Hong Kong during the xmas season

[kimlantse]

Thank you! It would have been better if it wasn't for the infamous HK haze...

[Kristie]

Yup, hubby and I have the JW Marriott booked for the 9th-13th

so far, we're a go....just have to make sure we can get on the flights!

we're trying to get to Frankfurt right now, on our way to CVG.. but looks like we might have to hotel it for the night and try again tomorrow. loads to Germany are frightful... i dunno why all the seats are disappearing.. they weren't nearly this bad last year. but anyways....such is the life of non-rev travel..take it as it goes, roll with the flow...

[spotty4]

Originally Posted by Kristie

Just a quick update... It looks like we're going to do Frankfurt first because i really want to hit the christmas markets in Frankfurt, Mainz, Heidelberg and Stuttgart and the loads are actually pretty sticky

So we'll hop over there around the 7th of December...

Kristie, thought you might enjoy this blog post an e-friend posted recently about her experiences w/ the German Christmas markets:

"Chick Lit": Christmas in Bavaria

[Kristie]

thanks! I'll check it out in a bit...

Amsy, Kim....one thing doug and I were talking about while in Frankfurt....we're big foodies/drinkies...what kind of food should we look forward to experiencing in HK? We like sticking with culture, not being in touristy locations (out with the locals is what we enjoy most) and we're into trying anything new beer/spirit/wine wise...Any advice would be appreciated!

We're heading back from FRA tomorrow and should hopefully be on our way to HK this weekend!

I know.. we still have to set up a lunch and/or dinner date....We'll start hammering that out tomorrow when i have a more stable internet line...

[kimlantse]

Woo hoo! HK food! Where do I begin...?! There is a ton of stuff to eat in HK. I stick by the rule that the more run down a place looks, the better the food. Also, a big queue or crowd of local people hanging around is a good sign! There are just too many things to mention...

That is fantastic that you guys prefer to stick with local culture. Are you guys also adventurous? Because some of the stuff here is quite scary for western folk. I think number one on your list should be dim sum for brunch in a noisy local restaurant. Try to find an old fashioned one where they wheel the trolleys of hot dim sum around the place, so that you can see what you are getting instead of ordering off a menu. There is a popular one called Maxim's in City Hall, Central.

I think you should definitely try street food. This is not for the faint-hearted but you can't really get more local than this. You will see street vendors everywhere selling various snacks and meats on a stick, curried squid tentacles etc. Sometimes you can smell them a mile away because they infamously sell something called stinky tofu. This is basically tofu that is allowed to spoil and go rotten, then it is fried. It really really stinks. BAD. Even I have never had the balls to try it, and I eat some weird stuff... You MUST try the little "egg balls". These are little spongey balls that are a yellowish colour and sweet, usually sold next to a waffle vendor.

Something really popular with locals is called a hotpot. This is a bit like a fondue, except it's with a savoury broth instead of cheese and different meats and vegetables instead of bread. You get a platter of assorted raw meats and vegetables and cook them yourself in the bubbling broth. You can get a tasty Szechuan version where the broth is a dark red and spicy hot hot hot! Highly recommended if you have a stuffy nose.

If you like your won ton noodles and the like, then head to Wellington Street in Central. It is full of noodle shacks. I love going to Mac's Noodles for the beef tendon haw fun. Haw fun is a flat, broad, white rice flour noodle. And beef tendon is the achilles tendon of a cow, marinated for ages until it is gooey soft. It really is delicious and it is practically 100% collagen, so that's a good excuse to eat it! The house specialty pork chutney noodles are also extremely yummy.

And I highly recommend the dinner buffet at Langham Place, Mong Kok, as I mentioned in a post earlier...

Hope that helps!

[Kristie]

cool!! we LOVE spicy!!

the only other thing that i know i really *need* to know are about the public restrooms....is it like european culture where you more or less need to be using the restaurant/shop or what not in order to use their restrooms or are they donation restrooms like over in germany? what's the culture factor on that?

here in the US, we're used to using them when we need to, typically just ask and it's usually ok....in europe, it's different... so it would be good to know what HK expects when it comes to having to *go*... hehehe

we are really looking forward to trying to NR on Cathay...so far, still planning on leaving here Dec 8th and leaving HK on Dec 12th or 13th.

Where would be a good place to meet up (and when?)... we'll be camping it at the JW Marriott...I still have to call them and find out what station we need to get off at (we like to train everywhere). but if we could meet up, that would be awesome!!

[kimlantse]

Unfortunately with regards to toilets in HK, the less said the better, really. It generally tends to the European way i.e. you have to use the restaurant/shop in order to use their toilets but usually they aren't too clean. There are quite a few public toilets dotted around HK, some of these are OK. HK people tend to "hover" over toilets and generally make a mess. This is why you will sometimes find the "hole in the ground" style toilets, which technically are more hygienic because of the messy hovering going on. The cleanest ones are the ones inside modern shopping malls, these are usually very clean and nice. I usually use these not only because they are the cleanest, but because they also provide toilet seat cleaner so you can sit down with confidence!! I would also say avoid McDonald's toilets (roll your trousers up if you're desperate). It is also a good idea to carry tissues around with you because not all toilets provide toilet paper. Sorry to paint such a bleak picture of HK toilet culture!

If you like to train everywhere, and you are staying at the Marriot in Pacific Place, then you would get the Airport Express train at the airport and take it all the way to Hong Kong station, the last stop. Then switch over to the MTR underground, Central station (walking from Hong Kong station to Central station takes about 7 minutes with the moving walkways, just follow the signs). Then travel only one stop from Central to Admiralty, which is the nearest MTR station to the Marriot at Pacific Place.

On the other hand, if you are carrying a lot of luggage and can't be bothered switching between trains, when you arrive at Hong Kong station after taking the Airport Express, you can simply get a taxi from there on because it's not that far.

I forgot to mention that it's getting quite a bit cooler in HK now, averaging about 20°C. It's not freezing yet, but it's not exactly t-shirt weather either...

It would be cool to meet up for lunch or dinner! Do you like Korean food? There is a really nice Korean BBQ place in Causeway Bay, only two MTR stops away from Admiralty. When you get to Causeway Bay station, take exit C and I will meet you at street level. Let me know when would be a good day or time, any time is good for me because DH will be in LHR anyway... Afterwards, I can take you to some street markets nearby.

[Kristie]

It's still warmer than it was in Frankfurt.. haha

we LOVE korean....sounds like a great place to meet up.

I'll be watching/checking loads today and making the stay/go determination...If there's even a possibility of NRing issues (because it's not our airline), we'll probably reschedule for Chinese New Year....I figure that's probably a good holiday to come over if not now...

[Kristie]

well, i hate to say it but it looks like we're out. the first and last flight of the day are completely full which has boosted the prices on the middle 11:20 flight and with that, we know our ID75 tickets would exceed our budget by A LOT.

If they were ID90's, i wouldn't be so worried but ID75's follow the same rule of "economy ticket price on day of departure"...those seats for just 2 people are at over 6K which means we'd have to spend probably about $1500 for roundtrip and with us being there for *only* 4 days... we can't afford that.

So what we're going to do is keep the idea of getting over there next year and using a good week to 2 week period to travel around so that we can get the most advantage from paying ID75 prices.

I had no idea they would be that high, otherwise i would have thought this out much better and utilized the time much better...

but now that i know, i know we need to plan more thoroughly and plan for more time in country as well.

you learn something new everyday!!

[kimlantse]

Aww, that's a real shame you couldn't come over But you're right, at that price, 4 days isn't worth it. To be honest, I don't think the jet-lag is worth it either! Oh well, Hong Kong is still something to look forward to then, and better luck next time I hope...