May 14, 2014, 6:17 pm
Last edit by: christep
HKG DO 2014 | 8-9 November
HKG Arrival Transport Guide
Proposed Activities
Friday 7 Nov
During the day HongKongHikers (in the person of christep who manages that group) will be running a not particularly hard social hike anyway, which visiting FTers are welcome to join.
Information for this hike can be found in post 201. Please PM christep or comment in this thread if you wish to join to confirm details of where to meet etc.
5pm - Morton's in TST - Pre-pre-Do drinks, with complimentary filet mignon sandwiches
7pm - IC (Salisbury Road) Lobby Lounge - Pre-Do drinks with excellent views of the harbour
Saturday 8 Nov
Option 1:
Day trip on Hong Kong Island
Yum cha at 9am at Metropol (across the road from Conrad), followed by taking the Peak Tram up to The Peak and a walk around Lugard Road for excellent views of Hong Kong. Quick lunch while still at The Peak, then head down into town for a private tram tour for a maximum of 35 guests. Price of the tram tour will depend on the number of people signing-up but will not be more than HK$200 (around £15 or US$25) per person. Payment will be taken on the day. The tour will finish by 4pm, giving attendee time to prepare for the Do dinner on Lamma Island.
Option 2:
8.15am - meet at Admiralty or TST for day hike in the North East New Territories.
We will walk along the very picturesque shore of the marine geopark, visit the old (and now largely deserted) Hakka village of Lai Chi Wo, and finish around the edge of Starling Inlet, overlooking the border and the eastern end of Shenzhen. We'll take lunch at a local rice & noodles place at the end of the hike. The total distance is about 15km (a little under 10 miles) and there's only one significant bit of hill climbing of about 180m (60 floors of a building). It should be doable by anyone with the fitness to walk at a reasonable pace for about 4 hours. No specialist gear is needed - just lightweight clothing (no denim/heavy cotton please), strong trainers/sneakers, a hat to keep the sun off (if we're lucky), and a small backpack to carry enough water for the hike and any other essentials (which would include a change of clothing if it's warm or wet). Here are three albums of photos taken by HongKongHikers members on this route (the wild boar having just been killed by (I assume) village dogs is unlikely to be repeated!). And here's a Garmin GPS trace of the route.
4.45pm - back at Admiralty
All
6.45pm - Meet at Central for ferry to Rainbow Restaurant on Lamma Island for dinner. (Ferry departs 7.00pm). Please don't be late, as you'll have to swim to catch up.
Sunday 9 Nov
Option 1:
9am - Day trip to Lantau Island. It's close to the airport so anyone flying out can easily head off as necessary. Hiking option will be available for those who are not flying out today. Details here.
Option 2:
Champagne Brunch at the IC HK Enjoy a leisurely Champagne brunch from 11:30-15:00 at the IC's Harbourside $782 (inc service charge). Pay on the day. I'm currently holding reservations for 10 diners and will reserve places on a first come first served basis from expressions of interest through the registration form (links to registration form are found at the top and bottom of this wiki post!). Review found here
1. TEX277
2. Economy Seat
3. percysmith
4. KIXman
5. Itsalongwaydown
6. TravelKane
7.
8.
9.
10.
After some discussion, the third option of a serious hike on Lantau has been canned since it seems that Andy's day trip is serious enough for everyone in terms of walking...
Monday
Awesom Andy will be a makeshift tour-guide taking requests from anyone interested.
Attendance
(Username, arrival date/flight, departure date/flight, hotel)
Confirmed
Awesom Andy Completed registration
TEX277 Completed registration
Oreck Completed registration
NHH Completed registration
Itsalongwaydown Completed registration
cjwong88 Completed registration
christep Completed registration
Economy Seat Completed registration
kirkwoodj Completed registration
Getiton Completed registration
smitty06 Completed registration
SumGai88 Completed registration
freqflyercoll Completed registration
TravelKane Completed registration
percysmith Completed registration
ColoradoGal Completed registration
nomadic.relief Completed registration
lowjhg
pfbloom Completed registration
GrjApp Completed registration
slickalick Completed registration
sneezyalex (Now HGHUA) Completed registration
ckpeter Completed registration
kaka Completed registration
timid_trnchcoat Completed registration
Travelingsmithy Completed registration
Arcanum Completed registration
EZEDoesIt Completed registration
KIXman Completed registration
johnwmaher (NOV 7/CX 505, NOV 10/CX 520, Hyatt Regency Tsim Sha Tsui)Completed registration
ellyse Completed registration
JohnK Completed registration
JohnK+1 Completed registration
Interested
penegal
centxwx
Melville
chchkiwi
dedehans
belinik
rstruthe
garykung
Belinik
tuapekastar
yul36
intuition
danang
TravellerOnline
jozdemir
deathscar
WillTravel (+1)
GrizShel
SQ421
moondog
***NEW*** Registration now open!
HKG Arrival Transport Guide
Proposed Activities
Friday 7 Nov
During the day HongKongHikers (in the person of christep who manages that group) will be running a not particularly hard social hike anyway, which visiting FTers are welcome to join.
Information for this hike can be found in post 201. Please PM christep or comment in this thread if you wish to join to confirm details of where to meet etc.
5pm - Morton's in TST - Pre-pre-Do drinks, with complimentary filet mignon sandwiches
7pm - IC (Salisbury Road) Lobby Lounge - Pre-Do drinks with excellent views of the harbour
Saturday 8 Nov
Option 1:
Day trip on Hong Kong Island
Yum cha at 9am at Metropol (across the road from Conrad), followed by taking the Peak Tram up to The Peak and a walk around Lugard Road for excellent views of Hong Kong. Quick lunch while still at The Peak, then head down into town for a private tram tour for a maximum of 35 guests. Price of the tram tour will depend on the number of people signing-up but will not be more than HK$200 (around £15 or US$25) per person. Payment will be taken on the day. The tour will finish by 4pm, giving attendee time to prepare for the Do dinner on Lamma Island.
Option 2:
8.15am - meet at Admiralty or TST for day hike in the North East New Territories.
We will walk along the very picturesque shore of the marine geopark, visit the old (and now largely deserted) Hakka village of Lai Chi Wo, and finish around the edge of Starling Inlet, overlooking the border and the eastern end of Shenzhen. We'll take lunch at a local rice & noodles place at the end of the hike. The total distance is about 15km (a little under 10 miles) and there's only one significant bit of hill climbing of about 180m (60 floors of a building). It should be doable by anyone with the fitness to walk at a reasonable pace for about 4 hours. No specialist gear is needed - just lightweight clothing (no denim/heavy cotton please), strong trainers/sneakers, a hat to keep the sun off (if we're lucky), and a small backpack to carry enough water for the hike and any other essentials (which would include a change of clothing if it's warm or wet). Here are three albums of photos taken by HongKongHikers members on this route (the wild boar having just been killed by (I assume) village dogs is unlikely to be repeated!). And here's a Garmin GPS trace of the route.
4.45pm - back at Admiralty
All
6.45pm - Meet at Central for ferry to Rainbow Restaurant on Lamma Island for dinner. (Ferry departs 7.00pm). Please don't be late, as you'll have to swim to catch up.
Sunday 9 Nov
Option 1:
9am - Day trip to Lantau Island. It's close to the airport so anyone flying out can easily head off as necessary. Hiking option will be available for those who are not flying out today. Details here.
Option 2:
Champagne Brunch at the IC HK Enjoy a leisurely Champagne brunch from 11:30-15:00 at the IC's Harbourside $782 (inc service charge). Pay on the day. I'm currently holding reservations for 10 diners and will reserve places on a first come first served basis from expressions of interest through the registration form (links to registration form are found at the top and bottom of this wiki post!). Review found here
1. TEX277
2. Economy Seat
3. percysmith
4. KIXman
5. Itsalongwaydown
6. TravelKane
7.
8.
9.
10.
After some discussion, the third option of a serious hike on Lantau has been canned since it seems that Andy's day trip is serious enough for everyone in terms of walking...
Monday
Awesom Andy will be a makeshift tour-guide taking requests from anyone interested.
Attendance
(Username, arrival date/flight, departure date/flight, hotel)
Confirmed
Awesom Andy Completed registration
TEX277 Completed registration
Oreck Completed registration
NHH Completed registration
Itsalongwaydown Completed registration
cjwong88 Completed registration
christep Completed registration
Economy Seat Completed registration
kirkwoodj Completed registration
Getiton Completed registration
smitty06 Completed registration
SumGai88 Completed registration
freqflyercoll Completed registration
TravelKane Completed registration
percysmith Completed registration
ColoradoGal Completed registration
nomadic.relief Completed registration
lowjhg
pfbloom Completed registration
GrjApp Completed registration
slickalick Completed registration
sneezyalex (Now HGHUA) Completed registration
ckpeter Completed registration
kaka Completed registration
timid_trnchcoat Completed registration
Travelingsmithy Completed registration
Arcanum Completed registration
EZEDoesIt Completed registration
KIXman Completed registration
johnwmaher (NOV 7/CX 505, NOV 10/CX 520, Hyatt Regency Tsim Sha Tsui)Completed registration
ellyse Completed registration
JohnK Completed registration
JohnK+1 Completed registration
Interested
penegal
centxwx
Melville
chchkiwi
dedehans
belinik
rstruthe
garykung
Belinik
tuapekastar
yul36
intuition
danang
TravellerOnline
jozdemir
deathscar
WillTravel (+1)
GrizShel
SQ421
moondog
***NEW*** Registration now open!
HKG DO 2014 | 8-9 November
May 5, 2014, 8:34 am
#32
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: SYD, BNE and BKK
Programs: QF Platinum (OW Emerald), PC Platinum, HH Gold
Posts: 1,029
I am scared of checking Conrad room rates as I don't want to be scarred for life.
I am guessing I will be able to fly CNX-HKG on Air Asia and HKG-BKK on Sri Lankan airlines for 2 people and pay just a little more than Conrad room rate for 1 night.
May 6, 2014, 1:47 am
#34
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: SYD
Programs: QF WP
Posts: 1,799
Keep in mind that HKG is an extremely well connected city. Part of the reason Conrad was chosen as the hotel central is due to its location - it's only 10 mins away on the MTR west to Shenug Wan, east to Causeway Bay, and north to TST, and the majority of the hotels are (literally) only a few steps away from a station exit.
And if anyone is staying across the harbour (which is fast becoming a creek with all the land reclaimation), I will set up a secondary meeting point in TST and we can all head over to Hong Kong island as a group.
And if anyone is staying across the harbour (which is fast becoming a creek with all the land reclaimation), I will set up a secondary meeting point in TST and we can all head over to Hong Kong island as a group.
May 6, 2014, 5:10 am
#35
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: SYD, BNE and BKK
Programs: QF Platinum (OW Emerald), PC Platinum, HH Gold
Posts: 1,029
May 6, 2014, 5:29 am
#36
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: BNE
Posts: 2,622
Unfortunately, if you want a nice hotel that's centrally located and offering points with one of the main chains, at the moment you won't be getting much change from $3000.
I see Expedia has the Conrad available for $3060pn which is cheaper than W HK, IC HK and the Grand Hyatt, comparable to the Sheraton and JW Marriott and around $700 more expensive than The Hyatt Regency TST, CP Causeway Bay and Kowloon Shangri-La. IHG members may find the IC GS is a viable option that saves (around $1000pn) over the Conrad.
I find room rates like these encourage me to burn points! Hopefully, with the Do still quite a while away, there should be good award availability.
Just checked and found awards available for 7-9th November at the following hotels:
IHG
IC GS
IC HK
CP Causeway Bay
CP Kowloon East
HIE Causeway Bay
HIE SoHo
HIE Kowloon East
Hotel Indigo HK Island
HI Golden Mile
SPG
Sheraton HK
W HK
Le Meridien Cyberport
I see Expedia has the Conrad available for $3060pn which is cheaper than W HK, IC HK and the Grand Hyatt, comparable to the Sheraton and JW Marriott and around $700 more expensive than The Hyatt Regency TST, CP Causeway Bay and Kowloon Shangri-La. IHG members may find the IC GS is a viable option that saves (around $1000pn) over the Conrad.
I find room rates like these encourage me to burn points! Hopefully, with the Do still quite a while away, there should be good award availability.
Just checked and found awards available for 7-9th November at the following hotels:
IHG
IC GS
IC HK
CP Causeway Bay
CP Kowloon East
HIE Causeway Bay
HIE SoHo
HIE Kowloon East
Hotel Indigo HK Island
HI Golden Mile
SPG
Sheraton HK
W HK
Le Meridien Cyberport
Last edited by TEX277; May 6, 2014 at 5:52 am Reason: Award availability added
May 7, 2014, 8:08 am
#40
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: SYD, BNE and BKK
Programs: QF Platinum (OW Emerald), PC Platinum, HH Gold
Posts: 1,029
Accommodation is work in progress.
May 7, 2014, 9:02 am
#41
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: BNE
Posts: 2,622
Ouch!!! Admittedly that is more than just a bit excessive. On the plus side, it makes the IC HK look like a steal at 45000 or 35000+$70 per night.
May 7, 2014, 10:42 am
#42
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: SYD
Programs: QF WP
Posts: 1,799
If anything, the HI in TST is actually quicker and easier to get to Admiralty (where Conrad is) than the HIX in Causeway Bay.
May 7, 2014, 6:22 pm
#43
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: USA
Programs: UAmm, Hyatt Plat,Marriott Gold, AA EXP
Posts: 84
Please sign me up! Flights and hotel booked. I got a premium single at the Salisbury YMCA Kowloon. It looks to be just a bit larger than a walk in closet but I don't expect to be in the room except for sleeping anyway.
May 8, 2014, 8:53 am
#44
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: SYD, BNE and BKK
Programs: QF Platinum (OW Emerald), PC Platinum, HH Gold
Posts: 1,029