Hong Kong, Where to Stay, What to Do, What to See
Hong Kong is a fantastic city, vibrant, lots to do and if you want the latest high tech gadgets its the place to go. This is a list of some key items to add to your ‘What to Do in Hong Kong’ list.
Landing at Chek Lap Kok airport you are about 20 miles from the city and you can get a high speed train which takes between 12-25 minutes to get to you the city or a coach transfer which will drop you to your hotel door. The coach transfer is recommended as Hong Kong temperatures can reach high 30’s and lugging a case around in that heat from the train station is not fun when you can relax in the air-con of a coach and get dropped to the lobby of your hotel.
One thing not to miss in Hong Kong is the celebration of lights which happens each evening at 8:15. Get yourself a Star Ferry around this time to enjoy the skyscrapers in the bay lighting up in a type of choreography to be witnessed. We got a star ferry cruise which I think was about €30 and this included refreshments and 1 hour cruising around the bay with nice music as you enjoyed the lights.
If you want to go on a trip, the Big Buddha trip to Ngong Ping is not to be missed. This involves a 25 minute cable car ride which runs from near the airport to the Ngong Ping area. The Big Buddha is elevated on a hill and you can climb up to it for stunning views. Inside the Budda there is a museum all about the history of the Buddha. The trip also includes a vegetarian meal cooked by the monks where you can taste traditional cuisine – this included delicacies such as Lotus Flower which I had never tasted but was delicious. On the trip you also get taken to a traditional fishing village … a thousand miles away from the hussle and bussel of down town Hong Kong.
If you are looking for somewhere to stay, I would recommend the Novatel Century on Jaffa Road. It is very clean, rooms are excellent and very well serviced, the staff go 10 times further to make you happy. The breakfasts are fantastic – I never had Dim Sum for breakfast before ! There is more than enough choice for breakfast. Don’t miss the roof top swimming pool which is best experienced in the late evening when you can hear the busy streets but you are enjoying a swim outdoors in the city with jets flying low overhead – Magic !
Hong Kong has a lot to offer and will be somewhere I continue to return to – however next time we will upgrade to Business Class as our Cathay Pacific flight was just too long to be stuck in economy class, as my legs kept falling asleep from the seats on the Boeing 747-400 which were not all that comfortable.
Shanes Recommended Links for Hong Kong
Ngong Ping : http://www.np360.com.hk/
Novotel Century : http://www.novotel.com/
Grayline Tours : http://www.grayline.com/Grayline/destinations/asia/hongkong.go
