PORTABLE Hong Kong 2nd Edition by Beth Reiber A New Star-Rating System & Other Exciting News from Frommer’s! In our continuing effort to publish the savviest, most up-to-date, and most appealing travel guides available, we’ve added some great new features. Frommer’s guides now include a new star-rating system. Every hotel, restaurant, and attraction is rated from 0 to 3 stars to help you set priorities and organize your time. We’ve also added seven brand-new features that point you to the great deals, in-the-know advice, and unique experiences that sepa- rate travelers from tourists. Throughout the guide, look for: Finds Special finds—those places only insiders know about Fun Fact Fun facts—details that make travelers more informed and their trips more fun Kids Best bets for kids—advice for the whole family Moments Special moments—those experiences that memories are made of Overrated Places or experiences not worth your time or money Tips Insider tips—some great ways to save time and money Value Great values—where to get the best deals Here’s what critics say about Frommer’s: “Amazingly easy to use. Very portable, very complete.” —Booklist “Detailed, accurate, and easy-to-read information for all price ranges.” —Glamour Magazine “Hotel information is close to encyclopedic.” —Des Moines Sunday Register “Frommer’s Guides have a way of giving you a real feel for a place.” —Knight Ridder Newspapers PORTABLE Hong Kong 2nd Edition by Beth Reiber Published by: WILEY PUBLISHING,INC. 909 Third Ave. New York, NY 10022 Copyright © 2003 Wiley Publishing, Inc., New York, New York. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except as per- mitted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, (978) 750-8400, fax (978) 646-8700. Requests to the Publisher for permis- sion should be addressed to the Legal Department, Wiley Publishing, Inc., 10475 Crosspoint Blvd., Indianapolis, IN 46256, (317) 572-3447, fax (317) 572-4447, E-mail: [email protected]. Wiley and the Wiley Publishing logo are trademarks or registered trade- marks of Wiley Publishing, Inc. and may not be used without written per- mission. Frommer’s is a trademark or registered trademark of Arthur Frommer. Used under license. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Wiley Publishing, Inc. is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book. ISBN 0-7645-6749-7 ISSN 1532-9933 Editor: Kendra L. Falkenstein Production Editor: M. Faunette Johnston Photo Editor: Richard Fox Cartographer: John Decamillis Production by Wiley Indianapolis Composition Services For information on our other products and services or to obtain technical support, please contact our Customer Care Department within the U.S. at 800-762-2974, outside the U.S. at 317-572-3993 or fax 317-572-4002. Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some con- tent that appears in print may not be available in electronic formats. Manufactured in the United States of America 54321 Contents List of Maps vii 1 Planning Your Trip to Hong Kong 1 1 Visitor Information . .2 2 Entry Requirements & Customs . .3 3 Money . .4 4 When to Go . .7 Hong Kong Calendar of Events . .8 5 Health & Insurance . .11 6 Tips for Travelers with Special Needs . .13 7 Getting There . .15 2 Getting to Know Hong Kong 20 1 Orientation . .20 Neighborhoods in Brief . .22 2 Getting Around . .27 Fast Facts: Hong Kong . .34 3 Where to Stay 39 Choosing a Place to Stay . .40 1 Very Expensive . .43 2 Expensive . .50 3 Moderate . .58 4 Inexpensive . .67 5 Rock-Bottom Accommodations (Guesthouses & Youth Hostels) . .71 4 Where to Dine 74 1 Kowloon . .75 2 Central District . .87 3 Causeway Bay & Wan Chai . .98 4 Around Hong Kong Island . .102 5 Exploring Hong Kong 106 1 Hong Kong’s Top Attractions . .106 2 Museums & Galleries . .110 3 Temples . .117 Life on the Water in Aberdeen . .118 4 Parks & Gardens . .120 5 An Amusement Park . .124 6 Organized Tours & Cultural Activities . .125 7 Outdoor Activities . .128 8 Spectator Sports . .130 9 Lantau . .131 6 Shopping 135 1 The Shopping Scene . .135 A Shopping Warning . .136 2 Great Shopping Areas . .138 3 Shopping A to Z . .141 7 Hong Kong After Dark 158 1 The Performing Arts . .158 2 The Club & Music Scene . .161 3 The Bar Scene . .163 4 Only in Hong Kong . .170 Index 172 General Index . .172 Accommodations Index . .176 Restaurant Index . .176 List of Maps Hong Kong Orientation 21 Causeway Bay & Wan Chai Kowloon Accommodations Dining 99 45 Kowloon Attractions 111 Central District Central District Attractions Accommodations 47 115 Causeway Bay & Wan Chai Attractions Elsewhere on Accommodations 51 Hong Kong Island 123 Kowloon Dining 77 Shopping in Tsim Sha Tsui Central District Dining 89 139 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank some fine and very special people who graciously extended their help in the preparation of this book: Lillibeth Bishop, Diana Budiman, Elven Ho, and Mandy Lo of the Hong Kong Tourist Association; and Teresa Costa Gomes of the Macau Government Tourist Office. A special thanks goes to my sons, Matthias and Johannes, for putting up with my long absences ever since they can remember. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Beth Reiber worked for several years in Germany as a freelance travel writer writing for major U.S. newspapers and in Tokyo as editor of the Far East Traveler. Now a freelance travel writer residing in Lawrence, Kansas, with her two sons, she’s the author of several Frommer’s guides, including Frommer’s Japan and Frommer’s Tokyo, and is a contributor to Frommer’s Europe from $70 a Day, Frommer’s USA, and Frommer’s China. AN INVITATION TO THE READER In researching this book, we discovered many wonderful places — hotels, restaurants, shops, and more. We’re sure you’ll find others. Please tell us about them, so we can share the information with your fellow travelers in upcoming editions. If you were disappointed with a recommendation, we’d love to know that, too. Please write to: Frommer’s Portable Hong Kong, 2nd Edition Wiley Publishing, Inc. • 909 Third Ave. • New York, NY 10022 AN ADDITIONAL NOTE Please be advised that travel information is subject to change at any time— and this is especially true of prices. We therefore suggest that you write or call ahead for confirmation when making your travel plans. The authors, editors, and publisher cannot be held responsible for the experiences of readers while traveling. Your safety is important to us, however, so we encourage you to stay alert and be aware of your surroundings. Keep a close eye on cameras, purses, and wallets, all favorite targets of thieves and pickpockets. WHAT THE SYMBOLS MEAN The following abbreviations are used for credit cards: AE American Express DISC Discover V Visa DC Diners Club MC MasterCard FROMMERS.COM Now that you have the guidebook to a great trip, visit our website at www.frommers.com for travel information on nearly 2,500 destinations. With features updated regularly, we give you instant access to the most current trip-planning information available. At Frommers.com, you’ll also find the best prices on airfares, accommodations, and car rentals—and you can even book travel online through our travel booking partners. At Frommers.com, you’ll also find the following: • Online updates to our most popular guidebooks • Vacation sweepstakes and contest giveaways • Newsletter highlighting the hottest travel trends • Online travel message boards with featured travel discussions 1 Planning Your Trip to Hong Kong Viewed from Victoria Peak, Hong Kong rates as one of the most stunning cities in Southeast Asia, if not the world. In the foreground rise the skyscrapers of Hong Kong Island, numerous, dense, and astonishingly tall. Beyond that is Victoria Harbour, with its incredibly busy traffic of everything from the historic Star Ferry to cruise liners, cargo ships, and wooden fishing vessels. On the other side is Kowloon Peninsula, growing larger seemingly by the minute with ambitious land reclamation projects, housing estates, and ever-higher buildings, all against a dramatic backdrop of gently rounded mountains. If this is your first stop in Asia, Hong Kong will seem excitingly exotic, with its profusion of neon Chinese signs, roasted ducks hanging in restaurant windows, colorful street markets, herbal med- icine shops, fortunetellers, and crush of people, 95% of whom are Chinese. If you’re arriving from elsewhere in Asia, however, Hong Kong may seem welcomingly familiar, with its first-class hotels, restau- rants serving everything from California-style pizzas to French haute cuisine, easy-to-navigate transportation system, English-language street signs, and gigantic shopping malls. Hong Kong’s unique blend of exotic and familiar, East and West, is due, of course, to its 156 years as a British colony — from 1842, when Britain acquired Hong Kong Island as a spoil of the first Opium War, to its 1997 handover to the Chinese. As a Special Administrative Region (SAR), Hong Kong has been guaranteed its capitalist lifestyle and social system for 50 years, and for the casual observer, little seems changed. English is still an official language, the Hong Kong dollar remains legal tender, and entry formalities are largely the same. Although Hong Kong is pricier than most other Asian destinations, the long-standing Asian financial crisis has made it more affordable than ever, with reduced hotel rates and competi- tive restaurant prices.