Hi, On transit in Hong Kong Airport for 8 hours.. anything I can do for a short trip to Hong Kong Central? and How? Thanks!
It takes an hr to get to Central by Airport Express and back minus the waiting time. So you have around 6 hrs to go around central + causeway bay
Damn, that's barely even enough time to go down to Portland for a good time, LOL... But, if you gotta go: If you're into computer parts, go to the Mong Kok Computer Center, three stories of parts and gadgets. Or, you can load up on legit VCD or DVD discs, of US MOVIES for a little over a buck or two apiece. From my understanding, the US movies subtitled in Chinese are only allowed to be SOLD in the far east. But, there is no law to prevent you from bringing them back to view in the US. So you can get top quality DVDs of US movies (with Chinese subs but all original US soundtrack and English dialog) for dirt cheap. Mong Kok had plenty of these video outlets. Oh, and be careful with your wallet, passports etc. Mong Kok seems to have it's share of pickpockets. You don't want to miss your flight connection because you got your passport pinched at the last minute. Get yourself an internal plastic lined (against sweat) wallet. Leave an empty wallet in your back pocket as bait. ApLiu Street 鴨寮街 in Sham Shui Po for bargain electronics, BUT and that's a VERY big BUT, you absolutely HAVE to know what the hell you're buying, what it usually sells for in HK, and be able to do it in perfect Cantonese, or else you WILL get ripped off. ApLiu has the best third party battery store that I've ever seen. Just about every make of electronic battery is knocked off. I'm not sure if you even have to go all the way into Central, just a lot of office buildings if you ask me. Most of the fun is in Kowloon side. Frankly whenever I'm there I don't even bother with HK side unless I'm visiting relatives, LOL...
^Yo dont leave out NT, thats even closer to the airport, Tung Chung + Citygate, Tsuen Wan + Citywalk, Sha Tin
Personally, I like the Shum Shui Po area for the Golden Computer Arcade. Good deals on video game accessories. directbuyhk.com is a good place to shop for video games. Have been using that USB charger for the DS since I bought it 2 years ago.
wooo .. how often do ya'll travel to hk to know all that .. i only been there 3x for biz and each time, those folks just took me to the lady street for the dessert and some big ass malls in causebay whose names i don't even recall .. lol oh yeah, i remembered being treated like an arrogant bum who doesn't speak good chinese .. talking shit about me none stop when i was looking (not even trying them on) .... lol
I actually like that kinda treatment. Especially when I go to a store. Cuz the store clerk would be so thrown off with my fluent English that she'll beg her manager for help. Then when it hits her, I'll be speaking to the manager in Cantonese. And it works every frickin' time!
Yeah, HK'ers can be rather nasty and condescending if you're Chinese but don't speak a lick; they will literally laugh at you in your face and talk shit right in front of you, assuming that you won't understand. But sorry, 女人街 (Ladies Street) market is so played out. If you're into cheap clothes or underwear, and you have all the time in the world with no other place to go; then OK, it may be worth a stop. But not if you only have a few hours, I would avoid that place. The only saving grace about that area is that the very next block over (Gold Fish Street 金魚街) is the street that sells all sorts of aquarium or fish keeping supplies. They have some unique gadgets for aquariums if one has the time and is into that sort of thing (NB: keep in mind that you cannot bring back live animals or fish unless you have a license to do so, or else if caught, pay a hefty US fine AND have the animal confiscated and destroyed). LOL... No shit; I remember one time pretending not to speak Chinese to avoid having my shit rummaged through by a PRC customs officer when I went into Guangzhou. I started a stream of non stop English while "showing" him my stuff (it was infrared film that I didn't want xrayed) and he just waves me on to go ahead without putting it in the XRay machine. As I walked away, I overheard his partner asked (in Canto) "what did he say?" To which he replied (in Canto) "Fuck if I know..." >.< The officer just didn't want to suffer the embarrassment of being shown not to be able to speak English, so he let me bypass the inspection process. Human nature. This happened more than a few years ago, and I'm sure that most of the officers there now are much better trained and a lot more dedicated to their functions. But, in another incident, as I traveled from the PRC to HK, I noticed a HK immigration officer look at my US passport and ask me (in English) "American?" to which I replied without pause (in English) "Yup..." The officer was actually testing to see if I really understood and spoke English to ensure that my passport was genuine (ie that I was really a Chinese living overseas in the US, who is expected to understand at least some English, and not some local who fraudulently bought and used a passport blank). And to the OP: You may save time by pre-planning to take a taxi directly back to the airport from wherever you happen to be. That is, if you take the rail line to Central, don't bother to take the rail line back (as it requires you to be back at the station). Further, make sure that you negotiate first for a flat rate before getting in the taxi, or else the metered fare can be rip off expensive. The only potential hassle is traffic jam, or road accident, or rip off driver as disadvantages; the advantage is speed if you feel it worth the risk. Oh, and if you're into the sort of thing, the cat houses all have purple fluorescent lights over the doorways, BYOB (ie. bring your own bag because the local or Chinese brands carried by the girls are not that trustworthy). Temple Street 廟街 (aka unofficially now as Men’s Street 男人街 because of all the porn stuff being sold there) doesn't even get started until the early evening; the best time to go there is around 2200 - 2300 (10 or 11 PM).
Never been to Guangzhou but I can see that happening. I also noticed that nobody working in a Hong Kong McDonald's can speak a lick of English. Every time an English speaking person comes in and wants to order something, they have to point at the food they want in the menu. It's seriously annoying. It also appears the word "combo" will never compute with them. When they give me that confused look, I just get ticked off and replace it with "tou chan". And if worst comes to worst, I have to read the entire name of that combo. I still miss McDonald's chicken wings, though.
The one thing that I love about Muck Don Don is that it is so cheap relative to US McD's prices. I remember the sticker shock my sister in law had when she first came from HK to NY, and she went to McD's... In HK, typical meal averaged about HK$ 30. In NY, that same meal was also about $30, but USD. She nearly went through the roof the first time she ate there. :laugh: Yeah... them chicken wings. -worship
mcd chk wings .. never had them .. i don't remember eating at mcd since college .. and yeah, don't remember they deliver either .. wow .. hk mcd must be very different... @ ralph .. i don't know shit about hk so the client's office worker to show me and my colleagues around .. from what you wrote, i guess the worker took us to shitty places .. right? seriously though, do you get better treatment speaking english over there?? if so, i should just stick to english rather than broken chinese .. embarrassing and ppl actually thought i was chinese who can't speak the language when i am anything but chinese .. lol
I'll tell you a funny story vis a vis treatment based on language. One summer, me, Mrs Ralph, and all the little Ralphies and Ralphette went to HK with the supposed "plan" of living with Mrs Ralph's family. Huge mistake; their hearts were big but their place was woefully small. So after about three days into a month's worth of stay, we decided to hotel it for the rest of the time. Mrs Ralph, who was born in Shanghai, raised in HK, and speaks perfect Mando and Canto, called a hotel, spoke to them in Canto, and was told that they didn't have any openings for the dates we wanted. They were supposedly "booked solid" until the end of summer, was what she was informed. So after about a half hour, I decided to call back but this time, spoke to them in unaccented New York English, explained that we were already in HK but that our present accommodations fell through, and that we needed something very quickly for the remainder of our vacation (a little more than three weeks). As soon as I started speaking in English, I noted that I was transferred to another line, and the person spoke to me in typical ESL tonations, accented but nonethelss understandable English. She told me that it would be no problem whatsoever, upgraded us to a larger room, and even gave us a discount, LOL... I had to leave a credit card number for confirmation and verification, and they would see us the next morning. When we arrived the next morning, the desk help took one look (we are all Chinese and look every bit of it) and was wondering how we even got ourselves a room. As they searched their computer, I overheard one of them conclude that the reservation was made by "so and so" GING LAY, and they couldn't believe the price she gave us. The woman I later found out, was the overseas reservations executive. So apparently, some hotels rather have foreigners instead of Chinese. I also later spoke to some of my own relatives, who are actually very familiar with the general food, beverage and hotel trade in HK, and they were not surprised at all. They basically stated flat out that Chinese tourists are notorious for being cheap, don't buy shit, and expect everything without having to pay for it (they're known to never leave a tip and to even steal the toilet paper). Americans are known to be big spenders and tippers; what a hotel may lose in room charge, they more than make up for in salable hotel services and the tips keep employees happy. So yes, just speaking English does get you different treatment. As for being taken to a "shitty" place in HK, the Ladies Street market isn't what I would consider top tier tourist destination. However, it is simple, easy to get to, and fairly socially neutral, and it's in the tourist guide books. Further, if it was a client's worker that was detailed to "show the guests around" a bit; I'm sure it was someone low ladder, who got stuck with an shitty assignment that he'd rather not do. Corporate baby sitting is still baby sitting, and the guy probably decided to just show you folks something and get it over with. >.< *** Sidebar *** I also noticed that when you're in HK, when talking to the sales help, if you call the salesgirl or other female help "LANG NEUR" (aka Gorgeous Girl) they all seem to wet themselves and provide you better service. Yes, I know that's shallow but it works like a charm.
heheh...reminds me of a time where i left a tip at ajisen ramen in hong kong. ppl just lookin' at me weirdly. then they had to ask if i came from canada.in which i told them "yes" and that i was a regular at ajisen ramen as well. but seriously, ajisen ramen (hong kong) had so much more stuff in the menu compared to the ones in toronto.
i thought it was onnly KFC that delivers and not Mc dong dong :S @ OP if you like site seeing got to Lan Tau Island as it's pretty nearby but i think you need to take train and the cable cart to get there, there's the big buddha and a country park for you to go to if you like to go for a bit of shopping go to Tsing Yi or Tai Po as you can get direct trains from the airport to there, they will be places to eat and stuff there so retail therapy from there will be ok
