Here are the essential hard facts about Hong Kong.
Bound
to be boring… but hey, you should learn the basics and this piece helps you save
hours and hours on the boring stuff.
A
few things about using the table below:
1.
Inside
those brackets [ ] are my personal comments. Pretty damn biased, take it
reasonably.
2.
I’ve
included a lot of links down there, they are useful extra information - and
they are not mine, the credits should go to the creators.
3. If you like reading a hard copy better, get it here.
3. If you like reading a hard copy better, get it here.
4.
I
spent many hours gathering all the information, and many hours proofreading to
ensure accuracy. But still, something may be wrong or missing. So if you can
spot a mistake or anything, let me know in the comments! So this information
sheet can improve. Your contribution will be very much appreciated and to
reward your wonderful effort, I will teach you one good useful Cantonese swear
words/phrases. One swear word for one mistake. Isn’t that sweet huh :D? So find
something!
Six major part:
-The basics
-Demographics, geography and climate
-Tourism in Hong Kong
-Spending
-Health and safety
-Extra information
Six major part:
-The basics
-Demographics, geography and climate
-Tourism in Hong Kong
-Spending
-Health and safety
-Extra information
Government
|
Hong
Kong Special Administrative Region of China (HKSAR) (Since
1997; HK was
under British rule before 1997)
|
Languages
|
Official:
Cantonese (one of the many Chinese languages – not a dialect; hear how it
sounds here)
, English (most people speak English, with HK accent of
course)
Also
speak: Mandarin [most people can speak it, usually quite badly;
and by the way, Mandarin is also one of the many Chinese languages.]
|
Money
|
Hong
Kong dollar (HKD / HK$)
Octopus
Card - rechargeable contactless stored value smart card
For
transport (convenience stores and some restaurants), you can use Octopus Card
so you don’t have to carry change and it gives you some discount for subway
rides. [Definitely get one if you’re staying for more than a few days, it
saves you time and money!]
Most
shops accept credit cards. [And everyone takes cash too!]
|
Currency exchange
|
USD:HKD
= 1:7.8 (Fixed exchange rate)
Convert
your currency to HKD with this currency
converter.
|
Visa requirement
|
For
E.U./ U.S./Australia/Japan/South Korea and 160+ other countries residents -
you can stay for 90 days without a visa! Check if you need one here.
(But
going to China requires a visa!)
|
Time Zone
|
UTC/GMT
+8 hours
|
Dialing code
|
+852
|
Mobile phone system
|
GSM
900, PCS 1800, CDMA and WCDMA
|
Internet TLD
Internet access
|
.hk
You
can get free wifi in most cafes, McDonald’s and shopping plazas.
And
HK government provides free wifi in
some spots.
|
Socket and plug type
|
Type G (British system) 220V /
50Hz
|
Traffic system
|
Traffic
signs same as in the UK; Left-hand traffic
Overseas
driving license holders can apply
for HK driving license
Learn
some HK
Driving rules and regulations, if you want to drive.
|
Common transport means
|
|
Transport to China and Macau
|
Train
to Guangzhou (~2.5hrs, $190), Shanghai (~19hrs, ~$550), Beijing (~23hrs,
~$600)
Bus
to Shenzhen (~45mins, ~$50) Great guide on getting to Shenzhen here.
Ferry to Macau (~1hr,
~$150)
|
Flying to China and other Asian
countries (Round-trips, as of September, 2012)
|
Taipei,
Taiwan (~1.5hrs, ~$1500up)
Tokyo,
Japan (~4.5hrs, ~$3000up)
Seoul,
Korea (~6-8hrs, ~$3000up)
Bangkok,
Thailand (~2.5hrs, ~$2000up)
Malaysia
(~4.0hrs, ~$2000up)
Beijing
(~4.0hrs, ~$2000up)
Shanghai
(~2.5hrs, ~$1500up)
(*I
can only offer a very rough estimation on the price here, it varies a great
deal, depending on season! Try Momondo.com for quick air-ticket search.)
|
Population
|
7,071,576
(as of 2011)
93.6%
is Chinese, the 5 other biggest ethnicities
are Indonesian, Filipino, White, Indian, Pakistani
[They
call “White” an ethnicity, pretty wrong I know.]
|
Density
|
6,544/km2
(4th in the world) [This is excluding the tourists, so it’s in fact even more
crowded than this number suggests!]
According
to Guinness World Records, HK also has the most crowded place in the world – Mong Kok
with 130,000 people per km2.
|
Religion
|
~60-80%
don't believe in any religion.
Most
common relgions are Buddism, Taoism, Christianity and Catholicism. [Most HK people
don’t really care what religion you have.]
|
Geography
|
Size:
1,104 km2 (425 sq mi)
Highest
point: 958m (Tai Mo Shan)
Green
area: Almost 70% of the total area
Discover
the country
parks/ Geopark/ hiking trails/ beaches.
[Not just concrete buildings here in HK!]
Districts
and Islands: 3 major parts (Hong Kong Island; Kowloon; New Territories)
consisting of 18
districts and 263 outlying islands (Most notable are Cheng
Chau and Lamma
Island)
|
Climate
|
Humid
Subtropical Climate (Humid all year; very hot, humid and rainy in summer),
no major natural disasters. Typhoon-prone in Summer (~5-10 typhoons; on
average ~10 typhoon-affected days each year) [Typhoons can be crazy.]
Get
weather information here.
|
Travel peak season
|
It’s
peak season all year round! (There are the
most tourists in July - 3.8millions, equals half the population of HK.)
|
Business hours
|
Normal
office hours:
9am - 5pm (weekdays); 9am – 1pm (Saturdays)
Bank
openings:
9am – 4:30pm (weekdays); 9am – 12:30pm (Saturdays)
Retail
shop openings:
10am – 7:00pm (everyday; shops are open till later in busy districts like
Mong Kok, Tsim Sha Tsui, Causeway Bay)
Restaurant
openings:
9am – 11pm or later (everyday)
Some
convenience stores (7/11, OK, Vingo) and McDonald’s are open 24/7.
|
Eating out
|
All
kinds of food in HK (Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Thai, Indian, European style,
American – fast food chains) [There are not many things you can’t eat here…
Really.]
Tipping?
Not obligatory (most restaurant charge a 10% service charge already, of
course loose change is always welcome)
|
Big Mac Index
|
$16.5HKD
(The second most affordable in the world, following Ukraine)
|
Price of a beer at a bar
|
~$40–80HKD
|
Subway fares
|
Range
from $3.00-47.50HKD depending on how many stops you travel
|
Taxi ride
|
First
2km: $20HKD (A 15-minute ride is ~$70-80HKD)
|
A standard double-bed hotel
room
|
$500-800HKD
(This is about the cheapest you can get; hotel rooms in HK are not cheap; try
hostels, Couchsurfing, Airbnb, Wimdu, etc)
|
Taxing
|
No
sales tax (Except alcohol and tobacco), No VAT
(This
is why things are cheaply priced in HK: cameras, electronics, clothes, etc)
|
Cultural
|
|
Celebrities
|
Actor:
Chow Yun Fat, Jackie Chan, Stephen Chow, Tony Leung, Maggie Cheung
Singer:
Jacky Cheung, Eason Chan
Director:
Wong Kar Wai, John Woo, Johnnie To
[In
no way comprehensive, but these are the ones who have got some international
recognition]
|
Gambling in HK
|
Horse-racing,
Mark Six, Football betting, Mahjong [Or there are casinos in Macau]
|
Museums
|
See
the list of museums here
[Do
not miss Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Museum; apart from the revolution history, you get
to see the glamorous Kom Tong Hall, an early 20th century rich
family’s mansion and a declared
monument]
|
Festivals
|
The
biggest festival in HK is Chinese
New Year. (Around late January to Early February)
4
of the many
Chinese festivals in HK belong to Hong Kong’s Intangible Cultural
Heritage (UNESCO):
|
Popular movies
|
[If
you want to learn about a place’s culture, movies are a quick and fun way to
do it. So watch some HK movies – endure the slightly (hm…) crappy English
subtitles]
You
can’t really go wrong with anything from here.
[For
a start, see Infernal Affairs
(2002), A Better Tomorrow
(1986), Echoes of the Rainbow
(2010), Life without Principle
(2011), A Simple Life
(2011), Comrades: Almost a
Love Story (1996) You can sure learn something about HK from these great
movies.]
[If
you want to do something different and do a movie tour in HK, take a look at this]
|
Brands of Hong Kong
|
There are some less-known brands like Mcdull (cartoon character),
Panda (cartoon character),
Chicks (clothing), Chocolate (clothing), Two Girls (nostalgic beauty
products), Ying
Kee Tea (Chines tea), Holga (Lomo camera brand)
and 9gag.com. (the world-famous 9gag!)
(You
can find some more here.
There are still a lot more unmentioned.)
[But
I am embarrassed to find that there’s not one HK brand that is happily
consumed around the world.]
|
English Media
|
Two
free English TV channels:
Two
major English newspapers:
|
Health and safety (Just in
case)
|
|
Safety in HK
|
Safe.
One of the lowest crime rates in the world.
[But
if you still insecure, take a look at this]
|
Hygiene in HK
|
Clean
and hygienic.
[In
my opinion, overly hygienic - everything from door knobs to elevator buttons
are sterilized ten times a day.]
[When
it gets dark in the hot summer time, you might see cockroaches or their
bodies in the streets. Don’t panic – they are no match for you, look at how
big you are… *This is a personal reminder for my girlfriend…]
|
Hospital
|
Fee:
$570HKD (Accident & Emergency); $215HKD (General clinic)
Here
is A
map of hospitals and clinics, just in case.
|
Tap water
|
Drinking-water
quality (as recommended by the WHO)
|
Some good-to-know laws
|
No
littering and spitting. ($1500HKD fine)
No
smoking indoors. ($1500HKD fine)
Drinking
allowed on street. [Yay!]
No
alcohol sale ban time. [Woohoo!]
|
Facility for disabled people
|
Most
subway stations come with elevator, special facilities and on-demand
assistance for the disabled. Some buses are equipped with special facilities
for the disabled.
Most
entrances, streets and parks have ramp access.
Learn
more about the accessibility in HK here.
And here is a comprehensive access
guide.
|
Some useful mobile apps that
help you enjoy HK
|
1.
For
a good map, use Google map (IOS/Android) (but GPS sometimes
doesn’t work the best under the forest of tall buildings in HK)
2.
Here
is the official travel guide (IOS/Android)
by Hong Kong Tourism Board. Here are more
apps by them. [you don’t need that many from them though]
3.
Here
is a know-all app (IOS/Android)
for public transport in HK – it has everything you’d want to know.
4.
And
then, there is this funny
app for you to get off minibuses (you need to tell the driver where to
get off) - it could be hard if you don’t speak Cantonese.
5.
And
if you want to speak some basic Cantonese so you can have fun speaking with
the locals or simply want a phrasebook at hand, here is a free Android
app; or this paid app (IOS/Android).
[It’s a shame we don’t have anything better though…]
|
Useful numbers
|
-999
(Emergency – Police, Fire, Ambulance – Call this if anything bad happens)
-2527-7177
(Police hotline - call this if you lose your passport.)
-Find
your consulate’s number here.
-If
you want more phone numbers to calm your panicky self, here
you go.
|
Additional information:
HK
General holidays for 2013
Guinness
records that HK owns:
Rates
for International Mail from HK
Here
is a print-friendly version of this – this is easier to carry when you’re
travelling. (Print double-sides with landscape mode, then you will have a booklet.)
As
a traveler myself, I think this is all you need to know for planning your trip
to HK. (anyway, I am a minimalist on travel planning!) And then you might want
to spend the time learning the language, the history, the cultural scene, and
try to get to make a few local friends. These are the things that really make
your trip enjoyable.
If
you have questions for me, just ask in the comments! And one last thing - if
you find this useful, share this with your friends who are planning to get to
Hong Kong!
 |
| Star Ferry (crosses Victoria Harbour) docking at the Central pier. |
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