Twenty-four years ago I celebrated my 30th birthday by getting married and going to live in Hong Kong. My husband had won a job as editor of an electronics magazine and I found work as political correspondent of the South China Morning Post. Margaret Thatcher had kick-started the handover talks and it was a heady time to be a journalist. Our two years there gave us a love for the city that has never waned. So, has Hong Kong changed? Apart from a few even taller buildings on the iconic skyline, not at all. To us it remains the world’s most colourful and energetic city. This is my pick of things to do ...

Peak early

Avoid the tour parties and take the Peak Tram – exciting, no matter how many times you do it – which runs from 5.40am to 1am, HK$33 (£2.20) return. When the tram was built by the Swiss in 1888, the first two seats were reserved for the Governor.

A night ride to see the lights reflected in the harbour is a must. The Peak Tower (www.thepeak.com.hk) is an abomination of tourist tat shops. Instead, take the Peak Circle Walk for surprisingly green views. Book a table for dinner in the garden at the Peak Lookout, a Honkers institution (00 852 2849 1000, www.peaklookout.com.hk).

Night with the stars

Take the Star Ferry to Kowloon, preferably around 7pm, for the world’s cheapest cruise. I prefer first class on top, HK$2.20 (15p). Take a sharp right at the clock tower for the five-minute walk to the InterContinental Hotel (2721 1211, www.intercontinental.com).

Get comfy with a dragontini (vodka and vanilla liqueur) in the glass-walled bar for the 8pm Symphony of Lights, in which 20 of the island’s key skyscrapers come alive with flashing neon and dancing lasers. Or watch the show from the top deck of the beautiful new Aqua Luna (2116 8821, www.aqua.com.hk), a replica wooden junk, HK$180 (£12) for a 45-minute cocktail cruise.

Go to market

Take the No 6 bus, HK$7.90 (53p), from Central to Stanley and sit upstairs for views of Happy Valley race course and grand Italianate mansions. This holiday village with its two beaches is an expat enclave, but none the worse for that. Twiglet-thin fashion victims are sniffy about the daily market, but I love it for cheap cashmere, bed linen, pearl jewellery, smart linen separates in British sizes and “replica” handbags. Go at the weekend, when the Main Street is closed to traffic, and have a people-watching brunch outside at the Pickled Pelican (2813 4313).

Beach chill out

First-timers often fail to realise that Hong Kong and the surrounding islands are a beach destination. Our favourite is the island of Cheung Chau, a 30-minute fast ferry ride from Central’s Pier 5, HK$22.20 (£1.50). One sunny afternoon we had Kwun Yam Wan Beach, one of two on the island, to ourselves. We were the only diners at the beach bar at the Windsurfing Centre (2981 8326, www.ccwindc.com.hk), where we ate prawns and crispy squid, washed down with cold Tsingtao beers, for less than £20.

Mongkok madness

Steel yourself to leave the sterility of the marbled malls and shop with the locals in Mongkok’s markets in Kowloon. It’s a crowded frenzy, but worth it. Take the MTR (Mass Transit Railway) from Central to Prince Edward, HK$9 (60p), and follow the signs to Yuen Po Street Bird Garden. Follow your nose to the Flower Market, then head for Tung Choi Street and the Goldfish Market. Continue down Tung Choi to the Ladies’ Market. It’s tat, but hard to resist some of the fakes, particularly watches for a pound.

Real Hong Kong

It’s about juxtaposition – a Ferrari dealer next to a pawn shop, a Chinese medicine shop next to a new bank. If you haven’t time for Mongkok, take the lovely old tram or a cab to the Electric Road food market, Causeway Bay, in the early morning – not for the squeamish as the Chinese like their food still flapping and squawking.

Cross Victoria Park for the fearsome “dragon ladies” doing t’ai chi with real swords. Or go to the Western Market tram stop and marvel at the speciality shops on Ko Shing and Wing Lok streets selling ginseng, bird’s nests, sharks’ fins and unmentionable body parts.

Get Spiritual

I used to love visiting the giant Buddha at Po Lin Monastery on Lantau as a reminder that Hong Kong is about more than dollar worship, but gosh how it’s changed. The new Ngong Ping Skyrail offers a 25-minute cable-car ride up the mountain. Neither of us liked the Disneyfied fake Chinese Ngong Ping Village, but the Buddha, gazing with serene wisdom across the South China Sea, is still worth it.

Our tip is to take the cable car one way, HK$58 (£3.85), then the No 2 bus, HK$16 (£1.07), to the Mui Wo ferry pier for a gentle ride through rural Lantau. Sit outside on the top deck of the ferry, HK$17.80 (£1.20), for quintessential harbour views on the way back to Central.

Massage with a view

Spas have arrived late to Hong Kong but have come with a high-tech opulence. All is honeyed marble and cashmere robes at the spa at the Four Seasons Hotel (3196 8888, www.fourseasons.com/hongkong/spa).

Little can beat the bliss of an hour’s fusion massage, HK$950 (£63.35). The spa suites have stunning harbour views, as do the hotel’s two pools, where you can swim through the world’s most expensive piece of real estate between the two International Finance Centre towers. Or try the chic Plateau Spa at the Grand Hyatt (2584 7688, www.hongkong.grand.hyatt.com) with its pretty gardens, waterfalls and outdoor running track.

Need to know

Jill Hartley travelled with Magic of the Orient (0117-311 6050, www.magicoftheorient.co.uk). Three nights’ B&B at the Island Shangri-La Hotel and three nights’ B&B at the Four Seasons cost from £1,570pp. Price includes return flights with British Airways.

Further information: Hong Kong Tourism Board (020-7533 7100, www.discoverhongkong.com).

Reading: The Rough Guide to Hong Kong & Macau (Rough Guides, £11.99); Hong Kong, Macau & Guanzhou (Time Out, £12.99).

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