Mak

Hello,

we ( A couple with 5 year old Kid ) will be making a short Trip to
Hong Kong towards November end. I have 2 days and 2 nights to spend in
Hong Kong. Wanted to solicit your inputs to make best use of the
available short time.

1) Which is the best place to stay , so that it would be
convenient/safe to move around ( Less time Travelling ), has english
speaking staff and economical as well. One place I was considering
was YMCA Salisbury ( Pardon my spelling ). Can you share your good/bad
experience staying there. If we decide to stay there, what kind of
room should we book there. I heard rooms are very small there?

2) Which are the best places to see (The ones that NONE shouldn't
miss, e.g. Golden Gate in San Francisco OR Statue of Liberty in NY ) ?
How to visit them given this short time , should we go with arranged
tour or go on our own? Which are the good Tour operators?

Your input will be highly appreciated.

Thanks
Mak

Rak

"MAK" wrote in message
news:2d987890.0210221715-
[email protected]...
    > Hello,
    > we ( A couple with 5 year old Kid ) will be making a short Trip to
    > Hong Kong towards November end. I have 2 days and 2 nights to spend in
    > Hong Kong. Wanted to solicit your inputs to make best use of the
    > available short time.
    > 1) Which is the best place to stay , so that it would be
    > convenient/safe to move around ( Less time Travelling ), has english
    > speaking staff and economical as well. One place I was considering
    > was YMCA Salisbury ( Pardon my spelling ). Can you share your good/bad
    > experience staying there. If we decide to stay there, what kind of
    > room should we book there. I heard rooms are very small there?

Never stayed there (but I intend to); a great location with one of the best
views in HK if you get a harbourside room (which I think cost more).
I think their web site gives rates and rooms sizes etc.
Hotels are generally much cheaper on Kowloon side than the island.

    > 2) Which are the best places to see (The ones that NONE shouldn't
    > miss, e.g. Golden Gate in San Francisco OR Statue of Liberty in NY ) ?
    > How to visit them given this short time , should we go with arranged
    > tour or go on our own? Which are the good Tour operators?

- The Kowloon ferry ride to HK island from just near the YMCA. Very cheap!
- The tram ride on the island up to the Peak - try to go when it is not
cloudy. Departure point within walking distance of the ferry.
- Aberdeen harbour more or less on the other side of the island. This is
where films are made with gangsters leaping between boats. There are many
floating restaurants, but I have never tried them Probably there are package
trips including a meal on a boat. Regular buses go there from near the ferry
terminal on the island.
- The mid-levels area on the island is interesting. Very congested narrow
roads and alleys on a steep hillside, with an outdoor escalator to get you
up and down
- The view of HK Island from Kowloon, anywhere around the YMCA. Especially
good at night.
- Markets and back streets of Kowloon.
- A day trip into China is also good (Shezhen and Giangzhao) is good but a
whole day is too much in the time you have available.
- The horse races (Happy Valley racetrack on the island, most days I think),
are fun.
- a ferry ride to one of the quieter island is good. e.g. Lantau Island with
a bus ride to the giant Buddha at the top.
- Be brave and try cheap local restaurants in Kowloon

Never tried tour operators except for the China trip, so can't really
comment, but you can do most things yourselves without a tour.
Local transport is OK - buses and the subway are good. Taxis are not too
expensive but get your destination written in Chinese, the drivers are
usually hopeless at English. Do not use taxis to get between Kowloon and the
island - the ferry is much nicer and much cheaper, also the subway is OK.


Roger

Ica1973

Hi!

I will be at Hong-Kong for 2 weeks (last of november, first of december). After looking a lot, I have choosen, for the first week the YMCA, I think is very complet, price is reasonable, it is close of the Tourist Information, and the underground. I booked a weekly package, directly from internet:

http://www.ymcahk.org.hk/sales/html/hst001e.htm

and for the second week the "Empire hotel" in Wanchai (Hong-Kong island) (my boss pays this one ;-) )

Here you can find a lot of things to see:
http://webserv1.discoverhongkong.com/eng/index.jsp

All the trips are from Kowloon (where is the YMCA)
(we have never been in Hong Kong)

We plan to see in Lantau (in one day)
the village of Tai O and the Po Lin Monastery (where there is the world's largest seated, outdoor bronze Buddha)

(in one day)
In the south of the Hong-Kong island there are a lot of beautilful beaches.

(in one day)
Macau

(in one day)
Hong Kong city...view from the peak

hope this help you! you can contact me for further information!

Peter L

The Y is a great place to stay. Great location.

Things to do and see: ride the Star ferry across the harbor. Ride Peak
Tram up to Victoria Peak. Ride the Hong Kong trams, probably the cheapest
public transportation in the world. Visit the Temple Street night market,
and get a bowl of snake stew at one of the snake restaurants near by. Eat
at all kinds of other restaurants.

Visit the HK Tourist Association web site. They have all kinds of
suggestions.


"MAK" wrote in message
news:2d987890.0210221715-
[email protected]...
    > Hello,
    > we ( A couple with 5 year old Kid ) will be making a short Trip to
    > Hong Kong towards November end. I have 2 days and 2 nights to spend in
    > Hong Kong. Wanted to solicit your inputs to make best use of the
    > available short time.
    > 1) Which is the best place to stay , so that it would be
    > convenient/safe to move around ( Less time Travelling ), has english
    > speaking staff and economical as well. One place I was considering
    > was YMCA Salisbury ( Pardon my spelling ). Can you share your good/bad
    > experience staying there. If we decide to stay there, what kind of
    > room should we book there. I heard rooms are very small there?
    > 2) Which are the best places to see (The ones that NONE shouldn't
    > miss, e.g. Golden Gate in San Francisco OR Statue of Liberty in NY ) ?
    > How to visit them given this short time , should we go with arranged
    > tour or go on our own? Which are the good Tour operators?
    > Your input will be highly appreciated.
    > Thanks
    > Mak

Mak

Thank you very much to all of you . I got very nice tips.

few more thing to ask.

We're Vegetarian and don't eat any meat. Eag is fine. What are our
choices around YMCA and also any other chinese Veg. Restaurants in
Hong Kong.?

Can we visit, Lantau ( Sitting Buddha in half day. i.e. Leaving Noon
and come back in the evening. How long is the Bus/Ferry ride to this
site?

Thanks again

Peter L

"MAK" wrote in message
news:2d987890.0210240553.-
[email protected]...
    > Thank you very much to all of you . I got very nice tips.
    > few more thing to ask.
    > We're Vegetarian and don't eat any meat. Eag is fine. What are our
    > choices around YMCA and also any other chinese Veg. Restaurants in
    > Hong Kong.?

There should be plenty of vegetarian choices in HK. All Chinese restaurants
have vegetarian dishes. They are also used to having Budhists monks eating
there. So just make sure they know you are vegetarians (don't use lard or
chicken stock, for example).
    > Can we visit, Lantau ( Sitting Buddha in half day. i.e. Leaving Noon
    > and come back in the evening. How long is the Bus/Ferry ride to this
    > site?

Easy. Although right now there is a dispute between the temple where the
Buddha is and the HK government. So they are closing down the place for a
week. You can ride either the Ferry or a bus to this site.

From your hotel, walk towards the Star Ferry Terminal (about 15 minutes
walk). There you'll find the office of the HK Tourist Association. You can
get all kinds of tourist information and maps and get all your questions
answered there.

    > Thanks again