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Tags: Hong Kong Field Trip / Hong Kong / Transportation / Videos / → All Tags

Taxis, Cable Cars and Ferries, Oh My!: A Guide to Hong Kong Transportation

For a self-admitted transportation nerd, Hong Kong is dream come true. We just can't decide on a favorite way of conveyance, and thankfully with HK's bounty of trams, ferries, taxis and even a famous chain of escalators, we didn't have to--we rode them all! So for all of you daydreaming of 80-degree days spent hopping between ferries and funiculars on a single "Octopus" transit card, here's our short and saucy guide to the awesome transportation options of Hong Kong:

· Double-Decker Trams and Buses: The former British influence is still felt here, although they've long exchanged afternoon tea for a Starbucks latte. In Central on Hong Kong Island, the slice-thin double-decker trams pile up on commuters for short trips not worth the subway. Tapping your Octopus card also works on these, although during rush hour there's barely enough room to do even that. The buses, which match London Routemasters in size, are a better option for venturing into residential neighborhoods, and routes are clearly presented at each bus stop pole.

· Victoria Peak Funicular: Along with the Star Ferry, this ranks as a seriously touristy thing to do. Still, it's the most unique and direct way to mount Victoria Peak and take advantage of the jawdroppingly steep ascent. Heading up is often crowded, but the descent leaves plenty of room for picture taking and gawking at the skyscrapers below you.

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Tags: Hong Kong Field Trip / Hong Kong / Kowloon / Illicit Travel / → All Tags

Soaking In the Illicit History of the Kowloon Walled City

Every so often throughout history, a community will develop into something which becomes so illicit and notorious that it will figure in popular culture even past its demise. These places, like Carandiru Penitentiary in Brazil or old Mafia neighborhoods in Sicily, are often profiled on the History Channel around Halloween, but we had the chance to visit the remnants of one such dark place on our recent trip to Hong Kong.

The former Kowloon Walled City, a lawless district outside of central Hong Kong, spent the years from 1899 to 1987 steeped in inhumane living conditions paired with opium dens, cocaine parlours, brothels, unlicensed dentists and Triad gang rule. Pictures of the overcrowded "City of Darkness," like the one above, are enough to give one goosebumps.

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Tags: Hong Kong Field Trip / Food Travel / Hong Kong / → All Tags

Devouring "Pork Floss" in Hong Kong

Typically, when we think of "gourmet travel," visions of Michelin-starred restaurants and barely-killed entrees dance in our heads, but in Hong Kong, one need not hit up the ritzy bits for a culinary adventure. Ubiquitous throughout the city and a favorite of the locals are the pastry shops, like Maxim's and Kee Wah, where we found ourselves saying "Mmm...pork floss and pineapple buns" all too often.

This is no food case at a Starbucks; the offerings at a Hong Kong pastry shop are meant for discerning palates who fancy everything from sausage-filled butter buns to squid ink curry bread (the latter being our favorite). Along with the dizzying assortment comes a kind of etiquette; your choices are to picked up with your individual tongs and placed on paper on your own tray, where they will be then be tallied up by the cashier and packaged separately to preserve the singular flavors.

Despite the intriguing ingredients, pastries from these shops average between 35 cents to a whole dollar (USD), officially making them our cheapest gourmet indulgences ever. Do let us know if you've discovered any other little delicious bites in these shops, but rest assured that we already know all about the 1,000-year egg pastries.

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· Complete Coverage of our Hong Kong Field Trip [Jaunted]
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Tags: Hong Kong Field Trip / Macau Travel / Ferry Travel / Hong Kong / Macau / → All Tags

How to Get to Macau in High Roller Style

Although we aren't exactly high rollers, we do a thing or two now about the best ways to reach Macau from Hong Kong without getting stuck in the bilge of a fishing trawler. If you're fortunate enough to have more than a few days in HK, a daytrip to Macau is almost mandatory, as it's over in the former Portuguese territory that blackjack is a religion and duty-free comes cheapest.

The most baller of Macau visitors will opt for the SkyShuttle 15-minute helicopter service, which operates on the roof of the Hong Kong-Macau Ferry Terminal in the Sheung Wan district. At a pricey 2400 HKD, or $309 USD each way ($25 less if you go on a weekday), the chopper remains a transportation option only for the low on time and high on cash group.

Since we didn't have a date with lady luck, we opted to take the most popular route on the Turbojet catamaran ferry, which begins and ends in exactly the same place as the helicopter, except that it costs only $18 USD each way ($15 on weekdays) and takes closer to 40 minutes to make the crossing. The snazzy red rocket also has a VIP class, but we can't fathom splurging on it when the trip is less than an hour.

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Tags: Hong Kong Field Trip / Brunch / Restaurants / Food Travel / → All Tags

Heading to Brunch in Soho ... Hong Kong

We are far too easily seduced by the offer of french toast and free wifi. Having spent our week in Hong Kong eating various preparations of pork at all the random local places and a select few famous spots, we switched gears to spend our Sunday morning soaking in the universal comforting experience of brunch at the aptly named Brunch Club in the SoHo district of HK.

The more we travel, the better we identify customs which extend beyond borders and languages, and it seems to us that brunch is quickly becoming one of them. It's not just the US that goes bonkers for a bloody mary, blueberry waffle and bacon in the afternoon, but places like Korea have elevated it from a simple Sunday meal into something of a phenomenon. Similarly in China and Hong Kong, brunch has become de rigueur as it allies itself so well with dim sum. For HK's gigantic expat population, brunch is even more embraced as a neighborhood social hour, which is exactly what is going on at Brunch Club.

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Tags: First-Person Flight Reviews / Cathay Pacific / HKG / Hong Kong Field Trip / Hong Kong / → All Tags

Snag Some All-You-Can-Eat Ramen on Cathay Pacific

It was only two weeks ago that we took our own advice and booked the Hong Kong direct from New York-JFK on Cathay Pacific for a grand total of $795. It isn't our first time and it definitely won't be our last, but this flight begins a whole new chapter for us in terms of which airlines we'll choose in the future, because you see, Cathay Pacific gave us all the free Ramen noodles we could eat.

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Tags: Hong Kong Field Trip / Shopping / Malls / Asia Travel / Souvenirs / → All Tags

Hong Kong, Pearl of the Orient and...Mall Rat Paradise?

Culture shock has never been a problem for us; we're cool with whatever is the norm in a new destination and most of the time join in with gusto. But this week in Hong Kong, we've faced a huge challenge in embracing something so dear to the locals: the ubiquity of shopping malls.

In the main districts, you have something like a 95% chance of having to at least stroll through a mall to get where you are going. If you aren't inside of a mall, then you are on top of one, next to one, underneath one, or even using one as a landmark for orienting yourself in the city.

We've unwittingly hit a higher number of malls than days we've been in Hong Kong, and it doesn't look like the barrage of consumerism will be letting up soon. Since we hail from a Midwestern city that of course loves their Auntie Anne's pretzels and Abercrombie, we were at first unfazed by the shopping glut in HK.

After our fifth megaplex in two days, however, our patience with escalators and perfume counters began to wear thin and we stepped back to observe the scene.

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Tags: Travel Snapshots / Hong Kong Field Trip / Cruises / → All Tags

Picturing the Port of Hong Kong

We may still be early into our trip to Hong Kong, but that doesn't mean we can't dive right in to dim sum. While cruising for dumplings in the largest mall in Hong Kong, Harbour City, we were surprised to find something else cruising right outside: a couple of cruise ships docking for the day. The closest to us, the 800-passenger Costa Allegra, plies these waters all the time and so conveniently has her name printed in Chinese characters on the bow.

Even though the weather in HK isn't too bad at 73-degrees and sunny, the Allegra is heading out tomorrow for the far more tropical climes of Da Nang and Halong Bay, Vietnam. To make it to their cruise, however, the ship's passengers must navigate the labyrinth of luxury stores inside of the Harbour City mall, and hope that they don't blow their vacation money before even stepping into the boat's duty-free deathtrap.

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