Hong Kong is one of those rare places that make you feel you are at the centre of the world. It has such an energy, like New York City, that is like a living being: alive, dynamic, always changing, vibrant.
If you are transit in Hong Kong like me you can reach to the centre without even going outside the airport. Take the Airport Express inside the terminal, it has three stops, Kawloon is another centre of the city at the mainland, I now head to Hong Kong station, which is right at the centre of the island. It takes you twenty to twenty five minutes and the cost of the return ticket on the same day is the same as one way ticket. The Hong Kong station has an exit to the island that is called the Central. This neighbourhood is the most historical place in Hong Kong, it is where the British trading colony was founded. It is today the centre of art galleries, boutique shops, design centers. The Hollywood Road is where most of the art galleries are located: Wellington, Opera, Yellow Corner Photography House; you can make a hop on hopp of gallery tour here and check the most interesting art works.
On the same road you will find the former Police Station, a white colonial building, today renovated and opened as a cultural and design center. You can also find some wall paintings at this area (intersection with Graham St), though not as impressive as they are in Latin America people take pictures. Soho neighborhood, with pubs and cafés is also walking distance. Another design centre is the PMQ, you will find shops selling various objects, from bags to shoes or to stationary shops, all designed by local designers of Hong Kong.
The best thing about walking in the old town is to enjoy its sui generic atmosphere: the tailor shops with dresses as if they have come out of Won War War movies, the tea houses with long queues infant of it, new or traditional ones). It is for sure that people here work a lot, is seems that they never leave it to chance to survive, Hong Kong though being a bit different that the rest of China is the centre of Asian capitalism.