It was a weekend how did I not anticipate this? Naturally, I just crossed my fingers and hoped for the best. After my two nights were over I asked the receptionist if she could extend my stay only to be told they were fully booked. In my mind, I was being extremely sensible.īut that decision proved to be the wrong one. I figured if I liked the place I would extend my stay, and if I didn’t at least I was only going to be there for two nights. I read a review of budget-friendly places in Hong Kong on the Guardian and selected one they’d listed in Tsim Sha Tsui in Kowloon called InnSight (which I recommend if you’re on a budget). In my defense I did do some initial planning.
I know what you must be thinking, how stupid can one person be? And the answer is, impressively stupid. Obviously I wasn’t privy to any of this before booking, I just saw a cheap place to stay in what is an unfathomably expensive city and clicked ‘book now’. What I didn’t know is, Chungking Mansions is an amalgamation of guesthouses, electrical shops, food stalls, foreign exchange offices, but is also where you go for prostitutes, drugs, or illegal passports. One quick look on Google and there’s enough horror stories to make even a cockroach recoil and sprint in the opposite direction. While a lack of research can be an enthralling way to travel from day to day, I soon learnt it can also come back to bite you in the bum. You might be wondering how I ended up in what is known as the ‘Ghetto at the centre of the world’ given its reputation? Well the answer is simple.
That is unless you find yourself spending a night in the notorious Chungking Mansions. Īmong other things, Hong Kong has a reputation for being one of the safest places in the world.
It’s a fascinating place and worth visiting, but I would still advise finding somewhere else to stay in Hong Kong. Before reading and commenting on this post, please remember I am a solo female traveller and this was my experience of staying in Chungking Mansions.