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.

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.

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.

Thanks. I'm going for two days next March. I'm going as a
tourist, not a shopper, but I may be looking for a new
mobile phone while I'm there, or in Bangkok before it. Any
recommendations on localities to shop for that sort of
thing?

Where did you stay? Would you recommend it?

I didn't realise the weekend problem occurred; luckily I
arrive on a Wednesday and depart very late on a Friday.


Cheers, Alan, Australia
--
http://loraltravel.blogspot.com/
latest: Slovenia
http://loraltraveloz.blogspot.com/
latest: Mossman Gorge in the Daintree Rainforest

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.

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.

On Thu, 29 Nov 2007 09:48:31 +1100, wrote:

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).

Don't count the giant Buddha as an exception. It was actually built
around 15 years ago.

Chris

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

"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

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

"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

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.