Hong Kong

[Prawn_86]

Hong Kong, officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, is a territory located on China's south coast on the Pearl River Delta, bordering Guangdong province to the north and facing the South China Sea to the east, west and south. It has a population of 6.9 million people, and is one of the most densely populated areas in the world.

Beginning as a trading port, Hong Kong became a dependent territory of the United Kingdom in 1842, and remained so until the transfer of its sovereignty to the People's Republic of China in 1997. Along with Macau, Hong Kong is one of two special administrative regions and is not considered part of mainland China. Under the "one country, two systems" policy, Hong Kong has a high degree of autonomy, is largely self-governing, and maintains a highly capitalist economy.

[goutham]

Victoria Peak is indeed a good place to get a really nice bird's eye view of Hong Kong Island

Lantau Island, is the place where the Giant Buddha is at the Po Lin Monastery

[2BAD4U]

I would rate Hong Kong as a great family destination. Took the family there 2 years ago and loved it, theme parks, sight seeing and clothes shopping. Felt safe there except for all the Indian tailors stopping you every 10 metres. Found the best thing to do is completely ignore them, don't acknowledge them in anyway, don't even say "no" to them and they leave you alone. As soon as you acknowledge them in anyway the pounce.

I would also suggest staying on Kowloon rather than Hong Kong island. More vibrant and a lot more to do. If you have time also plan a day trip up into China.

[GlennR]

Hi,

This is my first postand well done to the guys getting the forum up and running, it's always good to get "real" experiences and advice when planning trips away, I've done a fair bit of OS traveling over the years and I will add bits and pieces to the forum when I find time.
I'm taking the family (5) to Hong Kong for the first time in June this year before going onto Xiamen, China and I was curious as to the best place to stay, I was looking at Kowloon.

I'm open to anyone's comments about staying at Hong Kong.

[Prawn_86]

Hi Glen,

Welcome to ATF :)

I haven'y been to honkers but i think Tayser goes fairly often so hopefully he can help you out... :)

[tayser]

Depends on your budget GlennR.

My first ever trip to Hong Kong saw me stay in a mansion (and don't think of the type of dwelling that rich people live in)...

Was a hostel, very cheap and clean - dont let the outsides put you off :)

But if you're looking at Hotels, my parents have stayed at the Baden Powell (linked with the Scouting Association) Hotel just off Nathan Road and it came highly recommended upon their return.

Don't bother getting any buffet breakfast inclusions, there are heaps upon heaps of local cafes and BAKERIES everywhere for cheap cheap cheap. If you've ever been inside a Breadtop, that's the style of bakery you should expect in Hong Kong (although they're all independent).

I'd narrow your hotel search to just Tsim Sha Tsiu (look for 4 star first) as its the first stop on the MTR after the harbour and it's where all the action is.

PS. If you've got loads of cash to splash - do it by staying at the Peninsula.

[begusarai]

This is one of my favorite place on my list.
When i will have lots of money than i will visit this palce.
Heard a lot about this place.

[waitressvn]

Hello, I'm solo traveling to Hong Kong and Thailand in January-February 2010. Are there any cheaper Asian airlines that fly between countries easily and frequently? I want to get from HK to Bangkok and back for as cheap as possible. Any suggestions?

Also, this may be odd, but I'm going for research on urban farms around the Hong Kong area, including off-shore islands, so do you know which areas of Hong Kong concentrate on producing food and livestock for the entire region?

Thank you so much!! Your help is greatly appreciated.

[nomore4s]

Hello, I'm solo traveling to Hong Kong and Thailand in January-February 2010. Are there any cheaper Asian airlines that fly between countries easily and frequently? I want to get from HK to Bangkok and back for as cheap as possible. Any suggestions?

Also, this may be odd, but I'm going for research on urban farms around the Hong Kong area, including off-shore islands, so do you know which areas of Hong Kong concentrate on producing food and livestock for the entire region?

Thank you so much!! Your help is greatly appreciated.

Try Tiger airways for your cheap flights but I don't know if they fly out of HK to Bangkok, but worth looking into.

[aimhigh]

When I went to China last 2006 I dropped by in Hongkong for a day. The place is cool and you won't get lost because there were English is everywhere. One of the impressive things I like was the skyscraper light show. Though I may sound like a small girl but I like it, the scrapers across the bay from Kowloon, on HOng Kong island, light up synchronized with music for about 13 minutes.

[danviettravel]

Hi,
I have heard a lot about Hong Kong but have been there yet!
Anyone has been there, please tell me where to find some good local restaurants for sea food.
Thanks!

[Kassandra]

Hi,

This is my first postand well done to the guys getting the forum up and running, it's always good to get "real" experiences and advice when planning trips away, I've done a fair bit of OS traveling over the years and I will add bits and pieces to the forum when I find time.
I'm taking the family (5) to Hong Kong for the first time in June this year before going onto Xiamen, China and I was curious as to the best place to stay, I was looking at Kowloon.

I'm open to anyone's comments about staying at Hong Kong.

Hi,
I was last time staying at the Langham Place and I really liked this hotel. But about getting around there, I found a helpful travel gadget, which I really liked. So in Hong Kong there is a possibility to get a mobile city guide.I try to explain it shortly: It is called "Ask Ting Ting" and based on a rental smartphone. It combines travel guide, navigation, internet access and phone in one device. If you want to have recommendations about food or sightseeing or all what you want to do in Hong Kong you can find it with pictures and many videos where a Chinese lady is explaining and showing you the highlights in English, which I preferred instead of reading too much. When I decided what I want to see, I pressed my favourite button "Take Me There" and it was showing me the best way to get there even with MTR or calculated Taxi fee. In this way I never got lost. I used it as phone too, because you have every day one hour of free international calls and unlimited local calls. Internet is free of charge too, but I have to say it is the same problem as with my iPhone, it is really annoying to write long messages on touchscreen, but luckily you could send virtual postcards, which didn't need that much text. But if you want to write more, I suggest to connect the phone with your laptop and use the internet. About getting it: I booked it online on their website and they brought it to my hotel.
I never found something similiar in other cities, so it was new for me. Or has anybody experience in these systems? And I mean it was not just simply an APP.... Anyway I only can say from my experience I would rent it again :-)
and I thought maybe it would be a helpful tip in here!