Whether you're in Hong Kong for business or you're doing a stopover en route to Australia, a great way to soak up the Hong Kong vibe is to take a beginners Tai Chi class on the waterfront.

The class is in English and assumes no previous knowledge of Tai Chi. There are a few demonstrations first followed by lessons on how to do the most basic tai chi routines. All this in front of Victoria Harbour with the skyscrapers in full view. It captures the whole East-West fusion that Hong Kong is all about.

Best of all - the lessons are free.

The lessons take place in front of the Museum of Art on Salisbury Road by the waterfront. It is a five minute walk from the Star Ferry terminus on Kowloon. They start at 8am and run on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.

Ring the Hong Kong Tourist board on +852 2508 1234 to ckeck days before going.

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This is where hundreds of Pakistani guys and Indonesian women hang out and flirt on their day off. It all seems very innocent and sweet until you sit and watch for at least an hour and notice some of the darker undertones.

Very, very interesting, quite sad and quite voyeurisitic. We felt like we were watching a fly-on-the-wall documentary.

Have a chat and make friends, everyone's very friendly.

The whole experience reminded us of the often miserable lives of immigrants, wherever they are.

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Right in the heart of HK is a lush haven that provides a welcome break from the crowded city. Go to Hong Kong Park before the shops open and walk around the beautiful Botanical Garden (which has a zoo) - don't forget the amazing walk-through aviary.

Clean, lush, well organised, uncrowded, quiet and fresh. All 100% free of charge!

www.lcsd.gov.hk/parks/hkp/en/index.php

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Within the concrete jungle of Central and away from the shopping malls, is a haven: beautiful gardens containing exotic shrubs, sculptures and fountains, a fantastic zoo housing shy orang-utans, noisy monkeys and pretty birds. And surprisingly, it is FREE.

Entrance is on Albany Road. Open daily.

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At the edge of Victoria Park, near the harbour and the highway, lies a little known but huge open-air swimming pool complex, with kiddies' pool, diving boards, licensed bar and restaurant. Certainly helps you cool off in the HK humidity, if your hotel is the run-of-the-mill shoebox without a pool. Entrance is about HK$19 for adults. There is also a public pool at Sai Ying Poon, aka Western district or Kennedy Town, but it's far less exotic and much less central, although it's just as cheap.

Hing Fat Street, Causeway Bay; tel: 2570 4682; nearest station: Tin Hau MTR; open: late March to November (it's too cold otherwise, apparently)

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