Cellular service in HK
 

I have a Motorola RAZR V3xx cell phone on AT&T currently.

Is it possible to pick up a SIM card of some type in HK and use it there?

I hope to use it for local HK calls only - meeting up with a friend, phone stores to ask questions, etc. I've heard this can be done but have no experience with it.

Thx for any insights - enjoy-la!

If you have your phone unlocked, then yes. Peoples and PCCW have SIMs that are very cheap for local calls, and are cheap to start.

http://www.pccwmobile.com/portal/com...p?fldr_id=8117

http://www.peoples.com.hk/p_prepaid_...efault_iso.jsp

The 7-Eleven on the arrivals level at HKG should have either or both.

Any advice on SIM cards with dual HK/China capability, to use for calling home to the States?

I haven't looked up the capabilities of the model mentioned, but remember that North American cell phones must not only be unlocked, but must be tri-band, and work on the frequencies most of the rest of the world uses.

I don't believe there's any such thing as a SIM card that works in both Hong Kong and mainland China--the systems are mutually exclusive. If there is such a thing, I want one as I'm constantly juggling mainland and HK SIM cards around.

Peter N-H

I've actually just located a site that sells SIM cards, headquartered in the States and with branches in HK, and they advertise dual HK/China cards. They charge $39 plus $10 shipping to the states, free shipping in China. The card apparently does not come pre-loaded with value. They provide a nice service - an automatic credit card charge to recharge, every time the balance drops below $3 (so effectively charging another $3 overall, of course).

It's pandaphone.com. I suspect their charges are much more than what one could buy locally in either HK or China. Their incoming and local charge is US$.20/minute, outgoing from China to the States .59, China to elsewhere .89, and incoming/local HK is US$.10, HK to China .29, and HK to elsewhere is 1.40.

Has anyone heard of this outfit? Like so many companies focused on Chinese business but with an office in the States, it's difficult to reach a live customer service rep Stateside by phone. And I'm always suspicious when I find a place initially by web surfing.

There are SIMs with dual numbers (one for China, one for HK) - go to Shung Tak Center (Macau Ferry Pier) in Sheung Wan and you can find at least a dozen dealers having them with all the "lucky" numbers.

However, all of these are post-paid plans. I am not aware of pre-paid dual number SIM, or any single number SIM that's cheap in both China and Hong Kong.

Thx a mint - all this info is great!

My inexperience in this are is showing thru tho as I don't have an unlocked phone.

What options are there for tourists who don't have an unlocked phone but want cheap local (HK in-bound/out-bound only) mobile service?

Enjoy-la!

> It's pandaphone.com. I suspect their charges are much more than what one could buy locally in either HK or China.

The SIM card is six times what you need to pay in China for a start.

As for call charges, with the fee-free Shénzhōu xíng líng yuè zū kǎ (from China Telecom) your incoming calls cost ¥0.60 per minute (less than half of Pandaphone). Outgoing calls to the US cost ¥1.40 pre minute, about a third of the Pandaphone price.

There's every reason for suspicion, and as with everything else for visitors to China, if you book in advance through some Chinese service targeting you in English, you'll be taken for a ride.

> What options are there for tourists who don't have an unlocked phone but want cheap local (HK in-bound/out-bound only) mobile service?

Buy a cheap, second-hand phone while there. No doubt an HK-resident reader can tell you where to go.

Peter N-H

Instead of trying find a cheap phone in Hong Kong, you may just want to buy one here before you go.

ebay and Tigerdirect.com usually have decent deals - you should be able to find one for about $50.

You need the phone to be:

- unlocked

- have at least 900 and 1800MHz GSM. If you also want to use your AT&T service here in the US, then it also needs to have 850 and 1900MHz.

Most residents of Hong Kong pay good money for top of the line, really fancy new phones, so that's what most stores sell. Even if you find a place with a cheap $50 phone, the salesperson will be rolling their eyes.

Oh, you can also have your phone unlocked here. Not sure if AT&T will do it for you, but they should. Call them first and ask.

If not, go to any ethnic cellphone store here - Chinatown, Indian/Korean/Hispanic/younameit neighborhoods, and they'll do it for a small fee. The RAZR should be easily unlockable.

To verify the phone is unlocked, borrow a T-Mobile user's SIM and put in your phone. It should work here right away.

Thx a mint for the details.

I will call AT&T tomorrow and see if they can unlock my phone.

If not it's a good idea to pick one up before I go.

When I've gone to Best Buy, I've noticed no contract phones (pay as you go or pre-paid) for literally $10 for the phone. I was hoping HK would have something like that...a "disposable" local use phone where the user just paid a premium for their minutes - a tradeoff I was willing to make since I will not be making a lot of calls.

Enjoy-la!

Ooops, skip that. The V3xx is only: "Band / mode: GSM 850/1800/1900 (Tri-Band)"

So since it doesn't have 900 and 1800MHz GSM, it won't work in HK anyway.

Time to check out ebay/tigerdirect - enjoy-la!

Where both the 900 and 1800 MHz bands are used - which is most of the world, China/Hong Kong included - your phone doesn't necessarily need both. But it's not a bad idea, as you might find yourself in an area where the 900 signal is the stronger. The advantage of an unlocked quadband phone is that you'll be able to use it almost anywhere you go (except, I think, Japan, where as far as I know neither GSM nor the North American CDMA system is used).

In the US, service provider subsidizes one for the phone to entice you to sign on to the contact (post-paid) or just to try their pre-paid service. To protect their investment, they lock the phone to their network only.

With the exception of the iPhone, such concept does not apply in Hong Kong. The handset and the service are two separate entities. The service providers don't subsidize one for the phone and no phone is locked.

Okay, this is starting to make more sense now. Thx a mint for the extra info (=

Check out this link.
http://www.smartone-vodafone.com/jsp...lish/index.jsp

RK is right in that most people in HK buy top of the line - the latest and the greatest phones. After dropping one in a pool and losing another 3G hi end phone while traveling within a span of 6 months, I resorted to a cheapie. The cheapest one for Nokia (my preference) is Nokia 1208 - for HKD 390 which is just about USD50.

You can rent a phone from CSL, a very reliable service provider, for HK$35 a day (about US$4.5), see info at http://roam.hkcsl.com/eng/rent/rent.htm. You then buy a sim card and you can make local and long distance calls up to the value of the card, and then buy another card once the value has been discharged. You can pick the phone up and return the phone at the airport. If you are only going to be here a few days, this may be the closest and cheapest thing to a dispoable phone. You can buy second hand phones, which can be done here cheaply, but who wants to take the time to do that on a short trip? (And really <i>caveat emptor</i> on those phones; if you want to, try the Jardine’s Bazar area in Causway Bay or the beginning of Wan Chai Road in Wan Chai.) You could also buy a new phone here, but that might be pricer than you want, and again hunting for a phone on a vacation is not my idea of time well spent. You could also buy an &quot;unlocked&quot; dual/tri band phone before you leave, which may be easier and probably cheaper in the long run, esp if you plan to travel outside the US in the future. You can then buy a stored value sim card here at any 7-11 store and put that in the phone, it's very easy.

Finally, remember that <u>local calls within Hong Kong are free</u>, which means that you can call from free from your hotel room, from any phone booth (if you can find a phone booth these days) and most merchants in a shop will let you use their phone to make a local call as well. If you literally will <i>only</i> be making local calls, you can probably get away with doing this from your hotel room or elsewhere.

Cicerone - will it be entirely clear (i.e. in English) how much the 7-11 SIM cards cost for calls to the States and China? And, do you know if it is possible to get a SIM at the 7-1l that is good for dual use in HK and China (i.e. one card, one phone number for both)? Thanks.

Ed - Go to the links I posted for the PCCW and Peoples SIM, which is the first reply in this thread.

Charges for PCCW calling US and China is right on that page; and for Peoples, click on &quot;Charges&quot; on the left and you'll see the rates.

The SIMs I linked to have low local charge but high international (including calling China). If you're going to call mostly international, then you should get the PCCW &quot;Global Reach&quot; or the Peoples &quot;IDD Talk&quot; SIMs which have much cheaper international rates but higher local ones.

Those sites are both written in clear English. And both types of cards are available at 7-11s.

Thanks, RK, it looks like both of these cards offer almost free service to the States -- only the HK$.25/min local charge. However, what's not clear is whether these cards might also be usable (probably at a higher cost) for calls from China to the States. Ideally, we'd like to have just one phone number to give our families, for both HK and China.

Thx a mint for the additional posts - such useful info!

Looks like the best option is to buy one before I go and then pick up a SIM card. The info in this thread is so detailed, it will be easy for me to do and follow. (=

Cicerone, I've enjoyed your detailed-rich posts on things to do in HK! I agree that trying to buy a 2nd hand phone wouldn't be a fun use of my time especially with a language barrier.

I was wondering about some of the hikes/walks. I'm spending 3 weeks in HK only as I want to spend time doing things other than markets/malls/Ocean Park, etc.

I'd love to see some scenery and like to walk/hike. I hope to do some of these on weekdays daytime hours. As I will be travelling solo, I was wondering if during weekdays daytime hours if there are enough people around for it to be safe for a female to do these? Any thoughts?

Enjoy-la!

Ed - All of these cards have some kind of roaming features, but the rates are all very very high. Calling to/from China, you need to get a Chinese SIM.

If you're not calling that much, just use your AT&amp;T SIM. Using a HK SIM to roam in China may cost just as much, or more.

klam__chowder, with 3 weeks then you do have time to maybe hunt around for a cheap new phone here, not sure if they would be cheaper than the US, but would certainly be unlocked. So you may want to do that. Renting for 3 weeks is going to be expensive.

With regard to crime, as you may know, Hong Kong generally has one of the lowest crime rates of any major urban area in the world; and without knowing statistics, I would say Hong Kong is on average much much safer than any major or minor US city. With regard to hiking, there are <i>very occasionally</i> incidents of crime against hikers. Most of the reported incidents I have seen were in 2004 and 2005, and seemed to be concentrated in the Tai Tam Reservoir area of Hong Kong Island and also at Victoria Peak (which is always full of people at all hours and on all days), so it does not seem to be so much a case of isolated hikers or trails being targeted. Incidents like those make a huge splash in the papers here; I think the papers like to sensationalize things, as crime here is so extremely rare. (There is nothing they like better than a good murder, which is also quite rare.) The general MO has been that the people are tied up and their wallets are taken, sometimes they are taken to an ATM and forced to get cash. None of these crimes have involved a gun to the best of my knowledge, which are just not obtainable here. None have involved a rape or sexual assault or serious injury to the victims. (None have actually involved US citizens, but that is probably just luck, some have been Europeans.) Virtually all of the perpetrators have been PRC nationals who came over the border to commit the crimes. <i> I cannot stress enough how rare these incidents have been</i>, but as it is a strange event to be robbed when hiking, the stories take on a life of their own. (I don’t know the stats on crimes when hiking in urban areas in the US, I imagine they are not low and higher than here.)

On weekdays you probably will find yourself on your own on a trail more often than not. I occasionally hike by myself, and don’t really worry about it. (I would worry more about snakes and the occasional feral dog than thieves!) Here is what the Hong Kong Police say about crime and hiking, see http://www.police.gov.hk/hkp-home/en...cpb/hikers.htm. I would suggest you carry a mobile phone, and not a lot of cash. One thing about hiking on Sat and Sundays (and public holidays) is that there is more frequent bus and ferry service, esp in outlying areas/islands and in the New Territories, so you may actually end up wanting to do hikes on weekends in any event (when there will be more people hiking too), and do other things during the week. In some cases in places like the country parks in the New Territories there is very little bus service <i>except</i> on weekends.

Cicerone, thx a mint for your detailed reply! I appreciate your link too - good to know that &quot;911&quot; is actually &quot;999&quot; in HK.

I was worried it would be too crowded on w/ends but for better transportation and doing the trails in a more relaxed manner, I will go on weekends. Makes sense too since I guess the &quot;city areas&quot; will have more people on weekends so if I go to those on weekdays, there will be less crowds.

I will buy a phone here so I'm ready to go once I pick up a SIM card in HK.

With the Star Ferry, does it make sense to get a Habour Tour full or half day hop-on ticket? Any experience with the Symphony of Lights tour?

I will take it at least twice, once during the day and once in the evening. Is it best to take it from TST to Central or Wan Chai? Is there anything &quot;worth&quot; seeing to go to the Hung Hom pier?

Thx for any insights on this - enjoy-la!

Just take the regular Star Ferry. No need to go on a tour, really.

At the Hung Hom pier, there's the Habour Plaza Hotel, and not far is the Whampoa Gourmet Place (aka &quot;Choi Lan Food Court&quot;), with some great Chinese restaurants. On the ferry ride, you can get a pretty close look at the Tsimshatsui East Promenade.

You can also ride the Star Ferry to Wan Chai from the Kowloon side. You can get a good look at the Golden Bauhinia Square in front of the Convention Center. Every mainland Chinese visitors have to go there, while no locals or foreign tourists do.

rkkwan, thx a mint for the tips for the Star Ferry; I'll be sure to check them all out.

Anyone have some suggestions on what good &quot;souvenirs&quot; to bring from USA to HK for a friend?

I was thinking maybe maple syrup? I prefer not to bring chocolate since it may melt. I know she does not like smoked salmon.

Appreciate any thoughts on this - enjoy-la!

I don't bring souvenirs, and most HK people don't know what to do with the maple syrup.

On the other hand, many relatives or family friends would like us to bring vitamins and other over the counter supplements. Those tend to be a lot cheaper in the US than Hong Kong.

Smoked salmon would be a decent choice. Other US food stuff they like include Mauna Loa macadamia nuts. Wisconsin ginseng another one.

Thx a mint for your thoughts on the souvenirs. Buffalo's about as far as you can get from Hawaii but at least it's still the USA...LOL! Bet they will appreciate that more than wing sauce given their small kitchens and general lack of grills.

Do you happen to know if the Duk Ling tour is still free? I've found info on DL but was curious if they are charging for it now as why would they require visitors to show their passport?

Enjoy-la!

Probably because it aims to make a visit to Hong Kong more attractive for foreign visitors, and there's limited space on the junk so they don't want foreign visitors to compete with locals for space. The price is now HK$50.

Peter N-H

Two of the things HK locals love:

- chicken wings. Most can't handle very spicy stuff, but a bottle of mild wing sauce may actually work.

- any thing that's free or dirt cheap. If they let locals ride the Duk Ling for free/cheap, no tourist will ever get a spot.

Okay, makes sense why a passport is required. I was hoping to lock it up and not walk around with it but no problem. Thx a mint for the info on this (= ~$7USD is still a great value; I'll keep it in mind if the Star Ferry crossings aren't enough of the harbor for me.

Great tip about the wings...lol! I will bring some since it will at least be something different.

I'm planning on doing a day trip to Macau. I've read to go on a weekday, and that it will take a full day. I'll be staying at Tsing Yi...what's the best way for me to get there and back?

My concern is getting a ticket back for the same day. Can I buy a return ticket for the last sailing at the same time I buy my ticket to go to Macau?

Thx for any insights/tips - enjoy-la!

From Tsing Yi, take the MTR to Hong Kong station. Go up the mall there and use the elevated walkway west (through ifc one) to the Macau Ferry at Shun Tak Center (it's the twin towers with red beams at the top, middle and bottom, very easy to see). Fairly short walk.

On a weekday, you should have no problem getting tickets back, but you can definitely buy the ticket for the return trip in advance. Buy a late sailing and if you want to return sooner, you can go standby at the pier on the Macau side.

rkkwan, thx a mint for the detailed directions. I wasn't sure which ferry to take so now I know TurboJET. I was surprised they operate 24/7, and that it's quite expensive, IMHO, compared to other walk-on ferry services around the world. The return standby line makes it very convenient.

So how many hours do you think it takes to get a good tour of Macau, not including going into the casinos?

I will avoid the Grand Prix dates but apart from that is there one weekday that would be better to do than others?

I'm looking forward to the Taste of Macau festival that will be on in early November.

Thx for any further insights...enjoy-la!

I had never thought of the Turbojet at under US$20 as expensive. Afterall, there used to be cheaper and slower ferries, but everybody is willing to pay the higher fare to ride a fast jetfoil or catamaran; driving all the alternatives out of business.

[I have taken almost every kind of ferry between Hong Kong and Macau since I was a baby - including 3-hr regular ferries, 1.5-hr &quot;high-speed ferries&quot;, hydrofoils, hoverferries; to the current jetfoils, foilcats and various catamarans.]

Afterall, it's a 40-mile cross-border trip, riding on some of the most advanced and fastest passenger vessels in the world, with super-frequent sailings. What else can one ask for (besides a bridge, which is coming)? Plus, for the gamblers, US$20 is less than what most people tip the dealers on a gambling trip...

Anyways, as for Macau, I feel like it takes about 1.5 days for the non-casino activites, which is why I always suggest an overnight trip. If you're doing a day trip, go as early as possible and return late.

I was thinking ~$45USD round trip for a day trip to be more than I expected. I hadn't thought about the cost/technology of jetfoils.

Actually when I originally was looking at visiting to Macau, I recalled a former colleague telling me about the long ferry ride she took. I was wondering why I couldn't find info on it on-line...LOL! Now I know (=

I thought it looked like a lot of to cover in one day so it's good to know I'd have to pick and choose if I wanted to only go for a day visit.

If I go for one day and catch an early ferry, say 7am and start by heading to Coloane (with the intent of making my way back via Taipa to Macau), do you think things would be open enough for me to enjoy? I know shops may open later but perhaps I could see historic sites?

I was thinking:
- Chapel of St Francis Xavier
- Coloane village, including including Lord Stow's bakery :)
- Taipa village
- Ah-Ma Temple
- Macau Tower
- Senado Square
- Ruins of St Paul’s Church
- Fishermans's Wharf

I noticed that there are hotel busses that from the ferry to the casinos. Do they go from the hotels to the ferry too?

Thx for any insights - enjoy-la!

I would skip the Fisherman's Wharf. It's pretty much a new development with few visitors. If you have time left before returning, might just go into Sands next door and check out the mainland gamblers. Macau Tower depends on air quality. You may not see much from up there.

A-Ma Temple opens early, but the churches and other attractions maybe 10 or so. Shops in Coloane probably won't open until that time as well. But if you take the 7am ferry, it'll be 8:30a by the time you get through immigration. Things will be open by the time you finish breakfast.

Yes, the casino buses also go from hotel to the pier. But sometimes the lines may be long and you might just take a taxi.

BTW, I agree with you that daytrip to Macau is not cheap. Which is why I always tell people to overnight there. Decent 3* hotels are HK$500 a night, compared to HK$1,200 in Hong Kong. The $700 saved pays for 2 persons roundtrip ferry tickets and a little more.

Again, very helpful info - thx!

So I think I have my plan down: arrive ~8:30am, 2 hours in Coloane, 2 hours in Taipa, 6 hours in Macau peninsula, 2 hours in casinos. It is completely flexible but I'm just trying to get a fix on whether this is reasonable - is it?

I think the latest ferry I can take back is the 11pm in order to make the last MTR connection to Tsing Yi without stress or running - LOL! So if things slide I still have a couple hours buffer. How long is immigration for the ferry ride back to HK, i.e., how early do I have to arrive at the ferry terminal?

If I happen to miss the last MTR to Tsing Yi, can I get there by bus with only 1 transfer? Or approx how much would a cab cost?

Also, I like Vegas - no highroller here tho...LOL! - so I will likely spend an hour just checking out the architecture and another hour trying small hands at Pai Gow Poker. Any idea of which is a good casino to gamble at?

Any suggestion on which 2 casinos are the nicest? I understand that Venetian is quite far from anything - is it worth taking a trip to it?

Thx for any insights - enjoy-la!

15 minutes before sailing is minimum, 20-25 minutes more comfortable. Immigration is fast for departing Macau. It's entering that's slow, mostly because the stream of people going through immigration for leaving Macau is steady, while it's 250-300 arriving at a time from Hong Kong on a ferry.

Anyways, last MTR from Hong Kong to Tsing Yi departs at 12:50am. I'd get on an earlier ferry just in case. Or just forget it and stay as late as you want and then just take a taxi from the ferry to Tsing Yi. HK$150 should do it.

Yes, there are night buses. But needs 2 changes, and at that hours, you might just take the taxi.

Thx a mint for the extra info! Great to know to give myself abou 30 min at the departing ferry terminal and the approx cab fare - since it's reasonable, if I get back too late, I will just get a cab.

On another note...I checked the maps against the alternate busses to the Airport Express, the A31 and E32. If I want to go to Cheung Wan St &amp; Tsing Yi Heung Sze Wui Rd, it seems like both of these busses will stop further away than the Tsing Yi MTR station; so I am better off taking the Airport Express, right?

Thx for any insights - enjoy-la!