There are many places in Asia called the Pearl of the Orient. Penang, to Malaysians, Viet Nam, to Americans and Hong Kong, to everyone.
So this time, I took on the Pearl of the Orient Hong Kong (HK). Almost an island state like Singapore, you can probably finish in few days.
This itinerary was planned for a span 5 days. I will hitting all the famous tourist spots, eat a little and almost no shopping. Planned for the budget traveller initially, the most expensive part this trip was still the flight SGD320, while accommodation was number 2 at SGD250. My food budget was another SGD100 for the whole trip and local transports with entry tickets was close to another SGD100. In total SGD770, HK was not cheap by any means. Cheaper flights and hotel are needed to save more on this trip.
The Journey
The flight was not too bad, just a little over 5 hours. No stopovers, direct. It was my second time on Cathay Pacific Airways. I should have subscribed with their frequent flyers program. I used the same airlines for my Bali trip. The seats were much more comfortable than a budget flight. More leg room too. The best part was I did not have to worry about check in luggage. Everything was included in the fare of 320 Singaporean dollars (SGD).
All I needed to do now was sit back relax and ta-da food was served. The congee was good considering it was airline food. When have you ever heard, anyone giving good reviews about food served on a flight?
This was my first trip to Hong Kong. Something I had planned over 2 years, detailing every inch of the island and how I would spend each minute. Making the most of my time and those precious annual leaves. I spent hours over Trip Advisor looking through reviews of places people visited and gave 5 star reviews.
“It is a must see when you are in Hong Kong!”
“Don’t miss this!”
“Life changing moment after coming here.”
Ok, I made up that last one.
And yet, after so much meticulous planning, I would always get stuck on choosing a hotel for this low budget trip. Hong Kong hotels are not easy on the wallet. A good hotel would cost easily from USD 150 or more. A two-star hotel would be cheaper but they are always full and it is rather difficult to book in advance.
Most backpackers or budget travellers would always suggest hostels especially the infamous Chung King Mansion (more on this later).
While, I do see some good reviews, there is always an equal amount of poor reviews about staying in hostels. Everything from loud patrons, elevators not working, small beds, insects, limited shower area, weird smell, hotelier not honouring bookings to men trying to pick up lone female travellers.
Next, I was worried about language. Hong Kong-ers spoke Cantonese instead of Mandarin. Not that I know either language. The only Cantonese I could muster up was “leng lui”, which was “pretty girl” and “mai tan”, which meant “check please”. I was not sure if either would help me in a pinch or get me deeper in trouble.
No pain, no gain. I cannot write a good story if I never get my feet wet. After all, I have been to places where I did not speak the language, hotels with weird smells and loud patrons. In most places I been, I was usually the loud patron.
Although, I initially would like to make it backpackers trip, I classify this as a budget trip.
The Stay
The hotels in Hong Kong were so expensive so I decided to check out budget hotels, guesthouses and hostels.
I was not planning to stay much in my room during my stay here. So a cheap place with a private shower, clean bed and place to chuck my stuff would be sufficient.
Chung King Mansion was the first place recommended by most backpackers and budget travellers. Chung King Mansion has quite a reputation and not in a good way. Complaints range from elevators being way too crowded and or broken down, suspicious men loitering outside the building, people approaching you to buy stuff, the smell and the smell. A simple Google search on Chung King Mansion’s history and it will tell you why.
So, that was out. I seen good reviews for this place called Oi Suen Guesthouse. As usual there are good and bad reviews. I guess the poor reviews are not by budget travellers, expecting 5-star hotel accommodation. However, the owner does take the effort to respond to poor reviews. Fair is fair. I took a chance and booked.
What I liked the most was after booking the room (through Asia Room), the owner sent me an email almost immediately. She gave relevant advice, what to expect when arriving in Hong Kong. Heck, she even gave detail explanation with photos on how to find the place. In Hong Kong, almost all buildings here look the same. If you do a book hotel, do get such details.
When I arrived here, I took the lift up but it does get crowded at times. I was greeted by Rainbow (aka Ellen) at the reception. The reception is a just a desk in one of the rooms.
Listen carefully to her instruction. There is a deposit for the keys and a receipt will be provided. Return the key and receipt when you check out.
The room is small. The bed filled two corners of the room. There was space under bed to keep your stuff and a meter away, a very small toilet-washroom-shower facility. There was no window and this is a good thing, it keeps the noise down at night. The air-conditioning works and keeps the room well ventilated.
Careful when you shower. Avoid stepping over the shower drain. If the drain is blocked, water overflows from the shower into the room. Then your stuff gets wet. In my personal experience, the water made its way to the corridor. It was really messy to clean it up later.
The room will be cleaned daily with fresh floor mats or towels. Towels you use after showering is HKD20. So bring one. There are minimal toiletries. Shower gel and shampoo are provided but no toothbrush. Stuff which you need to bring if you don’t want to buy more stuff.
Check-ins are between 2PM to 7PM but if you are arriving later then do inform Ellen. Check out is at 11AM.
The only thing not working in my room was the TV, but I didn't mind as I was not in the room most of the time. I informed Ellen but it still wasn't working during my entire stay there. She did apologize about it but it was of no consequence to me.
Ask Ellen anything you need and she will help you get it, especially the discounted tickets for Tian Tan Buddha cable ride and Victoria Peak tram. In each room, there is a information card on how to get to the airport, Hong Kong tourist spots. Do get the SIM card, it is totally worth it if you are staying for 5 days or more. Ask Ellen and she will advise on the best option for you.
The 5-night stay cost an average of 50 dollars a night. You can get better deals if you book early. I booked only 2 weeks in advance.
There were many restaurants down stairs and it was close to the Ladies Night Market. Mongkok MTR is also around the corner. Money changers are everywhere and some are opened all night.
DON'T PANIC
HKD 1000
There is scare about fake HKD1000 notes. I looked online and it was very difficult to differentiate between fakes and non-fakes, new and old notes. It is a serious (and on-going) issue. An online search will reveal articles dating back as far back as 2007. Some merchants do not accept HKD1000. In other cases when a merchant isn’t sure, they will return the notes back to you and ask you pay them with other notes. I found out early, thanks to Ellen.
A tip, do not change HKD1000 notes at your local money changer. Just get HKD500 as your largest note.
Prepaid SIM Card and Phone
One of the things, I did almost immediately was to get a local SIM Card. Ellen allows you to rent if you need one. I bought one which has unlimited data plan and some limited minutes for calling and SMS for HKD98. This plan will last for 1 week.
Not Sure How to Get There or What to do in Hong Kong?
I like Ellen’s approach to customer service. After making the online booking, she sent me all the necessary advice I needed to survive HK. This included bus number I should take from the airport.
She gave some details on some of the tourist spots in HK, discounted tickets to visit some of the attraction here, she can even arrange a tourist guide if you need one.
How to get to the City?
There are 3 different ways to get into the City. Train, taxi and bus.
There airport buses which link directly to certain stops at certain major hotels. If your accommodation is one of those places the airport buses would be a good a choice.
Taxi are the fastest to get into town and the most expensive. Taxis here use meter system and regulated. Again language maybe a problem. Do get details of the hotel prior to coming and give it to the driver.
The easiest way for me was the bus and I do mean local buses. You pay fare with your Octopus card and keep an eye on the roads. There is a bus station located in the immediate vicinity of the airport. Ask the info counter and they will guide you there.
Food and Language
There were numerous food places just where I stayed. Being the adventurous backpacker type, I wanted to sample what the locals eat. The only trouble was reading the menu and telling the waiter what I wanted. The first few restaurants I went too, it was always a guessing game on what the waiter would bring me. Sometimes, they got it right and other times, well I like surprises, I guess.
One restaurant I went to did offer English menus but I only got the Cantonese version.
Go to better restaurants and even fast food chains. You will find people who can speak decent enough English. I was so happy to see Food Republic, McDonalds and KFC. Even Toast Box was available here. Food wise, if you have grown eating food in Malaysia and Singapore, Hong Kong doesn’t have anything new to offer in my opinion.
Tourist Guide and Getting Around Hong Kong
Ask anyone who has been to HK, they always suggest getting the local prepaid transport card, immediately after you arrive. The Octopus card can be used for fast transit trains (MTR) and buses.
I found the card immensely useful as I took the train (subway) a lot in HK. The routes are pretty well connected and when I arrive at a station, all I needed was Google map and I found my way around very quickly.
Street signs are written in English so that was definitely a plus.
So the question arises, do you need a tour guide? Yes and no. If Hong Kong culture is something you want to explore, yes you should. Eat what the locals eat, drink where the locals drink.
If you want to do this on a budget and travelling is second nature to you, a guide book is all you need.
Shopping Mecca
There is cheap stuff in HK.
Clothing I found fair-priced but not exactly cheap. Good clothing.
Outdoor and travelling gear is quite OK and in good variety.
Dollar stores offer real bang for your buck.
IT gadgets especially mobile phones are well stocked and they have a lot of discounts.
There are many Indian tailors who do full suits and are well recommended but don’t cost an arm and leg.
So take your pick.
My Final Thoughts
When I asked a friend to come over, her first reaction was HK was way too metropolitan for her liking. My next obvious question.
“Have you been there?”
There is a lot of greenery of HK. The hiking community is much bigger and more organized in comparison to Singapore, which is still growing.
There is more to HK than meets the eye, yes, there were many cars, yes, it is noisy and the city never sleeps (I know I checked) but there are beautiful parks, old towns, a giant Buddha and a stunning skyline.
Yes, you should come.
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