Piggy & Mousy: 7/19/09

OCTOPUS CARD (Must have!)

Traveling in HK is never complete for budget traveler without one piece of this tiny card. Octopus card can be used in most 7/24 shops such as 7-11. Just tab it onto the card reader and you can take bus, tram, MTR, buy things...and the list goes on...
With MTR, we had managed to visit the list of places below..

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MONEY MATTER

Hawker stalls, street vendors do not take big notes i.e. don't pay people in HKD 1000 la..
Credit cards: HK$ or your home currency? Tell the cashier to charge in HK $ coz their exchange rate is always lower than the banks' exchange rate. You'll need to pay more if they convert to your home currency rate.

WONG TAI SIN

Don't buy the joss stick outside the temple premises such as near the MTR exit, they "free-lance" vendor charges higher price

PLANNING THE TRIP

Check the MTR Exit for destination of interest. Kowloon to Central HK Island route costs less than HKD 20..Taxi will cost 3-digits.. website: www.mtr.com.hk
Tramway or Ding Ding is the cheapest mode of transportation in HK. With a flat fare of only $2, it's the cheapest sightseeing tour around.. Website: www.hktramways.com
Check the bus route and bus no. ahead for your destinations that are not next to MTR. Travelling by bus are mostly less than HKD5. It is much much more cheaper than taking te taxi. Taxi fare starts metering at HKD 18. A useful website with the bus fare, bus number and route covered: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_bus_routes_in_Hong_Kong (wikipedia)
Star Ferry, is another cheap and unique way to travel between Tsim Sha Tsui and Central from early morning until late at night. Upper deck seats cost $2.20 while the lower deck cost $1.70, both payable with Octopus, cash (change given) or by on-site vending machine.

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VISA

MALAYSIAN as of most Asian and Western visitors do not need visa to travel into Macao and Hong Kong.
However, a visa is required to enter mainland China from Hong Kong or travel straight from Malaysia to Mainland China.

RESTAURANT

Make reservation online or by phone ahead, this will save a lot of time from having to queue for a table. Popular eatery are always and I do mean always packed with hungry customers.
Waiter and waitresses in HK have very short "staging" time, if you cannot make up your mind on the food choice, just tell 'em to come back later or identify that you are a tourist, ask em to recommend their signature dishes. Most will gladly come back later to take your order. Nothing personal, they are just moving with the pace of the city.
To save money, try set meals. They are normally the seller items.
Support KFC, McDONALD, BURGER KING if you are not interested in HK Chinese food, the fast food chains are much much cheaper than eating fried rice at roadside hawker stalls

HOTEL

Pre-book online, surf the web high and low coz different website offer different price range for the same hotel.
Read the reviews posted by past customers, it reflects what is the actual hotel condition.
REMEMBER: Check whether the website is prepay or pay after stay. If prepay, there's no need to book too early due to the fluctuating exchange rate.
Travel in even number. Example 2 persons, 4 persons...hotel rooms are cheaper for 2pax. Rooms are normally too small for extra bed or hotel charge high rate for d extra bed.

CLIMATE

Best time of visit: October to November (autumn season)
Spring : March to mid May. Temperature is 18-27 degree. Light jacket or jumper is advisable especially for evening.
Summer : late May to mid September. Temperature is 26-34 degree, SUPER HOT. Pack all your light clothes + a light pullover, coz air-con will be full blast. Easy to catch cold.
Autumn: from September to December. Humidity and temperature drops.
Winter: mid December to February. Low temperature of 6-10 degree. Bring a jacket.
Typhoon season: May to November, most prevalent in September. Take note of the typhoon warning signs displayed by the hotels and shops. Typhoon strength: weakest = 1, Strongest = 8.

SHOPPING

50% is the starting point for bargaining and price haggling when you visit street markets such as Ladies' street, temple street. Bargaining is COMPULSORY!
Tourist traps: Full payment - store owner says, "aiyo! got no stock. I replace another item for you". Be careful. Check and ensure that you see the actual stock before parting with any money.
ShopCite: This website can be used on mobile anytime and almost anywhere in the city to check the latest price of electronic good sold by large chain stores and reputable shop for price comparison.
SALES SEASON:

Late December (X'mas season) till February (Chinese New Year)
Summer sales from July till August. major discounts of 50% plus, parrticularly in end of season fashion items can be picked up.

DISNEYLAND

Plan d time to be spent in Disneyland. Make use of the published schedule online HK Disneyland website. This will allow time optimization of the visit.
Pay 1 day, play for 2 days. If you are staying in Disneyland hotel, go check in first. This way you can get the park entrance ticket upgraded to 2 days ticket at the check-in counter. Plus, no need to queue at the park entrance anymore.
Souvenirs: get em at TRENDYLAND, authorized HK Disneyland shop outside Disneyland Resort. Price is much more cheaper. Disney shops in the park is too much of a "lure"..and gals, you will definitely be tempted to spend ahahhahaha~~

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SUMMER VISIT

Umbrella: must have, tend to drizzle from time to time.
Sunblock: crazy hot summer. unless you really wanna save..avoid summer
Fan: fordable type is suffice, provide bit of ventilation.
Mask: for people with sensitive nose. City of coz got smog, not for H1N1 la hahahahhaah~~

MACAO VISIT

Piggy & Mousy