Looking for travel advice (Hong Kong)

[fleudian]

Others have covered the main points of interest well already.

One thing I will add is that the Avenue of Stars that a couple people mentioned is closed for renovations until late 2018. If you are interested in seeing the Bruce Lee monument, they relocated it a block or two away, and you can find the location by searching "Bruce Lee statue" in Google Maps. Worth checking out if you're in the area to see the light show already anyways.

Drop me a pm if you do end up staying in Wan Chai - I work in the area and can give you tonnes of food suggestions

[JohnnyB]

Originally Posted by DoubleF

Misc:

- HK uses the same plugs as England. Consider bringing 1 adapter, 1 multi outlet power bar.

If you forget to bring a power converter, and your worried that your hotel won't have them for you, you can buy them at the little phone shop right outside exit B at Central MTR station. Really cheap, like 5HKD each or something and work fine. Convenient place to get them if you're staying on the island and take the train in from the airport (which you should).

[STeeLy]

Originally Posted by JohnnyB

If you forget to bring a power converter, and your worried that your hotel won't have them for you, you can buy them at the little phone shop right outside exit B at Central MTR station. Really cheap, like 5HKD each or something and work fine. Convenient place to get them if you're staying on the island and take the train in from the airport (which you should).

I would suggest don't even bother buying one in Canada if you don't already have one, just get it there. So much cheaper (in previous experiences) than buying in Canada.

[DoubleF]

Originally Posted by JohnnyB

If you forget to bring a power converter, and your worried that your hotel won't have them for you, you can buy them at the little phone shop right outside exit B at Central MTR station. Really cheap, like 5HKD each or something and work fine. Convenient place to get them if you're staying on the island and take the train in from the airport (which you should).

The best part of those adapters is that it can plug any type of plug into it and convert it to the England plug. It might be as expensive as 15HKD depending where you go, but IMO, far cheaper than paying $15+ on a travel adapter here.

Spoiler!

However, IIRC, most hotels will have a socket that looks like this built into the wall, so you might actually be ok if you forget to bring an adapter and may not need one there.

I echo the previous suggestion not to buy an overpriced adapter here. Get one in HK. Sham Shui Po in Golden Computer arcade has them for sure. Elsewhere in the city, it's hit or miss, though you're likely to find one sooner or later.


Ah and drinking. JohnnyB previously mentioned going to 7-11 to pre-drink before LKF. Great idea. However, even without going to LKF, grabbing yourself a beer on a hot day and walking enjoying it is perfectly legal. The police won't bother you unless you're being a nuisance.

[lazypucker]

As mentioned above, must get an Octopus card for each person as you use it to pay for 95% of all public transportation and some purchases (McD's, 7-11, other chain stores, etc.). You can get them right at the airport when you head out. You can load the card at anytime anywhere at 7-11, Circle-K , etc.

There are many places to see in HK, but 2 of the MUST SEE are the Peak at night (take the 100-year old cable car up, one of the steepest climb in the world, but it is a freaking long lineup as it is a tourist trap) and ride the Star Ferry at night (and walk the promenade on the TST side). You will see the harbour and the lights from both sides...

One more neat thing to do is to take the tram on the Island side. It is over 100 years old, and it goes super slow, but it is unique in its way when you sit on the upper deck and just let the tram takes you for a sightseeing tour of the busy streets.

Again, just like my advice on the Japanese travel thread, bring local currency with you. Even HK is highly electronic with the Octopus cards and stuff, still the street vendors and many independent stores won't take plastic

[Slava]

Originally Posted by fleudian

Others have covered the main points of interest well already.

One thing I will add is that the Avenue of Stars that a couple people mentioned is closed for renovations until late 2018. If you are interested in seeing the Bruce Lee monument, they relocated it a block or two away, and you can find the location by searching "Bruce Lee statue" in Google Maps. Worth checking out if you're in the area to see the light show already anyways.

Drop me a pm if you do end up staying in Wan Chai - I work in the area and can give you tonnes of food suggestions

I'm heading to China (mainland and HK) later this year and this brings up something I was wondering; will my phone and google services work? I have an Android, so basically everything is google reliant or close enough.

[Zarley]

I've only been to Hong Kong once, but absolutely loved it. My recommendations would be:

- Spend a night in Macau to break up your trip. The new part of Macau (Cotai) is not very nice, but the colonial area in old Macau is fantastic, and they have really good Portuguese inspired food. Since you are there for 9 days, I would suggest staying in Kowloon for a few days, going to Macau, and then staying on the island or vice versa. The ferry is quick and leaves from Central on Hong Kong Island, if you don't want to stay in Macau - a day trip is also doable.
- Check out Lamma Island if you get tired of the crowds of Hong Kong. Laid back beaches and good seafood.
- Take a trip on Star Ferry across Victoria Harbour.
- Take the double-decker streetcar on Hong Kong island.
- Go to the horse races at Happy Valley.
- Eat delicious food!

[Johnny Makarov]

One thing people haven't mentioned here yet is over in the Hong Kong side, the mall in Tai Koo is awesome. They have an amazing Japanese Department store and hidden away in the basement is the prob the best food court in the world!! It's all japanese food and it's cheap and it's amazing! And Tai Koo has a MTR station right there.

[DoubleF]

Originally Posted by Slava

I'm heading to China (mainland and HK) later this year and this brings up something I was wondering; will my phone and google services work? I have an Android, so basically everything is google reliant or close enough.

HK and Macau has no restrictions on Facebook, Gmail etc. as long as you can get connection.

Shenzhen has partial restrictions on Facebook/Gmail. I don't know which connections bypass and which don't, but I think part of it is the fact Shenzhen is a somewhat special state due to its proximity to HK. I'm thinking certain wifi actually had a VPN integrated into it or pretended to be in HK, which was why I was able to randomly get Facebook/Gmail, while others didn't so it was blocked for me. I have no idea if you were to "roam like home" whether you could access Facebook/Gmail, or if your traffic technically filters through China, and thus is blocked. For less headache, I'd just suggest paying for a VPN or using a free VPN trial for your phone during your stay in China as Mainland China IIRC should block certain apps and sites.

I was meh about not having Facebook in Mainland China, but no access to Gmail was a serious problem as FB + Gmail was about 90% of my communication. Whatsapp works fine though if you want an alternate messenger to use. If you go Mainland, you'll need a VPN to get to Facebook, Google, Gmail and many other sites. But in HK and Macau, no such issue.

Searching with Baidu isn't a huge issue, except for the remembering the website name part. But IIRC, Yahoo works fine in China (I might be wrong on this though, but I doubt it's blocked due to its ties with Alibaba).

I have never downloaded an offline map in Google maps and used it. I presume it's doable in mainland china as the phone goes off the GPS which isn't blocked.

[DoubleF]

In a nutshell, consider a somewhat Central location based on price, then use the savings to top up an Octopus card. Travel is easy, fast and reliable.

Consider: Old vs New. Hong Kong has both modern and old style attractions.

Shopping: Street, Mall, Opulent. HK has a shopping festival from June to August.
Food: Modern HK, old style HK, foreign, fruits. Can choose hardcore cheap, or ridiculous opulent.
Attractions: Theme park, Museums (lots), race course, beaches, parks, hiking, point of interest.
Architecture: Modern glass stuff to century old buildings
Travel: MTR, Ferry, tram, bus, minibus (weird taxi/bus crossover concept I'd love to have here), walking street/overpasses

A random location I enjoy visiting on occasion is Tai O in Hong Kong. It's a fishing village. It's a huge difference from the Finance hub that is HK. I believe Disneyland, Ngong Ping 360 and Giant Buddha are on this island.

There's also completely random things you can do that aren't "touristy" but can be done. A boat tour is probably doable.

[Kswiss]

Thanks again everyone! Lots of good info and extra thanks to those that mentioned the PM.

[Oil Stain]

If you like adventure tourism stuff, Macau has the the worlds highest bungee jump from a building. It's pretty intense.

If you aren't into falling, they also have a sky walk at the same place which gives you an outstanding view of the city.

[Oil Stain]

Originally Posted by Slava

I'm heading to China (mainland and HK) later this year and this brings up something I was wondering; will my phone and google services work? I have an Android, so basically everything is google reliant or close enough.

I had serious problems on the mainland. Anything google related was FUBAR.

Download a couple of VPN apps before you get there as you won't be able to access the google play store there to get them.

If you have VPN apps on your phone you should be alright.

I have one now called FlashVPN that I like, but I recommend trying some out and getting familiar with what you like before you go.

[Cheese]

Originally Posted by jwslam

Depending on what you want to do will dictate where to stay.

HK is comprised of three areas: the peninsula portion Kowloon, the area adjacent to that called New Territories, and then the HK Island itself. All of these are accessible by MTR (train, mostly underground).

I personally stay near Jordan station in Yau Tsim Mong district of Kowloon because:
-It's very walkable to everything I need (can walk to the Harbour, main shopping area, Ladies' Night Market, LangHam Center)
-Express bus to and from the airport is right on Jordan Road
-Fairly central to a few of the MTR lines

I know nothing of Macau as I haven't been. Highly recommend Cheung Chau Island though. Day trip or overnight. It's a small Island, touristy for hiking etc. The whole Island has no vehicles except commercial. Most people bike but the whole thing is very walkable.

My favourite hidden gem for food:
http://www.etfoodvoyage.com/2016/02/...em-in-stanley/

I second Cheung Chau Island...awesome place. Yes you can take day trips to Macau from Hong Kong Harbor daily...its close. Definitely hike the Dragons Back.
Take the subway, doesnt matter where,just take it LOL.
Walk a LOT...there is a ton to see. Ill try to find the name of the most awesome Sishuan restaurant we went to...it was amazing.

Oh..ignore all the vendors trying to sell you suits LOL.

[snootchiebootchies]

Lots of excellent suggestions in this thread. Just wanted to mention a couple of things nobody mentioned yet.

1. Hanging out at the beach in Repulse Bay would make a nice day or half-day trip to get away from the hustle-bustle of Hong Kong. There is a very scenic route to Repulse Bay by bus. Stanley Market is also near there, which is a little more expensive that other street markets in Hong Kong but it is a much more relaxed way (read: much less crowded) to buy cheap souvenirs for families and friends than the Ladies/Bird/Garden Markets. The Jumbo floating restaurant is also in the same area. Jumbo is definitely touristy and over-priced but I like it as it makes me nostalgic. Very few tourist attractions from my childhood left in Hong Kong.

2. Have dim sum at Tim Ho Won. The buns are to die for!

[tvp2003]

Is pirated software still a thing in HK? In my one and only trip in the summer of 1999, I managed to bring back a bootleg copy of Office 2000 for something like $30... of course, it hadn't even been released yet in North America

[gargamel]

Watch the episodes of No Reservations (Hong Kong and Macau episodes) and The Layover (just Hong Kong) that Anthony Bourdain made a few years ago. The noodle making scene from No Reservations was what inspired me to go to Asia for the first time, and when I got there, I pretty much just retraced his steps for the better part of a week. It was definitely worth it.

Macau is definitely worth a day trip, but no more than that.

[snootchiebootchies]

Originally Posted by gargamel

Macau is definitely worth a day trip, but no more than that.

Yes, Macau doesn't need more a day unless you want to do alot of gambling. But the last time I went to Macau, I walked over into Zhuhai, China via the Gongbei border. Zhuhai is a pretty coastal city and would be worth spending a day there too if you can obtain a visa. There is this huge underground shopping mall just across the border from Macau and great bargains can be had if you are willing to haggle. Good cheap dimsum and seafood restaurants in Zhuhai as well. It's a very busy border crossing so get there early.