Sky100 Observation Deck
This one has been on the very top of my must-visit by day and night list since a local friend told me about it. Just the chance to get high enough without needing a drone to get stunning shots of the Hong Kong Island skyline made this a no-brainer.
During several of my visits to Hong Kong, the weather gods were not playing nice with me: rain, fog, low cloud, etc., in short, just about anything to stop me from making it to this observation deck.
Now, all that changed in June 2024, as soon after my visit to the Dragon Boat Festival, those weather gods decided to cooperate.
Anyhow, this visit was going to be a good one, so after getting the right sort of camera gear to get the best possible shots and after fuelling up on breakfast, I headed for the MTR.
Getting to the International Commerce Centre top
Getting to the International Commerce Centre is about as painless as it gets, and as I was starting from Hong Kong Island, it was nothing more than a short MTR trip. So, starting from the Central District, I headed for Hong Kong station and then to Kowloon Station.
Kowloon Station is a massive place and more than a little rabbit-warren-like. Getting out of the MTR, the signage was minimal, although I did actually spot one sign pointing me in the direction of the Sky 100.
Be warned, and remember I said this station is a massive place, so be prepared to walk quite some distance and very likely get lost several times. I did....
After getting turned around several times and ending up outside in the heat a few times, I eventually found the entrance to the observation deck.
Heading for the ticket office and totally missing the automated machines, the first thing I noted was the total lack of people; I had expected this place to be crowded, but nope, more staff than visitors. Best guess was that it was something to do with the time of day, and it is going to get very busy later in the day.
The trip up to the observation deck was very smooth and quick, er, well, after the lift did not move and just opened on the ground level again. Hmmmmm interesting
Photography and Window Reflections at Sky100 top
Getting out of the lift, the first thing I noted was that it was nice and bright, and given the floor-to-ceiling windows, I could not help but take my first photo.
That brings me to the first sort of issue: all the windows were very reflective and tinted, which, although not the end of the world, will make getting some good photos interesting and serve as an indication of the amount of quality time I will be spending with Photoshop in the not-too-distant future.
Talking of Photoshop, rather than this page ending up as a tutorial, check out the following images. The shot on the left is basically raw, complete with the reflections in the top left corner.
While the one on the right has had this removed, and its colour fixed.
As for how this correction is done, I will most likely write up a basic tutorial, but that's well outside the scope of this travel blog page.
But for those who are interested, I did the correction with the new Photoshop 2025 AI-based reflection tools under the Camera Raw filters.
Yes, this shot was the first one taken for the day, and yes, it did need some Photoshop work for the reflections, but not as much as expected. The bad news is that I did not have a polarisation filter for my camera with me, so no hiding from Photoshop.
As for the view, not really much that can be said other than WOW 🤩
This next one is looking north along the Kowloon peninsula over the Yau Ma Tei typhoon shelter, towards the mountains in the distance and eventually mainland China. And yes, this one had some bad reflections, so it needed some work.
Now, looking east towards the old Kai Tak Airport, or as it is now an impressive-looking cruise ship terminal, which I am going to visit on a future Hong Kong trip.
Shock horror, the sun just made an appearance through the clouds, which let me get some fairly good shots of Wan Chi on Hong Kong Island and the Central District.
Continuing around the observation deck, this time looking west towards Lantau Island and Discovery Bay. Not a bad shot, digitally zoomed and enhanced to remove some of the haze. The buildings in the distance are the residential towers of my home from back in the day, Discovery Bay.
This next one is showing the Stone Cutters Bridge and some of the Hong Kong Container port.
As for Stone Cutters Bridge, it's a very impressive cable-stay design, which I have driven across several times, and if it were actually possible, I would like to walk it, as the views are stunning.
Final Thoughts & Verdict top
Now the hard question: was Sky 100 worth the visit?
That's a no-brainer, well worth the visit, and one I will repeat, but this time, when the weather gods keep the clouds away, just think about the views with a clear blue sky in brilliant sun.
As for visiting after dark, well, that's another no-brainer, but sadly, not during this Hong Kong visit as I am running out of time, and those weather gods were threatening to make what remains interesting.
My next visit to Hong Kong is currently planned for much later in the year, with the most likely time being in mid-2027, which is a good move, as from May 2025, it's closed for major renovations, expecting to reopen in the first half of 2026.