Hong Kong (SAR) Dos and Don'ts

If you find yourself in Hong Kong and are eager to take a ferry to an outlying island, a trek to Lamma Island is definitely worth the ferry fare. You can rent a bike from one of the local bike shops and explore the paths (bonus: no cars on the island!). Have a bite to eat at the Bookworm Cafe...reflect at one of the small temples...go to Power Station Beach for Saturday beach volley ball, or if you are lucky, a beach rave at night. Take in the atmosphere, not the view of the power station towers :)

If you're visiting Hong Kong, you'll need at least a couple weeks there because of the sheer number of things you can see and do! One week definitely isn't enough time to see enough on what appears to be a small dot on a globe. Hong Kong is excellent for food, fantastic for shopping, and wonderful for site seeing. Definitely get yourself a guide so that you visit the local streets. They have a district that has a road for just shoes, another road for just flowers, another for electronics, and the list goes on! Malls in this area are made for specific shoppers so they put everything under one roof. Imagine one multi-level building for just girl clothing and shoes, all at amazingly cheap prices! They also have many high-end brand names there in other districts. For site-seeing, Hong Kong is beautiful close to the harbour where the museum is. There's a light show everynight around 8pm and fireworks on special occasions. And you can also see the city from the highest point in Hong Kong at The Peak. A tram will take you to the top or you can be adventurous and take a bus or taxi. Transportation in Hong Kong is excellent, with taxis being relatively inexpensive, and subways being even faster. You won't want or need to rent a car, because it's expensive and difficult to find parking. Finally, travelling from Hong Kong to places like Macau is a great trip if you're interested in some site-seeing or gambling. Or you can even go to Disneyland over there, although it's not as large as the one in the USA.

If you got a cell phone with sim card (e.g. Rogers or Fido), bring it with you to HK. You can buy a sim card for pretty cheap from the corner stores in HK and use that for the duration of your trip for local calls! Yay no roaming charges :)  

Cheung Chau
Seafood, temples, hikes and beaches

Neighborhood: Outlying Islands

Nearest Train: Ferries from Central

One look at the crowded harbour and it is easy to guess the main occupation of the thriving local community. Numerous seafood restaurants line the quayside to take advantage of the fresh daily catches, and visitors should do the same! The Pak Tai Temple is the focus of the frenzied four-day Bun Festival in late April or early May. The small island has many more temples, all dedicated to Tin Hau, goddess of the sea. Alternatively, there are always beaches to head for. Tung Wan Beach is popular, but try hiking to Tung Wan Tsai for a little more seclusion.

Tai Po Market Man Mo Temple Fu Shin Street
Tai Po Market
Hong Kong

Neighborhood : New Territories Aside from colourful shopping, Tai Po Market is worth visiting for this smoky temple, which not only honours the gods of Man (literature god) and Mo (military god) but also acts as a local gathering point for the area's elderly. The front courtyard, planted with palms, provides shade for those taking a rest on the benches, whilst just inside the temple itself there is usually a crowd in the midst of lively conversation. Large incense coils with red prayer plaques hang from the ceiling and add an all-pervasive scent to the atmosphere of this picturesque temple.