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Add an 8GB class 6 SDHC and you’re ready for most home internet users.

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Special Exhibitions

Made in Hong Kong – Contemporary Art Exhibition
(21 Dec 2007 – 6 Apr 2008)

An Inheritance of Virtuosity :
Donated Chinese Paintings of Ho Chat-yuen
(28 Dec 2007 – 9 Mar 2008)
"Hong Kong Art: Open Dialogue" Exhibition Series
(2008 – 2009)

Permanent Exhibitions

New Literati Painting
(From 1 Mar 2008)

Early 20th Century Guangdong Painting
(Until 17 Feb 2008)

Collecting and Inheriting: A Selection of Paintings and Calligraphy of the Ming and Qing Dynasties from the Xubaizhai Collection

Chinese Jade and Gold

Gems of Chinese Ceramics from the Hong Kong Museum of Art

The Chater Legacy － A Selection of the Chater Collection

What I wish I knew before going to Hong Kong

1. The MTR Song
2. Get an MTR/Octopus Card at arrival using your Credit Card, add HK$50 of cash value to it so you can use it in 7-Eleven and Wellcome (sic) for water and snacks. HK$50 is about US$7. Mastercard, Visa are preferred over Amex at most places.
3. Grab a copy of all the station exit maps here. Keep them in your PDA so you know which of up to 15 exits to take out of the MTR headed in the direction you need to go. This is especially important for Tsim Sha Tsui station. It is HUGE and near many attractions.
4. You can get cash from almost any ATM at a reasonable conversion rate. You hardly ever need cash, but having HK$100-400 in your pocket for unexpected items is useful. MTR stations have well lit ATMs. Cash is provided by individual banks, not the government so each note may look a little different. Nobody seems to care which bank the note was issued by. I understand that the government is going to be issuing legal tender in the future.
5. Credit Cards are welcome almost everywhere – except 7-Eleven and Wellcome or for charges under HK$100.
6. If your hotel doesn’t include free internet service, get a PCCW wifi account, but don’t expect it to work in your hotel. I don’t know why wifi doesn’t work, just that it doesn’t. There are a few free internet sites that may work for some travelers. I’m a internet whore.
7. Currently, the Lonely Planet HK Guidebook seems to be the best for Hong Kong. Macau – basically, none of the guidebooks cover it that you can trust. There doesn’t seem to be an accurate map of Macau made by anyone.
8. TV sucks, but you won’t care. Don’t expect an alarm clock in your room
9. Hotel rooms will be 25-50% smaller than in the US for a similar cost – think New York City. The Eaton had tiny rooms.
10. Learn 20-40 Cantonese phrases, but almost everyone speaks English or Engrish. I wish I knew how to count in Cantonese, really.
11. Be prepared to walk a lot. You’ll be walking up and down stairs constantly. Yes, the MTR stations have escalators, but you’ll probably choose the wrong way or they won’t be on the exit/entrance you need. If you have a PDA, preload all the MTR exit information into it. Wikipedia MTR is a good ref, but so does the MTR website. Here’s the ideal map per station.
12. Learn the MTR and plan your day trips by the section of the island and island that you plan to be on. Try to avoid going back to your hotel until after dinner.
13. Expect to eat real Chinese food, which most westerners will have trouble eating. I’m over 40 and it appears that I’ve never been to a real Chinese restaurant in the USA before this trip. Well, once in San Francisco with Lui Wang – but he ordered all the food and I thought it was nasty. There’s something about a live eel writhing in pain on a hot plate while it cooks itself that just isn’t appetizing to me, even now.
14. I knew not to drink the water or have any ice. Good advice. Towards the end of the trip, I did have ice in my alcoholic drinks and didn’t get sick. The WHO (World health org) says HK water is safe to drink provided the entire piping system hasn’t been compromised. I have no way to determine that and many locals drink bottled water there too.
15. 7 days aren’t enough to do all that I wanted to do in Hong Kong, much less Macau or outer islands. 14 day’s was just about right. By the end, my feet and legs hurt, and I could sleep at any point in the day from exhaustion.
16. Bathrooms – nothing to worry about.
17. Candy – the 3/4" tube candy is good. It is sour covered with gummy inside. Perhaps I can find it here?
18. There are lots of pretty girls. There is also lots of acne.
19. Bring ear plugs for you and your traveling companion. You both snore. Get over it.
20. Places to eat that I can recommend
    1. Gunga din’s in Soho – Indian food, spicy, tasty, yummy. RECOMMENDED Next trip, I’ll be going back.
    2. Fat Angelo’s anywhere – Americanized Italian food. Only if I’m desperate for non-Chinese food. It wasn’t bad, but there are certainly better options around the corner. Avoid the pizza. Salads and bread are good.
    3. Any packed Chinese Restaurant that has good looking food.
    4. Bangkok Thai near Tin Hau – Fantastic! I’ll eat there again. RECOMMENDED
    5. Peninsula Hotel HK – we ate breakfast here. French toast and an Omelet for me. Bangers, eggs, potatoes , Grape Nuts and Fruit for Jim. It was over US$70 for both of us, but perhaps the best meal I had in Hong Kong. RECOMMENDED
    6. Biergarten in Soho – Their Schnitzel was good. Appetizer good. The Bier selections were better. Jim had Wurst and liked it. If you’re in the area, go. Not worth hunting down, IMHO.
    7. Etshu Sushi in Tin Hau – eh – the food was good, but very expensive. I’ll never go back.
    8. KFC outside the Tung Chung MTR station – it was filling and cheap. I don’t think there was a better choice available at the time.
    9. Bulldog’s in soho – eh, if you need English food, I guess it is ok. We went only because they had a Superbowl watching party at 7am on a Monday morning. I had the biggest breakfast they had and it was good, but I barely ate the day before.
    10. Bali Restaurant in Kowloon – RECOMMENDED; it looks like a dump 1/2 a block off Nathan’s Rd. We were the only diners at the time. I was tempted to eat there again when we moved to the Eaton since it is just a few blocks away towards the closest MTR station. We walked by it 2+ times a day the last 3 days.
    11. Ruby Tuesday in Tai Koo – Avoid Jim got sick. My fajitas were less than tasty. This was an expensive meal when compared to others we ate.
    12. Times Square Mall food court – Yes, we ate in the food court and it was tasty. RECOMMENDED Just learning the method to order, pay for and pick up your food was a learning experience. Be certain you know Cantonese enough to recognize your number. If you don’t, you may not eat.
    13. Ho Choi Seafood Restaurant in central (I think) – RECOMMENDED; we ate here on Chinese New Years Day and had Dim sum. The bill was less than KH$100 or US$13. I’ll go back next visit.
    14. Krispy Kreme in Soho – it was just what I needed after Jim tricked me into walking up all the mid-level steps a few blocks away from the escalators. It was there when I needed it, but I doubt I’ll return.
    15. McDonald’s Tin hau – We needed a quick dinner before heading out to the parade. It tastes like you expect, which is good.
    16. Jim’s Big Wieners Version 1, “Version 2”:
    17. This restaurant (don’t know the name) – RECOMMENDED Purely Chinese food. Most dishes were tasty seafood, bbq pork , soup, beans but I found the crab dish that I ordered too small and too much trouble to eat.
    18. Maxine’s in Hung Hom station – it was food and quick. Nothing to write about here.
    19. Oliver’s Super Sandwiches in Tai Wai – linguine eh. Jim’s sandwich reported as good.

In short, go to Hong Kong. You will be fine and have an eye opening experience.

I stayed in 3 different hotels over 2008 Chinese New Year week, 7 days at this hotel. The Metropark was the best overall value.

Location across the street from the Tin Hau MTR station on the HK Island line was fantastic. Combined with an MTR Octopus card and you have easy access to almost everything that HK/Kowloon has to offer.

Staff was always friendly and provided extra pillows and a USA power inverter when asked.
Harbor View room (not suite) was normal sized for Asia – about 25% smaller than USA hotel rooms.

Don’t expect much from the TV – mostly Chinese stations.

Our package included free internet, which helped us plan our day trips. However, it wasn’t the normal plug in get DHCP address and go. We couldn’t get it to work with a router and had to use IE to connect over their "hotel internet proxy" – which was more effort than normal. I doubt my Nokia Internet Tablet would have worked at all. I don’t travel with a laptop, but fortunately my travel partner did. Otherwise, I would be SOL.
The view from our 14th floor "Harbor View" room was unbelievable. I could stare out that room for hours just watching HK and harbor activities. We watched the Chinese New Year harbor fireworks from hotel the roof, I doubt we could have found a better viewing location.

The shower was similar to my home shower. Ok for a hotel.

We never drank the hotel water – a Wellcome and 7-Eleven were on the block for quick snacks and water. The MTR/Octopus card can be used for purchases at these shops.
As usual, food in the hotel was expensive. I ate 1 breakfast and 1 dinner here, good, but expensive. The dinner buffet was tasty, breakfast had enough English food to keep my stomach happy after almost a week of only exotic food.

If I return to Hong Kong or Kowloon, the Metropark will be on my short list of hotels to consider, but the internet connectivity will be a challenge.

After a long day of shopping, sight seeing, or even a trip to Macau, coming home to the Metropark was always good.

Didn’t wake up until 2:30p Thursday due to jet lag. That was 16+ hours of sleep after going hard for 12 straight days in Hong Kong/Macau.

Being home is surreal. I can’t believe the trip is over.

I plan to got thru all the trip pictures and movies to tag them with additional information. I’m looking for a way to link google map locations with each picture and comments. The ultimate goal is to provide a way for someone to follow the trip or plan their own trip better. Any ideas?

After I figure the total cost for HK, it is time to start planning the next trip. Costa Rica done; Western Europe? Australia? Brazil, Argentina done; Peru or someplace else?

It took until Saturday (3 days) to un-lag myself. The trip cost me about $3400, which was more than I’d planned, but we ate much richer food, stayed 4 days longer than planned and I included vaccinations and other expenses needed for other trips too. All the bills aren’t in yet, so some are just estimates.

2 weeks of life changing experiences for $3k – seems fair to me. I’d do it again.

Since I have a visa for China that is good for 2 entries and the next 6 months, I should try to get to Shanghai, Beijing and walk a few days on The Great Wall.

This was a travel day.
HKG -> Chicago -> Atlanta
11:40am -> 4:45pm All times local.

Leaving the Eaton hotel, we planned to take the Airport Express bus and train, but a taxi offered a direct trip for HK$250 – since Jim had lost his Octopus card days ago, he needed to pay HK$100 for the trip anyway. I still had the return trip covered on my card, but quick math had Jim agreeing to the taxi ride as a bargain.

Along the way, we tried to take photos of huge apartments and shipping/container industrial complexes. The photos don’t show how many miles of container complexes there were. I’d guess 15 miles worth. Hong Kong is definitely an import/export hub.

Breakfast is in the airport. I have an omelet and Jim has ramen noodles and some kind of breaded meat.
We each had some HK$ to spend before leaving, so we browse 20+ shops looking for airport junk. Nothing really jumps out, so we dump the remaining local currency on some tissues, cough drops, candy and t-shirts.

The scale of this airport is impressive. Long walk ways with wide spaces.

Since airplane food is always a concern, we grab a quick lunch near our gate. Jim has a wrap and I have a tuna sandwich with just a few minutes before boarding da plane. Since we already went through security, I decide to take my just purchased water bottle with me. As we board the plane, everyone is searched again by Chinese customs – there goes my water. A few minutes later on the plane, the couple next to me pulls out 2 complete Popeye’s Fried Chicken Meals – including bottled water – that they’d purchased in the terminal. I’m less than happy.

Airplane rides, but only 17 hours worth this time. In Chicago, we go through customs – boring. They don’t even look in my stuff. Then we change terminals and get to go through security again. All this with under 45 minutes between landing and take off. Both flights were completely full, but I had an aisle seat for both, so it wasn’t too bad for my leg room. Jim was on the aisle on the long flight, but in the center on the CH->ATL flight. Arg. I can smell myself and I’m certain the people next to me can as well. For the short flight, I’m sitting next to an Army survival school teacher. We discuss a few TV shows and he makes fun of Les the Survivorman guy. He likes Bear – the former SAS guy though.

Anyway, we touch down at 4:45pm but I didn’t get home until after 6pm ET thanks to MARTA and baggage claim. ‘’Showered!’‘, caught up on bills that needed payment, started entering all the trip costs into Quicken, watched a little tube, ate a Schlotzsky’s sandwich and went to bed by 10pm.

[[HK-Post-Trip]]

Today was a slow day because we didn’t go to Shenzhen – the company wasn’t able to accept our visit due to the New Years Holiday.

After a 100% Chinese breakfast in a local busy restaurant full of Chinese that I’m still not certain what the meat actually was, we did a little shopping for a friend – sorry Al, the price of the "item" became significantly more when packaging, shipping, insurance were added in. It became US$250-ish. That was much different from the original cost of US$175 (I’m doing the conversions they don’t take US$ here)

After walking out on the ladies trying to rip us off, yet another Indian tried to get me to buy a new custom suit. I’d had enough, so I tried to sell him my US$20 casio watch for US$40. He said, "sure", but couldn’t produce the money. By talking to him, he followed me more than the normal 10 feet. Best just to completely ignore them.

Lunch was 1oo% Chinese again. Jim and I were the only Occidentals in the place, just like breakfast. The soup and duck weren’t to my liking, but the shrimp and dumplings were good. The restaurant was in a mall, that seems to be one of the best places to find good food in HK.

Then we were finally able to visit the HK Museum of Art – I feel cultured now. I tried to capture the artist information after each picture. We weren’t allowed to photograph many of the rooms and even where we were allowed, only 10% of the art is captured. There’s just so much that I don’t find interesting. My feet hurt and Jim started feeling sick so it was straight home in the mid-afternoon.

I put my feet up, ate the remaining sugar candy since it can’t be brought into the USA and had a short siesta. (added later – now that I’ve traveled more, I know that candy CAN be brought back. That candy was tasty and I’ve found it available on-line, but haven’t ordered any.)

Dinner was Chinese again. Hot and Sour soup with Sea Cucumber was FANTASTIC! :TODO: Jim’s photos needed

Basically, we’ve done everything on each of our lists to accomplish while in Hong Kong. Jim packs up and I read some Vinge. A wake up call for 7am is requested.

Ok, so I’ve spent a little over a week in and around Hong Kong now. What have I learned?

1. Clean drinking water is wonderful
2. drink more water than you think
3. showering daily is nice, but not mandatory
4. Stay to the left doesn’t always work; sometimes you need to stay to the right in traffic
5. Bring 2 pair of jeans on every trip if the weather isn’t too hot
6. Bring 3 t-shirts
7. Sunscreen
8. You can get a few days of wear out of most clothes between washings
9. Engrish is confusing – still their English is better than my Cantonese
   • subway doesn’t mean there’s an underground train down there. It could just be a street crossing.
   • Toilet is a wonderful word, but still has many different meanings.
   • Final Sale means all sales final.
10. Escalators are good, especially in hilly cities
11. Give some money to the Buddhists
12. Macau isn’t just for gambling
13. Water Ferries are smoother than you think
14. Double decker buses are fun
15. If it is an animal and moves, chances are the Chinese probably eat it
16. Coke Lite, not Diet Coke.
17. Speaking German in a German restaurant in Hong Kong isn’t very useful
18. Many travelers are completely obnoxious, not just N. Americans
19. Not all brands of jeans can fit (rough rider?)
20. Recharge your Li Ion camera batteries overnight, every night.
21. Layering is key – t-shirt, heavy shirt, shell, light jacket cover most needs
22. Bring hiking boots if you’ll be walking a bunch
23. You can buy socks and underwear, but they fit differently.
24. You are better off ignoring the Indian Hawkers than noticing them. For the last time, no, I do not need a watch or custom tailored suit.
25. Chinese food can be challenging to eat. Good Indian, Italian, German, Japanese, etc. can be had in HK. Watch out for American at Ruby Tuesdays – hi cost and JH got sick from it.
26. Mass transit done well is fantastic
27. Be prepared to walk, climb, and for your feet and legs to hurt at the end of the day
28. Listen carefully to whatever the other person repeats back to you. Chances are, you or they didn’t really understand your intent.
29. Ear plugs are great if traveling with anyone else – for both of you
30. Internet in a room is a luxury; all sorts of protection schemes exist that only work with Windows/IE.
31. Keep receipts – conversion from HK$ into your native currency is interesting later, not in real-time, but you do get better at it
32. Ignore your diet when walking as much as we did
33. You don’t need a plan before you leave, but you do need to plan every day before heading out
34. Carry your passport with you – ALWAYS.
35. A HK$20 rolex can be had almost anywhere.
36. Phones, computers, etc. aren’t any cheaper in HK and usually don’t have a warranty
37. after a long day, a good shower can make everything ok.
38. Knowing 10-20 phrases gets you a long way with the locals – I knew zero.
39. 10,000 Buddha’s is a bunch.
40. When a line looks long at first, it probably is 2x whatever you think it is. There’s probably another line that you can’t see, but will need to get in too.
41. Take more pictures than you can stand while traveling, but don’t forget to enjoy the experience at the time too.
42. Almost anything you can buy in HK can be had cheaper or same price back home … if you can get it there. The value is in knowing it came from Hong Kong.
43. Brushing your teeth when you can’t drink any of the tap water only took me 4 days to figure out.

Today we were up early to get our emergency VISAs for mainland China.
Next, off to Repulse Bay to see Jim’s old home and school.

• CTS – China VISA HK$1600 each
• No breakfast
• Repulse Bay (260 bus)
  • Walk on the beach, touch the South China Sea
  • Hike up the hill side to Jim’s old international primary school
  • Visit with the current Pastor
  • Catch the 26 bus back to Central HK
• Lunch at Fat Angelo’s (heck, the bus stopped there)
  • Salad, huge rolls, broccoli and cheese, and Pizza
• Watch (Jim found a watch a few days ago and has been shopping for the best deal on it all over Kowloon and HK. Today was the day to purchase it. The shop in Times Square couldn’t find the manual, then a few of the watches didn’t work with every function. 2 year international warranty included.)
• The Peak – you have to go there if you’re visiting HK.
• Back to Kowloon to CTS – VISAs approved!
• Search for Tea Cups on Nathan St – there is an large assortment of options. Some junk, some too expensive.
• Gunga din’s Indian Dinner – This is a basement in a building in Soho that we stumbled onto. We were the first diners, so it was scary. The place filled up as we were eating. My mixed Tandoori was FANTASTIC food with the King Prawn. Highly recommended.
• Jazz club – after diner, strolling just a few steps from Gunga din’s in soho was a jazz club. If you know Jim, you understand. We spent the next 2+ hours listening to improv jams and getting to know the club, management, and musicians. Good folks struggling with a club that has been opened 8 months or so.

Today we traveled between Kowloon, HK, Repulse Bay, HK, Peak, Kowloon, HK, Kowloon – we’re getting good at the MTR and buses. We could have been more efficient by using the CTS in HK, I guess.

Ok, my first full day in HK. I’ll describe a few photos that were taken through the day.
Out the window just before the sun came up. Across the bay is Kowloon. The lights in the foreground are in Victoria Park where a flower festival is scheduled every evening this week.

I take a 5 hour walk around the Causeway Bay, Tin Hau, Wan Chai and Aberdeen districts today. This helps me fight my jet lag, get a little exercise and get the feel for the area around the hotel.

Looking back now, it appears that I took too many building photos. Some of them are of men working on bamboo truss systems. Sadly, you don’t get the scale of their work. The photo don’t include the 1st 4 floors.

I was also amazed by the trees growing where there is no dirt, right on/into the concrete.

Little walk rest stops are all over HK.

I head into Victoria Park for the morning version of the flower festival where I see lots of new and unusual plants. I plan to come back in the evening with Jim to learn what these are. There were other folks running, walking, exercising on strange devices (think wax-on, wax-off wheels placed at chest level) and a few groups of 5 or so practicing Tai Chi. The Great Crane movement has to be seen to be appreciated.

Wandering around HK on a Sunday you see the city come alive. As noon came around, more and more and more people are out shopping, meeting together, and sharing their views in official demonstration areas. It appeared that every Muslim girl on the island got together. I didn’t take many pictures of people since I didn’t know local customs. There was a point where I was surrounded by about 200 Filipino girls all about half my height who appeared to be buying panties from a corner vendor. Sorry guys, I should have snapped a picture.

McDonald’s, KFC, and Pizza Hut exist, but I haven’t been into any of them.

I walked about 5 miles today. Up and down overpasses, underpasses, crossing streets with 50 MPH double decker buses flying by and thousands and thousands of people going about their Sunday business. Outside the International Center mall, I was approached by a Buddhist Monk offering peace for a donation. HK$5 later (about US$0.90) and it was clear he was disappointed with me. I claimed to not understand and that I couldn’t understand what he wanted from me. Should have snapped a picture of him in his golden robes. I’ve learned it is common for non-monks to pretend they are to get “donations.” The monk hinted that I should give him HK$500 – US$65, not likely.

There are also a few MPG movies capturing the sites and sounds of HK. Road work doesn’t stop on Sunday. Having not lived in a city, I’m shocked when a tiny bird hops right up to me. Well, I decide to waste some video time on the bird, not that the species is interesting or anything, just the behavior. You are warned – I suck as a videographer.

Some HK money, Octopus MTR card, and bottled water are your best friends.

Jim arrives around 9pm and we’re both beat. Good night.