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We’ve been on the road for 27 days and finally made it to our last destination city on our “amazing race”, Hong Kong.
I’d love to hear any tips from you guys for what we shouldn’t miss while here. Any sites that we can’t leave without seeing? Know of a great hole-in-the-wall tailor shop or place to buy anything else unique here? Hit the comments!
We fly back home Wednesday, so just bear with me a little bit longer and I’ll be updating the site just like before our Round-The-World trip.
If you’re going to do such a trip, definitely save up the extra miles and do it in First Class. It makes the air travel part of the fun and experience of the trip as opposed to something you dread. Qantas even emailed me yesterday before our First Class flight from Melbourne to Hong Kong to ask us when we would like to schedule our complimentary spa/massage treatments before the flight! And while when paying with cash First class can cost 30 times the coach fare, when paying with miles it’s less than double the miles that you need for coach. Beware though, once you fly business or first on an international flight it will be very hard to ever go back to steerage again…I just hope that the mileage game will be around forever!
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24 Comments On "Hong Kong And Then Back To Home Sweet Home!"
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wow! dan, I hope there’s a nice size trip report in the making.
enjoy!!!!
Hey Dan – I am from Hong Kong originally. You have to take the glass-bottom cable car to see the Giant Budda. The vegetarian food at the Po-Lin Temple there is really good too, I am not sure if it’s kosher though.
Where did you decide to stay for shabbos?
how many miles did you use for the flight’s ?
The peak, the bathroom in the peninsula, the free zoo near mcdonald road, the rooftop pool at the W hotel, the night light show.
Hey njoy your trip and thanks for all of the great deals! You must go see Victoria Peek and Stanley Market.
Have a safe trip! Enjoy the last couple days.
In Hong Kong – you must go to the Peak it’s gorgeous.
For a tailor – go over the border to Shenzen,China (i think you might need a visa so it may not work.) there’s a huge mall there with tons of knockoffs that you can get for really cheap, very cheap fabric and great seamstresses.
Or ask the Avtzons they can tell you who they use there.
Tips for Hong Kong:
I don’t know where you are staying but if you are staying at a decent hotel on Hong Kong Island, here is what I did.
Ask the front desk for the booklet of what to do in HK. it is about 40 pages and shows lots of different places to see with where they are on a subyway map.
Buy a one day subway card and use the subway – taxis aren’t worth it. The subway is really easy to use.
The day starts late there, go over to kowloon, go to the bird & fish market just to browse, walk into a supermarket – you will see the cages of chickens ready to take home!
you can walk down to the ferry area in kowloon, take a ferry back over to HK island and then you must buy suitcases! they are super cheap if you bargain.
you can either walk back to your hotel to drop off the suitcase or go up to the peaks.
Take the subway to the big buddah and take a cable car (with a glass bottom) over to the buddah.
at night go to the markets – walk up and down to get an idea of what they have. things to buy:
The (fake) silk pajamas, hand made board games, jade stuff.
based on your site you are probably the last person to tell this to but you MUST bargain. What I did is let them give me a price (most of the haggling is done via a calculator) so they enter a number and you just look shocked and walk away. They chase you and then you take the calculator and put 25% of their number in. and you can probably settle at 35% of their number.
Keep cash in seperate pockets so that you don’t pull out a stack of bills and then they see how much you have.
See everything and don’t sleep!
The light show was pretty crap, don’t bother with it.
Dan, some restaurant suggestions for you:
Crystal Jade – multiple locations – try the xiao long bao (steamed soup dumpling)
Fu Sing Shark Fin Seafood Restaurant – 1/F, Sunshine Plaza, No. 353 Lockhart Road, Wan Chai – try the char siu
Under Bridge Spicy Crab – multiple locations on Lockhart Road, Wan Chai – try the typhoon shelter crab
I’m so jealous…
Hi: Have fun, good suggestions so far, the star line ferry to kowloon is fun, also can take hydrofoil over to Macau and see the new casino developments, you’ve just been to vegas, may as well check out macau!
hey Dan
what did you mean by
“And while when paying with cash First class can cost 30 times the coach fare, when paying with miles it’s less than double the miles that you need for coach.”
how is that possible?
@MoshiachNOW:
For example a coach flight on Continental to Israel is $1,000. A BusinessFirst flight is $5,000.
But with miles the difference is much smaller, 75,000 or 115,000.
Or if booked with ANA miles 60,000 or 90,000.
For First class is disparity is even greater. A flight to Australia that is $18,000 in First will be maybe 150,000 miles in First instead of 90,000 miles in coach, etc.
Hey Dan,
On Sunday night go to the jewish club on Robinson Rd. Be prepared to show your passport and answer security questions they are very strict. Definitely worth it.
They have an all you cn eat BBQ.
On Hong Kong island there is shalom Grill @ 61 Caughnaut Rd.
In Kowloon there is Muy Hayam on Mody Rd in the Sephardic Shul in Wing On Plaza.
B’teavon!!
Dan I still haven’t received my 25,000 bonus miles from my amex transfer of 50,000 miles to delta nor have i received my elite status. I’ve called numerous times and they’ve told me I have to wait until 6 wks after the promotion ended (DEC. 15th) As many people posted, they got they’re bonus and staus upgrade immediately. Any thoughts?
Well, there is the ‘big five’: the buddha statue, the Peak Tram, Ocean Park (fantastic!), Jordan road night market (sometimes if you just hesitate long enough, they start dropping the price), see also the Wan Chai wet market for weird and wonderful undersea creatures that somehow the Chinese eat (I’ve seen a cage of live toads, in a fish stall)…there is also a replica full-scale model of Noah’s Ark on Park Island, you have to take the ferry and allow a couple of hours…but an interesting exhibit.
Safe Trip!
Have Fun!
dan!!
dont forget to check out the taj mahal
HI, hope your enjoying your trip! thanks so much for your website!! I’ve recently been to HK, wanted to point out a few other places to visit. Firstly, there is the really cool wondrfish spa, you put your feet in and fish nibble away all your dead skin…it feels really great! (a little akward at first..but really worth it) There is also a restaurant (suggested by uncle john’s bathroom reader) called the Modern Toilet, its a chain all over asia, has one in HK, (i think its in Mongkok (no pun intended lol))the entire restaurant is based on bathrooms/toilets..its actually hysterical. that’s all for now…enjoy!
btw, the wonderfish spa is in the mall at the top of the peak.
Hey Dan first thanx for such an awesome website! I will be flying through Europe in the next few weeks and I have few questions for you. 1. Does Swiss- Air allow you to leave the airport when the stopover is 4 hrs? 2. I got the amex platinum card , will the card give me access to Swiss lounges in Zurich? 3. Does the platinum card offer lounge access to Delta sponsored flights with KLM and Al Italia? 4. I assume there is some sort of left luggage service in the airport in Rome. Can I leave luggage there for more than 24 hrs? That way I can take a longer stopover and not have to shlep my luggage with me.
Thanks again!
@Jay:
Amex Plat does NOT get you into Swissair lounges (i tried).
hey dan if you find some cheap custom shirt place please let us know thanks that delivers please you can email me thansks a ton
Hi i have 15,000 Starwoods points can u tell me what they are worth? (to transfer them to united thats what i have…) & how much is any one willing to pay for them?