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If your going to Hong Kong
Just got back from a week in Hong Kong and wanted to mention a few
things if your thinking about visiting. HK is all about shopping. I met several people that made it their first stop on a long trip through Asia and planned to stay several days. Since they were travelling light, shopping wasn't much of an option. The tourist sites are pretty mediocre as there is absolutely no history at all. Pretty much anything more than 50 years old has been torn down and replaced with a modern building. A couple of exceptions are Victoria Peak and the giant Buddha (especially if the cable cars are working). Food is good but not much variety; its either Chinese or Western style ethnic food. Prices aren't too bad but not great either. Alcohol is very expensive during non-happy hour. Fortunately, happy hour tends to be 9+ hours long (usually noon to 9pm) during which drinks are roughly half price. Would be easier if they just had an 'un-happy' hour from 9pm to close. The air pollution is very bad in HK. The sky is always yellow and visibility isn't very good. Stay off the main streets since just about everything runs on diesel. Stick to the MTR and visit the many small parks to take a break from the terrible air. Final point, DO NOT PLAN ON DOING ANY SIGHTSEEING OR SHOPPING ON THE WEEKEND. Hordes of Chinese from the mainland come over and flood everything. Try and arrive and leave on a weekend. If you are there on a weekend, stay away from the tourist stuff and go out on your own. Take a ferry to a small island or get off the train at a random stop and walk around. |
#3
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If your going to Hong Kong
On Nov 28, 2:48 pm, wrote:
Just got back from a week in Hong Kong and wanted to mention a few things if your thinking about visiting. HK is all about shopping. I met several people that made it their first stop on a long trip through Asia and planned to stay several days. Since they were travelling light, shopping wasn't much of an option. To me HK is all about eating. I can shop much better elsewhere, i.e. Shenzhen. The tourist sites are pretty mediocre as there is absolutely no history at all. Pretty much anything more than 50 years old has been torn down and replaced with a modern building. A couple of exceptions are Victoria Peak and the giant Buddha (especially if the cable cars are working). There are some historical sights, some old temples hidden away somewhere. The HK history museum is worth a visit. But you are right, don't go to HK to see any historical sights. Food is good but not much variety; its either Chinese or Western style ethnic food. Excuse me? Obviously you don't know anything about Chinese food. There are many varieties of Chinse regional cuisine, most of them are well represented in HK, one of the greatest culinary city of the world. Western style ethnic food? There are plenty of Indian, Italian, southeast Asian, Japanese, and even French cuisine in HK. Prices aren't too bad but not great either. Alcohol is very expensive during non-happy hour. Fortunately, happy hour tends to be 9+ hours long (usually noon to 9pm) during which drinks are roughly half price. Would be easier if they just had an 'un-happy' hour from 9pm to close. The air pollution is very bad in HK. The sky is always yellow and visibility isn't very good. Stay off the main streets since just about everything runs on diesel. Stick to the MTR and visit the many small parks to take a break from the terrible air. Yeah the air pollution is very bad indeed. Final point, DO NOT PLAN ON DOING ANY SIGHTSEEING OR SHOPPING ON THE WEEKEND. Hordes of Chinese from the mainland come over and flood everything. Try and arrive and leave on a weekend. If you are there on a weekend, stay away from the tourist stuff and go out on your own. Take a ferry to a small island or get off the train at a random stop and walk around. |
#4
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If your going to Hong Kong
On Thu, 29 Nov 2007 10:56:42 +1100, Alan S wrote:
On Thu, 29 Nov 2007 09:48:31 +1100, wrote: Just got back from a week in Hong Kong and wanted to mention a few things if your thinking about visiting. HK is all about shopping. I met several people that made it their first stop on a long trip through Asia and planned to stay several days. Since they were travelling light, shopping wasn't much of an option. The tourist sites are pretty mediocre as there is absolutely no history at all. Pretty much anything more than 50 years old has been torn down and replaced with a modern building. A couple of exceptions are Victoria Peak and the giant Buddha (especially if the cable cars are working). Food is good but not much variety; its either Chinese or Western style ethnic food. Prices aren't too bad but not great either. Alcohol is very expensive during non-happy hour. Fortunately, happy hour tends to be 9+ hours long (usually noon to 9pm) during which drinks are roughly half price. Would be easier if they just had an 'un-happy' hour from 9pm to close. To say there is no food variety in Hong Kong is completely wrong. In addition to all varieties of Chinese cuisine, there is Indian, Thai, Cambodian and on and on varieties of other Asian cuisine and every variety of Western cuisine you can imagine including Russian. |
#5
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If your going to Hong Kong
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#6
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If your going to Hong Kong
On Thu, 29 Nov 2007 01:10:16 GMT, the renowned
(John Kulp) wrote: On Thu, 29 Nov 2007 10:56:42 +1100, Alan S wrote: On Thu, 29 Nov 2007 09:48:31 +1100, wrote: Just got back from a week in Hong Kong and wanted to mention a few things if your thinking about visiting. HK is all about shopping. I met several people that made it their first stop on a long trip through Asia and planned to stay several days. Since they were travelling light, shopping wasn't much of an option. The tourist sites are pretty mediocre as there is absolutely no history at all. Pretty much anything more than 50 years old has been torn down and replaced with a modern building. A couple of exceptions are Victoria Peak and the giant Buddha (especially if the cable cars are working). Just to clarify- the giant Buddha is not very old (less than 15 years). He is a money-making structure built on a joint stock corporation. The monks have up to date computers to issue tickets for the de rigeur mass vegetarian lunches. Food is good but not much variety; its either Chinese or Western style ethnic food. Prices aren't too bad but not great either. Alcohol is very expensive during non-happy hour. Fortunately, happy hour tends to be 9+ hours long (usually noon to 9pm) during which drinks are roughly half price. Would be easier if they just had an 'un-happy' hour from 9pm to close. To say there is no food variety in Hong Kong is completely wrong. In addition to all varieties of Chinese cuisine, there is Indian, Thai, Cambodian and on and on varieties of other Asian cuisine and every variety of Western cuisine you can imagine including Russian. Korean and French are just two types of food I look forward to in HK. I can't think of a type of food you can't get in HK and I live in the most diverse city in the world. I don't think shopping is very attractive any more, perhaps aside from some odd Chinese items there is not much that you can't get elsewhere for less or a similar price (especially in the US). Euro-based travellers might find relative bargains if they don't find the US an option. Best regards, Spehro Pefhany -- "it's the network..." "The Journey is the reward" Info for manufacturers: http://www.trexon.com Embedded software/hardware/analog Info for designers: http://www.speff.com |
#7
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If your going to Hong Kong
"John Kulp" wrote in message ... To say there is no food variety in Hong Kong is completely wrong. In addition to all varieties of Chinese cuisine, there is Indian, Thai, Cambodian and on and on varieties of other Asian cuisine and every variety of Western cuisine you can imagine including Russian. I'm with you there. "Chinese" - especially anywhere remotely near China - embraces enough separate cuisines to run the gamut of human consumption and cooking styles. Booze prices, though alarming, are still cheaper than in Tokyo, Singapore and Dubai. Hong Kong is still my favourite destination, despite what the government and private sector have done to it over the years. The pollution is certainly becoming a problem that affects lifestyle and health - unfortunately the Hong Kong government hasn't the will or the power to take on the vested interests. Crowds are also a growing problem - although people were saying that 20 years ago - but I don't go shopping in Causeway Bay. And there's no people watching better than on the corner of Queens Road and Pedder Street in Central! Cheers, George W Russell Bangalore |
#8
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If your going to Hong Kong
In article , grusl says...
Hong Kong is still my favourite destination, It's impressive because of its modern architecture (the skyline at night is great), but nearby Macau is much more quiet and laid back and has a lot more in terms of historical sights. -- Alfred Molon http://www.molon.de - Photos of Asia, Africa and Europe |
#9
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If your going to Hong Kong
"Alfred Molon" wrote in message ... In article , grusl says... Hong Kong is still my favourite destination, It's impressive because of its modern architecture (the skyline at night is great), but nearby Macau is much more quiet and laid back and has a lot more in terms of historical sights. -- It does, and I used to love Macau, but development has turned the place into a nightmare. The islands are all joined together, the casinos are hideous and even Fernando's has fallen into disrepute. Cheers, George W Russell Bangalore |
#10
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If your going to Hong Kong
On Thu, 29 Nov 2007 01:10:16 GMT, (John Kulp)
wrote: On Thu, 29 Nov 2007 10:56:42 +1100, Alan S wrote: On Thu, 29 Nov 2007 09:48:31 +1100, wrote: Just got back from a week in Hong Kong and wanted to mention a few things if your thinking about visiting. HK is all about shopping. I met several people that made it their first stop on a long trip through Asia and planned to stay several days. Since they were travelling light, shopping wasn't much of an option. The tourist sites are pretty mediocre as there is absolutely no history at all. Pretty much anything more than 50 years old has been torn down and replaced with a modern building. A couple of exceptions are Victoria Peak and the giant Buddha (especially if the cable cars are working). Food is good but not much variety; its either Chinese or Western style ethnic food. Prices aren't too bad but not great either. Alcohol is very expensive during non-happy hour. Fortunately, happy hour tends to be 9+ hours long (usually noon to 9pm) during which drinks are roughly half price. Would be easier if they just had an 'un-happy' hour from 9pm to close. To say there is no food variety in Hong Kong is completely wrong. In addition to all varieties of Chinese cuisine, there is Indian, Thai, Cambodian and on and on varieties of other Asian cuisine and every variety of Western cuisine you can imagine including Russian. I should have elaborated a bit more. I meant to say that other than chinese and seafood, the variety thats available isn't all that different than what you would find elsewhere. The Indian, Korean, Japanese food, etc is pretty much the same as what you would find in Sydney, Seattle or any other large city. The variety of seafood is impressive by looking at the 'wet markets', but after seeing people fishing in that nasty harbor, I wouldn't want to try it. |
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