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 Traveller's Tales: Places to go and see in Hong Kong
Take a tour of the top places to go in Hong Kong. You may read about must see places and activities in the area. Also, you might want to read our
Hong Kong city guide.
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| F Koh |
20 November 2004 |
Stayed at Metropark Hotel - Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
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You should go to Shek O, this is a really nice coastal area at the end of the Hong Kong island. Definitely worth a trip.
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| H Lin (2nd call) |
18 November 2004 |
Stayed at Wesley, The - Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
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From the airport on Lantau Island, we took the Airport Express (expensive but a terrific ride) to to Central district on Hong Kong Island and then took the taxi to the Wesley hotel on Wanchai district. During the five day's stay, we walked around the Wanchai district, having breakfast around the corners every morning. In the evening, we visited the markets in the side streets and had fun being bargain hunters. Sometimes, we walked from the hotel to Pacific place for lunch in a nice restarant and then walked around the shopping Mall. By public transportation, We went to Time Square in Causeway Bay, another bustling district for dinner and shopping. We also took a one-day bus tour to Lantau Island to see the big Buddha on the top of a mountain and had delicious vegetarian lunch in the Bao Lan Temple. The place was far away from the hustle and bustle of the cities. Quite a change of pace. A terrific trip.
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| D Lum |
15 November 2004 |
Stayed at Stanford Hotel - Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
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As an ex resident, HK is not just about food & shopping. Around 40% of HK are designated national parks. Walks are particularly welcome change from the crowds of Causeway Bay or Mongkok.
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| A Ortiz |
09 November 2004 |
Stayed at BP International House - Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
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With the use of the Octopus card, one can travel the MTR, KCRC (both train lines), buses and ferries all over Hong Kong as long as you have sufficient amount of money in the Octopus card. The fare is based on how far you are traveling so if you enjoy doing lots of sightseeing this may be a cheap way of traveling. I myself have traveled this way to Hong Kong Island to see Victoria Peak and Ocean Park; Lantau Island to see the Giant Buddha Statue & Po Lin Montastery; Northern Territories to see the Ten Thousand Buddhas Monastery at Sha Tin and Yuen Yuen Institute & the Western Monastery at Tsuen Wan; and Chi Lin Nunnery in New Kowloon at the MTR station of Diamond Hill. All these places should not be missed if you are really interested in doing some wonderful sightseeing. Besides these places, the Bird Market should not be missed neither.
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| N Yuen |
31 October 2004 |
Stayed at Pruton Prudential Hotel - Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
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If you are planning to go during the period of july-oct, just make sure you pack a snug windbreaker, because the winds are pretty well...windy (22-24 degrees Celsius)! Do take the public transport system in HK, as it is really very efficient, not to mention cost-effective. Buy the Octopus Card for 150HKD & zip around HK using the MTR & buses, they will take you almost everywhere. A little tip though, when going up and down escalators on the stations, keep to your right, as the left side is for people hurrying like crazy. Kowloon is THE place to stay, if you wana see the real Hong Kong. HK Island is too full of skyscrapers with almost everyone and anyone wearing business suits running all over the place for their appointments. Kowloon itself is a nice mish-mash of neon lights on old buildings with loads of character, side-to-side with spanking new buildings that seem to have an ethereal sheen to their facades.
Eats: Very authentic Hong Kong Dai-Pai Dongs for food where the waiters still have pencils stucked on their ears when taking orders. The food portions served at this local-style food houses are frightfully big, enough for at least 2 hearty or 3 light diners. The “Yam Char” culture is very prevalent here where one dines on Dim Sum around the clock. For about 120-200 HKD for 2-4 diners, one gets a smorgasbord of dim sum from crispy yam balls filled with meat and vegetable cubes, stir fried noodles, spring rolls, HK’s ever-popular tasty roasted pork-filled and sweet sesame paste buns, to the internationally acclaimed succulent prawn filled “Har Gow & Siew Mai”.
Try the area around Jordan or Mong Kok MTR for these Dim Sum Restaurants, they are all over the place. Most of these restaurants may look a little upmarket or expensive or are actually quite affordable. When in doubt, ask for the menu and check the prices before sitting down, you will not go far wrong.
Shopping places: Unless you are going for branded stuff, you can forget about the big commercial shopping centres, you can probably get whatever Gucci or Prada items back home, at almost the same prices. If you are in for the local and oriental stuff, I strongly suggest an open-air bazaar. Take the MTR to Mong Kok, and try the well known “Ladies Market”, which opens for most of the day, closing at night. They are many great finds to be had, just make sure you bargain hard for it. Alternatively, you could try “Temple Street Market” after dark, where they will open till the wee hours of the morning. This is located in very close proximity to Jordan MTR.
Activities: Loads of cool stuff to do here.. A good 1st stop would be to visit Victoria Harbour, located in the Tsim Sha Tsui area, Kowloon waterfront. Loosely translated to mean “Sharp Sandy Mouth”, the geological shape does indeed look like that. Go in the afternoon and soak in the nice harbourview, making sure that you book a 1-hour Harbour Ferry Cruise (about 50 HKD) 1st, at the Star Ferry Pier located beside it. Do book the ferry cruise before 4pm as they would close the ticketing booth for day harbour cruises by then. After enjoying the cruise, come back to the harbour to catch a spectacular sunset, before moving further down to “The Avenue of Stars” for a nice leisurely stroll. End your perfect day with a good late dinner at the waterfront at any of the myriad of cafes or restaurants there.
Take the MTR, or a normal ferry ride over to Central at Hong Kong Island early the next day, and a short 15 min stroll up to the “Peak Tram Station”, where you can catch an electric tram up the peak. The views there are nothing short of jaw-dropping (make sure you bring those cameras). Enjoy a hot cuppa at any of the cafes there while taking in the clean and crisp mountain air, it feels as if your lungs are being cleansed thoroughly in the process.
After that, take a short trip to SOHO which is located near Central, taking the Mid-Levels escalator up in the process. It is regarded as the world’s longest escalator and there are many things to see. Drop at any of the shops or restaurants that take your fancy at have a hearty meal there, before walking off those excess calories by walking down the hill. (Yes, the escalator only goes 1 way, so be warned!).
End your day partying the night away or just people-watching at Lan Kwai Fong, also conveniently located nearby. This stretch of pubs, clubs, bistros and cafes are where the hippiest and most fashionable hang out during the night, so dress to kill, enjoy your drinks and feast your eyes on a great party scene. Groovy Baby!
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| P Lua |
20 October 2004 |
Stayed at Wesley, The - Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
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Hong Kong is undoubtedly a heaven for food-lovers. For Dim Sum, Hang Fook Lau Seafood Restaurant is good, just down the road from The Wesley. Kung Wo Tong sweets are naturally good & tasty. Char siu fan is excellent everywhere. You can also try a variety of claypot rice in Yau Ma Tei, just 2 mins walk after getting out from the MTR station. For Hong Kong overview, The Peak is recommended; try go by bus & come back by tram. The Avenue of Stars provides a romantic & scenic view of the Hong Kong island. Shopping is most enjoyable in Loi Yan Kai; reasonably priced. Travelling is generally easy in HK; just get down to the MTR stations & find your way from the maps.
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| M Thomas |
15 October 2004 |
Stayed at Silvermine Beach Hotel - Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
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A 45 min bus ride from HK Airport for HK$14 to Mui Wo offers quiet base at commuting distance by hourly fast ferry (30 mins) to central HK. Walking paths or local buses offer opportunities to see Lantau Island. Simple, good and very cheap eating is available by the sea a few steps from ferry at Mui Wo
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| A Glorney |
11 October 2004 |
Stayed at Metropark Hotel - Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
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Manic but fun city - we were there for 4 days and tried to pack in as much as possible (without too much shopping!)View from the Peak is a must - Cafe Deco restuarant - excellent and not horrendously expensive (compared to Dubai/UK)- but reserve if you want a table with a view. Ladies market is OK but not as good as Chinatown in KL or Singapore. Stanley is a bit like an English seaside town - very busy at weekends - market is good but prices are comparatively high for souvenirs - some excellent art galleries/shops and a couple of good shops for good quality ladies linen clothes. Went for a day to Macau - which was a lovely contrast - also took a half day tour to the New Territories. Excellent Chinese restaurant in Hong Kong 27 Percival Street, Causeway Bay is the Tai Woo Restaurant - Executive Manager Raymond Sinn is wonderful - let him teach you how to eat a crab properly!
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| M Valesova |
09 October 2004 |
Stayed at Guangdong Hong Kong - Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
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Even for business travellers, I highly recommend to go to The Peak on Hong Kong Island, as well as Stanley market with really nice restaurants. From Guangdong Hotel very convenient to get there. Just take Star Ferry to Central and then bus No. 6 or 260 to Stanley, or bus No. 15 to The Peak. I recommend you to buy Octopus Card, which allows you to travel within Hong Kong, and you don´t need to have small change.
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| J Mcknight |
07 October 2004 |
Stayed at Concourse, Hotel - Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
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Using the subway was best to get around. Saw the sky tram(?) view couple of times. Visited the IFC buildings & Bank of China. No rides to the top, only observation rooms. IFC buildings allow no picture taking outside of it or inside except for the observation room. Went to HK Park & Botanical/Zoo area. Some brochures explained to me that the Art museum
in Tsim Tsha Tsui stayed open late but it actually closes around 5-6pm. My advise is to get there early. On my last day, it was closed so I didn't get to see it. Saw the Avenue of Lights & the City of Lights event. I got there early to City of Lights & sat on the rail. This is important to get there early as the light show draws a crowd, which will block the view of your camcorder recording, so you want to get a good position so it isn't interrupted by people's heads.
HK ppl don't like having their picture taken. When I got in the subway, I'd pan around my camcorder & they didn't seem to like that. But nobody ever complains, they just kind of stair away. Occasionally, I'd ask a few people for
shots & they didn't have a problem.
Nobody speaks a lick of English, I had a tough time conveying ideas to locals. They know about as much English as I do Mandarin or Cantonese: a couple words & phrases. Bubble gum tastes kind of medicine-like & Viagra costs $40 US for a 4 pack (for those that are curious :). I spent late nights 2-4am wandering the streets of Kowloon alone near the hotel since I couldn't sleep & nobody bothered me. A pretty peaceful & polite city considering the number of people that live there.
No problems with food. Be careful picking your fish. My friend's wife picked out a $100 US sea bass that we ate & didn't know the price of it until after we ate it. The price wasn't a big concern for my friends who picked up
the tab. Pretty good fish over all. It would've been nice to receive some kind of 1-hour orientation on how to get around in HK. For 3 days, you don't have much time to navigate & you're still recovering from jet lag. I had bad jet lag & it felt like the city was having an earthquake when I walked around but it was just me remembering turbulence from the flight.
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