I have a brief visit to Hong Kong soon (my first!) and would like to bring back some material for our Freakonomics Radio podcast. Suggestions? Things you are dying to know? Things I would be foolish to miss?
The last time I posted a travel bleg (for Las Vegas), I was richly rewarded. Fingers crossed for this one — and thanks in advance.
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I loved visiting the MUJI shops (Japanese), I also loved going to the wholesale clothing area in Kowloon where buyers from all over the world go to find the next fashion item.
Sham Shui Po, Cheung Sha Wan and Lai Chi Kok
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The night markets are an interesting spectacle, and the variations in pricing for the exact same merchandise based on street position (i.e. proximity to the ends of each block) might be interesting to an economist.
Temple Street market and the Ladies Market at Mong Kok are worth checking out.
Hello I am an African-American female currently finishing up my exchange year in Hong Kong. I have been traveling in and out of the city,. I never bring anything to declare, but of the 5 times I have re-entered the city I have been singled out by customs each time coming from 5 different locations (Beijing, Newark, Taipei, Tokyo and Bangkok). I only wonder if this is a case of institutional racism or just bad luck
I strongly suspect that there is an inverse relationship between the quality of tailors and the level of on-street solicitation that their employees engage in.
For example, if you are a well-dressed Westerner in Mongkok, you will be solicited constantly by employees of various tailors, offering cut-price bargains.
But the tailors considered top-end (for example, Sam’s, which claims to have dressed President Clinton and Secretary of State Albright, amongst others), do not seem to engage in the same on-street solicitation. (Maybe they solicit at top hotels; I can’t afford to stay there!)
Even mid-level tailors seem less aggressive: their well-dressed employees loiter at the entrance to their premises, but do not range further afield.
A brief walk around the tailoring district of Mongkok should bear these observations out. I wonder what the behavior of tailors and their employees can tell the (information-poor) tourist about the quality of the product.
I’m from Hong Kong (currently in Philly for college) and I can attest that as a Caucasian person, you’re already at a disadvantage when you shop at local markets in Mongkok and Prince Edward. My white boyfriend had trouble bargaining when he visited me this summer.
That being said, don’t skip up on the cheap shopping, great nightlife (Lan Kwai Fong, Wan Chai) and fantastic eats! There’s a Robuchon, which is Michelin-starred, but the local eats are the best.
check out the horse races at happy valley (on wednesday nights), hire a boat to tour the brand new hong kong geopark, dine at seafood restaurants in sai kung, and tour the city on star ferry and the tram. man i miss home.
I’m sure you’ll get plenty of suggestions for things to do, so instead, here’s a topic worth writing about:
Hong Kong built a brand new island to accommodate its new airport, and it’s been a boon to the city, bringing in more flights more efficiently with minimal congestion and also not too far out. Why don’t more cities do this? Los Angeles has floated the idea, but to no avail. Several major cities around the world would likely benefit from a similar plan.
You have to check out the hygiene theater. After SARS outbreak of 2004, they always (claim that they) sanitize the carpets in the mall. Is there evidence that we are catching virus from our shoes? Many people still soak their shoes with bleach every day when they get home.
They would stick a piece of plastic, like glad wrap on elevator buttons in some small commercial buildings. (Large fancy ones, they hire people to wipe after you.) The plastic is suppose to protect us from viruses but no one ever cleans or change the plastic.
Try coughing in the subway (MTR), people would jump and bust out face mask to protect themselves. While the same people would touch the safety bar in the MTR and eat with their hands.
Also, HK is a city with one of the highest wealth gap. You will see that they hire people to do simple things that we in N. America use machines for. On rainy days, you would see that they have people in commercial building entrances putting bags on your umbrellas (like umbrella condoms, so they don’t drip all over). On the other hand, things that are supposed to be expensive are often affordable for the middle/upper-middle class. You wouldn’t miss the sea of Gucci and Luis Vutton handbags.