Hong Kong & Bali - recommendations please

[Shadytree]

Hong Kong and Bali are on the short list for a holiday in 2011.

Bali, love the far east having done Thailand three times so interested in learning a little more about Bali and Hong Kong. We love good food, great spas, nice beaches and great service in nice hotels, usually 5* and up.

Any suggestion, recommendations please ?

Locations?

Does, don't s?

Must's , must not's etc

Best time to go ?

Any input is much appreciated

Edited by Shadytree on Thursday 11th November 20:19

[Simon Brooks]

Stayed at this hotel in august for a few days, very nice, would stay there again

http://www.sino-hotels.com/Hong_Kong_Gold_Coast_Ho...

[Grey Ghost]

Spent a week in Hong Kong for the first time in June and can offer the following:

1. Hotel - stayed in The Harbour Grand Kowloon with view out across China Sea. Hotel has roof top pool with stunning sun deck, excellent Chinese and buffet restaurants. It is right next to a Star ferry terminal with regular boats to Causeway terminal. The hotel also runs a bus every 30 mins to The Peninsular which is a 2 minute walk from the star ferry terminal in Kowloon

2. Buy an "Octopus Card" when you arrive at the airport as it can be used on all public transport and also to buy food, drink etc in shops and restaurants. If you include the airport express train option you can check your bags in at either the Kowloon or Hong Kong stations up to 12 hours before your flight (easier to shop etc) and they arrive in the UK from there.

3. Happy Valley race track on a Wednesday night is amazing and worth a visit but check the Hong Kong Jockey Club web site for the calendar of events. You can buy tickets at any Jockey Club outlet and with your passport a VIP ticket can be had for minimal outlay. Get the tram from Central station to the race track, great experience.

4. The Mount is a great place to sightsee - get a 15 bus from Central Station for a great ride up through the trees.

5. Take a few credit cards, the shopping centres are excellent.

Plenty of other stuff to do so we're going back soon

[Wanchaiwarrior]

Grey Ghost said:

Spent a week in Hong Kong for the first time in June and can offer the following:

1. Hotel - stayed in The Harbour Grand Kowloon with view out across China Sea. Hotel has roof top pool with stunning sun deck, excellent Chinese and buffet restaurants. It is right next to a Star ferry terminal with regular boats to Causeway Bay terminal. The hotel also runs a bus every 30 mins to The Peninsular which is a 2 minute walk from the star ferry terminal in Kowloon

2. Buy an "Octopus Card" when you arrive at the airport as it can be used on all public transport and also to buy food, drink etc in shops and restaurants. If you include the airport express train option you can check your bags in at either the Kowloon or Hong Kong stations up to 12 hours before your flight (easier to shop etc) and they arrive in the UK from there.

3. Happy Valley race track on a Wednesday night is amazing and worth a visit but check the Hong Kong Jockey Club web site for the calendar of events. You can buy tickets at any Jockey Club outlet and with your passport a VIP ticket can be had for minimal outlay. Get the tram from Central station to the race track, great experience.

4. The MountThe Peak is a great place to sightsee - get a 15 bus from Central Station for a great ride up through the trees.And come down on the tram

5. Take a few credit cards, the shopping centres are excellent.

Disney Land, although very "chinese" in atmosphere still worth a look, Big Budha on Lantau Island accessable by cable car from Tung Chung (I worked for architects who designed it), Stanley Market on south of HK Island, Night Market in Jordan kowloon side, day trip to chinese side at shenzen(sp?), day/2 day trip to Macau, seafood restaurants on Lamma Island either ferry stop Yung Shue Wan or the other one, temple at Tin Hau, Lan kwai fung or Wanchai for a beer or too also great Thai food at Thai Farmers on Lockhart Road, plenty to do for about a week

Plenty of other stuff to do so we're going back soon

Grey Ghost, yup, pretty lively place, I lived there for almost 10 years

Edited by Wanchaiwarrior on Friday 12th November 03:19

[fieldl]

My sister and brother in law cam recently and I wrote the below, mirrors some of what has already been posted but gives a good idea:


Things to do in Hong Kong:
1) Explore Causeway Bay especially get to Times Square shopping mall above exit A on the MTR. The street outside has some of the most expensive rent outside of Fifth Avenue NYC and the Champes Elysee Paris. Gives you a good idea of shopping in HK. Prices will probably cause heart attacks against GBP though, check out the well dressed and well heeled wandering around.

2) Get a cab to Stanley and explore the market and bay, make sure you go across to the beach and have a look there too. Its easily missed but worth a look.

3) Get the bus back to Central from Stanley bus terminus (6, 6A, 6X and 260 all go to Exchange Sq Central) sit upstairs on the left so you can see out over Repulse Bay. You can’t miss Repulse Bay as you’ll see The Lilly apartment building on the right, it’ll be obvious when you see it.

4) Ride the Peak Tram to the top of Victoria Peak, pay to go to the viewing platform too. Alternatively if you’re feeling strong walk up, or just walk around the circular path at the top for views over all Hong Kong Island and Victoria Harbour.

5) Head back to central and check out the mid-levels escalator and SOHO. It’s very ex-pat oriented and full of nice bars and restaurants.

6) Take the Star Ferry from either Central (Pier 7) or Wan Chai ferry piers to Tsim Sha Tsui ideally around 1900 at night. Then go and watch the light and sound show over the harbour at 2000. Even better take the ferry as the sun is going down and watch the sunset over the harbour then go and explore Nathan Road in TST. You will get hassled to buy a suit/watch I’d pass on both.

7) Go to the Ladies Market in Mong Kok (Tung Choi Street, Mong Kok: MTR: Mong Kok) ideally late afternoon or at night, its on until past 2300. Perfect for fake tat etc etc and general ambience.

8) Temple Street Market is also earby to Mong Kok about a 1km stretch of electronics and various mostly tat stalls but worth a look.

9) Take the MTR out to Tung Chung, maybe explore the outlet for some of the cheapest brand shopping in HK. Then take the Ngong Ping 360 cable car to see the Po Lin Monastery and Big Buddha, it is a really big Buddha. Buy a return ticket as the bus back down takes about a million years.

10) Night out – check out Lan Kwai Fong in Central or Wan Chai Road, Wan Chai can be a bit seedy but has plenty of good bars.

You could easily do as many or as few of the above in a day as you wanted if you were running about a bit, simplest way is to do HK Island first and then the light show, then Kowloon etc another day.

Tip: For easy travel buy an octopus card available from the customer service counter at any MTR station usable just about everywhere like Oyster only much more useful. Deposit is $50 (less than a fiver) and refundable at any MTR station, refund not available at the Airport Express though…..

[bint]

For Bali I stayed here;

http://mobile.usablenet.com/mt/www.starwoodhotels....

(hoping iPhone pasted link works)

It's a fairly quiet part and the hotel staff were very friendly.

Fish dinner (choose fresh seafood to eat by weight and price includes side dishes) from Jimbaran Bay, monkeys and fruit bats in the local national parks, hire a taxi to take you to some temples too.

[Planet Claire]

Providing you're not a member of PETA, then another couple of markets to visit are the bird and goldfish market.


As mentioned, Happy Valley on a Wednesday evening is pretty good, really enjoyed that and only cost 10RMB to get in (a quid!).

[LilCat]

I am taking my OH on a Junk Boat Harbour tour this evening. We're going with the Aqua one as I missed the 50HKD Saturday ride and won't manage to make the Thursday one.

I will let you know what it is like when I'm back.

I haven't done the tourist thing for 6 years! I am getting lost which is a little embarrasing for a native...

[CardShark]

I love HK, been out there 3 times now, the GF and I last went out there this time last year. Pretty much guaranteed good weather late in the year - no rain, mid 20s during the day, low humidity - other times of the year can be too hot/humid/wet/cold. Can recommend all of the above to do, especially the seafood restuarants on Lamma Island (try the Rainbow at the far end of the bay when you get off the ferry), and if you love food then you must visit the Luk Yu Tea House on Stanley Street HK Island for lunch, superb stuff! For one of the best bars in HK visit Aqua Spirit in the Peking 101 Tower in Kowloon, fantastic views at night looking over the harbour and HK Island. You must take a tram somewhere, very easy to use, get on at the back and get off at the front whenever you want, you just have to put 2 HKD (20p) in a pot as you leave and that's it, it doesn't matter how long the journey is! And the Star Ferries are a real star (if you pardon the pun) of HK transport, the smell of the varnished wooden seats, sea and diesel is something that you won't forget and the views at night are incredible. I won't recommend the hotel that I've used as it isn't 5 star but you may want to consider where in HK you want to stay, Kowloon (land side) or HK Island itself. Ultimately HK Island is probably easier as getting back to Kowloon in the early hours means relying on cabs only as the Metro and Star Ferry services stop before midnight, the cabs are cheap and easy though so it's not really a problem as such. I've always stayed in Kowloon myself, the hotel is 3 mins walk from the TST ferry point and sitting on the harbour front eating some breakfast bought from the 7eleven there is probably my favourite thing to do, the sun is always shining, it's quiet, and you have the whole of HK Island right there infront of you!

Edited by CardShark on Wednesday 17th November 20:03

[havoc]

Not done HK (yet), but did Bali in 2005.

The nicest place was Ubud, in the highlands - we stayed just outside town at the Alila, which was very nice - location was beautiful, layout was very well done, rooms were really good, food was excellent. A very definite 4* place. With a spa attached and things like T'ai Chi classes on the lawn of a morning.


The beach resorts were 'OK' - Kuta (west-side of the peninsula) was the Aussie equivalent of Majorca, bracketed by the posher (& slightly quieter but still not totally private) bits of Legian and Seminyak. Sanur on the other side was a little more relaxed but didn't have quite the same feel to it as the better beaches in Thailand. Nusa Dua in the south is supposed to be more family-oriented.


If you do want peace and quiet, you may also want to consider Lombok - just across the water from Bali, and less-developed.

[Robatr0n]

LilCat said:

I am taking my OH on a Junk Boat Harbour tour this evening. We're going with the Aqua one as I missed the 50HKD Saturday ride and won't manage to make the Thursday one.

I will let you know what it is like when I'm back.

I haven't done the tourist thing for 6 years! I am getting lost which is a little embarrasing for a native...

It was great fun!