The Star Ferry is one of the classic images of Hong Kong, and is one of the cheapest and quietest pleasures of the city. A journey across the harbour, between Central and Tsim Sha Tsui costs $2.2, and since the Central pier moved in November 2006, takes about 7 minutes. Like many 'classic' transport systems across the world, when it was founded it was an entirely serious and essential service, but now takes a lot of traffic and revenue from tourists. Unlike some others, it is still a sensible and well-used way of getting around town - at the end of 2007, I was taking a weekly class in Tsim Sha Tsui, and generally took the ferry back to Central afterwards, walking home from the pier in the comfortably cool winter evenings.

Ocean Park is Hong Kong's home-grown theme park, founded 25 years ago on the edge of the southern town of Aberdeen. As the name suggests, it's a sea-themed park, along the lines of Sea World, mixing traditional theme park rides and fish-tanks, animal shows and so on. It faced a challenge in September 2005 when Hong Kong Disneyland opened on Lantau island, but so far has stood up to the attack with ease - Ocean Park has been through an extensive programme of modernisation and expansion, unfinished as of March 2008, and has seen visitor number grow healthily, while the Disney park has constantly struggled to meet revenue and visitor goals. Adult tickets to Ocean Park are $208, child tickets are $103, and it gets pretty busy at weekends and public and school holidays.

The Peak (officially, Victoria Peak) is the top of the spine of hills along Hong Kong island, above the centre of town, approximately. For a long time, it was the most expensive and exclusive residential area in Hong Kong, with unmatched views, and cleaner and less humid air than other areas, and while it is still a very expensive area, it's no longer the most expensive, and has picked up some tourist features. The Peak Tower is a bit of an overdone money sink, but it has some good views and nice places to eat, and the Peak Galleria mall behind it also has good views from the roof - including to the south, showing greenery and sea - and a decent selection of restaurants. For those wanting to stretch their legs and get some slightly different views, if the weather is suitable the circular walk along Lugard Road from the Peak Tower is well worth it, taking around an hour for a flat easy walk. To get up to The Peak, take...

The Peak Tram was the first mechanised way to get up to the top of the Peak, but now is largely part of the Peak tourist experience. It's a cable car/funicular, with the tram attached to a cable running between the tracks, hauled up and down the hill by a winch at the top. There are pretty good views available, particularly from the right side of the car, facing up the hill, and it is the fastest way up to the Peak from Central. It costs $22 ($33 return) for adults, and $8 ($15 return) for children.

Sitting on top of a hill on Lantau island, at the Po Lim monastery, this 26 metre high statue/sculpture of a seated Buddha is a landmark and a well-known tourist attraction in Hong Kong. There are other temples and monasteries around town, but this is probably the best served for tourists - it's easy to get to, and the local services are good, including a famous vegetarian restaurant at the monastery. Most recently, the Ngong Ping cable car and tourist village have been built nearby, but while the monastery and statue are well worth a visit, the cable car and associated money sink are not.