Planning a trip to Hong Kong

Peter Chapman ventures to Hong Kong

Anyone will tell you when you plan to go on a holiday book well in advance to assure yourself of such things as room availability and best prices.

It also means you can rest easy knowing that everything is in place for the holiday you wanted.

The Chapman family like many others saves and plans for one good holiday every year and as my wife is a former travel agent she adheres strictly to the get in early philosophy.

In fact I just have to mention I'd like to go somewhere and before the week is out she will present me with brochures and a fully costed itinerary.

Earlier this year we were chatting about our next escape and she mentioned to me how much she had enjoyed going to Hong Kong.

Having never been there I was quick to agree and we went ahead and booked our flights and accommodation in Hong Kong.

Job well done we thought as we sat back and started looking forward to our next adventure.

Unfortunately just after we booked the trip, Hong Kong literally exploded into street chaos.

At first we thought it would all settle down before we had to fly in, but month after month the street violence and protests continued to escalate.

As our September deadline fast approached we looked at cancelling, but the hotels and airline both told us there would be no refund unless Hong Kong was declared a no go zone by the Australian government.

So unless we wanted to rip up our holiday savings we had but one choice and that was to board the Qantas Dreamliner and head to Hong Kong for two weeks.

What did we discover when we touched down at a quiet Hong Kong International Airport?

Well what we didn't find were big crowds or long queues. In fact we were later told that tourist arrivals were down by a staggering 40 per cent in August, a drop of 851,000 from the same month last year.

The fall in numbers reflected wherever we went in Hong Kong and Kowloon on the other side of the harbour.

Many kiosks in the tourist markets were shut because of lack of shoppers and vendors who were there were keen to make a sale from anyone who dared ask "how much?"

One vendor from the Ladies Market in Hong Kong actually chased us for 100 metres dropping her price for a handbag from $150 Australian to just $20.

Each day the local newspaper reports would tell us what happened the night before and hotel staff and taxi drivers advised us where not to go that day.

Did we see any protests, where we at any risk and were we concerned?

The answer to all those questions was no.

In fact having less crowds meant we received better service and better prices had the city not been under siege.

We hadn't planned a visit to Hong Kong Disneyland, but when we were told the queues there were almost non-existent we caught the train across for the day.

The reports were spot on and we only had to queue for one ride for longer than 10 minutes.

The food lived up to Hong Kong's reputation and this is one of its biggest drawcards. Wine is still expensive, but beer is reasonable.

Seafood is fresh, fruit is sweet and the menu covers all nationalities, unless you are from Alaska.

Overall the prices were still high when compared to Australia, but at least you had great variety.

We did the one day trip across the border into mainland China and Shenzhen and walked the five floors of an amazing shopping mall full of hundreds of small kiosks.

It was the best place to shop during our trip by far, but once again doesn't expect amazing bargains.

A trip to the races in Hong Kong at Sha Tin was a highlight, although a trip to the Happy Valley course was a major disappointment.

If you plan to take in the races book in the Hay Market at Sha Tin and forget Happy Valley.

Overall we were glad we went and now like my wife I can cross Hong Kong off the bucket list.

It didn't rate as one of the top holiday places I've been to, but if you are into food and shopping for a week's break it has plenty to offer.

RATINGS:

Hong Kong 7/10

Food 8/10

Prices 6/10

Qantas flight 6/10 (food was average)

Hong Kong Harbour Grand Hotel 7/10

Kowloon Novotel Hotel 6/10

Sha Tin Races Haymarket 9/10

Happy Valley Races Stable Bend Terrace 3/10

Hong Kong Disneyland 6/10 (needs more shows and rides).

Words and images: Peter Chapman

Feature supplied by: www.wtfmedia.com.au