The New Territories of Hong Kong

Our view of Hong Kong is oddly skewed from most visitors by the way that most of our visits involve staying with family deep in the New Territories, close to the Chinese border and well away from the tourist spots of Kowloon and Hong Kong Island. It remains incredible to me that many people visiting Hong Kong, and even many ex-pats living there, are completely unaware of the chaotic cities and rural wilderness a few minutes away. The city of Yuen Long for instance is utterly bewildering to westerners. White faces are rare, the few we see are confused foreign spouses like me, their Eurasian children galloping into the vast throngs of people with their local cousins - enthralling for them but terrifying for me.

Despite our lack of a common language, I am aware from certain facial expressions that my mother-in-law has concerns over the freshness of the fish on British markets. The fish market in Yuen Long provides an explanation for this - the fish are still alive. She nudges the boys urgently to draw their attention to a bowl of very agitated prawns randomly jumping out of the bowl and regularly landing in the bag of the old man standing by it chatting away completely oblivious. My daughter meanwhile gazes curiously at a densely populated tank of eels, struggling to connect which head follows which slithery body through the throng of other eels to which tail.

A bus ride out of Yuen Long, and the unfolding countryside varies immensely. In parts there are poorly maintained concrete roads with scrapyards dotted across former swampy farmland. Elsewhere there are new developments of 2 and 3 storey houses with pillars either side of the door and gleaming Mercedes' under tarpaulin sunshades outside. Into this mix, the ancient walled village of Kam Tin was once one of the larger settlements when the area was covered in farmland, and has parallels with remote Italian villages with its quiet narrow shady streets, children playing and old ladies sitting outside. This is also a good place to head for traditional Cantonese eating, particularly dim sum. The extraordinary range of tastes and textures of the food is matched by the deafening racket of the dozens of people chatting loudly to each other and their phones, half a dozen TVs playing different shows, the clattering of chopsticks and the staff yelling instructions to one another. But don't ask what exactly it is on the plate. Sometimes it's biologically obvious, sometimes ignorance is comforting.

Bus route 51 over the top of Hong Kong's highest mountain, Ta Mo Shan, is one not to be missed. Round each hairpin bend the views extend further, before disappearing completely as the road climbs through dense forest. A military airport appears in a previously unseen valley, a vast People's Liberation Army camp occupies a distinctive former British military base on the slopes. On and on upwards and the views across the Chinese city of Shenzhen appear, seemingly expanding more with each trip up. As the road steepens, the pained labours of the bus become more apparent, with the occasional super toned cyclist struggling past us. And then we're at the top, and begin the terrifying descent into Tsuen Wan, where the children again vanish with cousins into some vast neon-lit arcade to execute some more zombies.

A more peaceful time can be enjoyed around the Plovers Cove reservoir, a short bus ride from Sha Tin. Numerous bike hire venues surround the estuary and the reservoir itself, with off-road cycle routes populated by all kinds of pedal powered vehicles, both fun and more serious. The boys select a nice dual pedalled model with a comfy armchair type attachment for Grandma, I am quite surprised by their generosity. As we pedal out across the dam the views of the mountains open up again, the steep green mountains like a tropical version of the Scottish Highlands. In the distance we see an enormous statue of Buddha's mother, which apparently marks the site of a nunnery funded by Li Ka Shing, Hong Kong's richest man. When the apocalypse arrives - he will be protected in his secret bunker there.

Hong Kong is marvellously exciting wherever you go. There is so much to see and experience that its hard to narrow it down to a shortlist. However, I think a few days in the New Territories as part of your trip will show you what makes Hong Kong Different.