Going to Hong Kong for 2 months, what to see/do?

J

JimmyRustler

Member
Hello China GAF!

I was offered the chance to go to Hong Kong for 9 weeks over work next year and thought I'd take the chance. My flight goes on the 17.01. next year. I've been there already once a few years back, but only for 5 days. So it was quite a rush. Despite working regularly Mo-Fr I think I'll have much more time for other stuff now. Is there anything you can recommend to do or see there? I'm open for everything. Last thing I wanna do is sit in the hotel after work.

Thanks and Cheers!
 
Every year that goes by, there's more intrusive overreach from the mainland government, more western business establishments pulling out, and there's less reason for anyone from the west to go there.
Still, it was once one of the greatest cities of the world. It's been pretty battered by the pandemic, riots, and by the CCP recently. My parents who were born there just went back to visit and caught Covid. Lots of shops and restaurants just closed indefinitely.

I recommend visiting all the history museums before the CCP turns them into revisionist propaganda spaces, checking out the architectural vestiges of British rule before the CCP tears them all down, eating all the street food if you're not afraid of Covid, eating at the overpriced Michelin starred restaurants if you are, riding the redundant and soon to disappear ferry at night, going up to tourist saturated Victoria Peak, wandering the once bustling side streets and old malls to see how many of them have been abandoned, party it up with other white people like you never left home at LFK...

Find a local guide. Go to Singapore or Tokyo instead next time for a similar but better experience.
 
The Cockatrice said:
Vaxxed as well and still got it and it was still a bitch to deal with. Hearing in CHina its a bit worse. Not a good time to go there but your call. Avoid any outdoor activities/food stuff.
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Look man, I appreciate the concern but I didn't ask her for people to tell me to avoid things. I'll just take the risk.
Came through here 2 years without catching it (or not that I know of) desite raging numbers so I think I'll be just fine.
 
fran.fernandez said:
Sadly in 3 days u may have already seen everything 😂

I went multiple times as a girl i dated lived there and that. Very small.
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Pretty much when you can hit multiple of them in a day.

Victoria Peak, by the peak tram
Cross the bay by the Star Ferry
Festival of lights in the evening.

Cable car on Lantau island up to the Tian Tan Buddha.
Go to a McDonalds and see all the wired shit on the menu
Some street market like ladies market in the evening

Stanley market
Repulse bay
Some temple or fishing village or go up the ICC Sky 100 if it's a clear day.

Shit Disneyland

lan kwai fong if you want to drink in the street with rowdy foreigners, possibly having a punch up.


After or between that... shopping, shopping malls, shopping, shopping malls. Golden Center used to be a mecca for Videogaming but it's long become a show of it's former self and is mostly just PC parts and cheap electronics.

Evening fun, good prostitution scene.
 
9 weeks in Hong Kong sounds like hell. At least the lock downs seem to be letting up... but there wasn't that much to do even before that.
 
Mihos said:
At least the lock downs seem to be letting up... but there wasn't that much to do even before that.
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It got bleached in the last 20 years, there was an identity there and things to find. Walking in the rain at night under the neon signs and thinking 'Holy fuck, this is Bladerunner". Now the Neon signs are no more.
 
The main selling point of hong kong for me was the food. I don't know how many decent places are left, but last time I was there you could try all sorts of dishes from various countries, which tasted great. There are beaches and hiking trails if that's your thing, but you have to go out of your way for it, and the markets can probably net you some interesting souvenirs. A long time ago it was cheaper to buy products in hk instead of the mainland, but now it's pretty much the same
 
Cyberpunkd said:
playing arcade games with the locals
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You used to be able to find old arcades just like this on sub street levels just by spotting a small door on a main street.

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You're right, everyone was cool to play with even if you were a foreigner. Street Fighter IV, good times.
 
Cyberpunkd said:
Studied there 15 years ago. My God, that city was something - eating street food that tastes out of this world, playing arcade games with the locals, scoring a new 10/10 every week. Stupid young me had a time of his life.
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Is it that easy to score with HK women? My experience was that it's hard if you don't speak Cantonese.
I guess there's also a lot of Filipinas and some mainlanders.
 
Hong Kong has gone down the pits. The culture is noticably more mainland than even just ten years ago. I guess you can go to Lamma Island and see the weird colony of white people.
 
JimmyRustler said:
I have 3 vaxinations and am not really afraid of covid at this point. As per my mates there almost all restictrions have been removed in Hong Kong by this point.
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my parents had all of the vaccinations and all the booster shots they could give over here in Canada and they still caught it going back. Just be careful.
 
pramod said:
Is it that easy to score with HK women?
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Only the uggos that speak English, the hot women will try to play you or ignore you. You don't want to bother with HK women, too many other white guys or rich guys to compete with. Just hop across the border and it's a different story. Even the HK guys worked this out with their just over the border younger pretty mistresses. There's actually a little district in Huangguan that was known as mistress town because it was right by one of the border crossings and cheap so the HK guy could rent an apartment for the mistress and quickly get to see them/collect them for the weekend when they passed the border.
 
if you are looking for the tourist stuff aka tourist traps, then there is:
- the tram which takes you up to the Peak.
- take the gondola from Tung Chung to see the giant buddha statue (I think the statue is still under going renovation/refit, not sure though).
- Disneyland or Ocean Park
- Tai O, aka "venice of the east"
- the "ladies" market in Mong Kok
- the habour promenade in Tsim Sha Tsui. Come here at night and enjoy the lights.

Personally, most of these tourist traps are kinda overrated so I would avoid them. Just enjoy the food.

Before covid, I would recommend a side trip to Macau. It's basically Vegas with a even better prostitution scene (those saunas are legends.). I think Macau is planning to open up soon but will require quarantine (again, not sure so you'll have to do some research.)
 
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Nush summed up a slew of good touristy things to do in HK. I did many of them myself.

OP, some other tips when I was there. Make note this was 10 years ago, so I dont know how much things have changed with the political uprising and COVID protocols.

- As tacky as it seems, do a tour bus ride of the city. Get into one of those big buses that have rooftop seats, you get cheap ear sets you plug in and enjoy the ride. A nice city

- Avoid taking public buses. Walking and subway works wonders. Taking a taxi sucks. We took it and it took so long in gridlock we wondered if it would had been easier to walk to the restaurant. Subway routes are easy to understand. When we stood at the tour bus stop, it was also a public bus stop. I dont think anyone visiting any foreign city wants to bother understanding local bus route

- Aside from our big restaurant day where tipping was mandated because we had a group of 8 or more, tipping is not a norm there. Taxi ride and small eateries are zero tip. I tipped the taxi guy and guess what he did? He personally thanked me even though it was maybe $5 CDN. When I got back to Pearson airport and took a taxi ride home for $40, I rounded it off to $50. So a $10 tip. I even did cash. The guy didn't even acknowledge it or even help take my bags out of the back. All he did was pop the trunk and I did it myself. So in HK, you'll notice the people are so friendly in every store as opposed to the typical scummy US/CDN tip worker evil eyeing you if you dont give them at least 15%.

- Take the subway across to Kowloon. The subway system is cool as the fee is done on a distance basis and still cheap

- Try out any restaurants that look mom and pop where they handmake their stuff in the open. Great food

- I didn't have the guts to do it but you'll see outdoor alleyway kinds of food stalls making shit outside in grimey pots and plates are washed in plastic bins which look like they havent been cleaned since yesterday. Up to you if you want to try it. Cant be that bad as there's typically lots of locals eating the food. But I didn't

- Convenience stores sell beers. Buying a single bottle of Heineken is cheaper than buying a case of 24 and doing the math on one bottle

- It's a very late night kind of city, so late at night it's always busy with people and things open late.

- Nush mentioned some Buddha cable car tourist area. It sucked for me. I'm not a tourist attraction guy to begin with (Id rather walk the city checking out shit and eating), but I did it anyway. I didn't know any better but it was a cloudy/foggy day that day. Couldnt be that bad, there's shit loads of other people doing it with me at the ticket office. It sucked. The fog prevented any of us seeing anything out the cable car. And when we got out and walked up to the giant buddha, the fog prevented any of us seeing the top of him. So if you do this thing, only do it on a clear sunny day

- There's tons of small kiosk markets all around the city (especially Kowloon). It's all cheap junk where peddlers sell the same shit from one area to another. It might look like authentic stuff. It's not. It's all mass produced crap that has a homey feel to it making you think it might be 200 year old artifacts. I bought some for myself since I was there. Dont pay more than 50% for it. If you see stuff you want cut to the chase and let them make the first offer (which will be shit). Then immediately offer to buy it at 75% off. They'll play dumb, but at some point you'll probably wiggle yourselves to like 50 or 60% off. At that point just buy it to save time and move on unless you want to bicker with each other all day for an extra 10% off. If it looks like a raw deal just walk. In these markets, there's probably another dude or old granny selling the same kind of shit down the block

- In Causeway Bay we went to a horse racing track which I think is only open on Wednesday (not sure). It was awesome. You get your usual track grubbies (old dudes who look like they gamble all day), but it's different than a typical track. In US/Canada race tracks are pretty grubby and most people there are all old slobby degenerates. It was different there. Tons of younger people dressed up, nice gourmet food kiosks, it's more of a trendy place to go to than for 54 year olds holding a racing form trying to make $50. Check it out

- There seems to be a Portuguese influence there. KFC served Portuguese tarts!?!?! And I think I had mushrooms with gravy. They also give you plastic gloves!

- If you're a gambler, schedule a day taking the fast boat to Macau and gamble. Super nice buildings. Because everyone knows it's all about gambling there, the customs booth letting you in and out is a joke. They didn't even ask me any questions. Just show them your passport, they'll take a look at you and stamp your booklet. Easiest customs border ever

- I was there for almost two weeks and had a good time. I couldnt believe how reasonably priced things were there. I thought things would be all jacked up like you hear about costly real estate. It's not. Converted to CDN money, everything roughly cost the same. And even better no tax there, so most things were actually cheaper
 
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If hiking is your thing, go to New Territories, Sai Kung, Clear Water Bay area or others.

Wanchai 188 or Mongkok for VG

Wanchai computer malls (298 and the one next to the MTR) and Sham Shui Po are still good for computers and parts.

Wanchai / Lan Kwai Fong depending what you are looking for, for bars although I haven't set a foot there in years.

Mongkok and Yau Ma Tei have a bit of everything.

Good food everywhere.

Key words in Google maps work too.

Edit: yeah the tram is nice, you can cross the island from East to West.
And some nice beaches in the south (island) too.
 
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I liked the walk up to the temple of 10,000 Buddhas or whatever it's called with all the statues of monks lining the path up to it. And next door there is a huge ass Chinese cemetery where monkeys hang out. Nice views too from there.

Hong Kong Island is a lot like London with some cool areas but I prefer Kowloon and just chilling by the harbour on a sunny misty day.

Kowloon Walled City park is nice and in quite a local area too.
 
When I went to HK for the first time (with friends from exchange uni), we stayed in chungking mansions. Was a cool experience. When we arrived our "hotel" didnt exist anymore but no worries there were probably 30 with different names but same price. I think Gabonese ppl were running them? Had a booked a twin room bc was w a girl from uni. In the end we had to share a single bed. Was ok, despite the insane heat in the room (no AC working). Also there was an issue w elevators (bit freaky when you are on the 30th floor). Was fun. I dont know if I would do it again though.

I think we paid 10 euros a night each at the time which was a fair price. They still seem to be running now, but probably at higher price and w higher comfort. Still a good deal given location probably.
 
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chungking mansions is the Mos Esley of Hong Kong, the lifts are always broken, it's part of it's rustic charm.
 
Go to Shanghai and visit the Marriage Market and marry someone :)

You'll be doing a good deed and saving that child from shaming the family name.
 
If you need advice where to get collector toys and Perfect Grade gundams let me know :D Even if you dont want to buy, window shopping for collectable toys is amazing.
 
AeonGaidenRaiden said:
If you need advice where to get collector toys and Perfect Grade gundams let me know :D Even if you dont want to buy, window shopping for collectable toys is amazing.
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One of the interesting cultural elements of British infuence on HK is that a lot of hobbies are shared. In HK it's high density living and not a lot of open spaces, and in England it's cold and wet through the winter so typically you don't want to go outside. So this is why you see videogames, model making and radio control cars being popular in HK, it's indoor stuff that works in small spaces. Just across the border in the mainland, very little interest in those things generally.
 
OP,

Look into this too if you're interested. Boat tour of the harbour in an old wooden ship. I dont remember if it was this tour as someone else in our group organized it, but close enough.

You get great views of all the nice lit up buildings, so I'd reco doing it at night like we did. I remember our ride was a touch chilly and windy. I dont know if it's always like that at night on the water, so if you do it see if you can time it when the evening weather is less shitty. It was an October day when I did it.

 
StreetsofBeige said:
It was an October day when I did it.
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That's when it starts to get cold, usually hot between May and November. I always wanted to try this but was a bit too expensive for what else I could get for that money.

www.viator.com

Helicopter Sightseeing Tour in Hong Kong

Soar through the sky above Hong Kong, and take in all the sights along the way on this helicopter tour. You can pick to have a private or shared helicopter for your up-in-the-air voyage. See the Central District where many international corporations' headquarters are, and the International...
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nush said:
We'd have rather have seen this for real though...

OIP-C.VKniCBP2DA_Ry9qq4aJZ8wHaF5


OIP-C.-dsgWtCBVqbytsvcze_JHAHaEq
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That place was terrible for the people who lived there and a stain on Hong Kong though. Absolutely rife with crime (not that Hong Kong isn't a financial crime capital, but many large cities are).
 
Alright, so I've been here a few days and so far it has been nice. Been checking out Victoria Bay and Lamar Island and also been up to Lions Rock. Decent view, wheater is amazing. Last time I was here it was foggy as shit. Food and restaurant scene is amazing. Feels like one could eat somewhere else for 2-3 years straight every day.

Only thing that kinda bothers me (aside from the mask of course) is how hard it is to come by with English. Kinda remember this being easier. So many great restaurants but the meals are in Chinese only and the staff doesn't speak English. :( Also, people in general are not as friendly as I expected - except for my the people in my company of course, those are dope.

So my first impressions are a bit mixed. 2 more months to go. Certainly want to visit Tian Tan Buddha, Ocean Park and Disney Land and score at least on Chinese Lady here. They're all so good looking. Almost no fat people. Coming from Europe the difference is mindblowing. I've probably seen one or two fat girls here so far. Damn… People in Europe and the US should stop eating so much trash.
 
JimmyRustler said:
Only thing that kinda bothers me (aside from the mask of course) is how hard it is to come by with English. Kinda remember this being easier. So many great restaurants but the meals are in Chinese only and the staff doesn't speak English. :( Also, people in general are not as friendly as I expected - except for my the people in my company of course, those are dope.
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It didn't used to be that way when we were still a British colony. I was taking English classes in pre-K. My dad spoke fluent English as a native HK-er. Things have changed quite a bit since 1997. I'm glad my parents had the foresight and immigrated us out of there.
 
JimmyRustler said:
Alright, so I've been here a few days and so far it has been nice. Been checking out Victoria Bay and Lamar Island and also been up to Lions Rock. Decent view, wheater is amazing. Last time I was here it was foggy as shit. Food and restaurant scene is amazing. Feels like one could eat somewhere else for 2-3 years straight every day.

Only thing that kinda bothers me (aside from the mask of course) is how hard it is to come by with English. Kinda remember this being easier. So many great restaurants but the meals are in Chinese only and the staff doesn't speak English. :( Also, people in general are not as friendly as I expected - except for my the people in my company of course, those are dope.

So my first impressions are a bit mixed. 2 more months to go. Certainly want to visit Tian Tan Buddha, Ocean Park and Disney Land and score at least on Chinese Lady here. They're all so good looking. Almost no fat people. Coming from Europe the difference is mindblowing. I've probably seen one or two fat girls here so far. Damn… People in Europe and the US should stop eating so much trash.
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I'm no dietician, but I dont think a lot of Asians go ape shit pigging out on fast food and big gulp cream soda crush at gas stations. Interestingly, you got a diet that seems heavy in carbs (white rice) and I dont get the impression people in Hong Kong are workout gym rats or have gym sets at home. So you'd think people might get chunky. But it seems Asian people are pretty lean relatively speaking to other people. Genetics probably plays a part too. Not sure. Taking a guess.
 
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Hope you stay covid safe, not sure of the current situation there. I would suggest to try as much food as possible if that's your thing. :)
 
StreetsofBeige said:
I'm no dietician, but I dont think a lot of Asians go ape shit pigging out on fast food and big gulp cream soda crush at gas stations. Interestingly, you got a diet that seems heavy in carbs (white rice) and I dont get the impression people in Hong Kong are workout gym rats or have gym sets at home. So you'd think people might get chunky. But it seems Asian people are pretty lean relatively speaking to other people. Genetics probably plays a part too. Not sure. Taking a guess.
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I think it mainly comes down to genetics, but I wouldn't be surprised if more people walked and bicycled in other countries compared to the states either, and that would help some.
 
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JimmyRustler said:
Also, people in general are not as friendly as I expected
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It's a city full of the most short tempered fucks you'll ever find. How many stand up shouting matches have you seen on the MTR so far? How many times have you been "Tutted" just going about your business. They'll also shit talk you in Cantonese all the time. The NPCs dialog in Sleeping Dogs is culturally accurate. :messenger_tears_of_joy:
 
PSYGN said:
I think it mainly comes down to genetics, but I wouldn't be surprised if more people walked and bicycled in other countries compared to the states either, and that would help some.
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It's cultural, just cross the border to the mainland and you won't really see any fat Chinese. In Hong Kong you will all the time, "Fat" by Asian standards that is.
 
I thought Hong Kong was one of the few places in Asia where English is viable. In Japan they can't speak English for shit but they kind of try or they basically just speak Japanese completely and don't give a shit if you understand or not. In Taiwan, once I left I Taipei and went out to the smaller cities like Tainan I had shopkeepers literally run away from me when I turned up to their dinky tea shop or restaurant lol. Hong Kong is a breeze compared to those places but I do have the advantage of being able to read Chinese words through Japanese.
 
Porcile said:
I thought Hong Kong was one of the few places in Asia where English is viable.
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I'm fairly sure that the older HK'rs will know some English. They choose not to use it to fuck with you. Kind of like the French do. But generally from my experience if you are at least trying to speak the local language people will be more helpful and even switch to English.
 
StreetsofBeige said:
I'm no dietician, but I dont think a lot of Asians go ape shit pigging out on fast food and big gulp cream soda crush at gas stations. Interestingly, you got a diet that seems heavy in carbs (white rice) and I dont get the impression people in Hong Kong are workout gym rats or have gym sets at home. So you'd think people might get chunky. But it seems Asian people are pretty lean relatively speaking to other people. Genetics probably plays a part too. Not sure. Taking a guess.
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Well, in HK we walk a lot and in the summer the heat and humidity are so oppressive that we lose weight just from sweating. I eat like an animal every time I go back to HK and never once did I gain weight from those trips.
 
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