Travel Advice Needed: Hong Kong & Macau
 

I found out today that I'm being shipped off by my work to a city slightly north of Macau called Zhongshan in a couple of weeks. I will be there for about 9 days but will only have 5-6 days of work to do, leaving me with a few screw around days. I'll be flying into Hong Kong and a driver will be taking me to Zhongshan.

http://s88311880.onlinehome.us/pics/chinatrip.jpg

This is my first time getting a passport, getting a visa, and of course, going to China.

What tips do you guys have? What will be a good way to get from Zhongshan to Macau? What passport/visa implications will there be? How common is the english language there? Will it be worth venturing outside my hotel?

Re: Travel Advice Needed: Hong Kong & Macau
 

http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/po...p;Board=Travel

Re: Travel Advice Needed: Hong Kong & Macau
 

[censored] I just pulled a noob move. Someone please move this.

Re: Travel Advice Needed: Hong Kong & Macau
 

Macau and Hong Kong are really easy for an English-only speaker. I didn't bother with the Chinese Visa (I only had four days) so I don't know about the Chinese side, although I don't imagine it will exactly be very amiable for Westerners outside of Shenzhen. You've gotta remember that many of these places were backwater villages a few decades ago and now are cities with millions of people, so they can be a bit bland.

Macau is a very interesting place, however. The central (government) area feels a lot like the center of a European city; here's a pic from when I went:

http://photos-d.ak.facebook.com/phot...18119_8702.jpg

Slightly uphill to the north is the facade of the St Paul Cathedral, and the Macau Museum.

But looking across the river to Nanping (on mainland China) and even towards the border area of Macau was a bit less uplifting:

http://photos-a.ak.facebook.com/phot...18120_9137.jpg

But I wouldn't say the southern areas of Macau are dreary at all. Macau's streets are windy and fun to walk down, and you come across interesting things very often just by wandering around.

Of course you can gamble, but I didn't like the casinos anywhere near as much as Vegas casinos (I went pre-Wynn). There was no poker and you have to pay for drinks. And all anyone plays is Baccarat. And they focus absurdly hard on it.

Hong Kong is easy and pleasant. Check out the Po Lin Monastery on Lantau for a bit of Buddhist flavor, and pretty good hiking (if you like that). Otherwise the city itself was my favorite thing. Walking the boardwalk on the Kowloon side of the bay is imperative--it gives a truly fantastic view of perhaps the world's best skyline.

It's good that you're going during the winter. I went during the summer and the monsoons made the whole trip a bit less enjoyable.

Have fun

Re: Travel Advice Needed: Hong Kong & Macau
 

Hong Kong rocks. It's my favorite city in the world. You can't help but to have fun there.

Re: Travel Advice Needed: Hong Kong & Macau
 

I'm travelling to Macau in a month for the APPT. Do you need to get any sort of innoculations before going? I've heard of people needing them for mainland China.

Re: Travel Advice Needed: Hong Kong & Macau
 

[ QUOTE ]
I'm travelling to Macau in a month for the APPT. Do you need to get any sort of innoculations before going? I've heard of people needing them for mainland China.

[/ QUOTE ]

No innoculations necessary for Macau or HK. A visa is not required for a visit to these former colonies, just a passport (for passport holders in most 1st World nations).

Re: Travel Advice Needed: Hong Kong & Macau
 

No inoculations needed, but if you're sick and running a fever, plan to be stopped in the airport. They get freaked out about that due to the SARS threat.

Re: Travel Advice Needed: Hong Kong & Macau
 

T50 -- thank you very much for the advice and ideas. I am about 80% sure I'll be having a chinese speaker going with me to make the trip in mainland China a little easier.