Hong Kong! Recommendations?

[Big J]

Hi guys!

Heading back to China next week to tie up some loose-ends from last year, but arranged a 36 hour stop-over on the way in HK with Mrs. Big J.
Booked The Langham for overnight and Afternoon Tea, and The Peninsula for dinner, but any other tips for something to entertain a Lounger and his wife?
If not, Mrs. Big J is getting the Bruce Lee movie location tour, and she's not happy about it!

 

[Justhandguns]

It really depends on what you want to see. Heard that there is currently a heat wave going on there, be prepare to have Tees and shorts.

If you are staying at the Langham at Tsim Sha Tsui, you can easily take a ferry to the island side, maybe going up to the Peak via the cable car?

 

[thor]

HK has a great maritime history museum; it's in the same building as the Star Ferry terminal. And if you have the time, check out the shops and super bargain prices at Stanley Market. I bought a brand new Eddie Bauer Gore-Tex jacket there for about $20 US. Have a great time!

 

[Cyber Lip]

Do Lantau (I think that's right) Island with the giant Buddha. Plan it so that you ride the ferry back at dusk or night to see the city all lit up. Also, the Temple Street night market can be fun. The city is one giant shopping mall, so unless shopping is your thing, walking around the city is not that much fun.

 

[Sloan1874]

Hi guys!

Heading back to China next week to tie up some loose-ends from last year, but arranged a 36 hour stop-over on the way in HK with Mrs. Big J.
Booked The Langham for overnight and Afternoon Tea, and The Peninsula for dinner, but any other tips for something to entertain a Lounger and his wife?
If not, Mrs. Big J is getting the Bruce Lee movie location tour, and she's not happy about it!

I see absolutely nothing wrong with any of these ideas.

 

[handymike]

If you can, a helicopter tour is really amazing... go at sunset to get both day and evening views. I also like the giant escalator, and the Star ferry is a must. Have a great time!

 

[Big J]

Thanks for all the help guys! My wife will be relieved.

@Justhandguns, heat wave? Aghh! Sounds terrible. I'll be taking Tees and shorts for the China proper leg, so no problem, but wearing linen suit at the hotels for afternoon tea and dinner since the dress code is 'smart casual' (I don't mind, I almost never get the chance to wear them and make believe that I'm in a cool 60's Italian movie), but 'smart casual' is the most useless, uninformative dress code in the world, that mostly leaves me laughing at how badly other people interpret it. I guess it's just a 'posh' way of saying 'no jeans, no sneakers'. I'd rather spend the whole time in my Game Of Death yellow tracksuit. I am indeed staying at that Langham, so a ferry trip could be a good idea.

@thor, I'd love to look at the Maritime history museum, but I reckon my wife would much prefer the shopping part!

@Cyber Lip, nice tip! A night market is just what I'm after! Some street food, and the HK city vibe! My wife laps up shopping. And a dusk ferry ride has the right kind of mood for romance, nice.

@Sloan, Ha! Yes! My original plan was totally SOLID, but my wife shot it down in flames. I still think I ought to wear the yellow tracksuit the whole time though, heat wave or not!

@handymike, the helicopter ride is a really neat idea! If I was gonna propose, I'd do it! But we're already married, so she'll have to make do with the ferry, which looks like a really good idea!

Thank you all gentlemen! I owe you.

 

[zebedee]

I'd head to Central and Admiralty for the shopping, too. In Causeway Bay, on Sugar Street, there is a very (very, very) good Indonesian restaurant called Kapoeng. The beef rendang is excellent. As Hong Kong is served by the subway, travelling on the island line between these places is fast and cheap. There's a vintage shop called Midwest Vintage in Tin Hau which you might like. http://www.midwest-vintage.com/en/home/

 

[Justhandguns]

Wow, sounds like I have been away for too long, I think I should go to some of the suggested places myself.....
Temple Street is of course the night place to go, but the all day market Tong Choi Street in MongKok is a must go I think. I am always the island side person, I guess if time permits, going around with the tram line is also fun! Even though it hasn't got any air-conditioning in there, unfortunately.

zebedee, I think Big J can probably skip Midwest as he comes from JP. I still think they have far more quality vintages in Japan than just a single shop in Hong Kong.

 

[zebedee]

Yeah, I used to live in Japan. But all vintage is worth checking out, no?

 

[Edward]

Do Lantau (I think that's right) Island with the giant Buddha. Plan it so that you ride the ferry back at dusk or night to see the city all lit up. Also, the Temple Street night market can be fun. The city is one giant shopping mall, so unless shopping is your thing, walking around the city is not that much fun.

Yes, Lantau is worth going to - there's the cable car there too, if memory serves. I wanted to do it when I was there, but alas the mist came down so heavy (we hit thered during the worst rain in 120 years of records), there was no point, we'd have seen nothing.

The Star Ferry is nice; there's a deal you can get where you can do a tour on the ferry at night, see the Harbour all lit up. Rund for ninety minutes to two hours, I think. I liked it - though be aware that at this time of year there will be a large number of mainland Chinesed tourists on it too, who.... Well, let's just say they don't queue, and can behave rather like children at times. (Nowhere else in the world have I been physically push out of the way by a grown adult to get to a seat first, then sit down, look me in the eye, and double-fist punch the air in celebration that she got there first..... lost for words..... ). But it is a nice trip given a dry, clear night.

I also found the escalator up to the top of the island fun. Then there's the little railway that takes you to the top of the island as well, that's nice. If you get a wet day, the Irish stew (most accurate I've found outside Ireland itself) in oned of the Kowloon Irish bars was excellent. From memory, I think it was Murphys, rather than Delaneys....

The technology markets into the north of Kowloon are intersting, though not really the bargains they once were.

Hong Kong was interesting for a few days after Xi An and Gui Lin, though I actually preferred Beijing. Whereabouts are you gonig on the mainland?

 

[Blackadder]

Just visit the harbour and stay indoor the rest of the day. Was at the Ocean Terminal tonight. Saw a lot of Westerners with first degree burn, red like a lobster.
Forecast says sunny and every hot next Sunday and Monday.

 

[Harp]

Hong Kong was interesting for a few days after Xi An and Gui Lin, though I actually preferred Beijing.

Actually preferred Beijing to Hong Kong?

 

[zebedee]

Lots of people have feelings like that. I've lived and worked in Asia for two decades, and I'd choose Shanghai over Hong Kong in a heartbeat. HK is essentially a business hub with very little culture and a somewhat exaggerated sense of its influence on the Mainland, although it is (broadly speaking) clean and safe. Shanghai isn't clean, but it has a very distinctive culture and the sheer selection of things to do is incredible. This isn't to say that Hong Kong is a bad place at all (or that Shanghai doesn't have huge problems), but many long-term expats only stay here for the money (after rent, Shanghai salaries in my occupation work out roughly equal). After living in major Chinese cities, HK feels a bit like being housed in a cul-de-sac.

 

[2wheelgrplr]

Langham is a nice hotel, my wife really liked it. Like others have said - Lantau and ropeway ride to the big Buddha. That tram ride to the top of the peak, awesome views, but be prepared for hordes of mainland Chinese tourists - that's a given in most touristy and shopping places in Hong Kong though. Bruce Lee movie location tour sounds neat, don't miss the Bruce Lee statue, literally minutes from Langham. Star Ferry ride too.

 

[Edward]

Yip. I've yet to make it to Shanghai (though it's on the to do), but Beijing is a bustling, distinct city with so much going on and a scene all its own. Hong Kong was fun enough, but for the most part it felt like a giant expat club for English-speakers. There was very little there that I didn't feel I could also get at home, as distinct from Beijing which is a very different place. I'll visit HK again, of course, but I don't think I would enjoy multiple visits over many years, whereas Beijing is still an interesting and vibrant place with always something else to do after I've been going there for up[ to four trips a year for around a dozen years.

 

[Superfluous]

^ This.

Hong Kong is worth visiting, but Beijing and Shanghai are much more diverse and interesting. I have no yearning to return to HK, but I will definitely visit both Beijing and Shanghai again.

 

[Big J]

Guys, some great ideas! And a great discussion too! I enjoy Shanghai and Beijing greatly, and am happy to go anytime, but HK has always just seemed a little...past it's prime...to me.
I think it's been wrong footed by changing times- the romance of it as an Asian colonial outpost has largely gone, and the romance of HK as a window on Chinese culture has evaporated now that China has 'opened', and the Cold War is over IMHO.
Bruce Lee. I mean, that's really it, really.
French toast with condensed milk, British Afternoon Tea, Luxury hotels with some architecture, street markets, street food, and a ferry ride; sounds like a plan! That AND some Bruce Lee!
I don't speak any Cantonese so I'll be relying on English to get by, but then maybe most HKers can speak Mandarin these days in which case I'll be fine!

I'm off to clarify some issues regarding Chinese officers who commanded/co-opted Japanese Army units that didn't wish to return home, in the Chinese Civil War after the surrender of Japan.

Also looking to hook up with some Chinese Airforce veterans of the Korean War.

 

[Justhandguns]

Guys, some great ideas! And a great discussion too! I enjoy Shanghai and Beijing greatly, and am happy to go anytime, but HK has always just seemed a little...past it's prime...to me.
I think it's been wrong footed by changing times- the romance of it as an Asian colonial outpost has largely gone, and the romance of HK as a window on Chinese culture has evaporated now that China has 'opened', and the Cold War is over IMHO.
Bruce Lee. I mean, that's really it, really.

Sadly, I have to fully agree on that. Besides from the rapid development of the 'Mainland', Chinese Govn't has also been systemically dismantling the Hong Kong identity and cultures, from objects such as colonial buildings down to the local dialect. Beware of communicating in Mandarin, you may draw some odd responses if they are really sensitivie, I think you can still walk around speaking English these days, interestingly, most people can read English but they simply can't speak.

 

[zebedee]

Most Hong Kongers won't speak Mandarin out of principle (or ability), but do speak English to an extent. I find that China is a subject best left alone with Hong Kongers themselves- the responses are often so prejudiced and insular about ordinary, everyday Mainland Chinese (who have done nothing wrong and also have views on their own government akin to HKers') that I find them hard to listen to (especially as so few HKers have been to China and a lot of grandparents would have been Chinese in any case).