[HELP] Going to HK

Heyyyyyyyyyyyy

Hong Kong is really great. You’re gonna love it as loads of stuff is in English. Lots of things to do:

-1st thing is to buy an Octopus card (basically card for all transport but cheaper and can be used in stores as well)
-Eating-wise, for breakfast, smell your way to the nearest bakery and stockpile the pastries there. Lunch-wise dim-sum is king in Hong Kong. Don’t be afraid of going to the slightly shabby looking restaurants along the street as normally they are both cheaper and serve better food. Pretty much anywhere in Hong Kong has good restaurants. For evening, try ordering lobster or crab, can be quite pricey but it’s def a HK favourite.
-Hang around Lan Kwai Fong in “Central” , you can prob guess this is the business hub and also you’ll find tonnes of foreigners in the bars there. Assuming you aren’t sick of it already (NINJA EDIT)
-Electronics are generally reliable. Just inspect stuff a lot before you buy if you’re not buying from a big electronics chain. You HAVE to go to the electronics mart in Tsim Sha Tsui (check this). It’s kind of hard to find though….. and I’ve forgotten the name lol, “Golden Electronics Something…” Basically, a collection of tiny shops over 4 floors selling everything electronical. You can normally get a 20% discount if you push them hard enough. Lots of shops sell similar items, so if you have the time, shop around.
-Near the electronics mart, and closer to Mong Kok station, isa huge market called Women’s Street (don’t ask for this in English, makes no sense). Unfortunately, it’s not lined with skimpily-clad asian women going to the highest bidder, it’s just a fat-ass market selling lots of pirate crap. All the sellers are dodgy as fuck. Even I got scammed. They will start the price around 400% of its value and “reluctantly” discount it for 200%. They also might try to note-scam you. (They ask for money first, pretend to have no stock,”give” your money back, but they’ve swapped it for a fake one or a mainland Chinese version (legally ok, but normally fake). ALSO, make sure they put YOUR product in the bag/wrapping. Don’t let them get a “new one” from the back without checking it first. Essentially, don’t give these bitches an inch.
-Other things… get the $2 "Star Ferry" ride from Central across to some place I forgot…. Walk around the fucking huge shopping centres @ Causeway Bay and Sha Tin… don’t consider any of the theme parks. There’s a giant Buddha statue which is alright (I think that’s on Lantau Island). Near Lantau, is a recently built cable car ride, I’ve never been on it but apparently its v. scenic blahblah. It’s been closed a while though as a cable car fell off for no apparent reason last year lol

Finally, be careful of pickpockets as esp in HK where its really f-ing crowded

Have fun mate, you will soon realise why London is so shit.

There’s a giant Buddha statue which is alright (I think that’s on Lantau Island). Near Lantau, is a recently built cable car ride, I’ve never been on it but apparently its v. scenic blahblah. It’s been closed a while though as a cable car fell off for no apparent reason last year lol

On July 27 2008 23:41 fOrQQ wrote:
edit// ho snap i got ninja-posted XD

How long are you going to be staying in HK? Strangely I'll be leaving for Tokyo from HK in a few days haha =P

As far as touristy places, some good locations include:

The Peak - you probably know this, its where a lot of night-shots of downtown HK are taken from the top of a mountain. Food is a bit pricey there though.

Times Square (via Causeaway Bay) - basically...the Times Square of HK? As usual, lots of shopping districts and plenty of good eats =P

Lan Kwai Fong (蘭桂坊, via MTR at Central Station) - Its fairly close to Central Station (MTR, HK side) and its basically THE nightclub/pub central in HK. Basically open from 10pm till early morning, great atmosphere for drinking and clubbing if you're into that sort of thing. (fairly expensive though, since it is an extremely popular social hangout/tourist spot)

Ocean Park - The HK summer amusement park. Its been around for AGES, and imo is way better than HK Disney (which I'll cover next). Lots of stuff to do, panda exhibit, aquarium, rides, etc. And an awesome tram ride!

HK Disney (via MTR on Disney Line)- Honestly, I wouldn't recommend going here. Things are pricey (as are all Disneys) but there really isn't anything to do here that you can't do in other Disneys, and the others do it MUCH better.

Tsim Sa Tsui (via MTR or KCR as TST East)- One of the most famous places in Kowloon side, at night you can see the famous Hong Kong skyline + nightly lightshow. Don't miss out on the Avenue of Stars here (kind of like the Hollywood Walk of Fame) and if you're loaded, TST is known for very high-end fashion stores, esp in Harbour City.

Mong Kok (via MTR or KCR) - Probably one of the best places to get really good clothing/sportswear/gadgets cheap! Hope you are good at bargaining keke...check out the Women's Street (just a name..) for lots of interesting products.

There are of course various large shopping malls in Sha Tin (via KCR), Kowloon Tong (via MTR or KCR), and Mong Kok itself (called Langham Place, exit...D2 I think?)

Foodwise, lots of traditional HK food are in (duh) HK-style cafes, and various street vendors (大牌檔). Some of my favorite HK/Canton style restaurants include:

太興 (Dai Hing) - traditional HK roast foods + rice, as well as GREAT Hong Kong milk tea (you must try HK milk tea!!)

鼎泰豐 (Ding Tai Fung) - award winning restaurant that is famous for Shanghai-style dumplings and ramen. Prepare to wait 1hr+ to get a seat, esp. at peak times, but it is hands-down the best place to eat dumplings. (Its at TST harbour city/silvercord center). It actually has 4-5 branches in Japan so you might actually know it.

It might seem a bit sketchy but a lot of great HK food are in not-so-new establishments, and it is often much cheaper and better quality. Usually you can tell the quality/popularity of the place by the amount of people in there during peak times (lunch, afternoon tea times)

If you're visiting friends in HK, then you might want to try karaoke here =P (though you probably have in Japan already). Places like Red Box, Green Box, and CEO are the more famous places to do so.

I'm probably missing a lot of stuff, but hope you have a lot of fun here in HK! =D

ps. if you really need some help, feel free to pm me any questions or ask here ^^ i'll do my best to help you =]

On July 28 2008 00:46 Cambium wrote:
LOL, I was so looking forward to the buddha until I read:



Anyway, thanks a ton for your responses (<3 TL ~~)

I got a lot of the stuff planned out during the mean time, I think I am going to visit (not in any order)

Victoria Peak
Ladies Street
Temple Street (Gentlemen Street)
Man Mo Temple
Buddha
Lei Yue Mun for dinner (alfresco seafood)
Stanley Park
Star Street

To answer some question, I'll be leaving for Japan from Tokyo tomorrow at 6:30 PM and I am expecting to arrive at 10:00, so maybe hotel check-in at 11 pm, so I won't be able to do anything on that night. Afterwards, I'll be staying in Hong Kong for three full days before leaving for China, so I have quite some time for touring.

I will be traveling with my girlfriend. In theory, we don't need to buy anything, as Tokyo is pretty good for shopping, but she loves random souvenirs so that's why she insists on going to a lot of markets (which I don't really might either). We want to have dim sum everyday, but it is kind of a drag that most restaurants don't open for dim sum until very late, so our days can't start until like noon, if not after.

To alffla:

I'll take down your number and give you a call if anything comes up I won't be taking my cellphone with me because it's not convenient to charge (different volts) and it'll cost a lot of money to receive calls outside of Japan. I think we are pretty packed for days and nights, but we could probably have lunch on our last day, but you have work

On July 28 2008 01:34 fOrQQ wrote:
Where is your hotel located? Hopefully its Hong Kong side, though Kowloon side is alright if its close to HK side (ie. TST, Mong Kok). God forbid you're going to live for 3 days in New Territories area haha XD

On July 28 2008 01:53 Elric_ wrote:


Oi!! My family is from Tai Po :'(

On July 30 2008 01:52 Cambium wrote:
Okay, thanks a ton for the responses guys.

I just got back from my first day in Hong Kong, and I think it's safe to say that I got ripped off BAD. I'll blog about it later when I arrive in China (when I have more free time), but a few things I noticed:

1. Hong Kong is fairly expensive, just like any other developed country. I had my mind set on Hong Kong being a slightly more expensive China (maybe 2-4x max), but it turned out to be exactly like Japan, if not worse.

2. Now being used to the Japanese service, the service industry in Hong Kong is extremely rude (to us at least). I speak both English and Mandarin, and it's really a dilemma when I try to speak to someone. Typically, English = better service, and Chinese = less ripped off. This is especially evident in ladies street, it seems to be the standard for both parties to (appear ?) annoyed in order to reach a deal -.-

3. We spent almost 800 HKD on dinner at the stupid seafood place, WTF?

4. There was so much fucking mist on top of victoria peak, couldn't see shit. WTF?

On July 30 2008 01:52 Cambium wrote:
Okay, thanks a ton for the responses guys.

I just got back from my first day in Hong Kong, and I think it's safe to say that I got ripped off BAD. I'll blog about it later when I arrive in China (when I have more free time), but a few things I noticed:

1. Hong Kong is fairly expensive, just like any other developed country. I had my mind set on Hong Kong being a slightly more expensive China (maybe 2-4x max), but it turned out to be exactly like Japan, if not worse.

2. Now being used to the Japanese service, the service industry in Hong Kong is extremely rude (to us at least). I speak both English and Mandarin, and it's really a dilemma when I try to speak to someone. Typically, English = better service, and Chinese = less ripped off. This is especially evident in ladies street, it seems to be the standard for both parties to (appear ?) annoyed in order to reach a deal -.-

3. We spent almost 800 HKD on dinner at the stupid seafood place, WTF?

4. There was so much fucking mist on top of victoria peak, couldn't see shit. WTF?