lanejohann

hi everyone
wanting a short-ish break but will be under your advisement of course

how long do you think one needs to get a decent taste of hongkong?
going to take the two kids - young teens so i guess theme parks might be on our list and of course some shopping
im thinking five days...maybe a little more?

four people travelling might mean it will be cheaper to get an apartment but im guessing this will mean we have to be out of the centre?
was hoping to stay centrally so that we can take advantage of the shops but maybe there is a district that has stores and apartments?

any suggestions?
thank you
and if there're any must-sees id be most grateful for any tips!

rhkkmk

i think 5 days is perfect, but 7 might be better if you are doing kids stuff too and might work better with an apartment search..

indianapearl

Ocean Park is on HK Island, Disney World is on Lantau Island, easily reached on the subway, probably 30-45 mins. from the downtown HK subway terminus. Shopping is a mixed bag as I don't know what you want to buy. Most shopping is downtown near the southwestern end of the island at Times Square, although there are several boutique designers' shops in Kowloon right after you hop off the Star Ferry. Cat Street is fun for touristy gee-gaws like carved jade and emblematic dragon and fish motifs. Bargain hard!

I spent a month in HK last year and saw something interesting and wonderful every day.

Check vrbo.com for rentals in HK.

lanejohann

thanks guys!
i just spoke to a chinese girl selling junk jewellery and she recommended a day trip to chinas mainland
to sezhen - cant remember the spelling and another place starting with g
gosh im good ...now i have to go googling til i find it

as for shopping
i dont know
not jewellery - not for me at least although my daughter might enjoy some of that
i wear junk cos i lose the real stuff and berate myself
i think we could just go for fun fashion and perhaps shoes but nothing too glamorous and highheeled - im pretty practical
id like scarves and knitwear i think...pashminas that kind of thing
accessories
but i cant torture OH too much so he has to do something fun with the 13yr old in tow

Shanghainese

Ummh, depending on your passport, you may need a visa crossing the border into mainland china, nto worth a daytrip.

Cat12345

>i just spoke to a chinese girl selling junk jewellery and she recommended a day trip to chinas mainland

Why bother to go across the border from Hongkong to get junks and rip-offs in the mainland.

Get junk jewellery from this girl, I'm sure she has other junks to sell.

lanejohann

Cat
lol youre funny

so you think mainland is more of a ripoff than hong kong??

ill check out the visa situation
maybe it isnt worth going
macau might be the better option
we are probably having ten days in hong kong so that leaves some time for a daytrip or two

rkkwan

Mainland is not a rip-off. But one of the main reasons people go to Shenzhen for daytrip is to shop for counterfeit items.

That is not worth spending US$130 on, if you're US Citizen.

lanejohann

is the mainland different enough to be worth experiencing? how far in do you have to go before you get more of the real china-that is , is it all a bit like HK close to the border?

i am considering having ten days but maybe will extend this to two weeks - depending on the accommodation rates i can get so we will have a bit of time to explore and take it easy as well

Cat12345

lanejohan
You have two weeks in Hongkong.
If you really want to see the real china-that is.
Go for it.
Don’t let bystanders like us talk you out.

Guilin is only a 2 nite excursion from Hongkong.
There are one day tours in Hongkong to cover Shenzhen & Guangzhou or Zhuhai & Shenzhen, the latter would enter Shenzhen from Hongkong and exit Zhuhai to Macau.

If you choose to explore Shenzhen on your own. That’s fine.
This is what you might experience.......
Once you cross the border in Lowu, Shenzhen, you will be greeted by many touts, panhandlers & pickpockets on the hallway.
Avoid eye contacts with them and keep going, you may look at your watch at times as if you are on your way to meet someone.
There is an influx of tourist from Hong Kong to Shenzhen everyday, crooks in Shenzhen are well experienced to scan potential "customers" who are first timers.
“Licensed” money exchange in Shenzhen would usually give one counterfeit money note out of ten to “first timers”
Expect to get more counterfeit rmb from shops and taxi drivers as the day goes by.

As of shopping in Shenzhen, it is important that you only bargain for the piece you really like and intent to buy.
Once the shop owner agree on your bid price, they will do all possible to force you to buy it.
Some might give you fingers & profanity at the end.
Some might even threaten and implicate that you won’t be able to leave Shenzhen alive if you don’t buy the piece.

Always watch the store people when they pack your stuffs.
People who bought quality Chinese tea in Shenzhen and found grass in the bottom of the box when they went back to Hongkong.
Even knockoff handbags have different grades, super A, A, super B.... they look alike but not the same, make sure the one they pack is the one you pay.

Dongmen street, Hua Qiang Bei & Lowu shopping center are popular shopping area for tourist, also notorious wallet snatchers.

Shenzhen is not all bad, people from Hongkong shop in Shenzhen everyday, most come home with satisfaction.

Touts and store people may be disgusting but they are not dangerous.

Pickpockets can be anywhere in the world.
Use common sense to safeguard yourself.
Have fun!

rkkwan

What is the "real" China?

Just think about this. The Pearl Delta Region - Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Macau - have about a population of about 50million. Huge portion of the stuff you buy at Wal-Mart or Best Buy are either made there or went through one of the ports there to get to your store. If you want to see miles and miles of urban development, you can definitely get it there.

On the other hand, not every piece of land is developed. In fact, you don't even need to cross the border. Plenty of "country parks" in Hong Kong for hiking, plenty of old walled villages in the New Territories left, etc. But if you do want to go to China to see some old stuff, you can visit Kaiping, which is recently listed as one of the UNESCO World Heritage site. You can google about it.

lanejohann

thanks so much for your input!


very entertainingCat!
im definitely going to do shenzhen after you description!
geez set my kids to work while theyre at it!
why take them if they cant learn all about the world ( and pick up a trade-pickpocketing at the same time)
my daughter is small and my son is fast - together we will make a fab trio


west meets east! i cant wait

we will return with loads of stuff - we will get them at their own game show em a thing or two about a thing or two!

so they can stuff weed in the bottom of your package of tea?
hells bells ...pretty original
wish cnantelle corby knew that trick instead trying to get it in in her surfboard bag ( poor chantelle - we still dont know what to believe)

ahhh my kids wont be the same after their trip to HK and China - but isnt childhood overrated anyway ? lol

thanks for the warnings
im going to pack their shintaro outfits just in case!

lanejohann

oops shintaro was japanese wasnt he? never mind
i dont know any chinese heroes off hand.. so the ninja stuff will have to do..might confuse the pickpockets !