Hong Kong. Everything a tourist needs to know

Hong Kong. Everything a tourist needs to know

Hong Kong. Everything a tourist needs to know
I’ve been to Hong Kong more than 200 times myself, and I have some experience sharing it. Write your experience in the comments at the bottom of the article!
The currency is Hong Kong dollars. You can withdraw money from ATMs in the city or exchange currency at numerous exchangers on the street (or in hotels).
Entry options to Hong Kong
An airport. Upon arrival, take a taxi, bus or Airport Express train. All the options are good in their own way.
Kowloon West Railway Station. High-speed trains from all over China come here. There is an Austin subway station at the station.
By boat from Macau, Zhuhai or Shenzhen. Boats go to different berths in Hong Kong or to the airport.
The Shenzhen-Hong Kong border. There are several of them. The most popular transition is Lohu-Lowu. Here, take the Hong Kong Subway to HungHom, and then take the subway to wherever you need to go.
Transportation in Hong Kong.
Taxi – Uber. Or fishing on the street (difficulty is above average).
Taxi drivers often have certain places where they wait for customers (at the pier, at hotels, at bus stations, shopping malls)
. Have a hotel business card or a name with an address in Chinese (places where you want to go). Otherwise, most taxi drivers won’t understand you. English is very bad for people in Hong Kong.
If you don’t want to stand in queues to buy single tickets, buy an Octopus card. It costs 200 HKD. In my opinion, this is a must have in Hong Kong.
You can make payments in shops, trams, metro, buses.

Key hotels in Hong Kong
Hotels in Hong Kong are very expensive. If you choose a more affordable one (and it’s still a higher-than-average price), then be prepared for micro-rooms and a micro-breakfast (or often without it).
I’m already tired of hearing from people that they lived like kings in Malaysia (or substitute any other Asian country) for a month with a ton of fruits and infinity pool.
Yes, Hong Kong is a very expensive city. Buy hotel points when they discount the purchase of points from their loyalty programs, and get a much better price. Or look for special rates. For example, at the Hilton, this is the Friends and Family rate (you can apply through familiar Hilton employees. The price tag will be 3-4 times lower than the market price).
I can only recommend hotels where we can confidently say that the stay was normal.: Conrad, FourSeasons, Mandarin Oriental
Very convenient hotels on TsimShaTsui. Peninsula, Intercontinental Grand Stanford, RitzCarlton (in the tallest skyscraper in Hong Kong).
The Grand Hyatt, Sheraton and Marriott are still normal. And all the other 5-star 3+ hotels are just pulling.

Shopping
Hong Kong is a duty-free zone, there is no VAT in the city. There are outlets and specialized Duty-Free shops (prices are even lower, but there are few of them). After the coronavirus, prices, in general, have increased very much. But for Russians, as a rule, the price is no longer important, because there are no brands in Russia, but in Hong Kong there is everything.
I would say that it doesn’t matter now whether you buy in mainland China or Hong Kong – the prices are the same. Electronics in Hong Kong are more expensive than in China. Apple prices used to be low. Now it’s much cheaper to buy an iPhone in Russia.
Plan to buy only branded clothes and perfumes and cosmetics in Hong Kong.

Restaurants
After the coronavirus, quite a few (even famous) restaurants have closed forever.
Please note that some restaurants are closed from 15.00-17.30 (especially traditional Chinese and dim sum restaurants).
If you want to get to one of the many Michelin restaurants, plan and book your visit in advance, at least 2-3 weeks in advance. Prepayment is often required for booking.
It is better to carefully select restaurants in advance for your days in Hong Kong (taking into account the tour itinerary). On the street and in shopping malls, you will then find whatever you want and will not be satisfied.
If you have a thermos, then you will get drinking water everywhere for free (in hotels, McDuck, starbucks, etc.).
Be sure to buy milk tea, a Hong Kong specialty drink. Add more sugar, otherwise it will taste bitter. Just do not drink it after 2 p.m., otherwise you will not fall asleep at night.

Events
Hong Kong hosts numerous exhibitions of suppliers of goods, the meaning of which is minimal now. Currently, suppliers only need to be searched online (on Chinese marketplaces 1688 and Taobao).
Read about sports and art events in advance on the Internet, where and what will take place.

Key attractions
Google maps is your main assistant in planning your route around the city. The route below is suitable for an overview.:
Victoria Peak. The ideal option is to take bus No. 15 from pier No. 6. You will sit on the 2nd floor right by the glass! 40 minutes of cool views and you’re at your peak. Buy tickets to the observation deck on the spot. Some people take photos from the gazebo next to or on the balcony of the Wildfire restaurant. The best option is to eat in a restaurant with a view of the city (if there is a table by the window) and not pay for a ticket to the observation deck. Go down on the branded tram. The ticket costs HKD 80. It is convenient to pay with an Octopus card without too much fuss.
Hong Kong Park. As soon as you take the tram down, walk straight for 70 meters and turn right into the park.
The park has a bird house, a museum of tea utensils and a pond with turtles.
After leaving the park, go to the Pacific place shopping center and exit it onto the elevated walkway.
In the middle of the crossing, go down to find yourself in the middle of the road, there are tram tracks.
Take the tram towards Central. These are 4-5 stops.
Then walk to the docks.
There’s an amazing Maritime Museum there. Admission is 30 HKD per person. You’ll get around everything in 30 minutes.
Then, at the pier, take the StarFerry boat across Victoria Bay.
After leaving, you can have lunch at Cafe Decorative, next to the pier.
Then take a taxi (120 hkd) to the garden with the temple Chi Lin Nunnery Hongkong 志蓮淨苑. Or you can take the subway.(Diamond Hill).
There’s a temple on the left, and a gorgeous Chinese garden on the right. This is one of the best places in Hong Kong!
Then take a taxi to the hotel Intercontinental Hongkong
Go out onto the embankment and walk along it towards the pier with the boats. There will be a statue of Bruce Lee (at Starbucks) and an alley of stars (hand prints of Jackie Chan and other local stars). At 8 p.m., you can watch a light show on the buildings of Hong Kong Island from the Kowloon Waterfront. Make sure you watch the show while eating soft ice cream (buy only in the minivan at the pier).
The tour route is 5-7 hours with a Russian guide:
Meet you at the hotel, take the bus to Victoria Peak
Funicular Ride down, Hong Kong Park
By tram to Central, Maritime Museum
On a boat across the bay, lunch.
By taxi to the temple with garden
By taxi or metro to the embankment.
I am the guide in Hong Kong, write to me. I offer tours of Hong Kong.
.
Alex iurlov – your tour guide in Macau, Hong Kong and China!
+852 68553629 (WhatsApp, Telegram, Wechat)
Wechat id: iurlov
info@hongkong.su

56 total views, 2 views today