12 days in Hong Kong with an expat, help!
Jan 5th, 2009, 04:26 AM
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12 days in Hong Kong with an expat, help!
We will be visiting Hong Kong for Chinese New Year and I need help. The hotel is yet to be booked as we are still debating HK vs Kowloon. The expat grew up in Kowloon, so that is the draw... "the activities are only a ferry ride away." I need help with any great hotels on HK (there is lots of availability with good rates at the moderate level everywhere)? And with itineraries...due to the jet lag, we will be up and out by 8am - any good activities for us that early? We can only go to Luk Yu so many times. I want to plan itineraries based in 2009 vs 30 years ago - this is the hard part. Any advise is welcome! Thank you!!
Jan 5th, 2009, 06:06 AM
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do you have one of the standard guidebooks like fodors, frommers, etc? that would give you an outline of things to do that are relevent today...
you do not say what you expect from your hotel?? that might help us make suggestions and specifically at what price range?? chain hotel or individual hotel??
you do not say what you expect from your hotel?? that might help us make suggestions and specifically at what price range?? chain hotel or individual hotel??
Jan 5th, 2009, 09:38 AM
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Thanks for the responses! The hotel: CLEAN room & bathroom, comfortable bed, close to the MTR or KCR east, closet or drawers to hold our clothes, and I tend to focus on getting the best value (~US$150). Chain vs indy does not matter. Fodor's lists Ice House Apts, but I cannot find much independent info on them. Lots of questions posted on blogs, but no answers.
Yes, I do have a guidebook, but its the 8am slot that is giving me fits. I am considering ordering the walking book that Cicerone rec'd and can read on the plane. Can't think of much else to do; I sure hope the weather will allow for many walks.
Thanks for helping!!
Yes, I do have a guidebook, but its the 8am slot that is giving me fits. I am considering ordering the walking book that Cicerone rec'd and can read on the plane. Can't think of much else to do; I sure hope the weather will allow for many walks.
Thanks for helping!!
Jan 5th, 2009, 05:54 PM
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As a former expat myself of several places (Singapore and Switzerland not to mention someday of Hong Kong), if I were going back to a place I have lived, there would be many places I would want to revisit, and I may even have a view on where I would want to stay as it may be near to an old neighborhood or favourite restaurant. So, my first suggestion would be that you ask your friend whether he/she has preference for (1) lodging and (2) sites to see. You can then build your itin around that.
You might want to book hotels pretty soon. I don’t know Ice House Apartments at all, but the location is certainly excellent. They look fine on the website, but that does not tell you much. Did you look on tripadvisor.com for any reviews? I will say that the rooms appear to be small, don’t know if you were planning two people in one room for 12 days, you might want to call or send and an e-mail and ask about room size. They also do not have a kitchen, something which you might want for that long a stay. You might consider a serviced apartment with a kitchen, try something like the serviced apartments at Two MacDonnell Road in mid-levels. These are available for short-term rentals. All units have small kitchens and there is a grocery store across the street. I like the location on MacDonnell Road, as it is close to the great walking path on Bowen Road, you can walk down to the Peak Tram station or Hong Kong Park in about 5 minutes or to Central in a bit more. It’s across (a very busy) street from the small zoo and park by the old Governor’s mansion. This is a quiet residential neighborhood,. The hotel has a free shuttle bus to Central as well, and a small gym a restaurant. ok at http://www.twomr.com.hk. There is a chain of serviced apartments with various location on Hong Kong Island, some are small studios and some are 1800 square foot 2-bedrooms priced accordingly, take a look at http://www.thev.hk/. I don't know anything about this group or the quality of the apartments. There are no on-site fitness clubs, but it appears you would have access to private ones in the neighborhood at which you would have temporary membership.
Also, with 12 days, there is no reason why you couldn’t move, and stay part of the time on Hong Kong side and part of the time on Kowloon side. I am generally not an advocate of moving hotels, but you have almost 2 weeks, and the same hotel could get old after a while. I know that there are serviced apartments in the Gateway, see http://www.gatewayapartments.com.hk/, although I have not seen them. The Langham Place Hotel has serviced apartments, see http://hongkong.langhamplacehotels.com/en/index.html. There are some serviced apartments in Tolo Harbour are called the Horizon Suite Hotel, go to http://www.horizonsuitehotel.com/eng/index.html. I know the area, and there is some great walking nearby (including the beautiful Bride's Pool walk), and you can bike around the Tolo Harbour. This is quite out of the main tourist area, but your expat friend may find the area interesting (it would have been farmers’ fields 30 years ago, and is now one of the large “new towns”, but still quite pretty on the water.)
I saw your other post on the Bishop Lei. I like the location of this hotel a lot and have stayed, there in previous years, but I have not seen the renovated rooms and don’t know if the current renovations are disturbing to guests. My experience generally in other hotels is that this occurs during the daytime hours and does not disturb the evening or early morning. They usually do it per floor (i.e. they close each floor) so you won’t have dust, etc. These are just guesses so I don’t know if that is true for this hotel, again check tripadvisor.com. There are many restaurant options in the neighborhood, and you are a few hundred yards from the escalator, which will offer you easy walking access to even more. The hotel is also on a bus line to go down to Central, and a taxi would be relatively cheap as well. My only comment is that with 12 days you may want a kitchen, but check their suites which may offer limited kitchen facilities. Rooms do tend to be small, but you seem to be looking at larger rooms. They do offer some nice views, you should even have decent views for the fireworks.
Activities really I would say have not changed hugely in 30 years, I say this based on my own first trip to Hong Kong which was 23 years ago. The main tourist sties are still here, many of the same restaurants are still here. The Peninsula and Mandarin hotels are still here (albeit the Penn has a huge tower behind it now). The skyscrapers are new, the harbour has been filled in quite a bit on both sides. But the Peak Tram and the Star Ferry are still running, the outlying ferries still ply their routes, the great walks in the New Territories and Lantau are still there (although much of Lantau has changed, but the interior parts away from Disney, the airport and Discovery Bay are not that much changed I don’t think, i.e. the monasteries are still there.) Again, I would talk to your friend and plan an itin around what he or she may want to see. Walking is certainly an option, and you may be here for some of the pre and post Lunar New Year celebrations. Fireworks are in the harbour on Tuesday Jan 27 at 9 pm, which you would certainly want to see.
Activities at or before 8 am would certainly include the Flower Market in Kowloon which is actually best early in the morning. The bird market may be OK at that hour too, and is nearby. The wet markets IMO are not that interesting in the morning as most shoppers are not out that early and many stall are closed, but you can always stroll some of those areas. The Peak in the early morning, esp. in Jan can be interesting, you can get fog which can actually be kind of mysterious and beautiful, and it is always good for a walk up around there in the morning regardless of weather. Not very crowded at that hour and several places for breakfast. If you stay someplace like the Bishop Lei or Two Macdonnel Road, you could walk down from or up to the Peak in the morning quite easily. To the best of my knowledge, there is free tai chi on offer outdoors along the Esplanade most mornings, check the Hong Kong tourism website. You will often find people in parks doing tai chi in the mornings as well, and you may be able to join them if you have some knowledge. I don’t think a lot of temples are open quite that early (I thought 9 am was more usual), but do check guidebooks or ask at hotels, as I really have not tried to go at 8 am. Walks are very possible, you could go to Lamma, for example, and have a coffee at the Bookworm café, then do some walking and then have lunch and return, or go on to other islands from there. While Stanely shops don’t open until 10 am, you could head toward it on foot at 8 am (via the hard or easy ways) and by the time you get there, things will be open and you can have breakfast and shop. Or take the bus at 8 am and stop first at Repluse Bay, do the short walk there to Deep Water Bay and back, then continue on to Stanely and explore that area a bit (check when the military cemetery opens) and by the time you finish that, the shops should be open. Or do the Dragaon’s Back walk and by the time you finish that and go to Stanely, things will be open. (The early morning jet lag arising, by the way, won’t last more than a day or 3. So with 12 days, you won’t be up early for many of them if that is not your usual pattern.)
May I suggest that you buy your friend a copy of Martin Booth’s book <i>Gweilo: Memories of a Hong Kong Childhood</i> (May also be called <i>Golden Boy</i
, which is partial autobiography of the writer who lived in Hong Kong as a young boy in the late 1950s. A bit before your friend’s time here, but she or he will recognize the Cantonese people and some places, and it is a good story as well.
You might want to book hotels pretty soon. I don’t know Ice House Apartments at all, but the location is certainly excellent. They look fine on the website, but that does not tell you much. Did you look on tripadvisor.com for any reviews? I will say that the rooms appear to be small, don’t know if you were planning two people in one room for 12 days, you might want to call or send and an e-mail and ask about room size. They also do not have a kitchen, something which you might want for that long a stay. You might consider a serviced apartment with a kitchen, try something like the serviced apartments at Two MacDonnell Road in mid-levels. These are available for short-term rentals. All units have small kitchens and there is a grocery store across the street. I like the location on MacDonnell Road, as it is close to the great walking path on Bowen Road, you can walk down to the Peak Tram station or Hong Kong Park in about 5 minutes or to Central in a bit more. It’s across (a very busy) street from the small zoo and park by the old Governor’s mansion. This is a quiet residential neighborhood,. The hotel has a free shuttle bus to Central as well, and a small gym a restaurant. ok at http://www.twomr.com.hk. There is a chain of serviced apartments with various location on Hong Kong Island, some are small studios and some are 1800 square foot 2-bedrooms priced accordingly, take a look at http://www.thev.hk/. I don't know anything about this group or the quality of the apartments. There are no on-site fitness clubs, but it appears you would have access to private ones in the neighborhood at which you would have temporary membership.
Also, with 12 days, there is no reason why you couldn’t move, and stay part of the time on Hong Kong side and part of the time on Kowloon side. I am generally not an advocate of moving hotels, but you have almost 2 weeks, and the same hotel could get old after a while. I know that there are serviced apartments in the Gateway, see http://www.gatewayapartments.com.hk/, although I have not seen them. The Langham Place Hotel has serviced apartments, see http://hongkong.langhamplacehotels.com/en/index.html. There are some serviced apartments in Tolo Harbour are called the Horizon Suite Hotel, go to http://www.horizonsuitehotel.com/eng/index.html. I know the area, and there is some great walking nearby (including the beautiful Bride's Pool walk), and you can bike around the Tolo Harbour. This is quite out of the main tourist area, but your expat friend may find the area interesting (it would have been farmers’ fields 30 years ago, and is now one of the large “new towns”, but still quite pretty on the water.)
I saw your other post on the Bishop Lei. I like the location of this hotel a lot and have stayed, there in previous years, but I have not seen the renovated rooms and don’t know if the current renovations are disturbing to guests. My experience generally in other hotels is that this occurs during the daytime hours and does not disturb the evening or early morning. They usually do it per floor (i.e. they close each floor) so you won’t have dust, etc. These are just guesses so I don’t know if that is true for this hotel, again check tripadvisor.com. There are many restaurant options in the neighborhood, and you are a few hundred yards from the escalator, which will offer you easy walking access to even more. The hotel is also on a bus line to go down to Central, and a taxi would be relatively cheap as well. My only comment is that with 12 days you may want a kitchen, but check their suites which may offer limited kitchen facilities. Rooms do tend to be small, but you seem to be looking at larger rooms. They do offer some nice views, you should even have decent views for the fireworks.
Activities really I would say have not changed hugely in 30 years, I say this based on my own first trip to Hong Kong which was 23 years ago. The main tourist sties are still here, many of the same restaurants are still here. The Peninsula and Mandarin hotels are still here (albeit the Penn has a huge tower behind it now). The skyscrapers are new, the harbour has been filled in quite a bit on both sides. But the Peak Tram and the Star Ferry are still running, the outlying ferries still ply their routes, the great walks in the New Territories and Lantau are still there (although much of Lantau has changed, but the interior parts away from Disney, the airport and Discovery Bay are not that much changed I don’t think, i.e. the monasteries are still there.) Again, I would talk to your friend and plan an itin around what he or she may want to see. Walking is certainly an option, and you may be here for some of the pre and post Lunar New Year celebrations. Fireworks are in the harbour on Tuesday Jan 27 at 9 pm, which you would certainly want to see.
Activities at or before 8 am would certainly include the Flower Market in Kowloon which is actually best early in the morning. The bird market may be OK at that hour too, and is nearby. The wet markets IMO are not that interesting in the morning as most shoppers are not out that early and many stall are closed, but you can always stroll some of those areas. The Peak in the early morning, esp. in Jan can be interesting, you can get fog which can actually be kind of mysterious and beautiful, and it is always good for a walk up around there in the morning regardless of weather. Not very crowded at that hour and several places for breakfast. If you stay someplace like the Bishop Lei or Two Macdonnel Road, you could walk down from or up to the Peak in the morning quite easily. To the best of my knowledge, there is free tai chi on offer outdoors along the Esplanade most mornings, check the Hong Kong tourism website. You will often find people in parks doing tai chi in the mornings as well, and you may be able to join them if you have some knowledge. I don’t think a lot of temples are open quite that early (I thought 9 am was more usual), but do check guidebooks or ask at hotels, as I really have not tried to go at 8 am. Walks are very possible, you could go to Lamma, for example, and have a coffee at the Bookworm café, then do some walking and then have lunch and return, or go on to other islands from there. While Stanely shops don’t open until 10 am, you could head toward it on foot at 8 am (via the hard or easy ways) and by the time you get there, things will be open and you can have breakfast and shop. Or take the bus at 8 am and stop first at Repluse Bay, do the short walk there to Deep Water Bay and back, then continue on to Stanely and explore that area a bit (check when the military cemetery opens) and by the time you finish that, the shops should be open. Or do the Dragaon’s Back walk and by the time you finish that and go to Stanely, things will be open. (The early morning jet lag arising, by the way, won’t last more than a day or 3. So with 12 days, you won’t be up early for many of them if that is not your usual pattern.)
May I suggest that you buy your friend a copy of Martin Booth’s book <i>Gweilo: Memories of a Hong Kong Childhood</i> (May also be called <i>Golden Boy</i
, which is partial autobiography of the writer who lived in Hong Kong as a young boy in the late 1950s. A bit before your friend’s time here, but she or he will recognize the Cantonese people and some places, and it is a good story as well.
Jan 5th, 2009, 10:09 PM
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Sorry, it appears that Ice House Apartments <u>do</u> have kitchens (or kitchenettes) so might be a good option. I would ask about room size and what the kitchenette consists of (many of these places would not have an oven, but you might have a microwave and a burner or two, if that is OK with you that may work). Compare room size and price to other places.
Jan 7th, 2009, 03:48 AM
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Thank you Cicerone very much for your thoughtful reply. I will do my best to take your advise! Further research on the Ice House Apts reveals that they are not licensed, but do appear on the Fodor's hotel list. Haven't found much else. Where ever we stay, I think I will visit the Ice House for next time, because that location is just too good.
Thanks for all the replies. I am looking forward to a great stay in HK!
Thanks for all the replies. I am looking forward to a great stay in HK!
