Singapore or Hong Kong?
Jan 17th, 2008, 06:31 PM
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Singapore or Hong Kong?
My wife and I are intending to spend 7 continuous days either in Singapore or Hong Kong. We'd like your advice as to the pro's and con's of each. We intend to travel mid-Febuary 2008. Does anyone have suggestions on centrally located, mid- to upper-middle hotels in each city? Thanks so much!
Jan 17th, 2008, 08:09 PM
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What do you like to do when you travel? Why are you considering these two cities in particular? What appeals to you may not appeal to others, so it helps to give us mroe details about your tastes.
Do you like crowds for example or want a getaway? What kind of food appeals to you most? Do you want to be able to do side trips?
Do you like crowds for example or want a getaway? What kind of food appeals to you most? Do you want to be able to do side trips?
Jan 17th, 2008, 08:25 PM
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Cookie asks some good questions.
As a general guideline, there is more to do in Hong Kong than in Singapore. I tend to spend oly a few days at a time in SIngapore. While I always enjoy my stays there, I prefer it in shorter doses, 3-5 days at a time. With a week in Hong Kong, you'll have lots to do and see and you'll still feel like you've just scratched the surface.
By the way, Hong Kong is a more expensive city than Singapore. Hotels are especially expensive in Hong Kong.
Also, you'll need to tell us what you mean by mid to upper mid - how much per night are you looking for?
As a general guideline, there is more to do in Hong Kong than in Singapore. I tend to spend oly a few days at a time in SIngapore. While I always enjoy my stays there, I prefer it in shorter doses, 3-5 days at a time. With a week in Hong Kong, you'll have lots to do and see and you'll still feel like you've just scratched the surface.
By the way, Hong Kong is a more expensive city than Singapore. Hotels are especially expensive in Hong Kong.
Also, you'll need to tell us what you mean by mid to upper mid - how much per night are you looking for?
Jan 18th, 2008, 01:56 AM
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As previous posts say, it depends on your interests and preferences. Maybe you can do a browse on the internet and travel guide books on both cites and what you would like to see/do to try and pick between the two. Also check out the two cites tourism board websites - both have lots of info as well as lists of events happening there each month.
Also in case you are not aware, in Feb the weather will be different as HK will be in their winter season- coolish at around 18degrees or so, bit cooler or warmer, but Singapore is tropical weather all year round around 30degrees or so.
Mid Feb will be just after Chinese new year and both cities will have CNY stuff probably still hapening. If you are into shopping though, HK I think has sales around this time.
I think that HK has much more to do to fill a week than Singapore and I agree with Kathie. Although I have spent almost a week in Singapore at a time (on several tripsso far; been to HK more than Singapore) I find HK has more activities and sights to see than Sing. and you can do more sidetrips out of HK city area to the outer islands as well in a week there. So if you into doing some scenic stuff I think HK is better. I don't think there is as many interesting sights to see in Sing that would fill up a whole week as HK. Mind you this is just my opinion and others may have other ideas, so that is why I suggest you should check out what sights at each city you are interested in seeing to decide between the two.
If you are in to different Southeast asian cultures then Singapore is a mix of Chinese, Indian and Malay and each ethnic group has different areas in the city, whereas HK is Chinese only.
Food wise Singapore is cheaper because you can eat at the hawker centres and food courts and these have lots of selection of dishes from the 3 ethnic groups mentioned plus the delicious Singapore and Malaysian food which often is a unique combo or fusion of Chinese with Malay or Indian style/ingredients.
HK on the other hand has all the great HK/cantonese food, great Yum Cha and more wider choice of other mainland Chinese food, from all areas of China for e.g Beijing, Shanghai,Chui Chow, as well as lots of good resturants of all types of world cuisines.
HK is more crowded, noisier and faster paced than Singapore.
Sorry for rambling on, just a few of my thoughts here.
Also in case you are not aware, in Feb the weather will be different as HK will be in their winter season- coolish at around 18degrees or so, bit cooler or warmer, but Singapore is tropical weather all year round around 30degrees or so.
Mid Feb will be just after Chinese new year and both cities will have CNY stuff probably still hapening. If you are into shopping though, HK I think has sales around this time.
I think that HK has much more to do to fill a week than Singapore and I agree with Kathie. Although I have spent almost a week in Singapore at a time (on several tripsso far; been to HK more than Singapore) I find HK has more activities and sights to see than Sing. and you can do more sidetrips out of HK city area to the outer islands as well in a week there. So if you into doing some scenic stuff I think HK is better. I don't think there is as many interesting sights to see in Sing that would fill up a whole week as HK. Mind you this is just my opinion and others may have other ideas, so that is why I suggest you should check out what sights at each city you are interested in seeing to decide between the two.
If you are in to different Southeast asian cultures then Singapore is a mix of Chinese, Indian and Malay and each ethnic group has different areas in the city, whereas HK is Chinese only.
Food wise Singapore is cheaper because you can eat at the hawker centres and food courts and these have lots of selection of dishes from the 3 ethnic groups mentioned plus the delicious Singapore and Malaysian food which often is a unique combo or fusion of Chinese with Malay or Indian style/ingredients.
HK on the other hand has all the great HK/cantonese food, great Yum Cha and more wider choice of other mainland Chinese food, from all areas of China for e.g Beijing, Shanghai,Chui Chow, as well as lots of good resturants of all types of world cuisines.
HK is more crowded, noisier and faster paced than Singapore.
Sorry for rambling on, just a few of my thoughts here.
Jan 19th, 2008, 12:22 AM
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I live in Hong Kong and love it and always try to encourage people to visit, but let me say right out that February is just crappy weather. It's better than March but that's about all you can say. It will be cool to cold, damp and worst of all, could be foggy your entire trip so you may not be able to see the great views. The air pollution is also much worse in winter, so even if it is clear, the air pollution can obscure views quite badly. It's about 62 F today and just foggy and overcast and bad, and it rained yesterday (which virtually never happens in Jan). This started pretty much on time last week and continues basically until April. Last year from about Feb 25 through all of March we had fog for a solid month. You could of course luck out and get some clear weather, but really in February that is quite rare. You are also missing Chinese New Year which is Feb 7-9 and which IMO is the one reason to come to Hong Kong in February. Even taking ferry rides is not going to be that much fun, as it could be quite chilly on the water (and also because on the closed ferries they have the air conditining on as there is no heat and they circulate air via air conditioning). The walking and hiking, which is great here, can still be done, which is the one good thing.
Singapore will be hot and in February you are still going to be just at the end of the winter rainy season, but generally should be OK, see weatherbase.com to get an idea of historic rainfall. I also used to live in Singapore, and love that place a lot too. I would agree that Hong Kong has a faster-paced feel to it and has the harbour and the mountains which Singapore does not have (but which you may not even see in Feb). However, Singapore does have the great food (not that Hong Kong doesn't, I just don't like Cantonese as much as I like the mix of Malay/Indian and Chinese you can get in S'pore). It also has far, far, far better museums than Hong Kong if that is of interest to you. Their history and art museums are just fantastic, they currently have a silk road exhibition on that is just wonderful if you have an interest in Buddhism, but their permanent collection is outstanding, certainly the best in Asia if not anywhere in the world. ((http://www.acm.org.sg/home/home.asp). Their modern art museum is small but has some great stuff, and they have several other really just excellent museums. They also have the little India and Arab and Malay neighborhoods which Hong Kong does not, so you get a nice mix of cultural things to see and do. The have the zoo and botanical gardens, which Hong Kong really does not have (very small and nothing close to as well done, there's no money in it....) You can also sit by a nice pool for an afternoon or two and just relax, which you most emphatically will NOT be able to do in February in Hong Kong.
I'm actually going to S'pore for Chinese New Year this year, partly for the weather (mostly for a birthday party). Then I am going to Miami and the Keys to get out of the February weather in Hong Kong.
If it were a different time of year I would have a harder time giving advice between the two, but in Feb, really IMO it's not that hard a choice. I agree that 7 days may be a bit long in Singapore, but you could consider 1-2 night trip up the west coast to Malacca which has some interesting colonial bits and is a short drive/bus ride. (I would avoid the east coast of Malaysia, as it still has the winter monsoon.)
With 7 days you could of course consider doing both places as they are only about 3 hours apart by air (but don't say I did not warn you about the crappy weather in Hong Kong).
I am not sure you will find a huge price difference in hotel prices actually between the two. It may be about 10-15% at most. Hotel prices in Singapore are very high actually (historically). You might look at the major chain hotels in both to get an idea of what they are charging in both, There have been numerous posts on hotels in Hong Kong, you might search for some of those. If you can give budget range, that is also easier as one man's "mid-level" is another man's "expensive".
Singapore will be hot and in February you are still going to be just at the end of the winter rainy season, but generally should be OK, see weatherbase.com to get an idea of historic rainfall. I also used to live in Singapore, and love that place a lot too. I would agree that Hong Kong has a faster-paced feel to it and has the harbour and the mountains which Singapore does not have (but which you may not even see in Feb). However, Singapore does have the great food (not that Hong Kong doesn't, I just don't like Cantonese as much as I like the mix of Malay/Indian and Chinese you can get in S'pore). It also has far, far, far better museums than Hong Kong if that is of interest to you. Their history and art museums are just fantastic, they currently have a silk road exhibition on that is just wonderful if you have an interest in Buddhism, but their permanent collection is outstanding, certainly the best in Asia if not anywhere in the world. ((http://www.acm.org.sg/home/home.asp). Their modern art museum is small but has some great stuff, and they have several other really just excellent museums. They also have the little India and Arab and Malay neighborhoods which Hong Kong does not, so you get a nice mix of cultural things to see and do. The have the zoo and botanical gardens, which Hong Kong really does not have (very small and nothing close to as well done, there's no money in it....) You can also sit by a nice pool for an afternoon or two and just relax, which you most emphatically will NOT be able to do in February in Hong Kong.
I'm actually going to S'pore for Chinese New Year this year, partly for the weather (mostly for a birthday party). Then I am going to Miami and the Keys to get out of the February weather in Hong Kong.
If it were a different time of year I would have a harder time giving advice between the two, but in Feb, really IMO it's not that hard a choice. I agree that 7 days may be a bit long in Singapore, but you could consider 1-2 night trip up the west coast to Malacca which has some interesting colonial bits and is a short drive/bus ride. (I would avoid the east coast of Malaysia, as it still has the winter monsoon.)
With 7 days you could of course consider doing both places as they are only about 3 hours apart by air (but don't say I did not warn you about the crappy weather in Hong Kong).
I am not sure you will find a huge price difference in hotel prices actually between the two. It may be about 10-15% at most. Hotel prices in Singapore are very high actually (historically). You might look at the major chain hotels in both to get an idea of what they are charging in both, There have been numerous posts on hotels in Hong Kong, you might search for some of those. If you can give budget range, that is also easier as one man's "mid-level" is another man's "expensive".
Jan 20th, 2008, 03:31 PM
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Hi there,
Besides all the great advice and observations already discussed, I personally find that Singapore has more colonial style architecture than Hong Kong for casual visitors. I love colonial style architecture and Singapore impresses me more in this respect. I also love the colours of the heritage districts in Singapore – very nice.
Hong Kong on the other hand has more Asian feel for casual visitors. Of course both are very modern cities, but Hong Kong has temples, rural walled villages and ancestral halls for visitors who would like to explore the Southern Chinese culture more. For a casual look Singapore is a bit more like a North American city than Hong Kong.
Besides all the great advice and observations already discussed, I personally find that Singapore has more colonial style architecture than Hong Kong for casual visitors. I love colonial style architecture and Singapore impresses me more in this respect. I also love the colours of the heritage districts in Singapore – very nice.
Hong Kong on the other hand has more Asian feel for casual visitors. Of course both are very modern cities, but Hong Kong has temples, rural walled villages and ancestral halls for visitors who would like to explore the Southern Chinese culture more. For a casual look Singapore is a bit more like a North American city than Hong Kong.
