darna

Hi! We've got only 3 weeks to go before our trip to HK and I still have some questions: 1) How much time does a one-way full trip take on the mid-level escalators? 2) What time do shops around the mid-levels area open (i.e., Ladder St., Cat St., Hollywood Rd) 3) What time does the Man Mo Temple open? 4) How far is the Man Mo Temple from the Hollywood Rd take-off on the escalator? Thanks!

rkkwan

1. If you stand still and go the whole way, maybe 20 minutes. But everybody walks on it. And little reason to go all the way to the top as it's just all highrise apartment blocks for the upper half.

2. Depends on what kind of shops. For the antique shops, perhaps 10am.

3. Man Mo Temple is open 8-6. On new moon and full moon on each lunar month and special occasions, 7-6.

4. 1/3 mile.

Remember the escalators go downhill 6-10a, and uphill 10:30a-midnight. There's parallel walkway alongside them.

darna

Thanks Ray! We'll be staying at the Bishop Lei so I thought we'd go down all the way first thing in the morning and ride the tram up to Chater Garden, then walk along Garden Rd. towards the Peak Tram Station. Of course we could always cut across the Botanical Gardens towards the PT Station but I'd like to make sure the kids get to experience the escalators and tram ride so I thought of taking the long way. But then around how long is the walk from Chater Garden to the Peak Tram Station? Also, I'm considering squeezing in a trip to Stanley as I'm curious about the Bus#6 ride. How does that bus ride compare to the one going to the Big Buddha? My brother took that bus at Lantau last July and got motion sickness during the trip.

rkkwan

From the bottom of the mid-levels escalators to Charter Garden is only 2 stops on the HK Tramway. Not enough time to experience it or to figure out what it is really like.

It's about a 10-minute walk uphill to the Peak Tram station.

To me, it doens't make too much sense.

As for the #6 bus ride, it's very winding road, and it's a double-decker bus. If you're not used to riding a bus, it's possible to get motion sickness.

To me, the bus ride to the Big Buddha is more exciting, because of the terrain.

rkkwan

Oh, from the HK Tramway, you can also ride another stop to Pacific Place, walk through the mall and up the escalators to HK Park. Walk through HK Park to get to the Peak Tram station.

kyshel

The Bishop Lei is outstanding for a great view of the city. I took buses back and forth on my octopus card. take the kids to the zoo, too. I had such bad jet lag I walked all the way downtown and watched the paper vendors unload their wares.If you have option to get corner room on 22nd fl I think--full length windows and a mini suite. It was awesome! I even had fireworks shoot off the bank bldg rooftops at "eye level" while sitting in the room. Enjoy! ps--bfast wasn't exactly the best I've had but good service.

darna

Ha! Found my post! I had made another post about not being able to find this thread after I responded to Ray's reply, but now I have a hunch that perhaps an occasional case of the missing post happens when a reply is being made by someone out there, in this case rkkwan and kshel. Thanks, guys! Kshel, I had originally booked a room with that fantastic view of the city (220 sq ft), but as there will be between 3-4 of us in a room, we decided to just take the bigger Twin suite (330 sq ft) for a little more comfort. Ray, we do plan on taking the tram again towards Causeway after the trip up the peak and mass at St. Joseph's. That should make up for the short trip earlier. We'll bring along some medication for motion sickness then, just in case we do take Bus#6 to Stanley. Btw, does it make sense to go to Stanley on a late Sunday afternoon, say, take-off from Central at 4pm? Considerations are, we're taking that trip to experience the bus ride I've read so much about, check out the Murray House, and have dinner there. I think the stalls close at 6pm, but I don't plan on buying anything at Stanley Market because of my limited budget, so the short period before closing time should actually help me control myself.

darna

Kshel, when did you go to HK? We'll be there 1st week of next month and I'm wondering if there will be fireworks then.

rkkwan

I think going to Stanley in late afternoon is fine, if you're not planning to do much shopping. It's quite pretty there at that time of the day. They've also just re-built the old Blake's Pier there.

The key to not getting motion sickness is to sit on the top level, and look out the window. One can get sick if concentrating on other stuff and not the view.

If you're that worried, take the 260, 6A or 6x instead. Those take the Aberdeen Tunnel and less of the winding road.

Oh, and you can stop at Repulse Bay first.

darna

Oh no I'm not going to miss out on the winding route of Bus#6 (or #66 as you had also suggested earlier). I suppose it's not as motion-sickness- inducing as the one at Lantau. I'm excited about our trip already. I think, even more so than the kids are. I hope the weather's fine when we get there. About that stop-over at Repulse Bay, how do we get to the life size images of the deities by the beach? The only thing I can think of doing there if we do stop by is to have our pictures taken beside the two deities. Thank you so much for all your advise.

rkkwan

The kids can play with the sand at Repulse Bay, and I think the apartment blocks behind the beach are a lot more interesting to photo than the big Guanyin.

You may also be interested in having Afternoon Tea at the Verandah at "The Repulse Bay", the reconstructed restaurant and shop complex modeled after the original Repulse Bay Hotel. The Verandah and other restaurants are run by the Peninsula Group, and so it's an less crowded alternative to having afternoon tea at the Peninsula. [Of course, it's not cheap.]

darna

At what bus stop do you suggest we get off at Repulse Bay? We'll probably take a quick stop-over there before we go to Stanley.

rkkwan

The stop is called "Repulse Bay Beach". It's right in front of "The Repulse Bay", the reconstructed hotel and also the apartment block with the hole in it.

Plenty of people will be getting off there, right in the middle section of the beach/bay.

darna

Thanks!

darna

I can't seem to get an end to my questions. I'd like to take the kids all the way up to the peak of the Victoria Peak, but the 1 hour trek from the tram station may be too much for the kids. Can I possibly get a taxi from the bottom Peak Tram terminal and ride it all the way to the top? How much might that cost? On the way down from the peak, I suppose the downhill walk will be alright. If not, will there be taxis at the very peak of the Peak as early as 8:30 am or should I ask the taxi we will be riding up to wait till we're done with our sight seeing? Can we use the Octopus card at the Peak Tram?

rkkwan

Yes, you can use the Octopus for the Peak Tram. Check out that picture of the ticket booth in the lower left. There's a Octopus reader there. You will still get an actual ticket - one-way or roundtrip - from them.

www.thepeak.com.hk/full/en/peak_tram_fee.php

Yes, I think you will find taxis opposite the upper Peak Tram station and you can use one to get to the Victoria Peak Garden. When I measure the distance on Google Earth, it's only about 1.25km. So, it's HK$15 (for first 2km). Just walk down. 15 minutes will do it. [And it won't take an hour going up.]

BTW, the Victoria Peak Garden is still not the very top of the Peak, which houses some radar/antenna facility and is closed to the public.