Talk to me about Hong Kong

[wise_rita]

What's there to do/see? Is the ferry to Macau really only an hour or two?

I know nothing about this place but we're most likely going over New Years. I'll take any information you have to give me!

TIA!

[wanderlustfoodie]

I really like Hong Kong.

Food recs:
afternoon tea at the Peninsula
Hutong - great view of the harbor - request a window table
Bo Innovation - molecular gastronomy tasting menu
Lung King Heen - 3-Michelin star restaurant in Four Seasons - stupendous.
Felix - another place with good food and a great view

sights:
take the MTR to Lantau then the cable car to the huge buddha, so fun. also visit the po lin monastery

Tram to Victoria Peak

ride the Star Ferry

Take the escalators: central to mid-level - these aren't described in many guidebooks, a friend who used to live in HK told us about them.

night market

Macau
Very easy and short ferry ride. Recommend it just for the spectacle. Lisboa Hotel and Grand Lisboa Hotel are interesting to see. Very different from Vegas (if you've been)

[basilosaurus]

Yes, the ferry is only about an hour, and it was the highlight of my week in HK. Once you get to Macau, you can take one of the free shuttles to the casinos. Tip: if you're going to the Venetian to see Cirque, check beforehand to make sure it's actually playing that day. Ask me how I know!

The Grand Lisboa is the casino that's basically in the heart of the very neat old town. I just walked everywhere else from there (so much cool architecture and temples). They also have a few michelin restaurants in the casino. I tried one, Italian IIRC. Except it was very much Chinese influenced Italian. Really interesting and excellent in its own way, but definitely not authentic. Across the street is and old traditional Portuguese place. I think it was the officer's club or something like that. Great food.

HK for me was about eating western food. I visited while living in Korea, so I was eating everything in sight that wasn't Asian influenced, mostly from the mid-levels. I had the best risotto ever and the best spiced wine. There's also a L'Atelier in that general area. So I can't help much with a proper HK experience if you want dim sum or duck recs (I don't eat much meat, which was partly why I sought out more Mediterranean type places).

Definitely the tram to Victoria peak. Honestly, it wasn't amazing, but you still have to do it.

I think what I liked most was the gondola to Lantau to see the huge buddha.

Oh, also, wander through the spice part of town. I forget what it's called, but it was really quite an experience of sights and smells.

There was also a chop alley nearby where I got some stuff for H with his Chinese name in his favorite old style calligraphy. It makes for a pretty cool and relatively inexpensive souvenir, although be aware that if you're doing an English name, they'll just phonetically translate it which only matters if you ever intend to use them in a Chinese setting.

[wise_rita]

Great info. Thanks!

Keep it coming.

[GilliC]

GilliC's C&P info about Hong Kong & Macau:

HONG KONG

Hong Kong is a very modern-looking city with a wide array of architecturally interesting skyscrapers. With limited space and lots of hills, some of these buildings are amazing, rising over 20 stories out of the smallest, most precipitous spot of land you can imagine.

The British influence can be easily recognized in street and place names as well as the decidedly British accent in public announcements and even by some English-speaking Chinese residents. Additionally, the British rule helped protect Hong Kong from the Chinese Cultural Revolution, which means that Hong Kong still has a lot of traditional Chinese culture that is missing in mainland China. For example, the temples in Hong Kong are much more ornate than those on the mainland.

The Chinese dialect spoken is Cantonese. Many people speak English, especially in tourist and shopping districts, and some are absolutely impeccable. However, many of the people in more traditionally Chinese or remote areas speak much less or even none.

Hotels in Hong Kong tend to be quite expensive. There are a lot of guesthouses for budget travelers, and while they can be a bargain, they're often extremely small and some are of dubious reputation, so be sure to do some research first.

When we went, we stayed near Causeway Bay, and really enjoyed the area. It's a very commercial shopping district, so there were plenty of restaurant options, and the stores stay open reasonably late, so we felt quite safe walking around in the evening. Although it's not the most central location, the MTR provided quick and convenient access to the rest of the city. Many people stay on the Kowloon side, but I actually felt that it was more convenient to be on Hong Kong Island, since more of the sights we wanted to see were on Hong Kong proper.

I highly recommend picking up an Octopus card, which is the local prepaid cash card. It can be swiped to conveniently use any of the public transportation (at a discount), even the ferries on the remote islands. Additionally, most vending machines and shops in the MTR stations accept it as a form of payment, as do many convenience stores.

As for things to do/see...
- Take the Peak Tram up to Victoria Peak for a fantastic view over the city. Try to do this on a clear day if you're lucky enough to get one.
- Ride the Star Ferry between Hong Kong Island and Tsim Sha Tsui if it's running. Despite its long history, the city has been considering closing the ferry and has, I believe, reduced service in the last few years.
- Walk along the Tsim Sha Tsui waterfront for the view of Hong Kong Island, and check out the campy Avenue of the Stars to stand in the footprints of Jackie Chan or Bruce Lee. In the evening, check out the world-famous light show.
- Wander around Central to see the impressive skyscrapers and elevated sidewalk system that weaves its way in and out of surrounding buildings.
- Dine at a good authentic Dim Sum restaurant, and marvel at the artistry and variety.
- Take a stroll through some of the more traditionally Chinese shopping districts near Central. See the traditional Chinese medicine shops and interesting food markets. Also, go visit the attractive Man Mo Temple.
- Head to the southern side of Hong Kong Island for a different perspective. Check out Stanley Market and Aberdeen, where you can hire a sampan for a boat tour around the harbor and then dine at one of the massive floating restaurants. Unless you're queasy about seeing your food while it's still alive, opt to head downstairs to the tanks and pick out your own seafood when you order.
- Spend an evening bar-hopping or people-watching in the popular nightlife district of Lan Kwai Fong.
- Ride from Central to Mid-Levels on the escalators. Check out the shops and cafes that line the steps as you walk back down (the escalator only runs one way, so it only heads down during morning rush hour).
- The popular Temple Street Night Market sells a wide range of knick-knacks, sundries, and junk. Don't forget to haggle.
- Visit Lantau Island to see the giant Buddha - the largest seated outdoor bronze Buddha in the world.
- Consider a daytrip to Macau, which is easily reached in about an hour by express ferry. The Portuguese influence is incredibly apparent in the old town, which is much more like Lisbon than China. Learn about the history and culture by exploring the fantastic Museu de Macau. And for a more modern view, check out the Vegas-style casinos.
- To see the quieter side of Hong Kong, hop a ferry to one of the small outlying islands. In December it's a bit cold for the beach, but the small fishing villages are quite a contrast to the bustling city downtown!
- Skip Hong Kong Disneyland, unless you're a die-hard Disney fan. The Disney-themed MTR trains on the extension line are unique, but aside from the snack food and one or two characters in Chinese dress, there's nothing to distinguish the small park from those in other parts of the world.

I highly recommend picking up a guidebook with a few walking tours. Or check out and print the ones at Frommers.com One of the best ways to experience Hong Kong is just to walk the streets, and a guided walk will help you see some of the most interesting areas in a limited time.


MACAU


The Macau Museum is pretty good. It has some interesting exhibits on the old sea trading routes and how it ended up in the hands of Portugal.

Also, the old town is great to walk around. It has a very distinctly Portuguese feel to it, which is quite different if you've traveled around China or even the traditional Chinese areas of Hong Kong. If you've been to Portugal, you'll notice some amazing similarities in atmosphere and architecture, which is kind of bizarre since you're halfway around the world!

If you're into casinos, there are tons to choose from, and Macau is trying to compete with Vegas in the huge themed casino department. They're not quite there yet, though. We didn't go in, but we had a nice time walking along the main casino strip at night when they were all lit up. There's one that's designed like an old Chinese castle and even one that's shaped like a volcano! I think there are also some clubs/restaurants around that area as well, but we were on a day trip from HK and had to ferry back.

We headed out to one of the beaches for a short visit and some seafood. It was January, so there wasn't much swimming, but it was funny to see the Hong Kong businessmen who'd come over for some gambling out there exploring the beach in business suits. One of my favorite photos is of a startled guy in a nice suit jumping back from a surprise wave!

Oh, and try the green wine! It's a specialty of Macau! Technically, it's just a variety of white wine and isn't all that green, but it's an interesting novelty! You've had white wine, and you've had red wine, but have you ever had green wine?

And finally, I didn't think the Macau Tower was anything special. While the sky walk around the top looked interesting, it's really expensive. XH did the jump off the top, which was also expensive. He enjoyed it, but I don't know that he felt it was actually worth what he paid.

[GilliC]

Oh, PS specific to New Year's...

There are a bunch of celebrations for New Year's. The filthy-rich expats seem to get all dolled up and go down for the midnight firing of the Noon Day Gun (which only fires at noon on all other days). We figured that since we were never around at noon, we would go see the special New Year's midnight event. Meh. Boring.

Then we decided to try to go to Times Square (shopping center in Causeway Bay, where I think they were doing something festive). Everything within 3 blocks was mobbed, and we couldn't really get anywhere.

My choice would be to head over to Lan Kwai Fong for the big parties, and go early. This is where we ended up after midnight, and it was still lively and boisterous. They had blocked off parts of the street to control pedestrian traffic earlier, and they were just starting to open the area back up when we showed up around 1am. It was still crowded and still had a great party atmosphere.

[travelingturtle]

We stayed in the Tsim Sha Tsui area and there was a ton of shopping and dining, not a lot of sites. We were near Nathan Road.

I wasn't in Hong Kong too long, but I'd agree with everything GilliC said and add to go to a hotpot restaurant, those are fun.

[wise_rita]

GilliC FTW! Thanks!

[Deleted]

I haven't been to Macaw for years, an the thought of all the casinos turns me off the idea now, but the portuguese influenced chinese food was amazing!

GillC has pretty much covered everything, but if you're looking for food recs (the Yum Cha place we went to was amazing and very local - on HKI I think on Wellington St above a cake shop) and other ideas you can check out my blog aroundtheworldwithrebecca.blogspot.com.au/search/label/Hong%20Kong

[basilosaurus]

Aug 23, 2012 17:18:22 GMT -5 @maggie78 said:

I haven't been to Macaw for years, an the thought of all the casinos turns me off the idea now, but the portuguese influenced chinese food was amazing!

While there are definitely plenty of casinos, they're not in the old town area. I started at the Lisboa, but I didn't see another casino all day in all my walking. It didn't feel at all like vegas.

Plus, they're developing Cotai to have the new huge casinos like the Venetian, and that's something like a 20 minute drive away.