Hong Kong

[Jotun]

Hi Guys, I'm going to Hong Kong this summer for 6 weeks, I've got a few questions about it and was hoping someone who's been there before can help me out.

I believe official languages are Chinese and English, would I be able to get by without knowing any Chinese? Do most signs have English translations and most people there speak English, or is this less common? Would people be offended or think I was rude for not knowing any Chinese? If i were to try and learn the basics, presumably I should aim to learn the spoken side rather than the written side?

Am I correct in thinking that in Hong Kong the same power sockets & voltages are used as in the UK, so any electronics should just plug straight in?

Are the prices of electrical goods there cheaper than in the UK? I'm after a compact camera which I was considering buying before I go, but if I'd save a noticeable amount then I'd also consider waiting till I got there to buy one. Although I'd guess there's a chance that the warranty may not be valid in the UK I suppose. I notice there's always electrical goods on ebay from Hong Kong which are priced competitively, even with international postage, so I'd expect that I could get a camera over there for a fair bit cheaper?

I'll be staying at CUHK doing a couple of courses over the summer so I'm expecting to spend a fair bit of time around there if it makes any difference

 

[Jotun]

Thanks for the replies guys, really appreciate the information, very useful

I was thinking of picking up a compact camera, but if there's not going to be much of a saving (if any), and the lack of a warranty, and chance of getting a dodgy one I'll just buy one over here before I leave

I've got a couple more questions.

How easily can you get accommodation - how much notice would you have to give to book a room, and how much is it likely to cost roughly? My course ends on the 5th of august, my flight back is on the 10th, so I'll have a few days free, although there's a tour to Shanghai that runs from the 5th to the 8th which I may book a place for so I might only need accommodation for 2 nights.

My mobile supports GSM & 3G so I presume I'd be able to connect to the mobile networks there, but is it worth trying to pick up a pay as you go sim card? According to the o2 website, calls will cost 199p/minute

Six weeks! Is there enough to do in HK for six weeks as a tourist? I lived there for two and a half years but I was working.

Get a suit made while you're there. Pacific Custom Tailors in Pacific Place is very good. More expensive than the street ones but much better quality and will last longer.

Go to Macau. The Lisboa casino is an extraordinary place.

I would struggle to be a tourist for more than a fortnight!

It's not a full 6 weeks as a tourist really, I'm actually going to the university to do a couple of courses there which run on Tuesday-Thursday which will leave me with Friday-Monday free to do what I want, so it's not a solid 6 weeks of sightseeing, but I will have a fair bit of time free.

Lei ho! Everyone speaks cantonese and most people you meet will speak some english too. Basically the poorer someone is, the less likely they are to speak english. The only time you might get caught out is getting a taxi back to your hotel. Sometimes the driver won't recognise the english name of where you're staying so take the hotel's card to show them just in case!

Don't bother trying to learn the written side - it'll be a complete waste of time. Useful phrases are:

hello - lay ho
mmm-goy - this means lots of things like hey! and thank you and sometimes please (you can add sai on the end when saying thank you)
to ask where somewhere is you say the name of the place followed by hi bin doh (I think the bin should have a slightly higher tone than the hi and doh)
hiya means yes/that's right
no is mmm-sai
if you want to say you like a girl say - lay ho saw

Tip: add laa on the end of every sentence to sound like a local ok laa?

Note I am not cantonese and there is no pinyin for it so these spellings are just phonetic and not common. Also my memory is not 100% so there may be mistakes!

If you want to eat where the locals eat (good idea in my opinion) I would learn the phrase for english menu so you can ask places if they have one. I can't remember what it is though (something like yingman tampa? maybe someone else can help). Best going out place is lang kwai fong by a mile (although drinks are the same price as central london ). Shek O is the best beach although it's far out (my boss lived in a house next to the beach). Lamma island is worth a visit - espeically if you come back at night-time.

Yes the golden computer arcade and similar places are cheaper than all the broadways (the green electrical shop everywhere)/fortress (the orange electrical shop everywhere) but if you buy the wrong thing don't expect a refund. I bought a nice canon and a psp when out there and saved a few bob but with the exchange rate now I reckon prices will be equal to here. If you buy a psp remember that umds are region locked but you pay a premium for a japanese one (which is in the same region as us).

Dim sum dim sum dim sum om nom nom nom

I spent 10 weeks there last summer and it was awesome so have fun!

edit: get an octopus card first thing - you can get it at the airport.

Thanks for that, I will have a look in to learning some basic Cantonese, I've heard some good things about the Pimsleur approach so I will probabaly give that a go

Fancy bring me back a crate of danbo's?

I only get a 20KG luggage allowance, so probabaly not a good idea

 

[Jotun]

Thanks for the replies guys, I wasn't sure quite what to be expecting but this thread has been a bit reassuring

btw OP, just english will be fine, everything is done in Triple language, Cantonese, Mandarin and English. All the kids in school learn all 3, the uni lectures are in English, so a lot of people (modern generations) can speak conversation English.

That's good to know, I was hoping it'd be the case. I've got the Pimsleur guide to Cantonese so I'll try and have a go at learning a bit of that before hand too