John

Am spending 5 days early June in Hong Kong at The Marriott. (Have to stay here redeeming points) Is it in a good location for shopping/sightseeing. Always wanted to go to Macau. Want to spend a full day there. Is the shopping/food good. Very appreciative of any help/assistance. Thanks a lot. -John.

Michael

The Marriot is in Central. Hong Kong isn't that big...shopping isnt ever far away. From your location you can walk easily to the Star Ferry and take the short seven minute boat ride to Kowloon side. Exiting the ferry stay to the left and you will be able to enter a huge shopping mall which is only about a 1 minute walk fromthe Star Ferry Terminal. <BR> <BR>Macao is about 40 miles away. You can get there easily by boat and there are a variety of different style boats: jetfoils, turbocats, catamaran ferries, <BR>jumbocats, and high-speed ferries.Most boats leave from the Macau Ferry Terminal which is just west of Central. You can get there by MTR (Sheung Wan Station). <BR> <BR>Figure time to buy a ticket and waiting on HK side...than the ride to Macau...and then, you have to go through passport control arriving in Macau. That takes some time as well. <BR> <BR>On Macau, the ferry terminal is on the east side of the island. Unless you know the buses, you should take a taxy...that is if you know where to go. Do your homeowrk first. <BR> <BR>I think you might find Lamma Island or Cheung Chau Island easier to get to. These islands are each about an hour away. Ferries depart hourly from central. Cheung Chau island is very small about 1 sq. mile...but when you step off the ferry you are almost immediately in the heart of the island. 30,000 people live on this island, and there are no automobiles...so everything is done by walking... <BR> <BR>Lamma is bigger, way bigger and has only a population of about 8,000. It is about 45 minutes to Yung Shue Wan which is a charming village with liots of fine restaurants. Lamma Island also has nice walking trails, and beaches. <BR> <BR>I did not shop in Macau...just mainly walked about...I did have lunch, but cannot remember the name of the restaurant. If you do go to macau remember to bring passport. <BR> <BR>Hopes this help somewhat. <BR>Michael

tex

Marriott is linked to a big shopping mall and also the MTR (subway) which you will love because as long as you are near one, you will never get lost. The MTR also gets you around town fast and easy. <BR> <BR>www.12hk.com - the unofficial guide on Hongkong

Cara

I was in Hong Kong in October and decided to spend one of our days visiting Macau. We took a jetfoil over...I think it was around an hour ride. It was very easy to get through customs. One word of advice though is to bypass all of the tourguides waiting like vultures for you at the terminal. We took buses all over the island during our day stay and had no problems. We stopped in the tourism office and found them to be somewhat helpful. However, it was difficult to track down a decent map. The main square area of town is gorgeous...very colorful buildings and landscaping. I can't say that we did a lot of shopping there, but I do remember that they were selling athletic shoes everywhere and there were many shoemakers up and down the narrow back roads. We also pent time hiking around the parks. One of them has a tram that you can take to the top of the park for a great view of the island. <BR> <BR>While visiting Hong Kong, make sure to also visit Stanley Market...a beautiful bus ride and some pretty good shopping. Great place for silk robes, pajamas and table linens. <BR> <BR>Also make sure to go up to Victoria's Peak in the late afternoon, so that you can see the view during the day and then stay up there an have dinner and see the city at night before coming back down. We ate at the Cafe up there - a great back patio for dining. And there was a coffee shop up there that had free internet access. <BR> <BR>While in Hong Kong, buy what is known as the Octupus pass for the transportion system. You buy a certain amount of transfers and they can be used on both the buses and subway (both which were very easy to use). At the end of the trip, there's a booth at the airport where you can cash in the remainder of credit on your pass. Much easier than having to worry about exact change. Feel free to drop me a note with any other questions you might have. Have fun and make sure to pack cool clothes...the humidity is pretty high over there. <BR> <BR>

Angela

Macau is lots of fun -- like a little taste of Europe in the middle of Asia. <BR> <BR>You should try to have lunch at the Club Militaire, which is about a 5 minute taxi ride from the jetfoil station. It's got a wonderful colonial style. Be sure to try the Portuguese Duck Rice!