Hong Kong Itinerary - comments?
Mar 22nd, 2007, 08:23 AM
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Hong Kong Itinerary - comments?
I am leaving in about a week to go to Asia for the first time. I am speaking at a two day conference in Hong Kong, and then have about a week to explore. I am very young and will be traveling alone. I will be staying in Mongkok the first few nights on the conference dime, and then heading down to Mirador Mansions on my own dime.
Here is my anticipated itinerary:
Day 1 (Sun)- Check out Central, the Peak, maybe Wan Chai & Causeway Bay if I have time, although I have dinner at the hotel at 7
(2 Days of conference, one of which involves a quick tour around Kowloon)
Day 4 (Wed)- Tsim Sha Tsui (have to leave nice hotel and check in at around 10 into guest house), wander down Nathan Rd to Science museum, wander over to East Tsim Sha Tsui, check out sites. In evening, go to the Night Market.
Day 5 (Thur)- One day trip to Macau, getting there by new world first ferry catamaran in the morning. Taxi/bus down to Maritime Museum and work m way up towards Church of St Paul, eating on the way (Litoral for lunch?) and checking out sites. Back to HK in the evening, probably exhausted from walking all day.
Day 6 (Fri)- Half day Heritage Tour through Grayline to see New Territories (standard sites- Tai Fu Tai & Fan Lin, Walled City, Wishing Tree, Man Mo, Tai Po Market). Head over to Causeway Bay or whatever other urban areas have struck my fancy that I haven't made it to yet.
Day 7 (Sat)- Architecture tour (I'm a bit of an arch. nut), ending at about 1:15 in Central. Eat quickly and hop on Tung Chung line to go out to Ngong Po. Take the 360 up to the Buddha and village. Check it out (fairly quickly) and head back. Some evening activity somewhere.
Flight the next day around noon.
Any comments? Too much? Things along the way I can't miss? Am I crazy to try to go out to Ngong Po on a saturday afternoon? Things I should do instead?
I plan on getting all tickets for things either at the airport when I get there or the next morning at outlets in Central, because I know it's a busy time.
Also, any good nightlife not to be missed? I'd love to meet some fellow travelers or expats and blow my whole itinerary off and tool around with some people if they know what they're doing or at least have a vision!
Thanks for advice! Wish I had posted this a little while ago, but just got around to figuring out what exactly I'd do while there...
Here is my anticipated itinerary:
Day 1 (Sun)- Check out Central, the Peak, maybe Wan Chai & Causeway Bay if I have time, although I have dinner at the hotel at 7
(2 Days of conference, one of which involves a quick tour around Kowloon)
Day 4 (Wed)- Tsim Sha Tsui (have to leave nice hotel and check in at around 10 into guest house), wander down Nathan Rd to Science museum, wander over to East Tsim Sha Tsui, check out sites. In evening, go to the Night Market.
Day 5 (Thur)- One day trip to Macau, getting there by new world first ferry catamaran in the morning. Taxi/bus down to Maritime Museum and work m way up towards Church of St Paul, eating on the way (Litoral for lunch?) and checking out sites. Back to HK in the evening, probably exhausted from walking all day.
Day 6 (Fri)- Half day Heritage Tour through Grayline to see New Territories (standard sites- Tai Fu Tai & Fan Lin, Walled City, Wishing Tree, Man Mo, Tai Po Market). Head over to Causeway Bay or whatever other urban areas have struck my fancy that I haven't made it to yet.
Day 7 (Sat)- Architecture tour (I'm a bit of an arch. nut), ending at about 1:15 in Central. Eat quickly and hop on Tung Chung line to go out to Ngong Po. Take the 360 up to the Buddha and village. Check it out (fairly quickly) and head back. Some evening activity somewhere.
Flight the next day around noon.
Any comments? Too much? Things along the way I can't miss? Am I crazy to try to go out to Ngong Po on a saturday afternoon? Things I should do instead?
I plan on getting all tickets for things either at the airport when I get there or the next morning at outlets in Central, because I know it's a busy time.
Also, any good nightlife not to be missed? I'd love to meet some fellow travelers or expats and blow my whole itinerary off and tool around with some people if they know what they're doing or at least have a vision!
Thanks for advice! Wish I had posted this a little while ago, but just got around to figuring out what exactly I'd do while there...
Mar 22nd, 2007, 11:41 AM
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I would highly recommend getting to Macau as early as possible. I went to Macau last summer while in HK and left in the late afternoon and returned to HK in the early evening. I felt like I missed out on a few things. Also, for a solo traveler, the island is difficult to travel around alone. I had a really cool tour guide that I paid around $30 to drive me around the island to see all the best sites. His name is Peter Chan and his number is: (853)6388201 He's a very nice older gentlemen and he will help you get a discounted ticket back to HK as well.
As far as HK does, there's another poster rkkwan who seems to have alot more knowledge of HK and could probably chime in a little better than me (if he sees this post) But, do you like Dim Sum? There is a really fantastic place in either Mong Kok or Hong Kong Island called "Maxim's Palace" Ask your hotel concierege how to locate it, but it's a short cab ride in Mong Kok. Make sure you pronounce it "May-Soms"
As far as HK does, there's another poster rkkwan who seems to have alot more knowledge of HK and could probably chime in a little better than me (if he sees this post) But, do you like Dim Sum? There is a really fantastic place in either Mong Kok or Hong Kong Island called "Maxim's Palace" Ask your hotel concierege how to locate it, but it's a short cab ride in Mong Kok. Make sure you pronounce it "May-Soms"
Mar 22nd, 2007, 04:50 PM
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I suggest going to Macau immediately after you check out of your hotel on Wednesday and stay in Macau overnight. Hotels are much cheaper there, with many 3* ones under HK$400 on weekdays. Not much more than your guesthouse room at Mirador Mansion but much more comfortable. Also, I would take the Turbojet from/to Hong Kong Island instead of New World First Ferry. More frequent, you may get a jetfoil or foilcat (both pretty exotic and comfortable) rather than a catamaran. Also, if you decide to stay overnight, there are lots of agents at the Macau Ferry on HK Island to book cheap rooms for you.
The NP360 cable car on Lantau runs until 6pm on weekdays, 6:30pm on weekends. It'll be more crowded on Saturday, but you should still be okay. Better yet, take the MTR and cable car to get there; then take the bus and ferry back to Hong Kong Island. Last bus from Ngong Ping (Po Lin Monastery/Big Buddha) leaves at 6:20p Mon-Sat, and the ferry back to Hong Kong runs till much later.
One overall comment about your itinerary. Hong Kong is a small place. you don't need to plan time for wandering around Tsimshatsui. You are staying there and you will wander enough around it anyways.
BTW, I believe you're on a budget (or else won't be staying at Mirador Mansion). And you ask about nightlife. There are places you can overnight in Macau for "free", though it's not appropriate to describe here on Fodors. If you want more info, email me at rkkwan at earthlink dot net.
The NP360 cable car on Lantau runs until 6pm on weekdays, 6:30pm on weekends. It'll be more crowded on Saturday, but you should still be okay. Better yet, take the MTR and cable car to get there; then take the bus and ferry back to Hong Kong Island. Last bus from Ngong Ping (Po Lin Monastery/Big Buddha) leaves at 6:20p Mon-Sat, and the ferry back to Hong Kong runs till much later.
One overall comment about your itinerary. Hong Kong is a small place. you don't need to plan time for wandering around Tsimshatsui. You are staying there and you will wander enough around it anyways.
BTW, I believe you're on a budget (or else won't be staying at Mirador Mansion). And you ask about nightlife. There are places you can overnight in Macau for "free", though it's not appropriate to describe here on Fodors. If you want more info, email me at rkkwan at earthlink dot net.
Mar 22nd, 2007, 05:48 PM
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You say you are going “in about a week” if you mean you will be here the weekend of March 31, you might want to try to get tickets to the Hong Kong Rugby Sevens, which are going on that weekend, and are a lot of fun to attend. Take a look at http://www.hksevens.com/index.html. Your hotel may be able to arrange a ticket for you as well. Don’t worry about going alone, you will make a lot of new best friends instantly, given the alcohol level of most of the attendees...
If your includes Easter weekend, note that April 5, 6, 7 and 9th are public holidays, so places like Macau and the Peak are going to be jammed on those days.
For Ning Pong, you can make reservations for a time window for the cable car, I would HIGHLY recommend that you do this if you are planning on going on a Saturday. Take a look at http://www.np360.com.hk/html/eng. This will mean you do not have to wait in line.
I don’t know that I would do the Peak on a Sunday (and def not Easter Sunday), that is the most crowded day and lines for the Peak Tram could be quite long; if you have any other time to do it that is a weekday, that might be a better choice.
Unfortunately, the weather here has been awful, very foggy and rainy. The weekend of the Sevens is traditionally a wet weekend as well, so bring an umbrella.
I personally would not take the Gray Line Tour. I have had visiting friends/family who have taken the Land Between tour over the years and from their descriptions, is does not sound too thrilling and is pretty canned, and involves over and hour for lunch and between that and picking up/dropping off people at the various hotels, the actual time on the tour is not that long. IMO with a little effort you could get to see rural areas of Hong Kong on your own more enjoyably. My biggest issue with the tour is that it does not appear that you get out to see any villages, you mostly pass them in a bus and then stop at a temple, a fish farm and a “look out” onto the PRC (which used to have a much more of a frisson of excitement before Hong Kong became part of the PRC...).
You could do your own trip to the Fanling area in the New Territories and actually get out on foot to see some of the villages in the area on your own. (This is in fact where part of the Land Between Tour goes.) This is a pretty rural area and furthest away from the Shenzhen border area, although there is still some development in this area; it is going to be hard to escape this in any area in the Pearl River delta, including Shenzhen and Guangzhou.
Also, if you want to see traditional housing and clan halls, then you should go to one of either of the two "walled village" museums in Hong Kong, either the Sam Tung Uk Museum in Tsuen Wan or the Sheung Yiu Folk Museum on the Pak Tam Chung Nature Trail, Sai Kung. Take a look at http://www.heritagemuseum.gov.hk/eng...ch_sel_stu.htm. These might be better than going to the more touristy walled village offered on the Land Between tour (which I think may be Kat Hing Wai, where I understand locals ask for money when you ask to take their picture).
Finally, don’t forget to see the temples if you have an interest in architecture (I assume it’s not just modern architecture that interests you). The Man Mo Temple on Hollywood Road is interesting, there are two in Wan Chai just off Queens Road East that are worth a look, the Tin Hau Temple in Kowloon is very interesting (but closed at night if you are going to that dreaded night market, you need to go during the day and go to the Jade Market which is actually interesting), there is a temple to carpenters in Western on Hong Kong Island that is very interesting as well. Most of these are described in the guidebooks.
Please refer to my two threads “Cicerone’s Reccos for What the Locals Do for Fun in Hong Kong (Hint: We DON’T Go to those Awful Night Markets....)” at http://www.fodors.com/forums/pgMessa...archText=awful
and “Cicerone’s Favourite Hong Kong Walks II: Paradise Found! From Happy Valley to Stanley in High Heels! (Almost) The Tsz Lo Lan Shan Path” at http://www.fodors.com/forums/pgMessa...rchText=Tsz+lo
If your includes Easter weekend, note that April 5, 6, 7 and 9th are public holidays, so places like Macau and the Peak are going to be jammed on those days.
For Ning Pong, you can make reservations for a time window for the cable car, I would HIGHLY recommend that you do this if you are planning on going on a Saturday. Take a look at http://www.np360.com.hk/html/eng. This will mean you do not have to wait in line.
I don’t know that I would do the Peak on a Sunday (and def not Easter Sunday), that is the most crowded day and lines for the Peak Tram could be quite long; if you have any other time to do it that is a weekday, that might be a better choice.
Unfortunately, the weather here has been awful, very foggy and rainy. The weekend of the Sevens is traditionally a wet weekend as well, so bring an umbrella.
I personally would not take the Gray Line Tour. I have had visiting friends/family who have taken the Land Between tour over the years and from their descriptions, is does not sound too thrilling and is pretty canned, and involves over and hour for lunch and between that and picking up/dropping off people at the various hotels, the actual time on the tour is not that long. IMO with a little effort you could get to see rural areas of Hong Kong on your own more enjoyably. My biggest issue with the tour is that it does not appear that you get out to see any villages, you mostly pass them in a bus and then stop at a temple, a fish farm and a “look out” onto the PRC (which used to have a much more of a frisson of excitement before Hong Kong became part of the PRC...).
You could do your own trip to the Fanling area in the New Territories and actually get out on foot to see some of the villages in the area on your own. (This is in fact where part of the Land Between Tour goes.) This is a pretty rural area and furthest away from the Shenzhen border area, although there is still some development in this area; it is going to be hard to escape this in any area in the Pearl River delta, including Shenzhen and Guangzhou.
Also, if you want to see traditional housing and clan halls, then you should go to one of either of the two "walled village" museums in Hong Kong, either the Sam Tung Uk Museum in Tsuen Wan or the Sheung Yiu Folk Museum on the Pak Tam Chung Nature Trail, Sai Kung. Take a look at http://www.heritagemuseum.gov.hk/eng...ch_sel_stu.htm. These might be better than going to the more touristy walled village offered on the Land Between tour (which I think may be Kat Hing Wai, where I understand locals ask for money when you ask to take their picture).
Finally, don’t forget to see the temples if you have an interest in architecture (I assume it’s not just modern architecture that interests you). The Man Mo Temple on Hollywood Road is interesting, there are two in Wan Chai just off Queens Road East that are worth a look, the Tin Hau Temple in Kowloon is very interesting (but closed at night if you are going to that dreaded night market, you need to go during the day and go to the Jade Market which is actually interesting), there is a temple to carpenters in Western on Hong Kong Island that is very interesting as well. Most of these are described in the guidebooks.
Please refer to my two threads “Cicerone’s Reccos for What the Locals Do for Fun in Hong Kong (Hint: We DON’T Go to those Awful Night Markets....)” at http://www.fodors.com/forums/pgMessa...archText=awful
and “Cicerone’s Favourite Hong Kong Walks II: Paradise Found! From Happy Valley to Stanley in High Heels! (Almost) The Tsz Lo Lan Shan Path” at http://www.fodors.com/forums/pgMessa...rchText=Tsz+lo
Mar 22nd, 2007, 06:28 PM
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If you decide to not do the Heritage Tour, there are other places you can go on your own, besides those recommended by Cicerone.
For example, the Ping Shan Heritage Trail in Yuen Long is fairly interesting:
http://www.lcsd.gov.hk/CE/Museum/Mon...s_pingshan.php
ec.hku.hk/hiking/Yuen_Long/Ping_Shan/default.htm
Or the Sha Tin Walk:
discoverhongkong.com/eng/touring/hkwalks/ta_walk_walk4.jhtml
I visited those two areas, as well as other New Territory sites like the Shek Wu Market and Liu Man Shek Ancestral Hall in Sheung Shui, Fung Ying Sin Koon (Toaist temple) in Fanling and so on during my visit 2 years ago. Pictures here:
rkkwan.zenfolio.com/p163727794/
Another interesting place to visit is the Chi Lin Nunnery. It's newly built within the last 15 years, but is all wooden structure based on Tang Dynasty architecture that's has very few existing examples in China (but more in Japan). It's easily accessible from Diamond Hill MTR. One MTR stop west is Wong Tai Sin temple, a popular place for locals to worship.
Visited both last fall. And my pictures here:
rkkwan.zenfolio.com/p80145470/
I have many other photos of Hong Kong and Macau posted elsewhere on my website, including that of Lantau and the cable car. Feel free to browse around.
Oh, and there are more walks in the discoverhongkong.com website, including one in Central and Western District, in case you want to skip your architectural tour.
For example, the Ping Shan Heritage Trail in Yuen Long is fairly interesting:
http://www.lcsd.gov.hk/CE/Museum/Mon...s_pingshan.php
ec.hku.hk/hiking/Yuen_Long/Ping_Shan/default.htm
Or the Sha Tin Walk:
discoverhongkong.com/eng/touring/hkwalks/ta_walk_walk4.jhtml
I visited those two areas, as well as other New Territory sites like the Shek Wu Market and Liu Man Shek Ancestral Hall in Sheung Shui, Fung Ying Sin Koon (Toaist temple) in Fanling and so on during my visit 2 years ago. Pictures here:
rkkwan.zenfolio.com/p163727794/
Another interesting place to visit is the Chi Lin Nunnery. It's newly built within the last 15 years, but is all wooden structure based on Tang Dynasty architecture that's has very few existing examples in China (but more in Japan). It's easily accessible from Diamond Hill MTR. One MTR stop west is Wong Tai Sin temple, a popular place for locals to worship.
Visited both last fall. And my pictures here:
rkkwan.zenfolio.com/p80145470/
I have many other photos of Hong Kong and Macau posted elsewhere on my website, including that of Lantau and the cable car. Feel free to browse around.
Oh, and there are more walks in the discoverhongkong.com website, including one in Central and Western District, in case you want to skip your architectural tour.
Mar 23rd, 2007, 02:25 AM
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Agree with ManMo temple and Hollywood Rd areas with antique shops. Don't miss Mid-town escalators (it's downhill in the mornings, then reverse).
Also second Maxim's for dim sum. The one in City Hall is the best--esp if you can avoid the queues on weekends. In Kowloon, I liked Serenade in the Cultrual Centre complex though it may be more genteel than the others. Note you don't get dimsums for dinner. It's for breakfast/lunch.
Also second Maxim's for dim sum. The one in City Hall is the best--esp if you can avoid the queues on weekends. In Kowloon, I liked Serenade in the Cultrual Centre complex though it may be more genteel than the others. Note you don't get dimsums for dinner. It's for breakfast/lunch.
