Hong Kong tour , help!
 

Hi! I have several questions on how to go about my HK tour. I don't want to be lost. haha.. I'm on a DIY trip and I'm super not good when it comes to maps. Thanks.

1. How to go to Ocean Park from Cameron Road (near Nathan Road)(This is in TST, is it)?
2. How to go to Madame Tussauds from Ocean Park?
3. How to go to Disneyland from TST East?
4. Is the Avenue of Stars within walking distance from the Science Museum?

taxi??

1. Take Bus #973 to Ocean Park. Ask your hotel where the nearest stop is to your hotel. The bus will go all the way from TST, through the tunnel under the harbour, through the city part of Hong Kong Island and out along the water through Pokfulam to Ocean Park. You may have to ask when you get to Ocean Park, although you will pull into a huge parking area and there are signs, so it is kind of hard to miss.

2. Madame Tussads is on the Peak, from Ocean Park on Weekends you can take the #315 bus. On weekdays, I would have to look up how to get there via public transport, this would require at least two different buses. You could take a taxi, would cost about HK$75-100. You might just want go to Madame Tussads as part of a trip to the Peak. I can post the website for bus systems when I am back in Hong Kong, but perhaps someone else will post in the meantime.

3. You can reach Hong Kong Disney via the Airport Express Train, Sunny Bay stop. Get on at the Kowloon Station stop (you can take a bus or taxi or subway to Kowloon station, check with your hotel for the best/cheapest way). Website for the subway system in Hong Kong is at http://www.mtr.com.hk/eng/homepage/cust_index.html.

4. Yes. When you come out of the museum, turn left and walk down Chatham Road toward the water. It is probably a 10-15 minute walk. The Avenue of the Stars runs behind the New World Office/hotel complex along the harbour front.

I hope that you will at some point actually see something of Hong Kong. Nothing on your list is at really related to Hong Kong, or IMO is at all special, although the Science Museum has some good exhibits. With the possible exception of the Science Museum and the <i>view&lt;i/&gt; from the Avenue of the Stars, there are many, many more interesting things to do and see in Hong Kong than the 4 items on your list. You would have to pay me to go to Disney, and while Ocean Park is perfectly fine, is a very long way for a foreigner to go to see a dolphin show.

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3. If the time is right, you can catch the R21 bus direct from TST-East. There are stops on Chatham Road South outside the Hong Kong Science Museum and the Museum of History; and another stop on Chatham Road South before Mody Road.

Mon-Fri, the bus arrives a few minutes after 8:50a and 9:10a.

On Sat, Sun and Public Holidays, another bus a few minutes after 9:30a.

Return bus departs after the fireworks.

You mean to say guys, I don't need to take the ferry to go to Ocean Park from Nathan Road? Someone told me that I need to take it before I can reach stations to go to Disney or Ocean Park.

Thanks.

to Cicerone:

I understand what you mean. I'll try to include other places to go to. =) thanks.

Cicerone - what would be the top 5 things to see in Hong Kong in one day. Would seeing them by taxi be better to save time ?

Thanks.

additional question:

How to go to Man Mo Temple from TST?

hopefully the last question -

How to go to Madame Tussauds from Ocean Park?


Thanks.

last question (haha..)

is the science museum within walking distance from cameron road?

If i need to ride a bus, which bus should I take? thanks.

Like Cicerone already said, Madame Trussaud is on the Peak. On weekdays, the best bet is to take one of the buses back from Ocean Park back to Admiralty or Central. Then take the Peak Tram or Bus #15 to The Peak.

Science Museum is in Tsimshatsui. Definitely walkable from Cameron Road.

Man Mo Temple is in Sheung Wan. Take the MTR to Sheung Wan, and then south on Cleverly St to Queen's Road Central. Go east about 100 feet, then up the stairs of Ladder Street to Hollywood Rd. Man Mo Temple is right there.

Maryann, do you only have 1 day? What day and date is your visit? That might affect my reccos, as there may be fireworks in the harbour if you are here on May 1 or Chinese New Year, etc., or you might want to avoid the Peak Tram on a public holiday when lines can be long and take the bus up to the top. Are you coming in on a cruise? (I have a feeling from reading your posts that this is the case; if so, what time do you arrive and depart, as again this would affect some of my reccos.)

If you are arriving on a cruise and only have like 10 hours in Hong Kong, I am not sure that going over to Aberdeen is the best use of your time (I have seen your other post on this). Also, can you tell me what some of your interests would be. If you are interested primarily in shopping (and there is no shame in that if that is really what you want to do, it is your trip after all), you may not want to go much further than the Chinese Arts &amp; Crafts store right near the ship pier and then take in the view from the Esplanade, have lunch at the Intercon, take the Star Ferry across to Central, go up to the Peak, and be done. Some will also depend on the weather, if you get a totally overcast and rainy day, you obviously will want a contingency plan.

My own personal list of things I absolutely never get tired of doing in Hong Kong would be as follows.

1. <b>A ride on the Star ferry</b>, both during the day and at night, as the views are different each time. In addition to the traditional (short) ride from Hong Kong to Tsim Sha Tsui, you can take a longer ride from Hong Kong to Hung Hom, and get a longer time to view and photograph the harbour and city. You can take the ferry right back, or hop a bus or taxi over to Kowloon from there (will take about 5 minutes, taxi costs about HK$35 to someplace like the Peninsula hotel; take any bus which says “Star Ferry”).

2. <b>The view from the Peak at dusk</b> and as the lights come up over the city. I chose to live on the Peak because I love this view so much. Have a coffee at the Pacific Coffee Company located hanging over the tram tracks and take in their billion-dollar view for the price of the coffee (and free internet access). Walk the Harlech-Lugard Road loop, about 1.5 miles around, getting a bit overgrown with trees unfortunately, but still affording some very good views. For some excellent views of the western harbour and the outlying islands like Lantau, walk out Harlech Road to the barbeque area at a place called High West (this is particularly good at sunset on a clear day or a day with high clouds).

3. <b>A hike/walk</b> almost anywhere either on Hong Kong Island or elsewhere. The Dragon’s Back, Sok Ku Wan on Lamma, from the Peak to Stanley, the Twins, Brides Pool in Sai Kung, the list is almost endless, from easy to challenging. There is an excellent flat esplanade walk along the sea between Ocean Park in Deep Water Bay and Repulse Bay of about 1.5 miles that could be done by people of any walking ability and in any weather, even the heat of summer. Some walks are listed in my threads listed below, if you only have one day, you don't have a lot of time for a walk, but around the Peak for sure you have time for, the Severen Road walk on the Peak would be another very good alternative to the Harlech/Lugard Road loop if you have a bit more time. The Severen Road walk gives much better views than Harlech/Lugard.

4. <b>A walk in any neighborhood market</b>. Fruit, vegetables, flowers, dried spices, mushrooms, seafood, meat being butchered, fish jumping around in baskets, live chickens and ducks in cages (harder to find these days because of the bird flu). Everyone yelling, old Chinese women hobbling around. Everything from shoes to TVs, to paper money for the dead is on sale. Wan Chai has a very good one, as does the Peel Street area in Central. The &quot;dried fish street&quot; area, which is along Des Veoux Road West in Western/Sheung Wan, is very interesting. The end of the tram line in Chai Wan has a good one, virtually no tourists. There is a market on Reclamation Street next door to the dreaded night market in Kowloon which is pretty good (you could combine this with a trip to the Jade Market and to the excellent Tin Hau temple on Shanghai Street and that is a good few hours in Kowloon IMO. You can throw in the flower market, the bird market and a visit to the Wong Tai Sin temple too). These are only open during the day, the generally close around 7 pm, and are most active in the mornings and evenings, but places like Wan Chai can be busy all day.

5. <b>A trip to an outlying island by ferry</b>, preferably by the little open wooden double-decker kaido ferry boats rather than the big air-conditioned ferries. You can really see and appreciate the harbour, city and mountain views from the smaller open boats, IMO, plus I just find them incredibly beautiful and there is always at least one little old toothless lady in her pajamas and plastic carrier bag making a trip back from the market. Lamma, Lantau, Cheng Chau are favourites, but there are others even further a field if you want to devote an entire day to a trip. There are some great walks on Lamma and Lantau. Kaidos generally run from Aberdeen harbour, so you can go to see Aberdeen first to see it, and then take a little kaido out to outlying islands.

6. <b>A visit to a temple.</b> Preferably if a festival is going on so you can see Chinese opera or lion dancers, but otherwise just pop in. The Man Mo temple on Hollywood Road is quite atmospheric, and surprisingly not full of tourists although they seem to be all over the antique shops on Hollywood Road. The Tin Hau Temple on Shanghai Street in Kowloon is really good, there are several side temples to other gods, and this seems to be quite an active temple. There is a temple in Western dedicated to god of carpenters, I have been a few times (I like the neighborhood) and have always disturbed the caretaker from his nap when I walk in (not many visitors). There are two temples in Stanley and one in Repulse Bay. The Pak Tai Temple on Stone Nullah Lane in Wan Chai is really peaceful and lovely and has the wonderful hanging incense coils and is associated generally with good luck, removing obstacles, etc.

7. <b>A visit a museum or to a concert</b>, Chinese Opera or other cultural offering. While Hong Kong is not New York or London, it is not the cultural desert that people seem to think it is. There are several good museums, a very good local symphony and an active arts life. There is lots to do at night here beyond shopping for fake Prada bags and copy DVDs.

8. <b>Eating</b>. From Swatow to Scandinavian, you can literally get any kind of cuisine here, most of it very good, most of it not too expensive. Most of it on Hong Kong Island, most if it within about a 3-mile radius or less of the Star Ferry Pier. Food is a pretty big topic of conversation here, and asking for restaurant reccos is a good conversation starter (almost like Singapore, where they don’t actually bother to talk about the weather because it is the same all the time, they talk about food instead; Hong Kong has weather so we do talk about that on occasion.).

Some things as a tourist you may want to consider as well:

9. <b>Taking the street tram</b>, one of the few (if not only) remaining double decker street cars in the world. This will give you a birds' eye view of the frenetic street life in Hong Kong. The tram runs basically along the waterfront from east to west on Hong Kong Island. The cost is HK$2.20 which is about .50, you need change or an Octupus Card. IMO the slighlty more interesting direction is east, towards Wan Chai and Causeway Bay (or Happy Valley, doesn't matter what the car says really, just get on any car unless you want to go to the end of the line, then take a Chai Wan car), this is to the <i>left</i> as you face Hong Kong Island with the harbour at your back. Just get on, and when you have gone far enough, get off, cross the street and take it back in the same direction. (Or find a cab or the nearest subway station.)

10. <b>Go to Stanley</b> Beach and market. The most picturesque way to get there is to take a bus from the main bus station in Central, as they go up over the mountains with wonderful sea views, the best value in the world for about US$1.) Take bus #6, but check the bus signs, as again you don't want the Aberdeen Tunnel route as you miss the whole point of the trip, IMO. The bus ride takes about an hour. The main bus station in Central is a good place to get the bus, as you can be sure of getting a seat upstairs in front (the very best position), this is in front of the Airport Express station. Along the way our or back, you can stop at Repulse Bay and walk the wide curving beach to the temple at the end. Once at Stanley you can do a little shopping for souvenirs and have a nice meal (not much else to do in Stanley but shop and eat, the ride is really the experience.) My favorite restaurant is the Boathouse right on the water at 86–88 Stanley Main Street (Tel: 2813 4467), but there are about half a dozen restaurants along the quay and any of them would be good.

Things I do only when pressed to do so by visiting friends or relatives: go to the Big Buddha on Lantau (sorry it’s just not really that interesting, IMO. If you want to see beautiful countryside with sea views there are lots of better places to go than the Buddha which are easier to get to IMO, try the Dragon’s Back on Hong Kong Island or Ling Kok Shan on Lamma or even the family walk on Lamma); go to the night market in Kowloon (just go to Stanley, see the same stuff and have a good meal and that great bus ride into the bargain); go to Ocean Park (fine if you have kids that need amusement, otherwise Hong Kong is a long way to travel to see trained dolphins do tricks or swim in a wave pool). Things I don’t spend any appreciable time doing here: clothes shopping (that’s what catalogs are for), shoe shopping (I have them made, but you don't have time). Some things I have not done and don’t expect I will ever do: go to Disneyland, go to the Madame Tussaud’s wax museum (I have been to London’s however, that’s part of what being a tourist in <i>London</i> is about IMO).

Please search this board for my very long list of reccos called “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 &quot;. Finally, check the Hong Kong Tourism Board website at discoverhongkong.com

With regard to my recco #5 above, I just learned that the Conservancy Association Centre for Heritage of Hong Kong gives walking tours of the street markets in Graham Street and the historic area of Central and Western Districts on Hong Kong Island. I have not taken them, so can’t comment on their quality, but for US$12-15 per person for a 2- 3 hour tour, you won’t really be wasting much money (and you can leave if the tour is not good). I understand that the tours are in English, but you might want to check. See http://www.cache.org.hk/ for info, and send them an e-mail to determine the dates/times of the tours, as the website is not so helpful.

Very good, but expensive, walking tours can be arranged by Jason Wordie, a local Hong Kong historian and writer, see www.jasonswalks.com. You might want to get his book called &quot;Streets, Exploring Hong Kong Island&quot;.

Cicerone, You have given us alot to digest and I want to do it all !

We are coming to town on a cruise ship on Oct. 11 for 2 days. The first day we are taking an all day tour. and the second day we want to do on our own. The tour takes us to the Peak for lunch, sampan ride &amp; one of the markets (Stanley I think.
The second day, John wants a tailor, I want lunch at the restaurant you said. and the Star Ferry, hope the weather holds up so we can do the rest.

You should write your own book ! And thanks for taking so much time for us.

Well, if I can give you some more advice:

1. Please, please, please rethink the tailor if you only have 1 day (or even 2 days is going to be a problem IMO). I have my doubts that a good tailor is going to be able to do anything with that short a time. You may end up with a tailor of lessor quality and get quite shoddy work. You have to have at least 1 fitting and it is better with 2, and if you only have one day and they end up mailing you the finished product, he won’t be able to have proper fittings. At a minimum, you should go to the tailor on your <i>first</i> day as soon as you dock, try to have a fitting either that night or early the next day, and a second final fitting if you can squeeze it in before you leave. Also, do a good bit of comparison shopping at home before you leave to make sure you are getting a bargain. <i>Good</i>Hong Kong tailors are not especially cheap, but they are talented, and it is the custom fit (that’s why you need fittings!!) and excellent fabrics that you are paying for. (The myth of the cheap Hong Kong tailor persists, like the one that electronics are cheaper here, both are no longer true). That being said, some tailors I can recommend are below. I don’t believe any of them will take you if you only have 1 day, but you could ask via e-mail. Do NOT go with any of the touts standing at the pier side saying “suit sir?” You will get what you pay for: not very much for not very much. I have had things made here, and generally I like 3 fittings, as you really need to get all the little details right, and make sure it is completely comfortable. (Granted, women’s clothes may be a bit more complicated and we may be fussier.)

2. Can you tell me a bit about the tour you are taking on the first day. Personally, I think you could do most of it on your own, without a tour bus and the canned visits to places (and the obligatory stops to shop). How much are you paying as well. You might want to do the Heritage walking tour of the market areas on Central, or just your own walking tour. The level of English is excellent here, most of the areas you want to see are close together and walkable on foot, or easily reach by public transportation which is plentiful, excellent and cheap (including taxis for short distances). IMO a van ride over to Stanley is not half as good a view as you will get from the top deck of the #6 bus. (When I drive over in my convertible, even I don’t get as good a view…)

As your trip is on a weekend, you will also be able to take advantage of the fact that many more bus options are available on weekends. For example, you could take a bus from Stanley to the Peak (#315, only runs on weekends), which means you could go to Stanley for lunch and do some shopping there in the afternoon and then take the bus up to the Peak for late afternoon, dusk and sunset (so so beautiful then) and stay for drinks and/or dinner if you wanted, and then take the Peak Tram down. Many cruises only seem to stay for a day, and as you have an overnight, you are lucky to be able to see the Peak view at night, which is spectacular. (You could of course do this by taxi, just would cost more, and the #315 is a double decker which gives some great views along the way). See sunrisesunset.com for timings of dusk and sunset in October.

3. What ship are you on and do you know where you are docking? I assume you will be docking at the at the Ocean Terminal in Kowloon, which is extremely convenient and I can give you walking and public transport directions for getting around form there, as can any good guidebook, even old guidebooks from the library, as things have not changed in many years. (The location of the Star Ferry pier on the Hong Kong side has moved about 500 yards into the harbour, but basically a guidebook from 15 years ago would be mostly correct and even it’s description of getting from the new pier into central would not be far off. Only difference is that there is a new airport, but that is 10 years old now.)

October weather is generally excellent, it starts to be cooler and dry just about when you arrive, so you should be here for some really beautiful weather. It could be a bit hazy with pollution, that will just depend on the luck of your days. (Summer is hotter but clearer as the winds come from a different direction, you will be here at the begging of “winter” and winds bring more pollution over from the PRC mainland.)

Depending on where your cabin is, and whether the is another ship in front of you during the time you are docked, you may have quite a fantastic view from your cabin as well.

Two tailors I can recommend in Hong Kong are:

Maxwell's Clothiers Ltd.
7A Han Hing Mansion
38-40 Hankow Road
Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon
website: maxwellsclothiers.com
e-mail: [email protected]
tel 852-2366-6705
fax: 852-2366-6658

This is a long-established tailor in Hong Kong. I have used them in the past, and many of my friends use them as well. They are in Kowloon, sort of behind the Peninsula Hotel. Maxwell's is located in the Nathan Road area of Kowloon, where you will find a ton of tailors. There is a map on their website showing their location. You have to buy fabric from them, but they have an astonishing selection. They will keep your measurements and you can order from them on-line in the future. I would make an appointment with them.

William Cheng &amp; Son
8/F, 38 Hankow Road
Kowloon, Hong Kong
Tel: 852 2739 7888

This is a tailor which I have not used, but a friend of mine has used a few times as he felt Maxwell’s was getting too expensive. I have seen the suits he made, and think they are very good. These tailors about at least a third cheaper than Maxwell’s. They are also in the TST area near the Peninsula.

It is advisable to make an appointment, esp with better tailors. You won't be rushed or pushed aside for other people coming in. In my experience, they all speak English; it would be most unusual to find a tailor catering to Western tourists who does not. The level of English in Hong Kong is generally excellent. Some tailors require that you purchase fabric from them, others have a selection but will also work with fabrics that you bring in, but will charge you a bit more for labour than if you used their fabric. Maxwell's only allows you to use their fabric to the best of my knowledge, the others below will all either use their fabric or you can bring in your own. Some tailors will have a posted price list, but you can bargain, esp if you are ordering a large number of pieces. Custom work and copying from pictures or your existing clothing will cost you more than using one of their designs.

Once again - I am so grateful for the time you spend on the answers to my questions. We have to digest all this.

I realize that this can be done on your own with so many people being helpful and English being common. I feel that I don't want to spend 2 days &amp; 1 night being semi-confused all the time. We like to take a tour around for a day and get our bearings, then the next day do what may have been missed. Weather permitting. I know it is not a perfect system but we feel more comfortable doing that.
Your advice on the tailor really helped John realize the timing involved. Maybe we'll do that in Singapore.

We'll be on the MS Amsterdam for 65 days starting in Seattle, WA and ending in San Diego - visiting the Pacific Rim. We expect to be berthed very close to the Star Ferry.

I want to digest all you have written before we cancel the tour and all, Thanks so much, M.A.

I can appreciate your reasons for wanting to do a tour, and would not want you to cancel it based solely on my reccos. I would still suggest you go to the tailor on the first day if you are going to pursue this in Hong Kong, and join up with a tour later or do a tour on the second day. Both tailors I mentioned are walkable from the piers, about 3-4 blocks, so if you arrive early in the morning, you may be able to do that first thing (opening hours permitting). Singapore tailors are not going to be any faster nor cheaper (probably more expensive in my experience, I used to live there; Hong Kong tailors send most of the work into the PRC to be done where labour is cheaper, something that the Singaporeans cannot do). So if you only have 2 days in Singapore, my advice would be the same: find a tailor on the first day.

I would not worry about weather in October, esp. mid-October it is generally very dry. (Of course we just had a typhoon here on Saturday, which is extremely unusual, but generally the rain stops in late September). October through mid-Jan is the weather we wait for all year. See weatherbase.com for information on weather for various places on your itin.

Sounds like a great trip, 65 days at sea. Get your Somerset Maugham, esp for Singapore and southern regions.