HONGKONG TRIP

I have to accompany my wife to her business trip to Hongkong recently; so we let our daughter tag along as she has never been to Hongkong.

Tip 1:  Upon arrival at the Hongkong airport, convert your money to HKG dollars at the airport if you don't have any HKG dollars with you to pay for taxi or the Airport express, BUT only the money you need for transport out of the airport.  I later found out that the money changers in the city proper buy US dollars at a higher exchange rate (+10% more vs. airport's).

Tip 2:  The airport is so far from the city.  If you want to save on transport going to Hongkong Island or Kowloon from the airport (and you don't have much to carry), better use the Airport Express trains.  Very convenient, fast, and cheaper than taxi. 

We planned to take the Airport Express train to Hongkong station.  So we bought tickets for three passengers at the ticket counter just right after the immigration area.  Ask if there are discounts for group fare.  We got ours for HKD210 for a single-journey ticket for 3; this ride normally costs HKD100 per person, if you are not in a group.  We carried our luggages into the train, got off at the Hongkong station, and took the Airport Express Shuttle bus to our hotel.  

Tip 3:  There are several shuttle bus routes, so make sure that you take the right bus number.  The bus moves around certain hotels, to bring passengers to and from hotels in the route.

Commuting via the Hongkong MTR trains takes a while to get used to.  We have to read the maps inside the train station to know which train to take, and which ticket to buy.  One thing good is that we can be guided by just reading the easy-to-understand maps...find out which direction we want to go and follow the sign which shows the last train stop.  Once we get to your station destination, we read the map on the walls  to find the exit code for the street where we wanted to go (example exit A5 for Nathan Road).

On our first day, I brought my daughter to the Kowloon side.  We walked to the Avenue of the Stars where we saw the hand prints of Chinese movie stars (I only know Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan and Jet Li among the prints on the floor).

We went shopping in Tsim Sha Tsui on the Kowloon side, and Central in Hongkong Island.

Tip 4:  Make sure that you know the exact model number of the item that you plan to buy, and check the internet for prices, or check the price locally before you go to Hongkong.  Otherwise, you might end up paying a lot more for the item if you don't have any idea how much it really is (stores can display prices which can be hundreds of dollars more than the normal price).  Know how to haggle.  Check the other stores for prices of the same item.  Read the tips on the internet for bargaining in Hongkong (e.g. http://gohongkong.about.com/od/shoppinginhk/a/bargaining_hk.htm )

Tip 5:  If you are on a budget but want to try authentic Chinese food, go to the smaller streets and look for a restaurant where the local Hongkongese eat.  On one evening, we found a very small resto, probably with only 5 tables, packed with local folks who just came from work.  There was no menu in English, but there were photos of the food to order.  I just caught a glimpse of what the other tables are having, and ordered them.  My daughter loved the noodle soup, and she can never forget that experience.