harbourside. With the hot sun and the cold beer sinking equally well, it felt a world away from the teeming city streets.

Hong Kong can be maddening. Sometimes you feel like you could lift your legs and be swept away on the tide of humanity. However, it's a warm, welcoming city, packed with things to do, and there's always somewhere to escape to.

But with dinner done, it was back on the ferry. The shops didn't shut for another five hours.

Chris Reed stayed in Hong Kong with the assistance of the Langham Place, Mongkok.