Spent 10ys in HK if anyone needs any help

My wife and i spent 10ys in Hong Kong over Xmas and New Year - so if anyone needs any help or tips, feel free to ask !!!

jj.......

Hi Coxwain,

I'm in a panic. Just found out yesterday afternoon I'll be speaking in Hong Kong the end of April, as well as attending a trade show. Given the fact I've never been to Asia, this is my chance to spend a few extra days seeing that part of the world.

I'm planning to add a couple of days to the Hong Kong portion of my stay (May 3 and 4, more than likely), and am scrambling to figure out where else to go. The booking agent has given me until tomorrow afternoon to figure out what city I'll be returning from, so panic is creeping in (who plans a first trip to China in under 24 hours???).

I'll be traveling solo, so please keep that in mind. Not interested in the nightclub scene, etc. for that reason.

Any advice you have is GREATLY appreciated!

Thanks in advance--

Hong Kong - head up to the Peak - a trip to one of the outlying islands - a trip to to see the Big Budda - take the short ferry ride to Cheung Chau + a must not miss a Star ferry trip across the harbour

If there come night time a trip to one of the night markets.

Hows that for starters lol

My wife and i found HK very safe/clean + very friendly people

jj....

Plenty to see in do in HK for a couple of days I lived there for a couple of years.

HK is easy to get around the MTR is easy to use the taxi's are cheap but sometimes the drivers don't understand the english names for streets so it is handy to have the hotel to write down where you are going in Cantonese.

Thanks for the great tips, coxswain and Elaine. You just helped fine tune my time in HK. Now...time to start planning Beijing, since I've decided to spend my 48th birthday on top of the Great Wall. Sweeeet.....

We will have 3 days in HK at the end of January next year

Day 1 we arrive ot 0700 and will be staying on the ship that night

Day 2 is disembarkation day

Day 3 we do not fly out until midnight.

We are not over bothered about shopping so my question is

how would you organise the sightseeing over the 3 days

and where would you stay - we want a 4-5 star hotel, something to make our last night special

Thanks

A

Hi A

Hotel - The Langham Place - amazing !! its right beside the Metro which is great for getting around.

My advice is - get the Langham to pick you at the ship - if your room isn't ready they'll look after your luggage.

Things to see - head up to the Peak ( do the walk around the peak - maybe have lunch up there )

Take the short ferry trip to Cheung Chau have lunch in the small harbour - visit the small temple.

At night why not visit one of the night markets or go to the Horse Racing

Take the Bus to Stanley - ( over the peak - sit upstairs for a white knuckle ride lol ) visit the WW2 cemetery - then lunch near the famous market

Take the Star Ferry at least once across the Harbour

Look for a nice restaurant overlooking the Harbour for Dinner when the laser show is on ( we picked Aqua Roma )

Hope that helps !!!

jj.....

Thanks JJ am investigating the Langham Place, it looks nice. Someone else had suggested th Shangri La in your mind which is the better and why

I really do appreciate your advice

A

Hi what i liked about the Langham was from the moment they took our cases off us outside the arrivals hall we felt special.

We thought staying at the Langham we amongst the local people - great local markets on the hotels doorstep - very close to the metro station.

An amazing Spa at the Langham - great staff who were there went you needed them !!

Great Price - we were able to book a suite !!

I never visited the Shangri La so can't comment !!

jj.....

First, thank you so much for sharing all of this great advice!

Second, please advise! We are planning to spend 6 days in HK pre-cruise (Crystal Symphony). Can you please suggest an itinerary for us for the six days? Also, with respect to our hotel, we are considering staying at the Peninsula, the Intercontinental or the Four Seasons. Do you know anything about each of the hotels individually? Are they all located near the Star Ferry or in a comparably good location?

Thanks again for taking the time to share with all of us!

Shelley

Hi Shelley - Intercontinental and the Peninsula are all very close to the Star Ferry - the Four Seasons is on HK island but still close to the Star ferry.

I called into the Peninsula - it was ok and would be my choice ( although the Langham would be my first choice )

A good site to check out http://www.hongkongextras.com/

Hmm 6day itinerary lol or i'll give it a go !!

Day 1 - get a feel for the place a stroll around the area next your hotel ( say the Peninsula ) - a trip across the harbour on the Star Ferry - pick up your must need the Octopus Card ( used pay on the metro - star ferry ) arrange somewhere nice for dinner - somewhere overlooking the harbour for the Laser show.

Day 2 - Lets head to the Big buddha on Lantau Island -Most enjoyable way to get to the Buddha is by ferry to Mui Wo on Lantau then bus. That way you get a scenic cruise through the harbour and amongst some of the outlying islands. It doesn't take much longer than taking the MTR and you get to see so much more.

Central Ferry Pier 6 (next to Star Ferry Pier). Take the 10-30 am ordinary ferry to Mui Wo. It takes 50 mins and has an open sun deck at the back where you can sit out. The bus terminus at Mui Wo is next to the ferry pier and number 2 bus goes to Ngong Ping.

After visiting the Big buddha catch a bus or taxi back to Tung Chung MTR and catch the MTR back into your hotel or try the Ngong Ping Skyrail back to the Tung Chung MTR

Or if your feeling fit lol -

Take the alternative walk down is via the Tung Chung Valley which is a scenic walk down a forested valley with streams, waterfalls and past a couple of monasteries. It's a slightly shorter walk than the rescue trail and there are no uphill stretches. From the Buddha follow the path to the Tea Gardens Restaurant and Wisdom Path. Shortly past the Restaurant you'll see the path to Tung Chung branch off to the left. Near the bottom of the valley the path joins Tung Chung Road and takes you past Tung Chung Fort from where it follows the same route to Tung Chung Centre as the walk down via the rescue trail. There are plenty of buses on the main road going to Tung Chung Centre which you can catch if the walk gets tiring.

Let me think about Day 3 lol

jj......

JJ --

You are truly amazing! This is fabulous! Keep going -- only Days 3, 4, 5 and 6 to go! You are so helpful. I look forward to your next posting!

Thank you!

Shelley

Day 3 - Star ferry across the harbour - walk or catch a cab to the cable car which will take you up the Peak. Time for some amazing pictures or why not take one of the walk around the Peak Trail http://www.peaktrail.net/index_eng.html - then head back to the Peak for lunch - try Cafe Deco http://www.cafedeco.com/cafed/v_deco.asp great views over the harbour

In the afternoon - why not on the way back down check out the Man Mo temple http://www.edwebproject.org/hongkong04/manmo.html which is on hollywood road - which leads on to the next thing to do Hollywood Road & Cat Street ( also called Upper Lascar Road ) check all the Chinese antiques shops !!

After Dinner - why not check out the Temple Street Market ( haggle lol )

jj......

Shelley are you interested in Tailor - i got a lovely Suit and shirts for me !!

jj......

Thanks for the tailor offer, but it's not the kind of thing my husband would do. If you have a good jeweler to recommend, however, I will definitely take you up on that. I love to purchase a memorable piece of jewelry when we travel. Our last cruise was to the Amazon, and although Brazil has plenty of diamonds for sale, we spent our time out in the rainforest instead. Hong Kong could be another matter, however! I'm especially interested in finding some unusual pearl earrings if you can recommend a reputable shop. Thanks!

Shelley

"If you have a good jeweler to recommend,"

Oh you don't miss a trick lol - sorry we didn't buy anything.

I do remember on the offical HK Tourism site they have shops that are recommended !!

jj.....

Thanks, I'll check it out. You can't blame me for trying . . . I'm a girly-girl and I love my bling!

Shelley

Word of warning - don't buy Jade unless you know what you're looking for or you're buying from a trusted dealer Shelley.

Shelley - when are you visiting HK

With the Langham we arranged through the hotel to be picked up by limo at the Airport ( straight out of arrivals and the hotel desk picked up our bags )

Day 4 - STANLEY MARKET

Take the Star ferry across the harbour - at Exchange Square Bus Terminus (MTR Central Station Exit B) on Hong Kong Island take Citybus services 6, 6A, 6X and 260.

Be warned bus 6 takes the scary route lol up over the peak sit up-top for rollercoaster views lol

Think about walking round from Stanley to Stanley Military Cemetery very interesting and a nice wee walk.

Have lunch in one of the lovely places along the beach/harbour front.

Must check the market for bargins !!

For dinner if your adventurous why try one of the stalls at the Temple market !!

jj....

Day - Another Ferry trip to an outlaying island !!

Cheung Chau - catch the ferry from Central Pier 5 on Hong Kong Island. As you enter the small harbour take lots of pics - walk up to the Pak Tai Temple and enter and maybe buy some incense sticks to burn - make sure you check out the little side rooms.

After that follow the coast road round to the left - nice little walk ( you can walk over the hill but we decided to turn and head back ) a good 30mins very nice.

When you head back into town make sure you cut throught the streets ( just past the Pak Tai Temple ) to the otherside of the island/beach - check out the shops along the small streets.

There are lots of scenic walks you can take - check hong kong extras !!

A must do is lunch along the harbour - lots of place to choose from fresh cheap food !!

jj......

OMG, JJ! You are amazing! Thank you so much for all of this help! Have you ever thought about quitting your "day" job and writing travel books for a living?! Frommers and Fodors better watch out!

Thanks, again!

Shelley

I just hope you have a great time Shelley - when are you going ?

jj...

You will laugh when I tell you, but there is a legitimate reason to explain my urgency. We are on the Crystal Symphony out of Hong Kong on March 27, 2009 (yes, 09!) Go ahead, laugh! Now, the reason why I am planning this so early is because we need to figure out how many days pre-cruise we should allow in Hong Kong. This is because the Business Class plane tickets will become available this month, and I have to know for which date to book my flight to Hong Kong. Not so stupid, right? Only by knowing what I will do in Hong Kong will I know how many days I need to be in Hong Kong. Then, figuring back from the date of the cruise, I know when to fly to Hong Kong.

Your help has been absolutely priceless. I now know that we will fly from Los Angeles to Hong Kong on March 21, arrive in Hong Kong on March 22, and have 6 full days in Hong Kong (the ship is overnight in Hong Kong on March 27, so we have all day on March 28, too). It is with your help that I have been able to compute all of this, and I know that we have a wonderful itinerary already underway. Thank you again for all of your help. I hope we meet face-to-face on a cruise one day!

Shelley

P.S. We recently returned from a cruise to the Amazon. If you ever have the chance to visit the unbelievable world of the Amazon, let me know. I would be happy to share all of my experiences with you in helping you to plan your trip!

That is an awfully long time to be in Hong Kong. You might want to consider a trip into Chengdu or even Xian from Hong Kong; both more worthwhile (IMHO).

Honest i'm not laughing ( he/he ) - i think you're spot on with the trip planning - 6 days in my view is just right !!

We had 10 lovely days - so i'm not sure mrlevin is right most people never even see half of HK.

Amazon now that would be nice - but i might be flydriving your part of the Country next fall ( so tips would be needed lol )

Shelley could i recommend Air NewZealand - we flew with them from London and they were very very good !!

jj......

Coxswain, I just realized that I had misread the title of this thread. I had thought you posted "Spent 10 years in Hong Kong" instead of ten days. If you love the food and the shopping, you can spend months in Hong Kong and not be bored. However, I think there are better places to see in China; I have nothing against Hong Kong and think everyone should visit at least once in their lifetime.