A quick 4 day dash and you can see a lot in this city. Hong Kong has one of the most high-tech and efficient subway systems ever! Once you mind the vague stint of pollution in the air, you become captivated by all the tall skyscrapers, high-end department stores, and very well spoken locals (fluent in English). Once your there, buy an “Octopus card”. Much like an ATM Card, this prepaid card also gives you access to the subway. Unlike Toronto as well, fares for the city is charged by distance and not a flat rate. This makes riding public transport much cheaper if your only doing shorter runs.
Accommodations can be vary and be quite expensive depending on your wiliness to pay as well. I’ve been told that the YMCA has cheap (not in quality but only in price) rooms right in the heart of the city, so you don’t have to “waste-time” getting around. Another good word of advice is that if you’re flexible in proximity to where you want to stay, you can checkout priceline.com. Much like eBay, but only for hotels, you set your bid on neighboring hotels. We were able to luck out and save half the cost of a regular rate at the Marriott Courtyard Hotel in Central. Since Hong Kong was under the British influence for so long, this is probably the best place to go to as “training wheels” for Asia. There are so many ex-pats (aka White people…lol) everywhere it’s ridiculous. As we ventured into Soho (which also has the longest and tallest escalator I’ve ever been on, I could have sworn that I forgot I was in Asia and was in New York City or downtown Toronto. If you want to check out the “Vegas” of Hong Kong, then you can take a quick ferry ride via TuboJet to Macau.
Don’t forget to bring your passport with you as there are immigration and customs officers you need to clear…despite being the same country?!? Anyways we went during the day and it wasn’t as exotic as I was hoping it would be. Don’t bother hiring a taxi from the port to get you into the city either, there are so many Casino Hotel buses hawking at tourists, that you can take one of the buses for free instead. For some great sight-seeing take the tram up to the peak and you’ll be sure to catch a great view, just be sure to sit on the right side of the streetcar and you can see both sides of the Island. Although I never made it, there is also the daily 8:15pm laser light show any tourist should check out. Apparently if you go by the water around this time, the buildings light up in unison and there’s suppose to be a great 15min light show…very picturesque. 
Here are some words about the High Tea experience. Every afternoon around 3pm, locals/tourists participate in a tea-time (like brunch but in-between Lunch and Dinner instead). The Four Seasons Hotel as well as the Peninsula Hotel is supposed to be the more reputable places for the most authentic experience. Served on a 3 level tray of specialty sandwiches with a select variety of tea-blends and desserts, this surely will whisk your taste buds and pallet. Just be prepared to pay up… the average cost of this “mid-day” lunch was about $35 to $40USD. Many people rationalize that they will spend the extra dollar while traveling b/c it may (or may not be) a lifetime experience. Some advice if you do decide to partake on the high-tea experience would be to go on a weekend as their “lunch buffet” is included and is all you can eat. Lastly, while most of Asia is like this already… if you want the best price for something, barter for it. There are many night markets the area that sells a variety of touristy goods, clothing, and other paraphernalia (cell phones, stun-guns, throwing knives, etc). Locals are very well aware that tourists pay much more for the equivalent goods back home and will have no problem charging you a price that is somewhat marginally lower. The reality is, most of the stuff you think is real that your buying is probably not and was probably made around the corner from where you are buying it from. What ever they offer, offer half that cost and settle for somewhere in-between.
No comments:
Post a Comment