Pre HK & Macau trip
As always, before I went to a place for holiday, I will do a lot of homework for that country. Info such as currency, tax, transportation, hotel etc. HK is one of the easiest for me to do research. Due to many many blogger has done the research before and posted their experience for sharing. I will just summarized what is needed to take note.
Currency
HK primary currency is Hong Kong Dollar. But if you bring the China RenMinBi to HK, you can use it directly. However the ratio is 1:1. It sounds very fair at first but it actually is not. In Malaysia, 100 HKD is about RM 42. And 100 RMB is about RM 52. So 100 HKD and 100 RMB is not really equal. Note, even though Macau accept HKD currency for transaction, but Hong Kong do not accept Macau Pataca for transaction. Please take note on this if you plan to go Macau.Macau primary currency is Macau Pataca (MOP). However most shop accept HKD as for transaction. But if there is change, the change they give is in MOP. And MOP is not accepted in Hong Kong for transaction. So please try to spend all the MOP in Macau before you go to Hong Kong.
Tax
A great news to those luxury goods shopper, both Hong Kong and Macau stores is tax/duty free. Thus shopper do not need to fill up any form or arrange for tax refund. So shop as much as you like here and enjoy cheaper price of goods due to tax free.Transportation
HK transportation is made easy nowadays. Tourist can go get a Octopus card from any 7 eleven store or train station to get the Octopus card. The card value is HKD 150,with initial value of HKD100 and HKD50 is the deposit.http://www.octopus.com.hk/get-your-octopus/choose-your-octopus/on-loan-octopus/standard-octopus/en/index.html
If you are wondering about day pass, there is day pass available at HK airport for tourist only. However I never use more than HKD 55 on transport in a day. And this day pass is only applicable for the MTR. Thus in my opinion, not that much of saving can be gain from it.
http://www.discoverhongkong.com/uk/plan-your-trip/practicalities/transport/getting-around/mtr.jsp
For smart phone user, look for Hong Kong MTR app in the app store and download it. The app can help for planning of train ride in Hong Kong.
http://www.mtr.com.hk/en/customer/services/mtr_mobile.html
Octopus card is very very useful in HK transportation. It can be use for MRT, Bus, Ferry between the Hong Kong Island and Kowloon/Tsim Sha Tsui and some of the taxi. In fact some shop accept octopus card as payment method too.
Most of the time the train station is convenience to go most of the travel location in Hong Kong. But for some places you might need to take bus to go. And road in Hong Kong island can be very tiring to walk due to the land is not flat. Central area for example is made of hillside road that can be tiring for walk.
Ferry from Hong Kong to Macau is just 55 minutes and there is a ferry every 15 minutes. However the ferry ticket can be sold out quite fast. Thus it is recommended that you go earlier to the pier and purchase the ticket in advance. Be punctual for the ferry. If you reach the pier earlier, you can take an earlier ferry to Macau as long as there is seat available. However if you are late, you are not allowed to take the ferry and need to purchase a new ticket. There is 2 choice of pier from Hong Kong to Macau, the pier at Sheung Wan and Pier at Tsim Sha Tsui. Personally, I prefer Sheung Wan pier because it is closer to the MRT station.
Macau transportation is mainly using the free shuttle among the casino and taxi. Shuttle bus destination is mostly stop at another casino location. So take note on the different casino location between the Macau, Taipa and Cotai. Cotai area is a landfill area and most of the Las Vegas casino open their branch here. Such as the famous Venetian Casino is located at the Cotai. If you look at the map, you will mistake Taipa, Cotai and Coloane. Personally I do not like the shuttle bus because I feel it can be time wasting and involve a lot of walking. It can be quite saving for big group of people though.
Hotel
For Hong Kong, most of the hotel fee is very expensive and most of the room is very small. I tried very hard to look for lesser than USD 100 a night but unless I willing to stay at those motel style place, else it is best to spend a little bit more for a safer and comfortable room. I stay near the Tsim Sha Tsui area and it is very convenient with a 7 Eleven and TST MRT Station within 100 meter of my hotel. The fee is not cheap though. About USD 165 per night stay.In general, I would recommend to stay at the Kowloon side of Hong Kong and find a hotel that is close to the MRT station. Hong Kong island hotel can be more expensive unless you stay far from the Central area. In places like North Point. The MRT fee and travel time will increase though so take note about this when you choose the hotel.
A lot of people wonder about the room size in Hong Kong hotel. Imagine a room with a bed in the middle, a TV at the wall and a small space of corridor just enough to pass thru. And almost no place to actually put the luggage except the bed. That is the situation for most of the hotel room in Hong Kong. But things will be better if you willing to spend and stay in higher class hotel.
For Macau, hotel choice is easier, if you want to visit the casino, just choose a hotel in the Venetian area, or Lisboa or Wynn. If you not planning to visit the casino, find a hotel at the Macau island as most of the tourist spot, and historical spot is at Macau island.
Hotel fee is cheaper in Macau and the room is bigger. If you willing to pay the same amount of money like in HK, you can stay in those 5 star hotel and enjoy a comfortable night.
Airport
The Airport in Hong Kong is near Lantau island. It can be quite far from the main tourist spot in Hong Kong. Nowadays most people will choose to go to either the Ngong Ping 360 or City Gate Outlet before leaving Hong Kong. The Hong Kong airport itself have many luxury store for last minute shopping.Transport to Hong Kong airport is very easy. Just take a train to the nearest station and then exchange with a bus ride.
The airport in Macau is located near the Taipa area. There isn't any train ride to the airport but some hotel offer free shuttle bus to the airport. The airport is quite small compare to Hong Kong and not that much of shopping or choice of food.
Outlet
Outlet shopping is almost a must in Hong Kong. These outlet maybe operated by the original brand itself or some shop that resell the brand item at discounted price. I would recommend that you shop at the brand outlet as these will ensure the item you bought is genuine. However outlet like these is more limited and maybe only one or 2 shop in certain place. Normally goods sold in shop like this is last season item. Especially branded handbag.The other type of outlet has branch in most of the important tourist spot. And the brand available is more wide range. Some is actually 2nd hand shop that resell used handbag at a cheap price.
In HK, there is a few location that has a few outlet in the same place.
1. Horizon Plaza at Ap Lei Chau - Has most outlet here and Prada outlet nearby.
2. CityGate - Coach and Burberry outlet here. One of the best location to go on last day before flight home.
3. China Hong Kong City at 33, Canton Road, Tsim Sha Tsui. (This is also the pier for the Macau <-> Hong Kong ferry)
WARNING : All these outlet sell things at a cheaper price but do not expect goods to be sold at 60% or 70% of original price. Most of the time the item is 20% - 30% cheaper then original price. And for most people, a Prada handbag after discount of 20% is still very expensive.
But this do not mean the outlet is something not worth for shopper to visit. Outlet run some sale sometimes and these sale will provide further reduction to cheap item. Coach outlet for example, has a 50% discount + another further 20% discount of the discounted item during my visit. So it depends on the luck when you visit the place.
Power Plug
Another good news for Malaysia traveller. The power plug in Hong Kong is identical to Malaysia which is the 3 pin plug. So you do not need to bring international power plug to there.Food
Food is another expensive spending in Hong Kong. A normal meal at cafe would be about HKD 35~50 per person (About RM 15~21). And in some expensive shop, it can goes to HKD 100 (About RM42).These are really road side small shop, if you dine in those high class shop, things can be even more expensive. Such as those restaurant with Michelin rating.
Others
There is a lot more things to take note in Hong Kong but mostly is not that relevant for Malaysian. For example the driver seat is on the right hand side which is similar to Malaysia.Malaysian do not need apply visa before we go Hong Kong. We only need to fill up a simple form when we reach the Hong Kong immigration.
Courtesy of waiter in shop is really limited. They have little respect to customer. Most expect you to share your table with other people without actually asking if it is ok for you or not. You can feel their impatient when taking your order. I have 2 incident with them that really feel want to left the shop and do not eat there.
1. I feel their set meal is not enough for me thus I order extra things. But the waiter instruct me not to order first and order later. %$#&%&#@! what the fuck is that. I know how much I can eat and feel not enough. But I am not allowed to order?????
2. I see they have trouble to take the plate from the table, so I help to pass the plate. Instead of thankful for helping them, they actually scold me for not holding the plate the right way, and that my way of holding can cause problem.
Pre Hong Kong & Macau trip | Hong Kong & Macau Trip - Day 1 - Comic Avenue | Hong Kong & Macau Trip - Day 1 - Victoria Harbour | Hong Kong & Macau Trip - Day 1 - Avenue of Star | Hong Kong & Macau Trip - Day 2 - Wong Tai Sin & Australia Dairy Co | Hong Kong & Macau Trip - Day 2 - Sheung Wan, Central, Wanchai, Clearwater Bay | Hong Kong & Macau Trip - Day 2 - The Peak | Hong Kong & Macau Trip - Day 3 - Tim Ho Wan | Hong Kong & Macau Trip - Day 3 - Ap Lei Chau Outlet | Hong Kong & Macau Trip - Day 4 - Macau | Hong Kong & Macau Trip - Day 5 - Hong Kong and home
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