I have never thought of Hong Kong as a great vacation destination.
Imagine New York without the criminals and high costs. Imagine New York without the liberals and lunatics which promote the criminals and high costs. That was Hong Kong back in the mid 1990s.
Under British rule, Hong Kong -- including Kowloon and the New Territories -- was a wide open, freewheeling city, a bastion of pure capitalism. You could get anything you wanted, day or night and on short notice. Made a number of port calls when in the U.S. Navy, and had only one bad experience (foolishly drank the local water and paid for it.)