Watch this episode of Anthony Bourdain in Hong Kong and you'll certainly want to go there for the food itself. It's a remarkable city, and the travel connections from there are impeccable.
I can't help too much with Hong Kong because I've only seen the airport but these are things that I enjoyed about Singapore:
1) English is everywhere. It's one of their official languages.
2) It's a very tropical city. Almost right on the equator.
3) The Singapore Zoo (three different parks) is pretty cool.
4) Like Hong Kong, it's a world class food destination.
5) A ton of shopping if you're into that (Orchard Road, Funan electronics mall etc.).
6) Very easy to get around using SMRT (Singapore Mass Rapid Transit) light rail or bus.
7) For an asian city, it is quite westnernized.
Now, a lot of the bonuses I listed can also be interpreted as negatives depending on what you're looking for. If you're looking for a nice, clean, modern destination that isn't like a cultural slap in the face Singapore could be for you. They have a lot of the things that honeymooners would be interested in as far as romantic getaways are concerned.
I spent almost a week in Singapore after a long trip in Cambodia and Thailand, so I was ready to put my feet up and Singapore fit the bill.
I'll tell you right now - Singapore is an awesome place, but you don't need anymore than 8 hours there. It's really more of a stopover than a destination.
Hong Kong wins
- things to see places to go
- shopping
Singapore wins
- food (slightly edging out HK)
- Speaks English everywhere (slightly edging out HK)
I usually recommended Singapore as a beginners guide to travelling asia for the simple fact that everyone speaks English there. It's true that HK is pretty English friendly, but I would say Singapore edges HK slightly in that department.
Last edited by TheyCallMeBruce; 02-27-2010 at 09:41 PM.
Both are nice cities however. If you go to Hong Kong, be sure to make the trek to the back of Hong Kong Island to areas like Stanley. Neat little place.
Singapore has some odd destinations that feel overtly family friendly like Sentosa Island. Better shopping I think than Hong Kong on Orchard Road.
Having lived in Singapore for a large portion of my life; and I've spent some time in HK as well, I can honestly say that Singapore would be the better choice for your honeymoon.
It's a beautiful, beautiful island. Beaches no more than an hour and a half away (you could be staying on the other side of the island), friendly people, AMAZING food, and a great shopping/tourist scene.
Watch this episode of Anthony Bourdain in Hong Kong and you'll certainly want to go there for the food itself. It's a remarkable city, and the travel connections from there are impeccable.
Hmm, the beef brisket noodle soup looked so good, I had to go and make some at 1 AM for delicious slurping as I type this. Throw some fatty beef brisket into a pot of water, add instant non-fried noodles, green onions, and beef broth and spices and you are good to go in 5 minutes.
I thought Hong Kong was pretty darn hard to speak english. They all seem to give confused looks at to what I want... even at McDonalds. Good thing I went with my Chinese friend who ordered everything for me. It's a pretty sweet city, but I could never live there. I thought New york was crazy...
Singapore or Thailand are my next vacation spots. I hear singapore is extremely clean and thailand is the opposite but... you can live like a king there for like $30/day.
We are currently leaning more towards Singapore. We are allready heading to Beijing and other places in China, but the time we get out of there we want somewhere that is a little more relaxing. After Singpore we will be heading to Manila and some various Phillipine Islands.
Neither of us are all that into weird things to eat... so HK food may not be right for us.
Singapore is dreadfully expensive if you aren't careful. I'd prefer Hong Kong personally, though I've only driven through parts of Hong Kong to the airport.
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I've never been to HK, but stayed in Singapore for about a week or so.
We stayed at the Hilton on Orchard rd.--great hotel.
Like others have said it is a very western asian city. I loved my time spent there, but a week was a little long to stay. 4-5 days would probably be perfect; if you really wanted to a weekend or long weekend could work.
While there we walked up and down Orchard rd quite a bit, checking out the sites and doing some shopping.
I really thought Sentosa Island was a waste of my time. Wasn't all that bad, the gondola ride we took was cool to see the city, but other than that there wasn't much there. Waste of time, but would do that again with a first-timer.
We took on the the bus tours that go all around the city explaining things and letting you get off and back on whenever you please. This was probably the best because it was cheap way to get around the area and learn about it as you do.
I can't remember what the area is called, but it was filled with resataurants and pubs. it was right along the river...This was my favourite spot to go to.
I can't remember what the area is called, but it was filled with resataurants and pubs. it was right along the river...This was my favourite spot to go to.
^^^Clarke Quay. Little India is also neat to wander around for an afternoon. Just don't go on Sunday because all the Indians (apparently) only get Sunday off and head there.
Singapore is definetely completely English friendly. Hong Kong is definetely not. Most people cannot speak english. There will be no english on menus, nothing.
Singapore is definetely completely English friendly. Hong Kong is definetely not. Most people cannot speak english. There will be no english on menus, nothing.
Huh? I had 0 issues, and I cannot speak any Cantonese (but I do know "gwailo" means). It's not Guangzhou.
I saw plenty of English menus, and signs when I was out for Dim Sum, walking in the park, etc. although not all of it was "perfect"
Singapore vs. Hong Kong
