My wife’s sister moved to Hong Kong a few months ago with her husband and son. We will be going to visit them in early December for ten days. I would appreciate advice from anyone who has visited or who lives there. Thanks.
I spent a brief time here a few years ago with my wife and absolutely adored it.
Just mingle and immerse, you can’t avoid it so dive right in. Do all the touristy things. Star Ferry, happy valley, ocean park, Victoria peak, trams, underground, star ferry again, bank of china tower, HSBC building, Macau, etc etc etc.
and eat…then eat some more, then stop…then eat again.
Soak it up it is a wonderful, wonderful place.
Wow, thanks. Did you go to the mainland at all while you were there?
No, we didn’t get time but others I know have done and uniformly recommend exploring further than the Island and Kowloon.
I am officially jealous by the way. As soon as the kids are both over 5, we’re going back.
Green with envy, I am.
I loved the place, but wasn’t there terribly long, just passing through mostly. Still, I thought it was great!
I lived in HK for three years. Have been back every two years since. Was back there in March. I absolutely LOVE the place and spend every day wishing I lived there again.
I have written a short guide for friends visiting, that I’ve shared with a couple of dopers in the past. It mentions things that aren’t the typical touristy stuff - getting you away from the high rise and freneticism if you want. Feel free to PM me with your email address and I’ll send it to you, or ask any specific questions in this thread and I’ll attempt to answer them.
Regarding the mainland, you can do a day trip to Shenzhen on the KCR (rail service), walking across the border at Lo Wu - short visa on arrival. Or if you want to burn a couple of days you could take a train or catamaran up to Guangzhou, though I warn you it’s a dump (IMO).
You will be there long enough to get some custom suits and shoes made for 1/3 of the cost of the US. If you wear suits to work, I would get a few done while you are there - totally worth it.
I got one made at the very famous Sam’s Tailor and it is great. It cost me about $200 and included a very nice custom shirt. I would recommend you go into the arcades to find a respectable tailor, rather than respond to the touts that hang out in Tsimshatsui offering “suit suit tailor suit”. These people also offer fake watches, women and hash if you stand near them long enough.
I grew up in Hong Kong, and actually I’ve just returned from a trip visiting my parents there earlier this morning.
I’ll recommend getting an Octopus card. It’s a stored-value smart card used for paying for transits and for making payment for purchases in some convenience stores. It’s going to make your life a lot easier. You can probably get the tourist version, which provides free rides for a number of days, though I’m not sure on the details.
Definitely explore the non-touristy and non-expat areas and check out how the locals live. Try eating in the food court of a local shopping mall or a cha chaan teng if you’re adventurous.
I’ve sent you my email address in a PM. Concerning the visa for a mainland visit, is that something we can do on the spot, or do we need to apply before we leave the US?
Second getting the octopus card. Also you could try having breakfast at the Peninsula, it was pretty good. And the skyline will be lit up with lasers everyday at 20:30, so if you get to the area around the ferry terminal to Macau (Mainland side), its pretty cool to watch.
Well it seems I gave you incorrect information - though most nationalities can get a 5-day visa on the border, the situation is different for US citizens.
However, the good news is you can get your visa in Hong Kong, with a 1-3 day turnaround depending on how much you want to pay. Here’s details of where to do it - though you may just want to contact them a few weeks before you travel to make sure that US citizens get the same service as everyone else in this office too (I’m fairly sure they do as there are thousands of Americans living in Hong Kong who travel to China regularly).
It’s a great city to wander in. I lived there 5 years, and visited monthly on business for the past few years. you can do most of the tourist shit in just a day if you try. Best part of HK is just wandering around the neighborhoods, doing the night market (where is it? Jordan?), take the tram all the way out somewhere, jump off and eat, and take the tram back to central.
You can also take a boat to China. Not sure what it’s like now, but Americans used to be able to get a special tourist visa to Shenzhen at the border. But only good for Shenzhen (Shenzhen has an internal border with the rest of China and so you can’t pass that).
Take a ferry to one of the outlying islands like Cheung Chau, wander, eat and take the boat back.
Again, my favorite stuff is to just wander. Most of HK is very safe.