Help lots of Hong Kong Questions !!

I will be in Hong Kong for the first time at Easter with my husband and 2 children aged 10 and 12.

Lots of questions for you please...

Where are the cleanest beaches so that the children can go in the sea? Do they have changing facilities?

Is it worth visiting the floating restaurants at Aberdeen? The guide books seem to say yes, but is the food terrible?

Where can I get a sampan tour round the harbour?

How much is the right price to pay for a Jade necklace in the market? Haggling brings me out in a cold sweat !!!!

Is it worth visiting the pedder building for cheap designer clothes?

Thank you for any replies, 6 weeks and counting !!

Help lots of Hong Kong Questions !!

Beaches:

I was surprised how clean the beaches are. There is an offical website for the cleaness of beaches. epd.gov.hk/epd/鈥wq_current.html

The repulse bay is great: beautiful beach, easy to reach by bus, there are changing rooms and showers.

There are 4 ';tai long wan'; beaches. The one on Sai Kung penisula is a great expericen if you want to hike and be in the nature. To get there, take a bus / minibus to the town Sai Kung, from there a taxi to the starting point of the trail. The hike takes about 2 hours. You pass a small village, and an other beach. There is a small restaurant at the beach.

An other option is to take one of the sampans from Sai Kung to one of the small islands close by.

Help lots of Hong Kong Questions !!

On Hong Kong Island all the beaches are on the south side of the island. Repulse Bay, Stanley Main Beach, Stanley St Stephens Beach, Big Wave Bay and Shek O beaches are all good sandy beaches which are kept clean. All are easily reached by bus and there are free changing facilities and showers and lifeguards are present outside the winter season. These beaches are also protected by shark nets. I%26#39;m not sure about water quality, I wouldn%26#39;t imagine it%26#39;s too good but it doesn%26#39;t people off swimming or surfing. At Easter these beaches may be busy particularly the barbecue areas.

The outlying islands, Cheung Chau and Lamma (accessible by ferry) and Lantau (ferry, MTR or bus) have some excellent beaches, some with facilities and some without and often completely deserted.

Hong Kong%26#39;s best beaches though are out in the Sai Kung East Country Park but it takes a couple of bus rides and a hike to reach them. Tai Wan, Ham Tin Wan and Sai Wan are idyllic and virtually unspoiled. It%26#39;s a good day out but probably not suitable with young kids.

I%26#39;d say the food in the Jumbo Floating Restaurant is ';average';. Aberdeen itself is not particularly attractive but it does have a busy and interesting harbour. The sampan ride around the busy harbour amongst the junks and houseboats can be interesting but if you do decide to eat at the floating restaurants you get a free ride through the harbour anyway. If you want to take the sampan ride just walk along the promenade at Aberdeen and you%26#39;ll immediately be hunted down by numerous very persistent little old ladies plying for your trade (they watch for you coming from the bridges over the main road that divides the harbour from the town centre). Always haggle for a price and for four of you don%26#39;t pay more than HK$100 for a 30 minute trip.

There are very good seafood restuarants with outdoor tables under canopies on Lamma Island by each of the ferry piers at Sok Kwu Wan and Yung Sheu Wan and it%26#39;s only a 30 minute ferry ride to either of these villages from Central Ferry Pier 4.

Restaurants at Aberdeen are seriously over-rated as with most things found in travel brochures.

The right price for a jade necklace is as much as you%26#39;re prepared to pay for something you REALLY want. Remember, REAL jade is ALWAYS cool to the touch.

The Pedder building has the names (checkout Shanghai Tang at street level) but I don%26#39;t know about cheap .. go the knock offs and most people will never know.

Thanks all for your replies.

I always like to research somewhere thoroughly before I go, but must admit I am finding HK a challenge!!!

Am really looking forward to it and can%26#39;t wait to visit the markets so prob Pedder Building can wait for another time, but am going to Shanghai Tang as visited the one on Orchard Rd Singapore and loved it.

Eaton Hotel Hong Kong

If we take the airport express train from airport to stop closest to Eaton Hotel in Nathan Road, could we walk to the hotel from there?

Thanks

Eaton Hotel Hong Kong

You cannot reasonably walk from the Airport Express to Eaton Hotel. The Kowloon station is located at the western edge of Kowloon, while Nathan Road is more towards the middle. If you want to take the Airport Express, connecting by a taxi from Kowloon station is probably the quickest yet reasonably economical way. The ride should cost around HK$30 + $5 per bag that goes in the boot.

For $33, you can take the airport bus A21 and get off near Jordan MTR station at 348 Nathan Road. The hotel is at 380 Nathan Road so it%26#39;s not too long of a walk from there.

Eaton Hotel Hong Kong

yep, we did what the above poster mentioned. On arrival we got a bus from the airport express station to the jordan mtr stop and then walked up nathan rd to the eaton hotel..took about 8-10 mins with a suitcase each, no hassle it%26#39;s all flat. On departure we got a taxi from the hotel to the airport express station which hardly cost anything in AUD terms....definately under $10 if I remember rightly, more like $6 or $7?

Eaton Hotel is good value for Aussies...there were quite a few staying there in December when we were there. Qantas has some good deals sometimes for this one, I think we paid $150 per night including the fantastic buffet breakfast where they do waffles and omlettes on order!

j.

There is a shuttle bus from the airport serving many Kowloon hotels. It cost HK$130, billed to the room, and Eaton Hotel happened to be the first stop when I took it.

The walk from Jordan MTR to the hotel isn%26#39;t too bad; its flat and the sidewalks on Nathan Road is pretty wide. But baggage could be an issue.

Ikea

Hi all!

I%26#39;m travelling to HK next week and a friend needed something from IKEA. I remember going to an IKEA branch in Mongkok several years back. I was preparing my printout of addresses in Chinese (for the cabs) for my travel next week and after checking IKEA%26#39;s website, there isnt any address for a Mongkok branch.

Is it gone/closed?!

If yes, which store is closest or most accessible if I%26#39;m staying at the Kowloon Hotel?

Ikea

You can either go to:

1. Kowloon Bay store at Telford Plaza, just take the MTR to Kowloon Bay

www.ikea.com.hk/locator/kowloonbay.html

2. Causeway Bay store at Great George Street next to the side entrance of Park Lane Hotel. You can take the MTR to Causeway Bay.

www.ikea.com.hk/locator/causeway_bay.html

Ikea

Thanks again sammy!

There si IKEA in Shatin as well, near New Town Plaza, just take off the train in Shatin Sattion and walk about 5 minutes

Thanks everyone! I finally got to check their website - so there are three branches and the warehouse.

Given the three branches - (Causeway, Shatin, Kowloon Bay), which of three is the most accessible from Kowloon Hotel - like the closest from TST and the least walk from the MTR station closest to each of these branches? (If this was a part of the Amazing Race, which branch will you choose to reach the fastest and with ease considering an MTR ride from TST and walking...)

I%26#39;m just squeezing some shopping into my brief vacation and sightseeing so I plan to do this during the store%26#39;s last two hours before closing. :o

I would say Causeway Bay is the best location because it%26#39;s in the middle of shopping heaven. Even though it%26#39;s across the harbour on the Island side, it%26#39;s not really any further than Kowloon Bay. Therefore, by going to the Causeway Bay location, you can plan nice shopping trip. I also highly recommend that you do this on a weekday when it%26#39;s much less crowded.

Thanks again Sammy!

Am flying in on Friday and as usual, TA has been a big help in planning the ';specifics'; of my travel.

Will be doing Ngong Ping upon arrival and do my regular Hong Kong shopping on Saturday and Sunday, with the planned food trips!

Thanks and Happy New Year to all!

From Beijing Airport to Harmony Hotel

Please advise how to get shuttle bus from beijing airport to harmony hotel. How long will it take, what does it cost and where is the stop to alight? Are there many bus stops along the way? Thanks

From Beijing Airport to Harmony Hotel

Bus 3 from the airport goes to Beijing Train station (last stop). From there it should only be a short walk to the hotel (if i have the right Harmony hotel). At airport arrivals go out of exit 9 (or 10?)on same level, where you%26#39;ll see ticket desk. Don%26#39;t expect to queue, put money on desk and ask for however many tickets. Tickets 18rmb per person which ever route you take. Buses are lined up (with corresponding numbers), over the road ( watch traffic coming from left) to the right. Buses will go when full. Expect about an hour journey. Don%26#39;t expect the driver to speak English. I have found a Chinese map of where the Harmony is, on elong.net, the grey area to the south east is Beijing station (check address to see this is your hotel!)

have a good trip

networking

In-country Flights - buy tickets prior to arriving in China?

Should we buy our tickets prior to arriving in China (can you even do this?)? Or should we wait until we are in China.

I expect to buy tickets from Shanghai or Hangzhuo to Guilin and from Guilin to Hong Kong.

In-country Flights - buy tickets prior to arriving in China?

From your previous posts you seem determined to visit Xian and/or Guilin. Why not do them both? Since you fly all the way across the Pacific, spend a few more days in China and you wont regret it. Air travel in China is becoming more convenient and very affordable. You can check out www.elong.com or www.ctrip.com for the domestic flights within China. They offer e-tickets. You can book with them with you credit cards. Concerned about security with your credit cards, just think how many times you%26#39;ve used it at the restaurants. Hope this helps. O yes, book before you leave, or you can take your chance after you are in China. Some hotels have business centers and they can help you get your tickets.

Rosewood Furniture

Can anyone tell me the best place to buy rosewood furniture in guangzhou, thanks

Rosewood Furniture

http://www.zitanmy.com/

This is a good factory. Their store is at Liwan District, Wen Chan Bei Rd.

cartridge

Aberdeen

Hello

What /where is Aberdeen? Why is it included in most of the tour packages I see for Hong Kong? Is it worth doing this and for how long? Thanks!

Aberdeen

It is a fishing harbour on the south side of Hong Kong Island. I guess the Jumbo Floating Restaurant has been spending a lot of money on marketing it, but their food is not particular good, the gimmick are sampan rides and chinese decoration in the restaurant, whether it worth or not depends on whether you are interested in these.

Aberdeen

wow. that was a quick response. thanks tin.

just a couple of other questions, how do i get there from Tsim Sha Tsui? and how much does it cost to take a sampan ride in Aberdeen?

thank you!!!!

If you are eating at the Jumbo, you get free sampan connection between shore and the floating restaurant. If you want to take some extra sampan ride, HK$50 is more or less a reasonable price, remember to haggle.

thanks tin! that was very helpful.

i will surely take note of your advice!

have a nice day!