We arrive in Hong Kong from South Africa early December and stay for 3 nights. I had originally booked 2 Exec rooms at the Langham but now think we should perhaps rather be at the Salisbury as it sounds more touristy and perhaps quieter - there are 5 of us from 12 to 70 and my 16 year old daughter found Chinatown New York too busy (children are afraid to get lost in crowds) and so perhaps we should not be based in Monk Kok. Your thoughts?

Second question: arriving on a Tuesday lunch time after an overnight flight and will leave on the Friday afternoon. Some itinerary planning ideas would be great. Is Ocean Park an option in December? Don't want to do Disney Land. Do want to see Lantau Island, Victoria Peak, Star Ferry, Midtown Escalators, Goldfish market. What else? What should we do for Day 1 as an "Easy Day" after an overnight flight. How would you spend the Friday morning before our flight to Hanoi at 3pm? We go back to S Africa in January via Macua for 2 night.

This is our first visit to Hong Kong and any advice would be very much appreciated.

While Tsimshatsui is a little less crowded than Mongkok, it can still be quite crowded. The rooms at the YMCA Salisbury won't be as nice as the Langham Place, so it's your choice.

Ocean Park is open year round.

Hong Kong can be as easy as you want anytime. Just wander around town, take the ferry. No need to hurry to go anywhere do anything.

If your child has an issue with crowds, then Hong Kong may be a bit of an issue overall. The good news is that your days here are weekdays and none of them are public holidays. This will keep crowds down at most sights. Still you are going to just have crowds on the streets pretty much all the time. It’s a city of 7 million people packed onto a very small land area, and it has some of the most densely populated areas on earth. I would avoid the subway (MTR) at rush hours in the morning and the evening, generally between 8-9:30 am and 5-7 pm. It is very crowded then. Try to walk, take taxis or use the Star Ferry to get around, buses will be crowded too. Streets will be most packed around lunchtime, generally between Noon – 1 pm. The other good news you should stress to your daughter that Hong Kong is extremely extremely safe and she should have no worries at all being on her own or if she does get “lost”. She should have the name and address of your hotel with her. All she needs to do is find a policeman, there are actually many walking the streets. Even a local shopkeeper can assist. At 16 there is really nowhere in the city should could not do on her own (well I guess you wouldn’t want her wandering the bar district or anything although IMO it’s quite safe), I would think she may want to head to a shopping mall or wander around Soho boutiques (area off the escalator around Staunton Street). I would not have any concerns on that point if she feels she can do the MTR on her own. Signage is in English and it is very easy to figure out the system. The Star Ferry is equally easy. (The bus system becomes more complicated, but if you learn the buses that stop near your hotel and go to say the Star Ferry pier or the nearest MTR station, then that is all you need. Taxis are very cheap and can work instead for those short distances.)

I like the YMCA just for the views and its extremely convenient location for the Star Ferry, the Chinese Arts and Crafts shop, etc. You can walk to these areas rather than having to take a taxi or the MTR. You can also walk to places like the nice Tin Hau temple and even to the Jade Market and see some of the neighborhoods. I would choose it for location alone, although I agree it is not going to be a nice probably as the Langham.

Ocean Park would be an option, it may be a little bit cool here in December, I would see what the temps are like. It could however very will be sunny and 22-25 C so may be just perfect for that park. It would most likely not be too crowded on a weekday and for locals that is a “winter” temp so even fewer people would want to go. You may not want to go in the wave pool but the other activities would be fine.

It’s hard to advise for what such a diverse group should do over that time. Briefly it appears you have omitted Aberdeen harbour, the bird market in Kowloon (and the nearby flower market), the Hollywood Road area including the Man Mo temple and Cat Street area. I don’t see any local market areas on your list. I find the local markets very colorful and interesting with fruit, veg meat, fish and then thing like incense, paper offerings for funerals, etc for sale. Good people-wathcing too. You can find some good ones in the Gramham and Peel Street areas in Central quite close to the escalator, although there are great market areas in Wan Chai and interesting ones in Western/Shueng Wan too. The Hollywood Road area can also be done from the escalator, the Man Mo temple is quite atmospheric and passed by most tourists. I don’t see Stanley, which I think is a great trip for the bus ride, a meal and then some shopping for souvenirs, Christmas ornaments, local artwork and perhaps discount clothing and “pashmina’s etc. There is also a WW II cemetery. I don’t see the Star Ferry (I just assume you mean to include that). The Hong Kong Tourist Association has a tour by junk every Thursday, find info on their website, take a look at http://www.discoverhongkong.com/eng/index.jsp. Bring your passports, as only tourists get to go. You can also pay for a longer cruise on the same junk at sunset and other times, go to http://www.dukling.com.hk/tours.htm. I think the Wong Tai Sin temple in Kowloon, which is the fortune tellers temple, is very interesting and most tourists enjoy it. Much of the Kowloon sights can be combined into about a half day trip or a bit more and you can get around by MTR. Some of this could be done on the morning of your flight so you can stay in the Kowloon area, esp the bird, fish and flower markets which are most active in the earlier parts of the morning. Tea at the Peninsula or the Mandarin (Clipper Lounge) or even the lobby of the Intercontinental (the only one with The View) is a nice thing to do.

As you are here in the winter racing season, you might want to go to the horse races in Happy valley on the Wednesday night. I am fairly sure the 16 year old would be allowed in, not sure about the 12 year old. If you go to one of the restaurants, their age may not be an issue at all. To the best of my knowledge, neither can bet. For info on the Stable Bend Terrace and other the restaurants, , http://www.hkjc.com/english/index.asp, click on “Horse Races”, then "Come Racing" and then “Dining at a Glance”. For info on getting an overseas badge for admission to the stands, take a look at the website for the Hong Kong Jockey Club at http://www.hkjc.com/english/index.asp, click on “Horse Races”, then "Come Racing".

I am not really a fan the Big Buddha on Lantau, I just do’t find it that interesting. The cable car is currently down for repairs. It is a long day trip to see the Buddha. Unless you want to do some walking on the island, which is very good but more challenging as elevations are higher and terrain is rougher, I never really see the point of tourists gong to Lantau when there is a lot to see and do on Hong Kong Island and even Kowloon or other outlying islands like Cheng Chau or something like Lamma which is closer and has an excellent an easy walk and some more challenging walks as well. You could combine the walk on Lamma (about an hour, with the ferry over plan on 2 hours or so all in) and then take the little wooden kaido ferry over to Aberdeen, hire a little boat to see the harbour there and then have a meal there or go on by bus to someplace like Stanely from there for lunch and shopping.

For your flight to Hanoi, you actually have a good bit of time before you need to be at the airport. If you are flying something like Cathay, you can also check-in on line up to 24 hours before and print boarding passes, so look into that. Other airlines may have this feature. This will save you a good bit of time at the airport. You can also check-in at the Airport Express train station in Kowloon for the flight, including checking your bags, so consider that as well. The website for Hong Kong airport is hongkongairport.com, they have information on check-in and a link to the Airport Express for check-in information there.

Cicerone I owe you a debt of gratitude - thank youso much for takingthe time to write all this for us. I advise for Cape Town on trip advisor (Capetown, Capetown) and its people like you and rk helping me that has made me help others.

Our daughter is a typical 16 year old - not crowd phobic, just not used to them, I think also when you are trying to work out where to go and you have to keep moving it does all get a bit overwhelming.

I will take on your comments re Lantau and I like the other island suggestions you made. Now it is down to me to put together an itinerary outline which I will post hoping for your comments. My mother at 70 thinks shes 16, so she will do what the daughter wants to do and as long as the boy can get wet somewhere - and the husband - then all will be well - me - I like most things but with 5 weeks in Asia ahead of us and a meagre 20kg luggage allowance my shopping will have to be specific and small! Like the mentioned Pashminas - probably good for that time of year anyway.
We don't have the Hong Kong to Vietnam flights booked yet - seems expensive at $350 but maybe thats the way it is and i am not sure about waiting until we are in HK to book.
Again - thank you - and if you're ever in Cape Town..
CTCT

I actually like going to Lantau, with or without the cable car. But with your limited time, it may not be the best use for your time.

A typical itinerary will be taking the ferry (40-60 minutes, depending on ferry type) from Central to Mui Wo in the morning, take bus #1 (~40 minutes) to the Tai O village. Ride bus #21 (~15 minutes) up to Ngong Ping to visit Po Lin Monastery, Big Buddha and Wisdom Path. Have vegetarian lunch at the monastery, then ride bus #23 (~40 minutes) to Tung Chung and take MTR back to the city mid-afternoon.

It's actually kind of fun, in my opinion.

On the “getting wet”, Ocean Park would work, I just don’t know if they want to get wet in those Dec temps, perhaps you are used to it from Cape Town. I guess a 12 year old won’t care. There are beaches as well; while they are quite pretty to look at I don’t think the water quality is really that great at any of them and I believe by December the life guards will be gone, not a huge deal if your kids are good swimmers. Coming from SA you may just look and laugh at our “pretty” beaches… In any event, the water is not going to be as cold as I imagine the south Atlantic is. Good beaches on Hong Kong Island would be Repulse Bay, Stanley (they could beach while others shop, you can also rent wind surfers there), Deep Water Bay (the latter is walkable from Ocean Park and you can water ski in the bay, there is an excellent upscale beach restaurant called Cococabana) and Big Wave Bay (this has a surf for surfing and a very nice casual restaurant on the beach called the Blue Room). There are several very pretty beaches on Lamma Island, including Hung Shing Yeh beach. There are even prettier and cleaner beaches in the Sai Kung area in the New Territories north of Kowloon, but that is a longer journey out and back to them. The YMCA has an indoor pool that may be a good choice as far as outdoor temps, not sure about the Langham. Some hotels close their pools for the “winter” (esp if they aren’t heated) so if a working pool is important to you, make sure wherever you are staying will have the pool open for business during your stay.

In addition to the very good Hong Kong History museum in Kowloon, one or more of you might consider a visit to either of the two museums which are in restored “walled villages” further out in Kowloon and the New Territories, both of which are reachable by public transport or a combo of public transport and then a short taxi ride. Take a look at http://www.lcsd.gov.hk/CE/Museum/History/index.php. I believe there is a free shuttle bus which connects many if not all of these museums, ask your hotel or ask at the Hong Kong Tourist Board office. I have read about it in the paper here, but have not seen anything about it on any museum website, the info I saw said "A one-week bus pass with unlimited entry ticket to all museums is available from Hong Kong Tourism Board offices. The special bus runs on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday from 10 am to 6 pm." The Hong Kong Art Museum, on the waterfront in Kowloon is also very good, and can be “done” in about 1-2 hours if you pick a collection or a special exhibit. They have a good gift shop as well. See http://www.lcsd.gov.hk/CE/Museum/Arts/index.htm. I know that the science museums are supposed to be good, although I have not been to any of them. You should be able to find info on them at the above website.

While I agree you don’t want to spend an inordinate amount of time shopping (it’s hard to do with a group anyway), there are all sorts of interesting handicraft items for sale here, I like the local artwork esp. Much of it is small and easily pack able. The lacquer ware and silver in Vietnam is very beautiful, although you can find it here too. Don’t forget you can mail things pretty cheaply, esp surface mail. I know Hong Kong Post is quite reliable, I can’t speak for Vietnam. Hong Kong Post has boxes and everything for sale to make up a package. Their main post office is on the waterfront on Hong Kong Island about 300 yards from the Star Ferry pier, and there is one not too far behind the Y on Canton Road (there is one I am sure not too far from the Langham if you stay there). I did read a thread from a poster who mails home her dirty laundry and keeps her purchases with her, I thought that was an interesting idea. Many shops will ship for you as well for larger purchases.

I thought you had gotten some flight deals to Vietnam out of Macau?

Hi Guys - more and more thank yous!

I love the posting things home idea! I would need to be able to register the parcel to ensure that it does not get pinched this side! grr. But I think it is a great idea - though perhaps not for the washing!

I love the museum ideas and the walled city is a must as its something we don't have here.

Wind surfing at Stanley whilst we 3 girls shop is now a definate - didn't know you could hire wind surfers (the husbands favourite sport - his least favourite being shopping!)In fact all the beach suggestions with restaurants are really helpful.

Re the flights:
I have a good deal flying Bangkok to Macau on our way home (we have to fly to S Africa from Hong Kong) so I thought we would spend 2 nights in macau and get to the airport from there - rk gave us very good advice on how to do that earlier.
The flights from Hong Kong to Hanoi are quite expensive but just doing a quick check Macau to Hanoi it looks worse and the plane makes stops on the way - I hate flying so need to do each trip as a non stop if possible.

Again many thank yous

Yes, Hong Kong has a TON of outdoor activities, many right on Hong Kong Island itself, and IMO the big shame is that most tourists never even know it and think it is just a big, crowded city. You can rent windsurfers at Stanely at the following places:

Stanley Main Beach Water Sports Centre
Stanley Link Road, Stanley, Hong Kong
(Closed on Wednesday)
Tel: 2813 9117
Fax: 2813 0490
Email: [email protected]
http://www.lcsd.gov.hk/watersport/en/index.php

St. Stephen's Beach Water Sports Centre
Wong Ma Kok Path, Stanley, Hong Kong
(Closed on Tuesday)
Tel: 2813 5407
Fax: 2813 6449
Email: [email protected]
http://www.lcsd.gov.hk/watersport/en/index.php

Stanely Main Beach is on the opposite side of the main shopping area, either have a map or ask someone. If you notice where the crowds are going when you get off the bus, well you want to go in the other direction... St Stephens Beach is south of town continuing along the main road on which the bus stop is located, maybe half a mile walk or you can continue on some buses (not the #6 though) Again, you can ask someone. Note the days they are closed.

You can also rent them on Cheng Chau, whch is angoeth interesting outlying island to visit. It does not have the shopping you might want, so Stanely may be a good idea if the whole family wants to go. (Cheng Chau is where Lee Lai Shan, Hong Kong’s Gold Medalsit in Windsufing, was raised and learned to sail.)

Cheung Chau Windsurfing Centre
Hak Pai Road, Cheung Chau
Tel: 2981 8316
(next to Warwick Hotel and the Helicopter pier). This is operated by the uncle of Lee Lai Shan. He rents kayaks as well.

You can register and insure parcels sent by Hong Kong Post. I assume the same would be true in Vietnam. You also have Macau post which IMO would be as reliable as Hong Kong post. You may have to pay customs duty on them when the arrive in SA, I don’t know what the rules are for you. Surface is the slowest and the cheapest, but if you don’t need them right away it works fine. For an idea of shipping costs, go to http://www.hongkongpost.com, click on English and then rates on the left-hand colum. You can also see post office locations.

Cicerone - thank you - please come to Cape Town - we also have many "secret" places.
I shall do my homework over the next few weeks and post my suggested itinerary details and would love your further comments
You know where we are styaing - at least let me buy you a coffee?
I don't think Fodors has a contact section but I post a lot on the Trip Advisor Cape Town Forum under Capetown Capetown and they do have a mail service - your call
Thanks again

There are quite a number of walled villages in the New Territories. Various sizes, and various architecture styles depending on where the builders originally come from.

Also many of them have houses inside rebuilt, so they often look pretty ugly. I have visited quite a few, but some of them a while ago and I don't have photos.

The largest and most famous is Kat Hing Wai in Kam Tin. Short walk from the KCR-West Kam Sheung Road station.

Here are a few photos of Tsang Tai Uk near Shatin. It is actually more like a large compound than a small village. "Tai Uk" = "Big House". And it's built in the "Hakka" style of people from NE Guangdong Province, and not real "locals". KCR Ma On Shan Rail to "Che Kung Temple" stop:

fodors.com/forums/threadselect.jsp?fid=126&tid=35041364

You can see in that photo album of other stuff in that area, including the Che Kung Temple and the Heritage Museum.

Elsewhere in that gallery are pictures from several other New Territories attractions like several ancestor halls in Ping Shan, another in Sheung Shui, a Taoist Temple, and so on.

rkkwan.zenfolio.com/p163727794/?photo=352795431

Sorry, please ignore that first link to the thread on Fodors.com. It is linked to an unrelated thread.

I was actually referring to the two museums, which are in restored villages. Those are the ones I have the links to from the Hong Kong History Museum. Rkkwan is also referring to various villages in the New Territories which you can visit which are still existing villages where people live inside the walls of what were and are ancient fortifications. These are indeed somewhat ugly inside although the outside walls are often impressive. I find the museum villages to be more interesting if you want to learn about the older ways of living set out and preserved; and the New Territory villages interesting if you want to see how they are currently adapted to modern life. They latter can, however, be somewhat touristy, as bus tours do go to them, and in some of them, esp the one mentioned above Kat Wing Hai, the local village women may charge you to take their picture. I find the museuam walled villages to be very quiet as well, no bus tours to them. The one out in Sai Kung is near some great walking. The other one is in much busier area.