Hong Kong (1 Viewer)

[braindrainedAsh]

I have to stop over at Hong Kong on my way to London.

I get there at 6.30am on the 3rd of Jan, and I leave at 1am on the 4th.

What should I do in my few short hours in Hong Kong? Anyone got any suggestions for the time and budget strapped traveller that wants to get a taste of this city in the short time she has?

 

[bubz :D]

omg i'm so excited for you, ash!! i dont know if there's much you'll be able to do sight-seeing wise in such a short time, also i haven't been sight-seeing in HK for aaaaages so :| and i'm guessing disneyland is out of the question

trams are really cheap - $HK2.00 can take you a looong way. you also MUST go on the mtr - they shit all over cityrail. ironic thing is that they were designed in australia (i THINK).

shopping-wise, go to mongkok - woman street, flower street - cheapest stuff evar but they might rip you off coz you're not asian (hell, they tried to rip me off too coz of my foreign accent)
also, lanham place, which opened around a year ago, when i went back - gorgeous building with heaps of shops and cute stuff, it's right near the MTR station, you'll see it on the map

causeway bay - just step out of the MTR station and go nuts. times square, sogo, etc etc

lan kwai fong for the bars!!! i love it.

more stuff later, if i can think of it!



edit: try this - http://www.discoverhongkong.com/eng
omg i miss HK now!

 

[braindrainedAsh]

I should be able to just use my ATM card to withdraw money from an ATM when I am there shouldn't I? Also, does 1 aussie dollars = approx 5 HK dollars sound about right?

 

[...]

5?

hm, its around 5.7 i think

 

[ToO LaZy ^*]

wow..talk about bad timing.
yes, its currently hoovering around $HK5.6 per $AU1.00
when i went back, it was 1:6

with the short time you have, i recommend you go to mongkok, which also has 'woman street' and 'flower street' (dont worry, woman street isnt a street for women only and flower street doesnt sell any flowers)
if you dont like big crowds, go during the day, if you do, go at night (they have all these promos, special events at night)

as to how you get there, either catch an airport bus, or go the MTR (bus is ~$HK28 from memory). but its best to ask for directions

 

[braindrainedAsh]

I should be able to find somewhere to lock my luggage and laptop away securely for the day at the airport shouldn't I?

 

[daniandrow]

definately agree with mongkok for shopping.... just walk around its amazing what you will find.... i may be a bit weird but it you are on kowloon side in tsim sha sue (spelling???) Hong Kong museum of history absolutely blew me away.....

 

[santaslayer]

u either eat or shop @ HK...

pollution is shit...


but yes, purchase!!!


u can always go to the red light districts and have a look...its always fun..

macau is cool to if u can get ur arse back to the airport on time...casino!

exchnge rate is in the high 5's.


lan kwai fong has a lot of ghosts..(foriegners) :uhhuh:


edit: hard to get lost in HK...


taxis are really cheap...but u must be careful..some of them take u da LOOOooOOOooong way..lol

there are probably more MTR's than McDonalds...i came across so many it was weird...

the MTR's come like every 2-5 mins...fuck off cityrail...

u can buiy those octupus cards which allow u to travel on ANYTHING in HK...u just have to put money in it..

the magnetic strips on the octupus cards are so good/sensitive u dont have to physically take the card out of ur wallet in order to pass thru the gates...

u can put ur whole bag on the scanner...no worries..

octupus cards are also accepted in some supermarkets/retail places...like OMG!

 

[!! CaR`JiE !!]

Oh ma gosh! u guys making me want to go back to HK again >_<'
i just went there tis Sept-Oct.

 

[seremify007]

I've never really found much in HK >_> All my mates love it, but maybe because we're not HK we find it kinda... less-than-expected. Usually stay causeway bay and visit things like the ladies market... *shrugs* I guess it's alright- the yumcha wasn't what we expected (had to order in advance?!) and ate instant noodles for breakfast in a restaurant!

 

[santaslayer]

and ate instant noodles for breakfast in a restaurant!

yeaaaahh..

with an egg +bacon/sausages?


LoLzz, that's good stuff, esp the MSG bit.

 

[RiCe_GrOwEr]

I have to stop over at Hong Kong on my way to London.

I get there at 6.30am on the 3rd of Jan, and I leave at 1am on the 4th.

What should I do in my few short hours in Hong Kong? Anyone got any suggestions for the time and budget strapped traveller that wants to get a taste of this city in the short time she has?

Where abouts are you staying? I was over there a month ago and earlier this year. Always good fun going over there. It's good cos you can speak engrish and most people understand you.

I think it takes roughly an 1 hour and 20mins to get to the centre of the city by bus. I think you go past Disneyland on your way into the city, you actually see it when you fly out.

It's the best fucking airport in the world and fucking is an understatement. The airport is so far away from the city, unlike the old airport. Check your departure gate before hand because if you get gates 60 thru to 78, it takes about 10 mins to get to. You have to catch a subway to get to those gates.

Shoppings awesome as usual. You don't necessary have to buy stuff, just look around.

 

[braindrainedAsh]

Oh I am getting so excited now.... yay!!! I'm not staying anywhere though, just going to check out the city all day, then come back to the airport, maybe catch a nap if I have time, then jump on my plane to London... it's a 13 hour flight from HK to London, I can sleep during that!

www.sleepinginairports.com

cheapest accomodation deals ever!

 

[RiCe_GrOwEr]

It's typhoon season atm too.

When I was over there a couple of weeks ago, you couldn't see the runway until you actually landed, it was that dark and it was 5pm in the evening. You couldn't go outside because it was gail force winds, raining and hot at the same time!

 

[!! CaR`JiE !!]

lol.. i was @ HK tis sep-oct. the weather was the only thing i dislike the most.. typhoon was fkn crazy.. when its gone.. it gets all sticky and h0t again >_<' ..then typhoon comes back again..

 

[daniandrow]

i was over there this time last year we had the best weather twas warm and sunny (sorta too many buildings) good weather but all the locals were wearing big fur jackets n shit..... i couldnt work that one out it was 28 degrees......

 

[sugaryblue]

hehe Hong Kong...

ummm... where should i start??

if you'd like to do exquisit shopping, i would say, go for Tsim sa Tsui and Central.

Causeway Bay is good in terms of both exquisit and bargain hunting.

but definitely go to Mongkok to do some bargain hunting (temple street or Ladies Market they are both good!!!) but i wondered if your stay will be too short to go around?? if you're heading straight from the airport, i would suggest... take the airport express to Central then change to Tsim Sa Tsui or Mongkok. that will take about 45 minutes... but airport ticket aint' cheap. otherwise you can always catch one of the airport buses (cheaper), or take S1 to Tung Chung then change to MTR.

if you just wanna get a little bit of it, there's an esprit outlet at Tung Chung, great bargain i have to say!! 5 minutes away from the airport... take the Bus S1, or S64.

also... if you REALLY want to... there's always Disneyland, it's like 15 minutes away from the airport i think.

i am living in HK at the moment btw, let me know what you would like to do, and i can give you more info

you can just withdraw from most ATM with the Cirrus or Maestro signs on (depends on your debit card) some shops do accept US dollars and aussie dollars but it depends. exchange rate is fluctuating betwee 5.6 and 5.7 at the moment.
btw, which airline are you flying with??

 

[braindrainedAsh]

I'm not going via Hong Kong now, had to change my flight to a day later so now I don't have a stopover. Kind of a bummer because Honkers sounds pretty cool. Oh well, I will see it later.