hong kong help
 

i'm off for 35 day trip to s.e asia., leaving jan 13th, 2009. the planning is almost done except the 3 nights, two days in hong kong, my first stop on the way to viet nam.

i'm traveling alone, 63, fit,curious and enjoy organized wandering as well as specific plans. any suggestions how to get the most out my short time in hong kong appreciated. i used many of the reports to help prioritize the rest of the trip but a little overwhelmed by the hong kong options.

There aren't that many "must sees" in Hong Kong. You'll experience it just by being there. Especially following a longhaul flight, you really shouldn't plan on much.

Only thing you probably shouldn't miss is the short Star Ferry ride across the harbor and take the Peak Tram up to the Peak for a panoramic view of the city and harbor. Other than that, just do whatever interests you - eat, drink, shop, visit the islands, museum, ride the HK Tramway. There's no "wrong" way to do Hong Kong.

do the peak at night. it's a whole lot prettier.

I just returned from a trip to China which included some time in China. I asked for help in organizing my time in a post entitled "What else to do with an afternoon and evening in Hong Kong". If you click on my name you will find it at about #8. I got some really great advice from Cicerone and rkkwan which I followed and had a great time. It is really easy to use public transportation, as the signs and announcements in the subway are in English as well as in Chinese. I felt very safe wandering along the waterfront at night. The neighborhoods are very interesting. I did not have enough time to cover everything that was recommended, but I had a wonderful time filling the time I had in Hong Kong. Have a great trip.

BTW,some of the sights we covered by public transportation were going up to the Peak (We were lucky and had great visibility), Aberdeen (We took a 30 minute boat ride around the harbor which was nice, but with limited time I would not recommend), went to Stanley Market on a very scenic bus ride), saw the light show at 8PM at the waterfront and strolled the waterfront, spent some time walking around Central admiring the great archetecture, took a ride on the Star Ferry, and took the subway to a very interesting temple (I forget the name of it, but it is the subway stop before Diamond Hill). We squeezed all of this into a day and a half and had a great time.

That temple will be Wong Tai Sin. The MTR stop and the surrounding public housing estate all take its name from Wong Tai Sin. Lots of worshippers there.

At Diamond Hill MTR, there's the Chi Lin Nunnery, a fairly new buddhist monastery built in the stunning Tang Dynasty architecture; and the Nan Lian Gardens in front of it are also worth visiting if you're already at Wong Tai Sin. You can admire the architecture and gardens there, but the halls are not open for public worshipping.