Hi, I'll be attending the Infocomm Asia on Nov 19-21 and would like to know how's Royal Pacific Tower as a hotel. Also, would like to go shopping but not on the "tourist markets". Would like to eat chili crab for cheap too! Any suggestions? Thanks!

I have not been inside the hotel, but know the location. It is good for TST/Kowloon; you can walk to the Star Ferry and the Esplanade along the harbour with the great view, and you may have a good view from your room depending on where your room is (ask for as high a floor as possible). The hotel is next to an absolutely enormous shopping centre (2 actually which are combined) this may or may not excite you; nothing that you can’t get at home probably, although they do have some unusual shops like French chocolate shops, etc. Not sure I would spend too much time there in the great November weather, but whatever. Not knowing your nationality it’s hard to say what you can get at home, and there is no VAT/sales tax here, so perhaps the mall is something that would be of interest to you (during convention breaks at least.) The hotel is quite close to the interesting Temple Street area which has a nice temple and shops selling things like paper goods for the dead and funerary items, as well as the Jade Market (daytime only); and this area also has the dreaded Night Market (tourist tat that can be avoided or go to Stanley for more fun). It is also across from Kowloon Park, which is worth a stroll for a bit. I am not a fan of most of the restaurants in TST, as it is heavily touristed, although there are exceptions; but generally for more interesting and better quality meals you need to go over to the Hong Kong Island side IMO, or further out into the New Territories.

Hong Kong has an extremely low crime rate, so any area is really quiet safe, and your hotel is in a very heavily touristed area. The worst thing you might have to worry about is pickpockets in very crowded places, but that can happen anywhere in the world of course.

For some suggestions on things to do see “Cicerone’s Reccos for What the Locals Do for Fun in Hong Kong (Hint: We DON’T Go to those Awful Night Markets....)” this should give you some ideas for what to do. For suggestions on walks and hikes on Hong Kong Island, see my postings called “Cicerone’s Favourite Hong Kong Walks: Severn Road, the Peak”., “Cicerone’s Favourite Hong Kong Walks II: Paradise Found! From Happy Valley to Stanley in High Heels! (Almost) The Tsz Lo Lan Shan Path” and Cicerone's Favourite Hong Kong Walks III: The Dragon's Back ". Finally, check the Hong Kong Tourism Board website at discoverhongkong.com. For restaurants, see “Cicerone’s (Updated) Favourite Hong Kong Restaurants (Part I)”.

If there is something in particular you are shopping for, post that, and I may be able to give specific recommendations. Otherwise, Chinese Arts and Crafts, whose main shop is 4-5 blocks from your hotel (http://www.chineseartsandcrafts.com.hk (click on “E” for English) is good for gifts and souvenirs, or Shanghai Tang in the Pedder Building (small shop in the Peninsula hotel near your hotel, see http://www.shanghaitang.com/shanghaitang/index.jsp) or if you have an afternoon, take the fun and scenic #6 bus to Stanley and shop for souvenirs and “pashminas” there.

For chili crab, one recco on Hong Kong Island would be:

Under Bridge Spicy Crab (Hong Kong Style)
Chinaweal Centre
414 Jaffe Road
Wan Chai
Tel: 2834-6268
http://www.underspicycrab.com/

This is the more “upscale” restaurant with table cloths and napkins, if you want down and dirty, go to the original restaurant (see below) with the plastic covering on the tables. In any case, good eatin’. Dishes average around HK$60. The chili crab may have more garlic than you are used to if you are referring to Singapore chili crab, but it is really good.

Original restaurant: 429 Lockhart Road (tel: 2573-7698). These are literally around the corner from each other. Closest MTR stop is Causeway Bay, Exit Door C onto Lockhart Road, turn left walk about 1.5 blocks to a highway underpass. Walk under the underpass, and turn left, this is Canal Road West and the original outlet is here on the right (address says 429 Lockhart but it is really on Canal Road West). If you want the upscale restaurant, continue down Canal Road West past the original restaurant to the corner, turn right onto Jaffe Road and continue for about 100 yards to 414 which is on your right. (There are also two more outlets at 401/403 and 405/419 Lockhart Road, these would be straight after the underpass in the middle of the next block after Canal Road West.). Not all outlets are open for lunch on all days, so call ahead to check. I believe they are open to like 4 am.

Thanks Ciceron, ypu're really a big help in this forum. I'm from the Philippines and would like to buy cheap electronics, wallets, watches, tshirts, pillow cases and other for xmas gifts.

With regard to <b>electronics</b>, be <i>very</i> careful of being ripped off by paying too much, or having an empty box or old model substituted for what you agreed to purchase. This is especially so along the infamous Nathan Road area in Kowloon, not far from your hotel, and I would suggest you avoid that area.

Do some comparison shopping at home first so you know what relative prices are and you can recognize a good price. Make sure Hong KOng is really cheaper than at home, you may be surprised to find that this is not the case. Bargain hard in the smaller shops. Cash will get you a better price, but a credit card may help if there is a problem later on. Be sure the warranty is international, that is, you can get it repaired under warranty in the Philippines. Some warranties are only good in the country or region in which the goods are sold (This is the case with a lot of electronics sold in Dubai in my experience). Be sure to read the warranty.

There is a well-known electronics chain in Hong Kong called <b>Fortress</b> that you could also consider going to, their prices are fixed but you can bargain a bit, maybe for about 5-10% and maybe a bit more if you are buying a number of items; there are a number of locations all over Hong Kong, they have a list of products and prices on their website at http://www.fortress.com.hk/en/home.html. You can use the prices listed on their website as a basis of comparison for other shops in Hong Kong as well. Another good chain is <b>Broadway Photo Photo Supply</b>, you can see the prices at http://www.broadway.com.hk/, most of the website is in Chinese.

DG Lifestyle Store carries Ipods and accessories and other Apple items and is quite reputable. Fixed price. They have a shop in the IFC Mall on the Hong Kong side which would be a Star Ferry or subway ride from your hotel, they have other locaiotns, see http://www.dgclub.com/DGlifestyle/about/location.html

I do not know the smaller shops in the Kowloon area well enough to suggest place; on Hong Kong Island you might try <b>Lyndhurst Terrace in Central</b> whch has a few camera shops. These guys will bargain. Or there are two computer “malls” in Wan Chai, try the <b>Wan Chai Computer Centre</b> 130 Hennessy Road in Wan Chai (Wan Chai MTR) another place to try is the<b> 298 Computer Zone</b> at 298 Hennessay Road, just down the street. (there are some scams in these malls too I hear).

For <b>pillowcases and bed linens</b>, my suggestions would be as below. But again do some shopping at home first to make sure things really are cheaper here. I actually find bed linens to be quite a bit more expensive here than in the US, especially comparing quality for price. (Have you looked at catalog companies like Lands’ End? They have good prices and will ship outside the US. Bed Bath &amp; Beyond does as well, see landsend.com and http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/.)

<b>Wing On Department Store</b> – they have a pretty decent selection, fixed price, there is one on Nathan Road which would not be too far from your hotel, see http://www.wingonet.com/index/index.php for locations

Wing On Kowloon Center
345 Nathan Road, Kowloon
Tel : 2710 6288
Open Hours : 10:30am-10:00pm
MTR : Jordon Station (Exit A) Wing On Department Stores

<b>Yue Hwa Chinese Products Emporium</b> - they also have a good size home department. Fixed prices. There is one not too far from your hotel, and close to the Wing On store mentioned above.

Yue Hwa Chinese Products Emporium
301-309 Nathan Road
Kowloon (at the Jordan MTR, Door A)
Tel: 3511 2222
http://www.yuehwa.com/yh/english/hkallstore/p2_2k4.html

<b>Sogo</b> This is a huge Japanese department store. Prices will vary, but you may find bargains. There is on the waterfront in Kowloon; I have not been to it, so if you don’t find what you want there, try the Causeway Bay location, which is gigantic and definitely has bedding (reachable by subway), see http://www.sogo.com.hk/tc/home.html

Sogo
12 Salisbury Road
Tsim Sha Tsui, HK
Tel: 3556 1212

<b>Citstore</b> – these is another local department store chain, see http://www.citistore.com.hk/eng/store_tw.html for locations, the Tsuen Wan is probably the most convenient in terms of being close to a subway station.

Most of the above <u>also sell watches and other small electronics and might be a place to look for electronics</u>. Most are open until 9 or 10 pm.

<b>Stanley Market</b> - there are several linen shops here, you have to bargain. As so many tourists shop here, you wont’ find the shopkeepers really give you much on the bargaining, maybe 5% or something close to 10% if you really work hard or buy a lot. Cash is better. There is an ATM in the market if you need cash.

<b>Megabox</b> this is an area in Kowloon Bay with a lot of “supersize” stores, some of which may offer discounts, and also because it is out of the main tourist path, prices may be better for clothing items. One there you might have luck with for linens is <b>Spotlight</b> see http://www.spotlight.hk/english/. Its mainly a craft or DYI store, but they do have bedding. For info on Megabox generally, see http://www.megabox.com.hk/eng/home.htm, I have not spent much time there and really don’t know the other shops, although they do have electronics, including a DG Lifestyle Store.


For <b>T-shirts</b>, really you can find these anywhere, Stanley Market is a good place, the Lanes in Central (Li Yuen East Street and Li Yuen West Street, right near the Central MTR station), the Wan Chai market area, the Ladies Market in Tung Choh Street in Mong Kok (this is open later at night than other street markets and has copy watches and lots of other stuff; quality is not very good and prices can actually be not so good either as lots of tourists go here). Also, there are lots of Giordano shops around and Benetton’s, you would have to compare prices to see if they are cheaper than home. Wing On Department store and Yue Wa may also be worth looking at for T-shirts. Another option is to get on the subway and go out of the tourist area to someplace like Ma On Shan, and just poke around local stores there, prices should be lower than in the Kowloon/TST areas.

There is an <b>outlet “mall” at Tung Chung, near the airport</b>, this is reachable by the subway in about 25 minutes. There is a Giordano and Esprit outlet there and some other shops, see http://www.citygateoutlets.com.hk/index.html. I don’t find their prices to be that much lower than in town, so it may not be worth the trip, but if you have time you may want to consider it. Tung Chung is also the place where you can get the bus or cable car to the Big Buddha if that was something on your sightseeing list. The shops are open in the evening (8:30 or 9 pm), after the Buddha is closed, so you could do this in the evening after a trip to the Buddha.

I assume you know that you may have to pay customs duty on all the stuff you bring back to the Philippines. You may want to research this before you leave to know your limits, or whether you can ship some items back and save duty (which is not usually the

Royal Pacific is a good basic hotel. The rooms were a little small. (The basic ones) but they were clean. I have stayed there several times. It is above the Ferry Terminal, so it was ideal for transiting to the Mainland.

You are right in the middle of the TST area and there is plenty of shopping to do.

Hard Rock Cafe is about 3 blocks up Canton Street towards the Harbor. The subway station is very close to take you all over Hong Kong.

You are in the middle of the shopping district. So there will be many choices.

I personally like the Night Markets. It is part of the experence to go and haggle for a &quot;deal&quot;.

What about harbour cruise? which one is better? cruise with dinner or just cruise and then dinner later?

No one recommends a dinner cruise here. Most are overpriced and you're likely to be surrounded by tour groups from mainland China. Go have a proper dinner somewhere else, take the regular Star Ferry across the harbor - do it a few times if you want, as it's only about US$0.25 a ride. And walk along the promenade in Tsimshatsui for views.