yorweb
Mar 17, 05, 6:10 pm
Perhaps a bit late for most people who have already taken their £136 trip to Hong Kong but thought I would write a brief (well that was initially my intention) report. All $ prices are obviously HKG dollars which currently exchanges at about 14 to £1. If you are changing money, I thought the HKG airport Travelex didn’t give especially generous rates but you’ll need some money for train. I went off to a HSBC the first morning, flashed my UK HSBC bankcard and got sterling exchanged without a commission charge although this is at the clerk’s discretion.
Anyhow I am jumping ahead so stepping back 12 hours and arrive rather flustered at Heathrow Terminal One at 9pm for a 10.15pm flight. The journey down from Yorkshire was cutting it relatively tight but panic set in when the missus announces we should stop at a Tesco’s so she could avail herself of the toilet facilities. This was only 3 or 4 miles from where we were supposedly parking our car (at friend’s house in Harrow). Back in the car she announces that we are looking Number 156. I pull up at the house but that isn’t the right one and I subsequently drive up and down this street. I had been once before (ages ago) and swore it was on the other side and after 10 mins, she decides to call the friend and my hunch proved correct as we were actually looking for 151 !!! We are now running late, so instead of just a “private hire” taxi to the nearest Piccadilly tube station, we need to get one direct to the airport and credit to the guy, he drove like Schumacher but with that costing £20 and knowing the return would cost probably double in a black taxi (no tube trains at 4.45am when arrive back), would have been better off parking at the airport !!
Thankfully roads were very quiet and I found the check-in desks are situated around 20 yards inside the Terminal One. Minimum of fuss with them and security had none of checks I encountered on my trip to Phoenix last year. Don’t suppose blowing up a plane full of Chinese would go too well and Bin Laden wouldn’t want 1.3 billion vengeful Oriental’s on his back.
Boarding was smooth and take my seated in an exit row where you see a bit more and notice the FA suddenly recognise one of passengers. They chat briefly and the passenger (and his current gf) make their way to the back of the aircraft. Next thing I notice is the FA then leading them to a seat in WT+. Not really bothered since we have an exit row and I don’t have a fat arse so I am alright. However shortly after this, I witness a conversation between a German? passenger and a senior FA and from what I could gather, he was being charged £200 to upgrade to WT+.
Service on the flight is excellent. The cabin staff were working for the best part of nearly 12 hours on the flight without much of a break. Perhaps it’s just me but WT is great if you get a decent seat and it’s pointless spending nearly £1000 more for Club because you then have more to spend on the rest of your holiday.
Hong Kong arrival is smooth as is passage through immigration and straight onto the train (changing some sterling see above). $100 is the cost of the train and since it’s now dark you don’t see much on the 25 minute journey to Hong Kong Central. Quite a few hotels have linked in with a free shuttle bus and first stop was our hotel, the Wharney on Lockhart Road so that was good.
Checking in at the hotel took some time. Not because of a queue (I was only one checking in at that time) but seemingly administrative problems. The staff were muttering in Chinese to each other but after 10 minutes we finally get our room key and make our way up. Hmmm…. now I see why what the problem was, we had booked a non-smoking double but they must have overbooked tonight as we were given a room with two singles. Actually this worked out well because the wife’s younger brother (he’s 37 going on 14) was staying with us.
Dropped the bags off and took a quick walk around the block and it seems we’ve arrived in a red light district. Not too bad though as the hustlers outside each premises are polite and don’t hassle you if you are with a partner.
The weather forecasts.
Everyday we saw on CNN the weather forecast and for the first few days it ranged from 14-18oc. Sorry CNN but 14 in Hong kong is like 19-20 in UK and I don’t mean just in the City Centre but in quieter, rural areas too. It was like early June in the UK without the wind. Very nice.
Food
First morning we ate Dim Sum a restaurant called Maxim’s which is at 500 Hennessey Road (Causeway Bay). This is a new building and restaurant is on the 2nd and 3rd floors. Excellent value and such a variety of Dim Sum. We also went on Sunday and it was absolutely packed out and a long queue had built-up by the time we left.
Visited KFC and McDonalds on a couple of occasions. Food is around a third of the price of the UK and tastes just as good. They seem very keen on hygiene.
Visited a couple of supermarkets to keep our mini-bar stocked up of soft drinks. Schweppes drinks seem to be popular and 4 cans of Ginger Beer cost around 70p. Coke in large bottles is cheap. A couple of times we visited the supermarket in the Great Eagle Centre on the way home and they had fresh sushi (and other goods prepared that day) at reduced prices.
Did visit Lamma Island as the missus was desperate for a nice seafood dinner. We ordered both Lobster and Crab but I wasn’t that impressed with either. Both rather tasteless and slightly rubbery but she enjoyed and she was paying.
My advice is stock up on water, etc at a supermarket if staying for a few days and then use minibar fridge to keep drinks chilled. 7-11 is everywhere but more expensive.
Internet
I was a bit daft on this spending $50 for a 30 mins on one of the slowest PC’s I’ve used since the mid 90’s. This old dog was the vanguard of the Wharney’s business center but had I ventured 30 yards along the road, the Italian Coffee shop had 3 quick PC’s that were free. Supposedly for customer use (buy something) but the rule didn’t seem enforced too strongly. Unfortunately it took me 8 days to discover this place and by then I had wasted around £25.
Markets and shopping.
Hong Kong markets are in my opinion 90% full of absolute junk !! Not quite sure why but heard that there have been crackdowns on counterfeit goods and some traders scared to sell original stuff for fear of being confiscated. They have market police but their job is to mostly tell off vendors for having their stalls protruding onto the passageway.
The markets off Nathan Road at Mong Kok are extremely busy. However what I did enjoy were food vendors selling deep fried squid for $10 per portion.
One trick of many shops you have to be aware of is that quite often they don’t have the goods you want to buy. What they will do is tell you someone is getting the item from their warehouse and would you like to see x,y or z in the meantime. Had this in a shoeshop, so I played along and said no I only want that shoe. They must have come out with 10 different shoes so I looked at them quite earnestly before rejecting them. This is often done in camera and electrical shops I’ve heard as well.
Never give over your credit card until you have the item you are buying in front of you. Some shops I have also heard try and process your card while they are pretending to get it from their warehouse and then say the manager has gone out and will not be back for 2 hours to process a refund. Get on the phone and start to call the Police and you’ll get a refund in double quick time.
If you fancy a more relaxed style of market then Stanley Market is ideal. Prices are consistent with those on Nathan Road and generally most stalls have vendors with better English compared with Nathan Road.
Excursions
We went on the Land Beyond tour. Basically a trip around the new territories. Not particularly interesting or inspiring with a guide who seemed obsessed with property prices. Nobody was rude but there were some suppressed giggles when she kept on listing price per sq.ft of various accommodations in different areas.
Ferries
Quite a few ferries operate and they extraordinary good value. We were a regular on the Wan Chai to Kowloon which cost the sum $2.2. Great views of Hong Kong skyline in the evening. We also took the Lamma Island ferry one evening which I presume is operated by the same company.
Tailors
If you are white, black or simply don’t look Chinese then you will be hassled constantly in Kowloon by men of Indian subcontinent extraction to have a suit made. Unfortunately I seem to attract the idiotic salesmen who turned verbal diarrhoea into a Stephen King nightmare. One man would not leave alone so I was forced to take a different route and another was so full of **** that even the other salesman told him to shut up when I had ventured to enquire.
However I did want a new suit and when walking one evening through the Great Eagle Center from Kowloon-Wan Chai ferry, we passed a tailors shop (Chinese) with the two guys actually making suits for everyone to see. Heaven it was compared to what I had been subjected to. Walked in, no hard sell, just two very genuine people (Denis and oops forget his brother’s name) who have been making suits for over 30 years each. So I looked at examples of their work (suits made and waiting to be collected) and thought these guys know what they are doing and ordered a suit. Chose a Ralph Lauren style from a fashion magazine in the shop and the cost was a straight $3000. Of course not the cheapest but I don’t want cheap, I want quality. Got sized up there and then and then came back two days later and they made a couple of minor adjustments.
Finished completely in 5 days and I have to say I look the dogs bollocks in it. This would cost 3x or more in the UK. On seeing the standard of their workmanship on my adjustment visit I ordered 3 shirts too @ $300 each and they also fit perfectly. For anyone interested: United Tailors and they are on the Grd Flr of the Great Eagle Centre, Wan Chai – Tel 2877 2696.
Recreation
I visited Ocean Park which is sort of Alton Towers type of place. Went midweek with no queues but if you are of a nervous disposition then this might not be your cup of tea. It’s years since I’ve been on a rollercoaster but I loved them as a kid but age and cowardice has caught up with me. Unfortunately I found this out about 10 seconds into the “mine mountain” ride and it wasn’t helped by missus constantly screaming next to me (no wisecracks thank you). There are two roller coasters and this was kiddies one and for the thrillseekers (eg. those who like flying transatlantic on 3 engines) there is another which twice as long and for the most part, bolted onto the cliff face and most of this ride is around 200ft above the rocks and sea. Needless to say I moved swiftly along as I was keen to see other attractions. They do have more sedate attractions like a fantastic coral reef feature that is full of fish in area around the size of half of a soccer pitch. Also a dolpin and sea-lion show and two giant pandas. Good value at around £20 entrance fee.
So that was it really. Very busy flight on way home and apparently Club was overbooked though WT had spaces. Some people were moved and I don’t think it went down that well with those who were selected. Anyhow had another excellent person serving our area. I think her name badge read Sultana but she was never still long enough for me read it properly. BA might have a crap website and OLCI doesn't work but their Cabin staff are always excellent and in the end, that's what counts.
So thanks BA for a cheap holiday and also to whoever originally posted the error and the £11 per night hotel deal.
Anyhow I am jumping ahead so stepping back 12 hours and arrive rather flustered at Heathrow Terminal One at 9pm for a 10.15pm flight. The journey down from Yorkshire was cutting it relatively tight but panic set in when the missus announces we should stop at a Tesco’s so she could avail herself of the toilet facilities. This was only 3 or 4 miles from where we were supposedly parking our car (at friend’s house in Harrow). Back in the car she announces that we are looking Number 156. I pull up at the house but that isn’t the right one and I subsequently drive up and down this street. I had been once before (ages ago) and swore it was on the other side and after 10 mins, she decides to call the friend and my hunch proved correct as we were actually looking for 151 !!! We are now running late, so instead of just a “private hire” taxi to the nearest Piccadilly tube station, we need to get one direct to the airport and credit to the guy, he drove like Schumacher but with that costing £20 and knowing the return would cost probably double in a black taxi (no tube trains at 4.45am when arrive back), would have been better off parking at the airport !!
Thankfully roads were very quiet and I found the check-in desks are situated around 20 yards inside the Terminal One. Minimum of fuss with them and security had none of checks I encountered on my trip to Phoenix last year. Don’t suppose blowing up a plane full of Chinese would go too well and Bin Laden wouldn’t want 1.3 billion vengeful Oriental’s on his back.
Boarding was smooth and take my seated in an exit row where you see a bit more and notice the FA suddenly recognise one of passengers. They chat briefly and the passenger (and his current gf) make their way to the back of the aircraft. Next thing I notice is the FA then leading them to a seat in WT+. Not really bothered since we have an exit row and I don’t have a fat arse so I am alright. However shortly after this, I witness a conversation between a German? passenger and a senior FA and from what I could gather, he was being charged £200 to upgrade to WT+.
Service on the flight is excellent. The cabin staff were working for the best part of nearly 12 hours on the flight without much of a break. Perhaps it’s just me but WT is great if you get a decent seat and it’s pointless spending nearly £1000 more for Club because you then have more to spend on the rest of your holiday.
Hong Kong arrival is smooth as is passage through immigration and straight onto the train (changing some sterling see above). $100 is the cost of the train and since it’s now dark you don’t see much on the 25 minute journey to Hong Kong Central. Quite a few hotels have linked in with a free shuttle bus and first stop was our hotel, the Wharney on Lockhart Road so that was good.
Checking in at the hotel took some time. Not because of a queue (I was only one checking in at that time) but seemingly administrative problems. The staff were muttering in Chinese to each other but after 10 minutes we finally get our room key and make our way up. Hmmm…. now I see why what the problem was, we had booked a non-smoking double but they must have overbooked tonight as we were given a room with two singles. Actually this worked out well because the wife’s younger brother (he’s 37 going on 14) was staying with us.
Dropped the bags off and took a quick walk around the block and it seems we’ve arrived in a red light district. Not too bad though as the hustlers outside each premises are polite and don’t hassle you if you are with a partner.
The weather forecasts.
Everyday we saw on CNN the weather forecast and for the first few days it ranged from 14-18oc. Sorry CNN but 14 in Hong kong is like 19-20 in UK and I don’t mean just in the City Centre but in quieter, rural areas too. It was like early June in the UK without the wind. Very nice.
Food
First morning we ate Dim Sum a restaurant called Maxim’s which is at 500 Hennessey Road (Causeway Bay). This is a new building and restaurant is on the 2nd and 3rd floors. Excellent value and such a variety of Dim Sum. We also went on Sunday and it was absolutely packed out and a long queue had built-up by the time we left.
Visited KFC and McDonalds on a couple of occasions. Food is around a third of the price of the UK and tastes just as good. They seem very keen on hygiene.
Visited a couple of supermarkets to keep our mini-bar stocked up of soft drinks. Schweppes drinks seem to be popular and 4 cans of Ginger Beer cost around 70p. Coke in large bottles is cheap. A couple of times we visited the supermarket in the Great Eagle Centre on the way home and they had fresh sushi (and other goods prepared that day) at reduced prices.
Did visit Lamma Island as the missus was desperate for a nice seafood dinner. We ordered both Lobster and Crab but I wasn’t that impressed with either. Both rather tasteless and slightly rubbery but she enjoyed and she was paying.
My advice is stock up on water, etc at a supermarket if staying for a few days and then use minibar fridge to keep drinks chilled. 7-11 is everywhere but more expensive.
Internet
I was a bit daft on this spending $50 for a 30 mins on one of the slowest PC’s I’ve used since the mid 90’s. This old dog was the vanguard of the Wharney’s business center but had I ventured 30 yards along the road, the Italian Coffee shop had 3 quick PC’s that were free. Supposedly for customer use (buy something) but the rule didn’t seem enforced too strongly. Unfortunately it took me 8 days to discover this place and by then I had wasted around £25.
Markets and shopping.
Hong Kong markets are in my opinion 90% full of absolute junk !! Not quite sure why but heard that there have been crackdowns on counterfeit goods and some traders scared to sell original stuff for fear of being confiscated. They have market police but their job is to mostly tell off vendors for having their stalls protruding onto the passageway.
The markets off Nathan Road at Mong Kok are extremely busy. However what I did enjoy were food vendors selling deep fried squid for $10 per portion.
One trick of many shops you have to be aware of is that quite often they don’t have the goods you want to buy. What they will do is tell you someone is getting the item from their warehouse and would you like to see x,y or z in the meantime. Had this in a shoeshop, so I played along and said no I only want that shoe. They must have come out with 10 different shoes so I looked at them quite earnestly before rejecting them. This is often done in camera and electrical shops I’ve heard as well.
Never give over your credit card until you have the item you are buying in front of you. Some shops I have also heard try and process your card while they are pretending to get it from their warehouse and then say the manager has gone out and will not be back for 2 hours to process a refund. Get on the phone and start to call the Police and you’ll get a refund in double quick time.
If you fancy a more relaxed style of market then Stanley Market is ideal. Prices are consistent with those on Nathan Road and generally most stalls have vendors with better English compared with Nathan Road.
Excursions
We went on the Land Beyond tour. Basically a trip around the new territories. Not particularly interesting or inspiring with a guide who seemed obsessed with property prices. Nobody was rude but there were some suppressed giggles when she kept on listing price per sq.ft of various accommodations in different areas.
Ferries
Quite a few ferries operate and they extraordinary good value. We were a regular on the Wan Chai to Kowloon which cost the sum $2.2. Great views of Hong Kong skyline in the evening. We also took the Lamma Island ferry one evening which I presume is operated by the same company.
Tailors
If you are white, black or simply don’t look Chinese then you will be hassled constantly in Kowloon by men of Indian subcontinent extraction to have a suit made. Unfortunately I seem to attract the idiotic salesmen who turned verbal diarrhoea into a Stephen King nightmare. One man would not leave alone so I was forced to take a different route and another was so full of **** that even the other salesman told him to shut up when I had ventured to enquire.
However I did want a new suit and when walking one evening through the Great Eagle Center from Kowloon-Wan Chai ferry, we passed a tailors shop (Chinese) with the two guys actually making suits for everyone to see. Heaven it was compared to what I had been subjected to. Walked in, no hard sell, just two very genuine people (Denis and oops forget his brother’s name) who have been making suits for over 30 years each. So I looked at examples of their work (suits made and waiting to be collected) and thought these guys know what they are doing and ordered a suit. Chose a Ralph Lauren style from a fashion magazine in the shop and the cost was a straight $3000. Of course not the cheapest but I don’t want cheap, I want quality. Got sized up there and then and then came back two days later and they made a couple of minor adjustments.
Finished completely in 5 days and I have to say I look the dogs bollocks in it. This would cost 3x or more in the UK. On seeing the standard of their workmanship on my adjustment visit I ordered 3 shirts too @ $300 each and they also fit perfectly. For anyone interested: United Tailors and they are on the Grd Flr of the Great Eagle Centre, Wan Chai – Tel 2877 2696.
Recreation
I visited Ocean Park which is sort of Alton Towers type of place. Went midweek with no queues but if you are of a nervous disposition then this might not be your cup of tea. It’s years since I’ve been on a rollercoaster but I loved them as a kid but age and cowardice has caught up with me. Unfortunately I found this out about 10 seconds into the “mine mountain” ride and it wasn’t helped by missus constantly screaming next to me (no wisecracks thank you). There are two roller coasters and this was kiddies one and for the thrillseekers (eg. those who like flying transatlantic on 3 engines) there is another which twice as long and for the most part, bolted onto the cliff face and most of this ride is around 200ft above the rocks and sea. Needless to say I moved swiftly along as I was keen to see other attractions. They do have more sedate attractions like a fantastic coral reef feature that is full of fish in area around the size of half of a soccer pitch. Also a dolpin and sea-lion show and two giant pandas. Good value at around £20 entrance fee.
So that was it really. Very busy flight on way home and apparently Club was overbooked though WT had spaces. Some people were moved and I don’t think it went down that well with those who were selected. Anyhow had another excellent person serving our area. I think her name badge read Sultana but she was never still long enough for me read it properly. BA might have a crap website and OLCI doesn't work but their Cabin staff are always excellent and in the end, that's what counts.
So thanks BA for a cheap holiday and also to whoever originally posted the error and the £11 per night hotel deal.