Lindafrompotch

Hey everyone

My partner and I are flying via Hong Kong to Auckland. We are land 7h00 the morning in Hong Kong and departing again 15h30 on 17 December.

What would you suggest for the few hours?

Will it be a viable idea to go somewhere in the city to experience Hong Kong and be back at the airport at say 13h30?

Please help!!

rhkkmk

i think realistically you only have about 4 hours available...that would cut things pretty close imo..

DonTopaz

Oh, I think you've got a good amount of time to do some exploring. The HKG airport is both efficient and easily accessible from downtown, and the center of HK is relatively compact.

Here's my suggestion: Let's assume that you're ready to head into the city around 8.30 after going through immigration, morning ablutions, and a bite to eat. Take the Airport Express (train) to the last stop, Hong Kong. Either at the airport or at the HK Airport Express station, check in for your afternoon flight.

If the weather is clear (ho-ho), find your way by foot or bus or taxi to the Peak Tram, and ride up to The Peak -- it's an extraordinary view of Hong Kong, the one all the postcards show. If the sky isn't clear, I'd instead head to Hong Kong Park (which is actually adjacent to the Peak Tram station), and take in some people watching -- lots of people doing their daily Tai Chi. Somewhere around mid-morning, I'd take the terrific tram to Wan Chai, and walk around the streets there soaking up the sights of the wet market and daily life.

Toward midday, take the tram back to Central, and hop on the Star Ferry to Tsim Sha Tsui (TST). The Star Ferry and the tram, by the way, might be the 2 best transportation bargains on Earth. When you reach TST, walk over to the Promenade, and take in the view of the harbour -- the most spectacular cityscape you may ever see. By now, it's time to head back to the airport. You can either retrace your steps to go back to the HK Airport Express station, or find your way to the Kowloon AE station. (Cheapest way is to walk over to the Sheraton or InterContinental hotel, then take the free shuttle bus. If you're pressed for time, a taxi to the station is not expensive.)

As long as you've already checked in, you can safely be at the airport express station at 13:45. It takes about a half-hour for the train, and could take up to 30 minutes to go through immigration, security, and travel to the gate.

Lindafrompotch

rizzuto you are my hero!

Cicerone

Here are my thoughts:

1. December 17 is a Friday and is a regular workday. So there is nothing special to see or do in terms of religious festivals, but plenty of other stuff to do. And you won’t be competing for space on the Peak Tram with people on a day off. Weather in December is generally excellent: sunny, dry and marvelous temps. It’s the weather we wait for all year. (Usually, although this past December was an exception in that we had some rain, but the odds of two years in a row I think are unlikely.). Skyscrapers and malls will be decorated for Christmas, although you may not see much of this on your brief visit.

2. Your luggage will be checked all the way through, and hopefully you got your onward boarding pass for your NZ flight when you checked in for the flight from South Africa. If not, the first thing you need to do is get a boarding pass in the “transit/transfer” area which is <i>before</i> Immigration. Do that first before you leave the airport. If you want to store hand luggage for the day, you can do so for HK$35 a day go to http://www.hongkongairport.com/eng/a...gage.html#left for info. The "Meeters and Greeters Hall" is the main arrivals area which you will come out into after you exit Baggage Claim, the Left Luggage area is on the far right of the hall as you exit the baggage claim/Customs areas.

3. Assuming you have your boarding pass, IMO, you only need to be at the airport 1 hour before your flight, you might do 1.5 hours to be really safe as you do have a Friday afternoon departure close to Christmas. But that should be fine. By taxi or train, plan on 30 minutes to reach the airport from the main areas of Hong Kong. So if you hop the train or a taxi for the airport 2 hours before your flight (i.e. by 1:30 pm), you should be OK, IMO. (That is when I always leave for the airport.)

4. You can get cash at ATMs at the airport. You may need some small bills for buses and ferries, as with only 4-5 hours, I would not bother purchasing a public transportation. However same-day round-trip Airport Express train fare is a good deal at HK$90 to Kowloon and HK$100 to Hong Kong, and you might consider it. A taxi to those areas mentioned below will be about HK$250-300 one way.

5. A good street map would be helpful. If someone can’t lend you one for the trip from their guidebook, you should be able to get one at a Hong Kong Tourism Board desk. There are several at the airport, they will be just after you exit Baggage Claim through a set of glass doors, but before you walk out through another set of doors into the main arrival hall. There are also offices at the Star Ferry piers on the Kowloon side, and on the Peak.

5. I like the above itin actually, and it would work for the most part. But here are my suggestions.

-As you will have been served breakfast about an hour before you land, I would not bother with breakfast at the airport, you can have a meal/snack in town, see below for some ideas

-Either take a taxi directly to the Peninsula Hotel in Kowloon, OR take the Airport Express Train to the Kowloon Station and then a taxi to the Peninsula Hotel (taxi should cost about HK$20-25). You first stop will be the Kowloon waterfront to take in The View. The Penn is a good place to start.

-Don’t go into the Penn (unless you want to peek at the white marble lobby), but cross the street to the water side. (This will require taking a pedestrian underpass, facing the Penn turn right and walk to the corner, turn left and you will see the underpass/subway there on the street. Go down and under Salisbury Road, and come up on the water side.) You have a choice of going for breakfast in the Harbourside restaurant at the Intercon on your left, which has a nice restaurant with huge windows right on the water offering up The View. However, you may not have the time or want to spend the money on a hotel breakfast. If not, then I would skip the Intercon and walk straight out to the water. You may come upon people practicing tai chi on the waterfront here, but it may be too late in the day at that point, hard to say. Once on the waterfront, while facing the water, turn left and walk about 500 yards or so past the Intercon to where there is a Starbucks on the left also with The View, a large outdoor terrace on two levels, and good coffee, muffins, etc. Take in the view with your cuppa. (There is also a Starbucks on the ground street level of the Cultural Centre, the ugly windowless pink building basically facing the Penn, but it has no outdoor terrace. But this would work for a take-away cuppa which you could bring out to the waterfront).

-When you have gandered enough, facing the water, turn right and walk along the esplanade for more views as you head toward the Star Ferry Piers. Take the ferry to Central. (I recco first class, as it is upstairs and has open views. Left side is a bit better for views.)

-Unless it is very foggy, I would then go to the Peak. (On the ferry or from Kowloon look up above the buildings on the Hong Kong side, if you see that the mountaintop is shrouded in fog, this is your clue not to go; however fog and rain are rare in December). So once you are on the Hong Kong side, take the stairs down from the ferry to the ground level and look for the open-top double-decker bus which will take you to the Peak Tram. (Don’t confuse this with some of the hop-on hop-off buses which tour around Hong Kong. The one you want is #15C, goes ONLY to the Peak Tram and costs HK$4.20. It says “Peak Tram” on the bus.)

- The bus will stop at the bottom tram station. Get off and take the Peak Tram to the Peak. Be sure to go up to the viewing platform on top of the peak tram station as it offers very good views, even if it is full of tourists (you have to pay a bit more for the tram ticket for a pass to go up to this terrace). If it is a very clear day, go up to the roof viewing platforms of the Peak Galleria shopping centre across the street and you can get some very nice water views of the south side of the island. While a walk around any of the paths here would be interesting, I am not sure you really have the time, as my guess is that it will be 11 am or so at this point. I personally don’t think the Lugard/Harlech walk offers enough views to merit an hour on it. There are places for a snack or coffee here as well, including a Pacific Coffee Company with a great view (in the Peak Tram building) or something like the Peak Lookout for colonial nostalgia if you have time.

-I would take the Peak Tram down as well. While there are bus options which are scenic (but not as dramatic as the tram), these will take you longer, and you don’t really have time.

-Once down in Central again, while I certainly find the Wan Chai markets mentioned above very interesting, my concern with taking the tram at lunch time on a weekday is that (i) the trams will be jammed with people and you either will wait for a while to get on a tram, and/or you won’t have a view once you get on one, and (ii) street traffic will make the tram journey a bit slow. I am not certain you have time to enjoy the full experience. You could instead walk to the market areas rather easily in 15-20 minutes or so, or take a taxi (tell the driver Hopewell Centre, #183 Queens Road East, this would be a good starting point. Directions to the Wan Chai markets from Hopewell Centre are below. A taxi would take about 5 minutes and cost about HK$20.).

If walking to the Wan Chai markets, the easiest way to get there is as follows. (Although not a scenic as going through the park, you can’t get lost this way). Once you get out of the tram, walk out the little access road, <i>keeping on the right side of the road</i>, for 20 yards or so until you come to the main road (there is a traffic light). Do not cross the street, instead turn right and walk downhill here along the right side of the main road. Go all the way downhill and turn right again. The huge Bank of China building will be on your right (gray glass with white banding). This is Queens Road. Walk along Queen’s Road (crossing a street at a light) past the High Court and Pacific Place Mall, and cross another street (no light) and walk under an underpass where you will cross another street (no light). You are now in Wan Chai. Walk for about 6-8 blocks. (Along the way at #51 is the excellent Sift bakery should you want/need a cupcake, or across and down the street at #106 is the equally good and more traditional Happy Cake Shop if you want to try a Pineapple Bun; they are not what you think but are excellent nonetheless. Or try an egg tart, which is a custard in a pastry shell.) There is a small temple on your right at about #127 this is worth a stop. Then walk a few more blocks until you come to a tall white round skyscraper on your right set back a bit from the street. This is the Hopewell Centre and is #183 Queens Road East. With the Hopewell Centre at your back, cross the street, turn right and walk a block or so looking for Spring Garden Lane on your left. Turn left down Spring Garden. This will take you into the heart of the market, when it intersects with Cross Street. (On the right just at the intersection is a shop selling incense, paper “hell money” and other offerings for the dead). Go right into Cross Street, which is pedestrian-only. There are 3 or 4 streets branching off here which are all worth a wander to see the butchers and live fish, etc. Wander around as long as you have time or inclination for. You want to either then go back out to Queen’s Road East or go in the other direction to Johnston Road (this is the street with the trams running along it). From either, take a taxi right to the airport, or take a taxi to the Hong Kong Airport Express station. (About 5-10 minutes to the train station by taxi.).

Rather than going to Wan Chai, another option would be to walk to Central and take in the markets in that area, including the Mid-Levels escalator. This would be about 15-20 minutes and would show you the downtown areas on the way. To get to Central and the escalator, from the Peak Tram bottom station, go out to the main road (there is a traffic light here and a water fountain on your left). Cross the street and turn right, crossing the street here as well, and continue downhill on the main road for a block. You will come to a driveway on the left, turn into it. This is St John’s Cathedral (wroth a quick peek, quite charming and on the only freehold land in Hong Kong). Continue on behind the church past the brick Court of Final Appeal to a pedestrian-only path (Battery Path), that will lead you downhill to intersect with busy Queen’s Road. Continue straight along Queen’s Road. This is the heart of the downtown business district and by lunch time will be heaving with people. Walk past the Landmark Mandarin Hotel and Harvey Nichols on your right, continue straight across the street at the corner where the Marks and Spencer is located on the left. You will cross another street and then after about 200-300 yards, will come to #100 Queens Road, where there is an entrance to the mid-levels escalator. I think I would skip this for now and leave it to the end, as you can take the escalator walkway down toward the Airport Express station. So walk past this building (you may notice the escalator overhead), and then start looking for a tiny pedestrian-only lane called Peel Street. Should be just past the V-Heun Building around #98 Queens Road. When you get to Peel Street go left and up this narrow street. This is one of the main market areas left in Central Hong Kong. Fruit, veg, butchers, incense sellers, little old ladies in pajamas out doing their shopping. You can take this up as far as you want, it will cross several other streets which you can also wander around. As you work you way uphill, it becomes increasingly gentrified and will be restaurants and boutiques.

At Hollywood Road, one of the busier cross streets, I would turn right. This is a street of antique shops and restaurants. Walk down about ¼ mile to the Man Mo Temple, which will be on your left. It is quite atmospheric. At this point, depending on your time, you may be able to pop in someplace like the Press Room, just down the street at #108, for a quick drink or bite, or any of the other restaurants on this street. If you are running late, hop a taxi right there to either the Airport Express Station, or right to the airport. Otherwise, if time permits, turn around and head back Hollywood until you come to the escalator (at about #32 which is Pure Fitness health club). Go up the stairs onto the escalator which runs above street level most all of the way up and down the hill. You can walk uphill/upstairs for a while if you have time, or head down hill (the escalator is in fact running uphill during the day, it only goes downhill until 10 am), but even going downhill, the ramps and overpasses make for easy walking and good people-watching in the streets below. Take the escalator all the way down to the end where you will pass through an odd little covered shop area (there is a7-11 and some shoe shops, this is the Central Market building) and then will cross over several major roads below you until you come to the glass doorways of the huge IFC Mall. This is where the Airport Express train station is located, follow signs. If you don’t want to take the Airport Express train to the airport, then at the entrance area to the IFC Mall, go toward the left to the Four Seasons hotel where you can get a taxi to the airport.

If it is raining and crummy, you still IMO should go at least to the Kowloon waterfront, as you will get a good view even in rain. Have breakfast inside at the Intercon. Then take the Star Ferry over and consider just doing the market walk in either Wan Chai or Central. Another option would be to go for a look at the view from Kowloon, take the Star Ferry over to the Hong Kong side, and then go for dim sum. The problem is that most places don’t serve that early, however the excellent Lock Cha Teahouse does start serving at 10 am. See http://www.lockcha.com/home/ Take a taxi (or the Peak Tram bus) to the bottom Peak Tram station, and walk, it’s a few minutes walk inside Hong Kong Park. All vegetarian dim sum made by monks in a very atmospheric setting, and hundreds of teas to choose from. The little Tea Ware Museum is interesting and certainly good for a rainy day. Perhaps when you finish, it will be clear and you can make a lighting run up to the Peak from there.

If you otherwise decide to have a dim sum lunch somewhere during your few hour layover, my strong advice on a weekday is to GET THERE BEFORE NOON, as otherwise it will be jammed and you don’t have the time to wait. 11:30 is a good time to go, as many places open then.

Lindafrompotch

Cicerone, i am printing your advice out and taking it with me, thank you for taking the time to give me such detailed advice.