Place to go to in Hong Kong?

An acquaintance of mine will under take a trip to Hong Kong soon, and she asked me if there are any places to go to there. Since I have never been to Hong Kong, while a lot of the members here have been to Hong Kong, I would like to hear your opinions. Thank you.

Here's some tourist info for Hong Kong;









Those should get you started..Check this thread over the next few days. I'm sure someone will give you some good recent insight.

Well as a person who regularly visits here to meet family, i can recommend some places to stay.

As far as hotels go i recommend the JW Marriot whcih i've stayed in many times, service is reliable and friendly and has an excellent location, being situated in the centre of Admiralty, having direct access to Pacific Place, a major shopping centre and an MTR station.

What specifically is your friend looking for though?

Cultural sites? Food? Amusement?

Hotel accomadation, If your friends travelling on a budget 3star Hotels in Hong Kong can be pretty marginal/ compared to say Singapore, there they are pretty good, according to my son. Some of those budget places have several classes like 2 star 3 star, so be careful they aren't chucking you in a two star room when youve paid for 3.

Anyway unless youve got friends and going out yahooing everynight, HK can get a bit boring after several days. I dont like the place personally, but popping across to Macau is interesting, while those daytrips into China are so so. If your friends a male ,I reckon picking up a Tailor made suit is worthwile, but do that early in the trip.

Girls love shopping, and Hong Kong is shopping haven, Kowloon, Hong Kong Island are full of shopping places.

Relax at Stanley (Hong Kong Island), spend evevning and night time at the Stars Avenue at Victoria harbour, enjoy the sea breezes, Take the Star Ferry Harbour Tour. Then there is the Disneyland, The Ocean Park, The Peak (take a tramp up), Go to the Buddhist Temple at Po Lin (see the huge sitting Buddha), the Taoist Temple at Wong Tai Tsin etc.

Also, Macau (go by turbo-jet ferry) and Shenzhen (go by train) are just next door, do spend a few days there.

Usually upon arrival at Hong Kong Airport, next to the Customs/Immigrations counters you can find free updated maps and many useful printed materials, including shopping, sight seeing, modes of transportation, hotels etc.

Is she by chance interested in sports? She can go watch any of the events at the on-going East Asian Games. If she's interested in soccer, she can go for the final soccer match between Hong Kong and Japan . Believe it or not, Hong Kong beat the South Koreans and DPRK to reach the final.

Girls love shopping, and Hong Kong is shopping haven, Kowloon, Hong Kong Island are full of shopping places.

Click to expand...

True enough! In 2003 my ex-wife and myself took a trip to Singapore. She spent so much money shopping. We had to mail a good portion of her purchases back to the US.

Hong Kong is also great for shopping.

Thank you guys for the input, I forgot to mention, she currently lives in Shenzhen, I think she will be running on a pretty tight budget, and I doubt that she will be very interested in the very commercial aspects of the city, so I guess, maximum amount of culture for minimum cost.

I cautious heads up, their is a street full of women designer clothes and women designer shoes in Hong Kong. So if you don't want to carry bags all day and be mindlessly bored, steer clear from these streets ^^

(First hand horror experiance with this I have)

Sorry, but my post is kinda all over the place and really long.
----
So more on history and culture….

Tourist Attractions:
Standard:
-Tsim Sha Tsui waterfront.
-Central Waterfront (Where the Golden Flower Plaza and the Showcase Complex is)
-When getting to HKI from Kowloon (or vice versa) do take the Star Ferry at least once. It is a must do. Historic, nice ride, and cheap. (Do be careful that HK public transportation, while efficient, is very expensive!!!)

-If budget permits, do go to the Peak, the Hill Tram is very scenic and unique and pretty. The Peak is scenic but it has not much else I am afraid. At $31 the Tram is 1 of the most expensive PTs in HK excluding to-Airport services, but if she has the money, I would recommend it since it sounds like this is her 1st time there.
Also, on the way up hill from the Financial District to the Tram Station, you will pass by the Bank of China Tower, which is architecturally and engineering-ly pioneering and significant, and designed by a Cantonese at that. It is the building with an external triangular frame built on 45 degree slope on the side of the road.

-A lot of the government buildings in HKI (basically all government buildings are in HKI) are actually old British era buildings from way back where, so the Parliament building might be of interest. A good cooling spot also. The Court of Final Appeal is old and across the street and a couple steps up if I am correct, but I doubt she would be interested. HSBC HQ also next door. (These are within walking distance of Bank of China Tower, if the heat permits.)

(If she goes on a Sunday, she might notice that a lot of foreign workers(i.e. maids) would overtake and occupy the local park benches)

If she is interested, she could go to Chung Ying Street (in Sha Tau Kok) on the border, BUT BE SURE TO READ UP FIRST if she is going there. This is a part of HK that is far away from other parts and since it’s on the border and all…..

There are the Bridges of Tsing Ma and Jing Gau, but those are outside the urban areas and there are no good vista points accessible by bus that I know of, so unless you are going on the bridge to Lantau (Island, the one where the Airport is) or Yuen Long, it's probably better to just get a postcard, if you can find one in HK.

-Cultural/Historical

-If culture is what she want to see, then Lantau has Tai O, which is a fishing village that pretty much avoided all the modern developments because it is so far from Victoria Harbour. It represents the pre-Brit HK pretty well. They are known for their preserved seafoods like dried oysters and salted fish but the shrimp paste takes the cake- if she is accustomed to the stench. The food there is pretty good, unlike other parts of HK. Access: from Tung Chung (satellite town next to the Airport), you can take the bus but the ferry should be a much better idea *hint*Just check the map and you'll see why.*hint*

-Tung Chung, via a gondola, also gives access to Ngon Ping, which is where the Big Buddha is located.

-Cheung Chau is known for their Man Tau hill festival, but I think that just passed.

-Back in Kowloon, there is a nightly market at Temple Street (aka Man Street.)

ONE MYTH ABOUT HONG KONG FOOD: They are nowhere as good as advertised. Most eateries are really really mediocre…. I am not kidding. For good food, go to the rural areas. You might find good(and relatively cheap) food in the mixed eateries on top of open air markets, but formal restaurants are, a lot of times, not great.

If she seeks nature there is Mai Po Marches and HK Wetland Park......

Hong Kong has Ocean Park and Disneyland, although people say Disneyland is really small and Ocean Park has downgraded since the '97 Storm, neither of which I think would be on her mind nor her budget.

----
If she does decide to shop... for designer clothing you go to Hong Kong Island like what people have said. I have never been to Stanley, but Causeway Bay has a lot of shopping. (If she goes w/ a boy to Causeway, I do feel VERY sorry for him.) Tai Koo has some also. Shopping Centers in Kowloon aren't bad either. The stuff in Kowloon on the streets is a little cheaper, not necessarily designer clothing, but still good if you know where to look. Mong Kok in general. Nathan Road, and there is a number of side streets also known for bazaar style shopping (On Choy Gai aka Woman Street), but I doubt those would impress.

DO NOT BUY STUFF IN TSIM SHA TSUI however, notorious for fake items.