S.E. Asia travel with my daughter
Mar 25th, 2010, 10:56 AM
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2010
Posts: 40
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
S.E. Asia travel with my daughter
My 13 year old daughter and I will be travelling in Thailand, Burma, and Hong Kong for about 3 weeks in July. I know - it will be hot and may be rainy - but that's the only time either one of us can get away. I have most of our itinerary worked out , thanks in large part to all the info I picked up at this site. I have a few questions about flights that I'd like feedback on, but I would also appreciate any advice regarding activities that my daughter might enjoy. I haven't seen too much about that here . Maybe most of you do not have children or travel with children.
My trip is planned as follows:
Days 1, 2: overnight Bangkok at Penninsula
Day 3: Fly to Yangon. Stay at Savoy
Days 4,5,6: Fly to Bagan. 3 nights at Thiripyitsaya
Days 7,8,:9 Fly to Heho. 3 nights at Inle Lake Resort
Day 10: back to Yangon for 1 night
Days11, 12,13: Fly to Bangkok and catch next plane to Chiang Rai. Spend 3 nights at Anantara
Days 14,15,16: Back to Bangkok. 3 nights at the Navalai Riverview
Days 17,18,19: Fly to Hong Kong. 3 nights at the Crowne Plaza
Day 20: Fly home.
I have been to Thailand before, but it was maybe 15 years ago, and I travelled with a group. We went camping/trekking in Hill tribe areas, stayed on a remote island in the south, visited Bangkok and Chiang Mai a couple of days each. My daughter and I travelled in China together for a month when she was 7. She handled travelling quite well and she's looking forward to this trip. Nevertheless, I don't want to overwhelm her with so much sightseeing that she gets turned off - I've tried to arrange possibilities for down time and a variety of activities like elephant camp at the Anantara, boat rides, etc.
I would really appreciate suggestions of things to do that may appeal to my daughter. I also would like feedback on a few questions I have.
I'm not sure how I should book my flights for day 11. Air Asia is super reasonably priced, and has a morning flight to Bangkok. They also have a flight to Chiang Rei from Bangkok, but I'm not sure there will be time to catch it. There are a few Thai Airline flights, but they're costly. Take the chance on making a tight connection or pay more?
Any suggestions how we get to the Anantara from the airport? I'm not comfortable driving myself.
Has anyone gone on dinner cruises in Bangkok? I thought it might be appealing to my daughter and have nice views for both of us, but wonder if they are very tacky.
I don't know if I will have time to have a dress made for me in either Bangkok or Hong Kong. I need something nice for weddings later in the summer, and would love a beautiful silk dress. Any advice?
I know I read somewhere about having eyeglasses made in Bangkok. What do I need to know about this, and where should I go? I always wear glasses, so I would want them to be pretty stylish.
I'm a green tea drinker - suggestions for places to try teas and to shop for tea in Hong Kong?
I haven't seen too much here about Mt Popa in Burma. We have the option of staying there one night at the resort instead of one of our nights in Bagan. Any thoughts?
Thanks for any info - this group has already been so helpful - I just need to work out a few more details!
My trip is planned as follows:
Days 1, 2: overnight Bangkok at Penninsula
Day 3: Fly to Yangon. Stay at Savoy
Days 4,5,6: Fly to Bagan. 3 nights at Thiripyitsaya
Days 7,8,:9 Fly to Heho. 3 nights at Inle Lake Resort
Day 10: back to Yangon for 1 night
Days11, 12,13: Fly to Bangkok and catch next plane to Chiang Rai. Spend 3 nights at Anantara
Days 14,15,16: Back to Bangkok. 3 nights at the Navalai Riverview
Days 17,18,19: Fly to Hong Kong. 3 nights at the Crowne Plaza
Day 20: Fly home.
I have been to Thailand before, but it was maybe 15 years ago, and I travelled with a group. We went camping/trekking in Hill tribe areas, stayed on a remote island in the south, visited Bangkok and Chiang Mai a couple of days each. My daughter and I travelled in China together for a month when she was 7. She handled travelling quite well and she's looking forward to this trip. Nevertheless, I don't want to overwhelm her with so much sightseeing that she gets turned off - I've tried to arrange possibilities for down time and a variety of activities like elephant camp at the Anantara, boat rides, etc.
I would really appreciate suggestions of things to do that may appeal to my daughter. I also would like feedback on a few questions I have.
I'm not sure how I should book my flights for day 11. Air Asia is super reasonably priced, and has a morning flight to Bangkok. They also have a flight to Chiang Rei from Bangkok, but I'm not sure there will be time to catch it. There are a few Thai Airline flights, but they're costly. Take the chance on making a tight connection or pay more?
Any suggestions how we get to the Anantara from the airport? I'm not comfortable driving myself.
Has anyone gone on dinner cruises in Bangkok? I thought it might be appealing to my daughter and have nice views for both of us, but wonder if they are very tacky.
I don't know if I will have time to have a dress made for me in either Bangkok or Hong Kong. I need something nice for weddings later in the summer, and would love a beautiful silk dress. Any advice?
I know I read somewhere about having eyeglasses made in Bangkok. What do I need to know about this, and where should I go? I always wear glasses, so I would want them to be pretty stylish.
I'm a green tea drinker - suggestions for places to try teas and to shop for tea in Hong Kong?
I haven't seen too much here about Mt Popa in Burma. We have the option of staying there one night at the resort instead of one of our nights in Bagan. Any thoughts?
Thanks for any info - this group has already been so helpful - I just need to work out a few more details!
Mar 25th, 2010, 11:44 AM
#2
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 33,288
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Let me respond to several of your concerns. First, the tight Air Asia connection. Air Asia is cheap, but if you miss their flight for any reason, you have to buy a new (and more expensive ticket). They also do not transfer luagge, even beween their own flights, so a what might be a tight connection on another carrier becaomes an impossible connection on Air Asia. Just how much time would you have between flights?
The Anantara can arrange transfers for you. Their service is seamless, but I understand it has become expensive. The other option is a taxi from the airport. It's about an hour drive.
Having a dress made... three days is probably the absolute minimum for having something made. In Bangkok, the Cotton House (in Oriental Place, just behind the Oriental Hotel) is highly recommended. In Hong Kong, I've used Maxwells', but look for Cicerone's post about tailors in Hong Kong for more options.
Eyeglasses: We've used Paris Miki in Siam Paragon. They are excellent and will test your eyes as a part of the cost of teh glasses. They have lots of interesting high fashion frames. They might be able to make glasses in 3 days if you have a simple prescription (i.e., not progressives).
Tea - I will have to look at some of my tea cannisters to tell you where we purchased in Hong Kong.
We did not visit Mt. Popa, so I have no personal experience. But I think 3 nights in Bagan is barely enough (as it's only two full days). I'd also suggest you might want to reconsider hotels in Bagan, as the Thiripyitsaya is far, far away from things. We loved the Hotel at Tharabar Gate, and it's right at the gate into a large area of temples. It makes using a horesecart very easy and convenient. I expect your daughter would love the horsecarts. The hotel you've chosen is so far from most of the temples that using a horsecart is less practical, so many people use a car and driver - not nearly as much fun.
Both Bagan and Inle are just magical. I'm sure you and your daughter will love them.
The Anantara can arrange transfers for you. Their service is seamless, but I understand it has become expensive. The other option is a taxi from the airport. It's about an hour drive.
Having a dress made... three days is probably the absolute minimum for having something made. In Bangkok, the Cotton House (in Oriental Place, just behind the Oriental Hotel) is highly recommended. In Hong Kong, I've used Maxwells', but look for Cicerone's post about tailors in Hong Kong for more options.
Eyeglasses: We've used Paris Miki in Siam Paragon. They are excellent and will test your eyes as a part of the cost of teh glasses. They have lots of interesting high fashion frames. They might be able to make glasses in 3 days if you have a simple prescription (i.e., not progressives).
Tea - I will have to look at some of my tea cannisters to tell you where we purchased in Hong Kong.
We did not visit Mt. Popa, so I have no personal experience. But I think 3 nights in Bagan is barely enough (as it's only two full days). I'd also suggest you might want to reconsider hotels in Bagan, as the Thiripyitsaya is far, far away from things. We loved the Hotel at Tharabar Gate, and it's right at the gate into a large area of temples. It makes using a horesecart very easy and convenient. I expect your daughter would love the horsecarts. The hotel you've chosen is so far from most of the temples that using a horsecart is less practical, so many people use a car and driver - not nearly as much fun.
Both Bagan and Inle are just magical. I'm sure you and your daughter will love them.
Mar 25th, 2010, 12:46 PM
#3
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 1,100
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Day 11. You will not have enought time to make the Air Asia connections. The flight from Yangon gets in at 10.20 and the flight to Chiang Rai leaves at 11.35. Since counters close 45 minutes before flight time you have only 30 minutes to get throgh customs, collect your bags and get to the gate. Not possible. Better to take the Thai Air flight at 13.20 even though it cost 3 times as much.
Mar 25th, 2010, 04:52 PM
#5
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 33,288
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I'm assuming you've read my trip report on Burma. If not, click on my name and you'll find a list of my trip reports. Also, photos may help: www.marlandc.com/Burma
Mar 25th, 2010, 10:13 PM
#6
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 7,689
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
You have not mentioned your daughter’s interests, which would be helpful to know in order to make better recommendations. Does she like dance, animals, arts/crafts, or music? Finding these activities in each place would, IMO, go a long way toward making a more interesting trip. If she likes music, try something like Chinese Opera in Hong Kong, or a musical performance in Thailand and Burma. You can probably even find youth orchestras or academies in each place. (In Hong Kong, for example, there are performances, most of them free, given by students at both Hong Kong University and the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts see hku.hk/music/concerts and http://www.hkapa.edu).
I would consider taking cooking lessons in each place that you go. I have some reccos for Hong Kong below, and I am sure you can find reccos for the other places. The Oriental in Bangkok offers famous ones but you need to commit time to it, the Blue Elephant Restaurant’s lessons are supposed to be good, see http://www.blueelephant.com/school/index.html. I have taken a 3- hour cooking class at the Landmark hotel which was a lot of fun.
In Thailand and perhaps Burma, there are most likely places where you could volunteer for an afternoon or more at an orphanage or other charity, or you can bring school supplies to local schools. If your daughter is in a scout troop or other group at home, perhaps they can do some sort of fund-raiser or joint project and make a contribution as well. Other posters here have posted on visiting local schools and orphanages in Thailand, you might do a search or post a new thread specifically on this subject. (The potential for charitable actives involving children in Hong Kong is going to be more limited, so I think I would probably forego that.)
For activities in Bangkok which might be of interest to children, I would get the Nancy Chandler map/booklet, as she has suggestions for different activities like bicycle trips. See http://www.nancychandler.net/
For Hong Kong, which I know best, my specific suggestions would be below:
1. For “pure” children’s activities, consider inducing a morning or afternoon at Ocean Park, which has dolphin shows, a wave pool, rides, etc. See (http://www.oceanpark.com.hk/f_index.html. This is very close to Aberdeen and can easily be combined with a trip to see Aberdeen. There is also a small Disney in Hong Kong, but they don’t offer swimming pools. But either might be a nice change from seeing temples. Do NOT go to either place on a Sunday, and even Saturdays can be busy. You can also take a boat trip to see the native pink dolphins, see http://www.hkdolphinwatch.com, although summer months are not quite as good for this as winter. You can also take short trips to see the dolphins as part of a visit to Tai O fishing village on Lantau, a charming place, which can be done as part of a trip to see the Big Buddha (Po Lin Monastery). There is a weird but oddly interesting reproduction of Noah’s Ark (the world’s largest) at Park Island with an amusement park which your daughter may enjoy; and the island itself has a few waterfront restaurants with views of the Tsing Yi Bridge. See http://www.noahsark.com.hk/eng/visit2.php The ferry ride to Park Island from Central will give you probably the very best water view of Hong Kong Island short of hiring your own boat (air pollution permitting), although the ferry is all enclosed and you can’t go outside to take photos during the trip (which is maddening). There is an outdoor aviary in Hong Kong Park, quite near the base of the Peak Tram. There is a small zoo and botanical garden on Upper Albert Road in Central which is walkable from the Hollywood Road SOHO area and the escalator. There is a large wetland/bird preserve operated under the auspices of the World Wildlife Fund, see http://www.wwf.org.hk/eng/maipo/publ...ublictour.html, and also a more commercial wetland park nearby http://www.wetlandpark.com/tc/index.asp. There are numerous museums here, from the Hong Kong History Museum to the Science Museum, to the Space Museum. All would be good for a rainy day or if your daughter has a special interest. There are also several museums which are in restored “walled villages” in various parts of Hong Kong, all of which are reachable by public transport or a combo of public transport and then a short taxi ride. Take a look at http://www.lcsd.gov.hk/en/cs_mus.php to see of list of all museums.
2. There are many marvelous beaches in Hong Kong, both on Hong Kong Island and especially on Lantau. You could go to see the Buddha in the morning, and then go for lunch and the afternoon on the beach in Lantau, esp. someplace like Stoep Restaurant, which is a very nice casual beach-side restaurant on the very beautiful Upper Cheng Sha beach, where you can have lunch and sit while your daughter frolics. You can go to Tai O just before sunset, which is very beautiful there (although it is quite nice from the beach at the Steop as well.) Big Wave Bay on Hong Kong Island is another lovely beach with a nice casual beach-side restaurant (watch the undertow) as is Shek-O. Water quality is fairly good at all beaches. Repulse Bay is a very nice, wide curving beach; I think it is too hot in August as it does not get much of a breeze; but it is on the way to Stanley and has a very large colourful temple at the end. ( If you want really good water quality, you need to go to Tai Long Wan in Sai Kung, but this requires a walk in and out of about an hour each way.) All these are reachable by public transport.
3. The Star Ferry trip between Hong Kong Island and the tip of Kowloon is of course very interesting and should be on your list, and the Star Ferry trip to Hung Hom is also worth doing as it is longer and you get more time for views and photos. However, many of the other ferries are enclosed and have air conditioning, and there are actually little opportunity for views, and they are frankly rather boring. To really appreciate the water views and life in the harbour, IMO, you have to take the smaller open wooden <i>kaidos</i> that ply less major routes, i.e. from Aberdeen to Lamma, from Sai Ho Wan to Tung Lung Island on the weekends (one of the most beautiful boat rides in Hong Kong), or from Sai Ho Wan to Lei Yue Mun which is an interesting place for a stroll, if not for a seafood meal (their temple has a ghost). Kaido schedules can be found at http://www.td.gov.hk/home/index.htm, click on “Passengers” then “Ferries” then “Services Details of Regular Kaito Ferry Services”. (These are not always completely up to date, however, so have your hotel call to confirm.) If you want a traditional wooding sailing “junk”, the restaurant group which runs the restaurants at One Peking Road has their own wooden junk which has day trips to various locations (including Stanley and the very interesting Joss House Bay) and also afternoon and evening cocktail tours of the harbour, any of which could be interesting. Go to http://www.aqua.com.hk/, the boat is called the Aqua Luna. I believe that the Hong Kong Tourism authority still runs its once-weekly free junk trip for tourists on the Dunkling, see the Hong Kong Tourism website for info on that. If you have the money, you can of course hire you own boat for a few hours or a day, which is a really wonderful way to spend time, see http://www.saffron-cruises.com/, www.jaspasjunk.com, or www.jubilee.com.hk. Finally, you can do a kayak trip in the gorgeous Sai Kung area, see http://www.kayak-and-hike.com, this would get you to some pristine beaches and then back for good seafood in Sai Kung.
4. There are many excellent walks and hikes here, ranging from easy and flat to extremely challenging. For a quick photo of one walk, click on my name above and see my profile. For a description of another of my favourite very easy walks on Hong Kong Island, see my posts called “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” and “Cicerone's Favourite Hong Kong Walks: Severn Road, The Peak “. You can find all of these posts by clicking on these links:
http://www.fodors.com/community/asia...eels-alm-1.cfm
http://www.fodors.com/community/asia...agons-back.cfm and at http://www.fodors.com/community/asia...d-the-peak.cfm. My caveat to you for August is that it is very hot and very humid, so do not do a walk during the middle of the day, bring plenty of water, and don’t walk beyond your capability. There are several easy, mostly flat walks on the Peak that offer some shade which would work well in the August heat and also offer views. I love the Dragon’s Back, but in August in can be pretty tough.
5. I would definitely recommend biking in the Plover Cove Reservoir/Tolo Harbour area which absolutely beautiful. You can rent bikes, and there is a paved bike path that you can ride for about a dozen miles down to Tai Po. There is also a short but really lovely bike/pedestrian road across the dam dividing Plover Cove Reservoir and Tolo Harbour. I would strongly recco doing this on a weekday as otherwise crowds are pretty bad; if you have to a pick a weekend, a Saturday would be better than a Sunday. You can have lunch at one of the restaurants by the bike shops or bring your own as there are several picnic and barbeque areas.
6 . For the above and some other ideas, please search this board for my list of personal 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. The post also includes a list of walks and some sources for more walks, see http://www.fodors.com/community/asia...l-night-ma.cfm. Also check the Hong Kong Tourism Board website at discoverhongkong.com for other ideas as well as the Leisure and Cultural Services Department website at http://www.lcsd.gov.hk/en/home.php to see all events and museums offered by the government.
7. For reccos on tailors and how to use them, see http://www.fodors.com/community/asia...-hong-kong.cfm. However, what you and your daughter might enjoy doing <i>together</i> is walking the boutique areas of SOHO/NOHO and Times Square to find a dress by an unknown (at least to you) Hong Kong designer. (The latter area is just blocks from the Crowne Plaza, a place like Yu Wa Street is a good place to look. In SOHO/NOHO try Peel St and Gough St) These would of course trend toward the more modern younger design aesthetic, not sure if this is your taste. But it would be a good activity to do together and might result in a nice wearable souvenir. I don’t know your budget, but more expensive and better-known local designers to try would be Blanc de Chine (http://www.blancdechine.com/.), Vivienne Tam (http://www.viviennetam.com/), and Shanghai Tang (see http://www.shanghaitang.com/shanghaitang/, they are worth a stop for their gifts). Lane Crawford is a very nice, expensive, local department store here that carries many brands and may be worth looking into, see http://www.lanecrawford.com/. There is also Sogo, a Japanese Department store in Causeway Bay, which carries many brands (they have a tea shop, see below)
8. Green tea is not hugely popular here in Hong Kong. But some suggestions would be:
Fook Ming Tea Shop
Shop 3006, ifc Mall, Central
Basement, Sogo Department Store
555 Hennessy Road, Causeway Bay
http://www.fookmingtong.com/
They have green tea. They have other locations in town as well, check the website.
Lock Cha Tea House
Ground Floor
Flagstaff House Museum of Tea Ware
10 Cotton Tree Drive
Central (inside Hong Kong Park)
Tel: 2869 0690
Lock Cha Tea Shop
Upper Ground Floor
290B, Queen's Road Central
Sheung Wan, Hong Kong
Tel: 2805-1360
http://www.lockcha.com/
The tea house is a wonderful vegetarian dim sum restaurant in Hong Kong Park right by the bottom station for the Peak Tram. They also sell tea. The tea shop is in Sheung Wan, and has a very large selection of tea and offers tea classes, which might be of interest to you and your daughter. Sheung Wan is a very interesting, quite traditional neighborhood of Hong Kong that is worth a stroll. (The museum itself is in a very lovely colonial-era building is free, and would probably be interesting to you especially. It can be “done’ in an hour, and the gift shops sells very nice teapots. They often have tea demonstrations, although sometimes they are only in Cantonese. See http://www.lcsd.gov.hk/CE/Museum/Art...h/tea/tea.html. As I mentioned above, Hong Kong Park has an outdoor aviary which might interest your daughter.)
You might also consider tea at the Peninsula hotel or some other place (the Mandarin Hotel does a nice one and the SEVVA restaurant has a great view). The Penn of course is the best known and tea is in their lovely white marble lobby. Again, try to avoid weekends for the Penn as there are often lines.
9. For cooking lessons, the YWCA on MacDonnell Road offers a lot of different type of classes. See http://www.esmdywca.org.hk and click on “Classes” to see their cooking classes; and also see their “Local Culture” section where they offer a local wet market tour and a tour of Chinese medicine shops linked to medicinal soups, either could be interesting. The wet market tour is offered by Jason Wordie, an excellent local author and tour guide, you might look at his website to see if any of his walks interest you, see www.jasonswalks.com. The Hong Kong gas company (Town Gas) offers courses that are supposed to be good, but I am not sure that this is what you are looking for, see http://www.towngascooking.com/eng/course/course.asp. A poster on this board has recommended Coriander Connections (see http://www.corianderconnections.com/index.html) these look very interesting although I have not taken any. It is my understanding that restaurants like Lung King Heen at the Four Seasons (3 Michelin star Cantonese fusion) and Bo Innovation (2 Michelin star Asian fusion) will provide private cooking lessons for a fairly steep price, you might contact your hotel concierge or the restaurants directly, see http://www.fourseasons.com/hongkong/ and http://www.boinnovation.com/
10. Finally, Hong Kong is extremely safe (and there is a life guard for the hotel pool); so your daughter could wander on her on if she felt comfortable doing this – it might give her a sense of independence which would add to her enjoyment of the trip. I would say the same is true for the other locations on your itin, although English is not as widely spoken, nor is English signage as prevalent, so your daughter may not feel as comfortable on her own. You can of course leave her at the pool while you do things like go for a dress fitting.
I would consider taking cooking lessons in each place that you go. I have some reccos for Hong Kong below, and I am sure you can find reccos for the other places. The Oriental in Bangkok offers famous ones but you need to commit time to it, the Blue Elephant Restaurant’s lessons are supposed to be good, see http://www.blueelephant.com/school/index.html. I have taken a 3- hour cooking class at the Landmark hotel which was a lot of fun.
In Thailand and perhaps Burma, there are most likely places where you could volunteer for an afternoon or more at an orphanage or other charity, or you can bring school supplies to local schools. If your daughter is in a scout troop or other group at home, perhaps they can do some sort of fund-raiser or joint project and make a contribution as well. Other posters here have posted on visiting local schools and orphanages in Thailand, you might do a search or post a new thread specifically on this subject. (The potential for charitable actives involving children in Hong Kong is going to be more limited, so I think I would probably forego that.)
For activities in Bangkok which might be of interest to children, I would get the Nancy Chandler map/booklet, as she has suggestions for different activities like bicycle trips. See http://www.nancychandler.net/
For Hong Kong, which I know best, my specific suggestions would be below:
1. For “pure” children’s activities, consider inducing a morning or afternoon at Ocean Park, which has dolphin shows, a wave pool, rides, etc. See (http://www.oceanpark.com.hk/f_index.html. This is very close to Aberdeen and can easily be combined with a trip to see Aberdeen. There is also a small Disney in Hong Kong, but they don’t offer swimming pools. But either might be a nice change from seeing temples. Do NOT go to either place on a Sunday, and even Saturdays can be busy. You can also take a boat trip to see the native pink dolphins, see http://www.hkdolphinwatch.com, although summer months are not quite as good for this as winter. You can also take short trips to see the dolphins as part of a visit to Tai O fishing village on Lantau, a charming place, which can be done as part of a trip to see the Big Buddha (Po Lin Monastery). There is a weird but oddly interesting reproduction of Noah’s Ark (the world’s largest) at Park Island with an amusement park which your daughter may enjoy; and the island itself has a few waterfront restaurants with views of the Tsing Yi Bridge. See http://www.noahsark.com.hk/eng/visit2.php The ferry ride to Park Island from Central will give you probably the very best water view of Hong Kong Island short of hiring your own boat (air pollution permitting), although the ferry is all enclosed and you can’t go outside to take photos during the trip (which is maddening). There is an outdoor aviary in Hong Kong Park, quite near the base of the Peak Tram. There is a small zoo and botanical garden on Upper Albert Road in Central which is walkable from the Hollywood Road SOHO area and the escalator. There is a large wetland/bird preserve operated under the auspices of the World Wildlife Fund, see http://www.wwf.org.hk/eng/maipo/publ...ublictour.html, and also a more commercial wetland park nearby http://www.wetlandpark.com/tc/index.asp. There are numerous museums here, from the Hong Kong History Museum to the Science Museum, to the Space Museum. All would be good for a rainy day or if your daughter has a special interest. There are also several museums which are in restored “walled villages” in various parts of Hong Kong, all of which are reachable by public transport or a combo of public transport and then a short taxi ride. Take a look at http://www.lcsd.gov.hk/en/cs_mus.php to see of list of all museums.
2. There are many marvelous beaches in Hong Kong, both on Hong Kong Island and especially on Lantau. You could go to see the Buddha in the morning, and then go for lunch and the afternoon on the beach in Lantau, esp. someplace like Stoep Restaurant, which is a very nice casual beach-side restaurant on the very beautiful Upper Cheng Sha beach, where you can have lunch and sit while your daughter frolics. You can go to Tai O just before sunset, which is very beautiful there (although it is quite nice from the beach at the Steop as well.) Big Wave Bay on Hong Kong Island is another lovely beach with a nice casual beach-side restaurant (watch the undertow) as is Shek-O. Water quality is fairly good at all beaches. Repulse Bay is a very nice, wide curving beach; I think it is too hot in August as it does not get much of a breeze; but it is on the way to Stanley and has a very large colourful temple at the end. ( If you want really good water quality, you need to go to Tai Long Wan in Sai Kung, but this requires a walk in and out of about an hour each way.) All these are reachable by public transport.
3. The Star Ferry trip between Hong Kong Island and the tip of Kowloon is of course very interesting and should be on your list, and the Star Ferry trip to Hung Hom is also worth doing as it is longer and you get more time for views and photos. However, many of the other ferries are enclosed and have air conditioning, and there are actually little opportunity for views, and they are frankly rather boring. To really appreciate the water views and life in the harbour, IMO, you have to take the smaller open wooden <i>kaidos</i> that ply less major routes, i.e. from Aberdeen to Lamma, from Sai Ho Wan to Tung Lung Island on the weekends (one of the most beautiful boat rides in Hong Kong), or from Sai Ho Wan to Lei Yue Mun which is an interesting place for a stroll, if not for a seafood meal (their temple has a ghost). Kaido schedules can be found at http://www.td.gov.hk/home/index.htm, click on “Passengers” then “Ferries” then “Services Details of Regular Kaito Ferry Services”. (These are not always completely up to date, however, so have your hotel call to confirm.) If you want a traditional wooding sailing “junk”, the restaurant group which runs the restaurants at One Peking Road has their own wooden junk which has day trips to various locations (including Stanley and the very interesting Joss House Bay) and also afternoon and evening cocktail tours of the harbour, any of which could be interesting. Go to http://www.aqua.com.hk/, the boat is called the Aqua Luna. I believe that the Hong Kong Tourism authority still runs its once-weekly free junk trip for tourists on the Dunkling, see the Hong Kong Tourism website for info on that. If you have the money, you can of course hire you own boat for a few hours or a day, which is a really wonderful way to spend time, see http://www.saffron-cruises.com/, www.jaspasjunk.com, or www.jubilee.com.hk. Finally, you can do a kayak trip in the gorgeous Sai Kung area, see http://www.kayak-and-hike.com, this would get you to some pristine beaches and then back for good seafood in Sai Kung.
4. There are many excellent walks and hikes here, ranging from easy and flat to extremely challenging. For a quick photo of one walk, click on my name above and see my profile. For a description of another of my favourite very easy walks on Hong Kong Island, see my posts called “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” and “Cicerone's Favourite Hong Kong Walks: Severn Road, The Peak “. You can find all of these posts by clicking on these links:
http://www.fodors.com/community/asia...eels-alm-1.cfm
http://www.fodors.com/community/asia...agons-back.cfm and at http://www.fodors.com/community/asia...d-the-peak.cfm. My caveat to you for August is that it is very hot and very humid, so do not do a walk during the middle of the day, bring plenty of water, and don’t walk beyond your capability. There are several easy, mostly flat walks on the Peak that offer some shade which would work well in the August heat and also offer views. I love the Dragon’s Back, but in August in can be pretty tough.
5. I would definitely recommend biking in the Plover Cove Reservoir/Tolo Harbour area which absolutely beautiful. You can rent bikes, and there is a paved bike path that you can ride for about a dozen miles down to Tai Po. There is also a short but really lovely bike/pedestrian road across the dam dividing Plover Cove Reservoir and Tolo Harbour. I would strongly recco doing this on a weekday as otherwise crowds are pretty bad; if you have to a pick a weekend, a Saturday would be better than a Sunday. You can have lunch at one of the restaurants by the bike shops or bring your own as there are several picnic and barbeque areas.
6 . For the above and some other ideas, please search this board for my list of personal 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. The post also includes a list of walks and some sources for more walks, see http://www.fodors.com/community/asia...l-night-ma.cfm. Also check the Hong Kong Tourism Board website at discoverhongkong.com for other ideas as well as the Leisure and Cultural Services Department website at http://www.lcsd.gov.hk/en/home.php to see all events and museums offered by the government.
7. For reccos on tailors and how to use them, see http://www.fodors.com/community/asia...-hong-kong.cfm. However, what you and your daughter might enjoy doing <i>together</i> is walking the boutique areas of SOHO/NOHO and Times Square to find a dress by an unknown (at least to you) Hong Kong designer. (The latter area is just blocks from the Crowne Plaza, a place like Yu Wa Street is a good place to look. In SOHO/NOHO try Peel St and Gough St) These would of course trend toward the more modern younger design aesthetic, not sure if this is your taste. But it would be a good activity to do together and might result in a nice wearable souvenir. I don’t know your budget, but more expensive and better-known local designers to try would be Blanc de Chine (http://www.blancdechine.com/.), Vivienne Tam (http://www.viviennetam.com/), and Shanghai Tang (see http://www.shanghaitang.com/shanghaitang/, they are worth a stop for their gifts). Lane Crawford is a very nice, expensive, local department store here that carries many brands and may be worth looking into, see http://www.lanecrawford.com/. There is also Sogo, a Japanese Department store in Causeway Bay, which carries many brands (they have a tea shop, see below)
8. Green tea is not hugely popular here in Hong Kong. But some suggestions would be:
Fook Ming Tea Shop
Shop 3006, ifc Mall, Central
Basement, Sogo Department Store
555 Hennessy Road, Causeway Bay
http://www.fookmingtong.com/
They have green tea. They have other locations in town as well, check the website.
Lock Cha Tea House
Ground Floor
Flagstaff House Museum of Tea Ware
10 Cotton Tree Drive
Central (inside Hong Kong Park)
Tel: 2869 0690
Lock Cha Tea Shop
Upper Ground Floor
290B, Queen's Road Central
Sheung Wan, Hong Kong
Tel: 2805-1360
http://www.lockcha.com/
The tea house is a wonderful vegetarian dim sum restaurant in Hong Kong Park right by the bottom station for the Peak Tram. They also sell tea. The tea shop is in Sheung Wan, and has a very large selection of tea and offers tea classes, which might be of interest to you and your daughter. Sheung Wan is a very interesting, quite traditional neighborhood of Hong Kong that is worth a stroll. (The museum itself is in a very lovely colonial-era building is free, and would probably be interesting to you especially. It can be “done’ in an hour, and the gift shops sells very nice teapots. They often have tea demonstrations, although sometimes they are only in Cantonese. See http://www.lcsd.gov.hk/CE/Museum/Art...h/tea/tea.html. As I mentioned above, Hong Kong Park has an outdoor aviary which might interest your daughter.)
You might also consider tea at the Peninsula hotel or some other place (the Mandarin Hotel does a nice one and the SEVVA restaurant has a great view). The Penn of course is the best known and tea is in their lovely white marble lobby. Again, try to avoid weekends for the Penn as there are often lines.
9. For cooking lessons, the YWCA on MacDonnell Road offers a lot of different type of classes. See http://www.esmdywca.org.hk and click on “Classes” to see their cooking classes; and also see their “Local Culture” section where they offer a local wet market tour and a tour of Chinese medicine shops linked to medicinal soups, either could be interesting. The wet market tour is offered by Jason Wordie, an excellent local author and tour guide, you might look at his website to see if any of his walks interest you, see www.jasonswalks.com. The Hong Kong gas company (Town Gas) offers courses that are supposed to be good, but I am not sure that this is what you are looking for, see http://www.towngascooking.com/eng/course/course.asp. A poster on this board has recommended Coriander Connections (see http://www.corianderconnections.com/index.html) these look very interesting although I have not taken any. It is my understanding that restaurants like Lung King Heen at the Four Seasons (3 Michelin star Cantonese fusion) and Bo Innovation (2 Michelin star Asian fusion) will provide private cooking lessons for a fairly steep price, you might contact your hotel concierge or the restaurants directly, see http://www.fourseasons.com/hongkong/ and http://www.boinnovation.com/
10. Finally, Hong Kong is extremely safe (and there is a life guard for the hotel pool); so your daughter could wander on her on if she felt comfortable doing this – it might give her a sense of independence which would add to her enjoyment of the trip. I would say the same is true for the other locations on your itin, although English is not as widely spoken, nor is English signage as prevalent, so your daughter may not feel as comfortable on her own. You can of course leave her at the pool while you do things like go for a dress fitting.
Mar 26th, 2010, 07:48 AM
#7
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2010
Posts: 40
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I am totally overwhelmed and very appreciative of all the information and suggestions! I can see I will be very busy for the next few days considering what to do!
I have a few additional questions:
I've seen several references to mosquitos. Does that mean malaria pills? I've taken them before and managed the typical halluinatory dreams ok, but I worry about my daughter. Of course I'll check with our doctors, but wonder what is usually done, particularly in Burma and the Golden Triangle.
Also - what about adapters to charge digital cameras and camcorder. I don't know if we'll be bringing a laptop or not.
I suspect I can get the info from Magellans, but just wanted to see if anyone had any trouble with charging electronics.
I have a few additional questions:
I've seen several references to mosquitos. Does that mean malaria pills? I've taken them before and managed the typical halluinatory dreams ok, but I worry about my daughter. Of course I'll check with our doctors, but wonder what is usually done, particularly in Burma and the Golden Triangle.
Also - what about adapters to charge digital cameras and camcorder. I don't know if we'll be bringing a laptop or not.
I suspect I can get the info from Magellans, but just wanted to see if anyone had any trouble with charging electronics.
Mar 26th, 2010, 07:56 AM
#8
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 33,288
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Burma is malarial risk. Indeed, the majority of deaths from malaria in Asia occur in Burma. The Golden Triangle area is also malarial risk.
Larium is the anti-malarial that causes the bad dreams. There is signifigant resistance to larium in these areas, so it's not an appropriate antimalarial for these areas. Of course, you'll want to consult with a travel med doc, but do take a look at www.cdc.gov/travel for info on malaria and anti-malarials as well as on immunizations.
We took malarone, the newest anti-malarial, and the one with the fewest side effects. It comes in pediatric as well as adult doses. And you only have to take it beginning one day before entering the malarial risk area and one week after leaving the risk area. Of course, you'll want an effective mosquito repellant as well.
You will need adapters, but in my experience, the hotels always have them. I've stopped carrying them along.
Larium is the anti-malarial that causes the bad dreams. There is signifigant resistance to larium in these areas, so it's not an appropriate antimalarial for these areas. Of course, you'll want to consult with a travel med doc, but do take a look at www.cdc.gov/travel for info on malaria and anti-malarials as well as on immunizations.
We took malarone, the newest anti-malarial, and the one with the fewest side effects. It comes in pediatric as well as adult doses. And you only have to take it beginning one day before entering the malarial risk area and one week after leaving the risk area. Of course, you'll want an effective mosquito repellant as well.
You will need adapters, but in my experience, the hotels always have them. I've stopped carrying them along.
Mar 27th, 2010, 04:03 AM
#9
Join Date: Sep 2009
Posts: 32
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
For Malaria risk in Myanmar, have a look at mdtravelhealth.com which has up-to-date information. Most travellers, even in the wet season do not take anti-malarials for visits to the main destinations, but there is a small risk; Malarone is recommended as above.
As for hotels, the Princess and Lake View come recommended at Inle Lake, and I would agree with Kathie regarding the Tharabar Gate at Bagan. If you haven't booked yet, i'd consider staying here. As you are travelling off-season, an agent will get you good deals at the Strand and Governor's Residence if you would like to try somewhere different in Yangon on your last day.
Mt Popa is a nice 1/2 day excursion. The landscape will be unusually lush at that time of year so it may be worth the trip just for the scenery. Climbing the hill and dodging the monkeys may be fun for your daughter as well.
Yangon - Chiang Mai; Air Asia to Bangkok, then 1210 Bangkok Airways onward?
As for hotels, the Princess and Lake View come recommended at Inle Lake, and I would agree with Kathie regarding the Tharabar Gate at Bagan. If you haven't booked yet, i'd consider staying here. As you are travelling off-season, an agent will get you good deals at the Strand and Governor's Residence if you would like to try somewhere different in Yangon on your last day.
Mt Popa is a nice 1/2 day excursion. The landscape will be unusually lush at that time of year so it may be worth the trip just for the scenery. Climbing the hill and dodging the monkeys may be fun for your daughter as well.
Yangon - Chiang Mai; Air Asia to Bangkok, then 1210 Bangkok Airways onward?
