Ever been to Hong Kong?

[airtrotter]

yes? You can help.

My GF and I will be attending a wedding in Hong Kong in a few weeks. We stay for six days and are wondering what to put on our TO DO-list. Things we must see/do.
Also, tips for good (price/quality) hotels?

(also, tips for spotting at Chek Lap Kok...but, sshhh, don't tell my girlfriend )

Anyway, thanks in advance!
grs

[Established02]

I visited Hong Kong in 2004 and was in various ways impressed by this big city.

Clean, safe, well-organised, excellent infrastructure, reliable public transportation, hard working people, reasonably priced, mix of modern and ancient culture, mountains, water...

I had cheap accommodation at a youth hostel (Hostelling International) almost on the top of mountain overseeing the sea. I have to admit that there was limited luxury there, but I did meet some interesting people there.

I went to the usual tourist places, shopping areas, some ancient monasteries, a huge Buddha statue...

I had also tried to visit the old Kai Tak airport area, wanting to see the famous checker board, but that did not work out finally.

I regret that I did not take the ferry to Macau.

[cathay belgium]

Hi,

Been there in KaiTak period
Can't miss : repulse bay ( dragon home between flats ), wong tai sin temple,the peak , jumbo hotel and harbour boat tour,kowloon park for taichi people, night and flea market,nathon road for neon advertisements,..
Macau,buddha statue on Lamma island haven't been visited during my stay but are musts seens,the green ferry is also a must..
If time is fine a visit to Suzhou in the real China can be organised also after the new territories...

Have fun in asia's New York..

another tip ; fly CX - b

[CRJ 900]

Hello,
Been there a few times.
A few things you absolutely should do: Peak tram on Hong Kong Island (amazing view over Hong Kong), Temple Street Night Market in Kowloon (every night a huge market around Temple Street where you can find everything), Aberdeen (fish restaurants in a very green area on the other side of Hong Kong Island), Disneyland Honk Kong (not far from the airport on Lantau Island).
If you have the chance, visit the Peninsula Hotel where the Rolls Royces are parked at the door. Go up to the bar on top of the hotel, an amazing view. And don't forget to go to the toilet over there, you will never forget it
You can also spend a day in Macau or Shenzen (very cheap shopping). Shenzen is easy accessible by train (45 minutes), but to get there you need a visum which you can collect the day before in Hong Kong (saves you a lot of time at the border, that is still there even if it belongs already to China for more than a decade).
When I used to travel to HKG and beyond I always flew Cathay Pacific. Extremely good service and perfect connections from HKG to e.g. TPE, ICN, ... Also very easy to check in. As most flights to EU are late at night, you can drop of your luggage already in the morning at Hong Kong Central Station at a Cathay counter, get your boarding pass and spend a quiet day in Hong Kong without worries about your luggage. It is already checked in and send to HKG. To get there I passed via AMS, LHR or CDG (but you better avoid the last one). Absolutely one of my favourite times with a very cosmopolitan atmosphere. A crazy mix between Asian enthousiasm and mystic and the flegmatic, traditional English colonialism.
Have fun over there!
Rgds
CRJ 900

[Desert Rat]

I was there in December for a long Week-end,first thing I would recommend is to take a pass with the Rickshaw sightseeing bus.

http://www.rickshawbus.com/en/home/index.html

Also the cruise on the old boat is nice, i would recommend as well to take a hotel on Kowloon it's cheaper than Hong Kong island....

Have fun!

[andorra-airport]

I live 50% of my time in Hong-Kong, let me give you some tips. Go to the Jumbo floating restaurant, to the top deck on a nice day, very relaxed, good food and nice views towards the multi million yachts of Aberdeen Boat Club. When finished, take downstairs a boat tour with a "sampan" through Aberdeen harbour. You will see many people living on fishing junks (tanka people), very impressive. After that, take a taxi to Stanley, your wife will be happy. A long shopping street, covered market. The usual and the fake, both cheap. But a very special atmosphere. After that go for a nice dinner at the pier! Next day, go a full day to Ocean Park. 1 happy day for both of you. DON'T go to Disneyland too small, nothing special. Next day take the Peak tram to Victoria Peak, very commercial, tourist trap yes. But a nice view. If you are romantic take a walk on nearby Lugard Road http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lugard_Road . Go 1 day to Macau !! When you arrive (by boat), go to the left, and you will see Macau Fisherman's Wharf. A free theme park, "Cape Town, Amsterdam and Venice", and yes take 100 photo's. Go to the nice portuguese city center, (buy the cookies!) and take a taxi to "The Venetian" . Next day, take the "Star Ferry", go to Ocean Terminal, Tsim Sha Tsui. Shop shop shop. If you are a museum type, go to Hong Kong Museum of History, it is a whoooow and free on wednesday. Go to the laser show at night, "A Symphony of Lights", it "lasers" and lights all the sky-line of hong-kong , very nice! 8 at night, Tsim Sha Tsui waterfront. Take Ngong Ping 360, a cable car on Lantau Island, nice views of HKG airport! (for a higher price you can choose for a glass bottom) , from there you can go to the Big Buddha, and go to Tai O . A fishing village. Go! It will take you 1 day, and you will not be disappointed. Very very special. If you want to go to the beach, go to "Repulse Bay" its nice. And I have a laugh every time. Every 10 minutes there will be a tour bus with mainland China people who have never seen the sea. To see them running to the sea is priceless!!! Beer is cheap at the local 7/11 And for the rest, go to the ladies market in Tung Choi Street, Mongkok. Fill your week with this, and you have a perfect Hong-Kong week!

Hotels here http://www.hotelclub.com/Hong-Kong/Hong ... ls/Sort-1/

Spotting in HKG: http://www.spotterswiki.com/index.php?t ... ng_Airport

Ohhh, and you know Hong-Kong has 2 airports? (and I don't mean Kai Tak)

Have a nice trip!

[kookongsi]

Interesting topic to follow, as I'm going to Hong Kong too for 8 days at the end of march.

@Andorra-airport: it's a family trip and we promised the kids to go to Disneyland there, so there's no way back anymore. Is it better to order the tickets in advance by internet or can we just go there without spending an hour at the ticketing-desks?
Many thanks in advance.

I'm already looking forward to this trip!

[willem]

Hi there,

Been recently to Hong Kong for a "small" city trip.

I can recommend most things already said here,

Personally I liked Cheung Chau island a lot aswell, nice to go for 1 day, you can walk around the complete Island easily (or bike), no cars allowed over there.
Great & extremely cheap (sea)food

@ Tai-o, you can take a boat trip to see pink dolphins, but unfortunately for us we did not see them...

Shek-O & Big-Wave beach are also really nice. And worth the trip. If you like walking, there is a trail that starts @ Big-Wave beach, taking you over the hills with a fantastic view!

@ Stanley, go eat chez le suisse... (don't recall the real name of the restaurant) but ask for him, most people living there will know. Great food for a great price (a lot more expensive during the weekend)
Going to stanley, try to take bus 2X if i remember well, and try to sit top level, front seats, a ride you will not forget.

If you miss the belgian cuisine, "Frites" is a good restaurant with all the goodies (beer) from here
(More or less in Soho, but I think there are a couple Frites restaurants, correct me if I'm wrong)

If you are into computers, try visiting the Golden Arcade, the most impressive computer market!
(try not to take the wife/girlfriend with you ) (Kowloon)

The peak is also quite nice when it is dark, with a good sushi resto there. (bit expensive though)
If you take the good things, easily 100 à 150€ a person.

Peninsula bar as suggested. (Also a good rooftop bar in New York by the way, with Duvel @ 15$ )

Grand Hyatt hotel is really good, at the Expo, although, if you want to travel alot with the subway, it's a bit far from the station. As long as the new line is not finished. But taxi is really cheap.

Hong kong park is nice , with the bird section. (free)

If you want to go up in the IFC building , take legitimation with you. Free of charge.
On the other side of the water, the DHL balloon might be nice, as you have children with you...

Also try to do the elevators in Soho.

If something pops up in my mind, I'll post it here.

We flew Qatar (as usual ) Which was a very good experience. (and close to being the cheapest, plus start from Brussels with avoidance of all the major airports in Europe! ) Plus is/was the flight back from HKG @ 01.00 AM local time, which gives you a full last day.

Sorry for spelling mistakes/things I forgot, but had to type this in a hurry.

Grtz!

[airtrotter]

Wow, big thanks to everyone for the tips! Highly appreciated.
But now it seems six days won't be enough though Anyway, lots of things to choose from, great!

We'll be flying Lufti, A346 out, Jumbo (hopefully PTV AVOD) in. CX turned out to be more expensive, and Qatar, have to admit, also looked tempting.

[andorra-airport]

Interesting topic to follow, as I'm going to Hong Kong too for 8 days at the end of march.

@Andorra-airport: it's a family trip and we promised the kids to go to Disneyland there, so there's no way back anymore. Is it better to order the tickets in advance by internet or can we just go there without spending an hour at the ticketing-desks?
Many thanks in advance.

I'm already looking forward to this trip!

Buy online, because it can be very busy (mainland Chinese people). Visit the park anti-clock wise, to avoid the huge crowds. The climate is usually very comfortable at the end of March (and April), so good choice! If it starts to get too hot, they do have some fun water attractions. Have a nice time there, and in Hong-Kong!

[kookongsi]

Thanks a lot!

[quixoticguide]

Thanks for the tips i am also going to Hong Kong with Jet Airways.

[EB-Air]

Thanks for the tips i am also going to Hong Kong with Jet Airways.

Same for me! I will fly via Mumbai, will be my first flight with Jet Airways, and I will fly in Première (I found a reasonable price, so why not?). Before I always choosed Lufthansa and Swiss, but decided last october to try Virgin Atlantic (good, but British Airways almost screwed up my travel due to a delayed LHR flight, so no time to experience the ClubHouse ). But this time VS was to expensive...

Almost no time for being tourist, as I will be there for business, and my time is very limited this time (I will travel 2 times to Guangzhou for the Canton Fair, and in between visit the Hong Kong Fairs and some suppliers, all in 9 days)

I can't really add more suggestions to visit (to ones I visited are all listed), but is the Aviation Discovery Centre at the airport worth visiting? How long will it be closed for renovation?

Regarding Ngong Ping 360, take the "crystal cabin" cable car, almost no waiting time to board, defenitly worth the higher price, and with some luck you will be alone in the cabin...

Nice hotel, and reasonable prices (for Kowloon) is Stanford Hillview. Just around the corner there is Knutsford Terrace, with a lot of restaurants and bars (although expensive...)