hong kong on a budget

[summerfairy]

  Hello everyone, I'm just glad to have found this helpful site. My friends and I are going to hong kong in a few weeks. We are on our own, sort of urban backpacking adventure. And our mission is to prove that with the right company and strategy, hong kong can be enjoyed to the fullest without draining the your savings.

I have a lot of questions, so please bear with me.    We have been scouring the net for all kinds of tips and guides but all were of western perspective. A filipino perspective would matter a lot to us.

Q1. Should we get the 3-day transport pass or just the regular octupus card? Our hotel is in tsim sha tsui and here is our itinerary:

day 1: ocean park, avenue of stars, symphony of lights
day 2: Wong tai sin themed walk, St. John cathedral, the peak, some shopping
day 3: disneyland, (any suggestions as to where to go next are most welcome)
day 4: Ngong Ping, (any suggestions as to where to go before Ngong Ping are also welcome.

Q2. Is there a place where we could leave our luggage on day 4? we already checked the airport and storage there is very expensive, and it is quoted per piece! Any cheaper option? Our flight is in the evening.

Q3. So, we're not allowed to bring in food and drinks into ocean park? which resto offer cheap/budget meals inside ocean park? rice meals are preferable.

Q4. We'd like to try on the tram, MTR, double decker bus, ferry. Any suggestions as to when can we take on these transports? I mean, taking into consideration our itinerary?

Answers would be greatly appreciated. We just need to make sure that our money would go along way in hong kong. We've been saving it for months. 

[niteowl]

hi summerfairy,

try ko po makasagot:

Q1: a regular octopus card would be ok, but better to get the 3 day pass with the bundled airport express ride.  mas madali kasi. especially if pauwi na kayo.

for your day 3 and day 4, you could probably do this in one day i think...  go to ngong ping in the morning, then disneyland after para makita nyo na rin ung fireworks.  para yung last day nyo, you could just look around hk or kung me xtra pa, shopping!!! hehehe

Q2: i think pwede nyo naman pakiusapan ung hotel nyo to leave your luggage e.  what time sa evening ung flight nyo?  kung last trip kasi, most probably aalis kayo ng HK going to the airport, 3 hours b4 flight time eh.  so tyak aalis kayo nun sa hotel ng around 5 - 5:30.  sa tingin ko, papayag naman sila.

Q3: yes, food is not allowed but there are a lot of shops there that sell food, ung meron mga fast food, sa may rides area.  mahal kasi kung dun sa mismong restaurants kayo kakain e.  prepare cguro around 30-50 hkd for the food per person (medyo mahal pa din kasi ung fast food dun)

Q4: pwede nyo naman ma try lahat yan, lalo na yung MTR, dahil sayang naman ung 3 day pass nyo.  most of the time, you'd probably be using the MTR anyway.  for the tram, cguro when nasa area kayo ng central going to causewaybay (pag tipong mag shopping kayo), pwede nyo sakyan un. for the double decker bus, kung hindi kayo kukuha ng me bundled na two trips ng airport express, chances are na double decker bus ang sasakyan nyo papunta TST.

also when going to Ocean park, sasakyan nyo is double decker bus (just make sure na maaga kayo dahil lately, soooooobrang haba ng pila nila papunta dun), then when going back, you can ride the bus again. hinto ng bus is sa admiralty station, so either mag mtr kayo papunta sa central, or you can ride the tram and stop somewhere in wanchai (di ko matandaan yung stop e, anyone here can help?) pra lakarin ung ferry terminal (a bit of a walk nga lang)  going to avenue of the stars/symphony of lights venue.

not sure kung saan ung themed walk ha, pero definitely, magkalapit lang st john cathedral (i think) and the peak, both are in central area lang ata (tama po ba ako mga phkers?)

matanong ko lang, magkano po ba ang budget nyo per person? baka naman kasi malaki ang allotted nyo per head e sayang ung pagtitipid nyo. hehehe

hope this helps.  and kapwa phkers, sana po, tama yung mga pinagsasabi ko dito, if not, please feel free to contradict this post. hehe

[SoyTee]

aba!!! mahusay ang sagot ni nite owel ah 

summerfairy, kelan kayo punta ng Hong Kong?

[SoyTee]

pwede ba kaya yung 3 day pass sa mga bus at tram? o pang MTR la ang?

[niteowl]

salamat sir soy tee, gusto ko lang maibahagi ung mga naitulong ninyong lahat sa akin po.

good question re: 3 day pass.  dapat pwede, kaso hindi din kasi na mention sa site ung ganung details e.  meron lang sila provision dun na pwd ka mag reload ng amount once maubos ung laman.  so i assume pwede sya.

if summerfairy wants, pwd din naman na simpleng octopus card na lang kunin nya, loadan nya ng say 300, tapos on her last day papunta airport, bili na lang sya ng airport express card sa central station.  kung 2 or more sila me discount naman e. the more sila, the bigger the discount.

kaming dalawa ng wife ko, when we bought the 1 way airport express going to the airport, nasa 70 or 80 hkd per head binayad namin... medyo mahal, pero wow! less hassle sa pagbuhat ng gamit plus, labas mo, sa loob na kaagad ng airport, ang bilis mo pa. 30 minutes lang ata kasi pag dun ka sumakay unlike kung bus, around an hour byahe mo, not to mention na baka ma traffic ka dahil rush hour un.

[summerfairy]

Q2: i think pwede nyo naman pakiusapan ung hotel nyo to leave your luggage e.  what time sa evening ung flight nyo?  kung last trip kasi, most probably aalis kayo ng HK going to the airport, 3 hours b4 flight time eh.  so tyak aalis kayo nun sa hotel ng around 5 - 5:30.  sa tingin ko, papayag naman sila.

not sure kung saan ung themed walk ha, pero definitely, magkalapit lang st john cathedral (i think) and the peak, both are in central area lang ata (tama po ba ako mga phkers?)

matanong ko lang, magkano po ba ang budget nyo per person? baka naman kasi malaki ang allotted nyo per head e sayang ung pagtitipid nyo. hehehe

Na contak na namin ang hotel at payag cla to store our luggage for free. kaya lang, parang hassle masyado kung babalik pa kami ng TST from lantau, eh malapit na dun ang airport d ba? Our flight is past nine pm, so tamang-tama sana na sagarin namin ang ngong ping hanggang 6 pm.

naghahanap pala kami ng pwedeng gawin sa hong kong sa umaga. Kasi, lahat halos ng sites ay 10am pa ang opening.

syanga pala, we are carnival ride freaks. kulang na lang pati carousel ay sakyan namin. so, pag nasa theme park kami, talagang hihintayin naming itaboy kaming guards 

yung themed walk nakuha namin sa discover hong kong website, its in kowloon, kasama dun ang kowloon walled city.

yung budget po namin per person ay 10,000 for the three F: food, fare, fees. Ok na yung hotel and plane tiket. we got our tikets last May pa nung nag zero sale ang cebu pacific. plano din namin na magbaon ng mga de lata and other stuff para menus gastos din sa pagkain jan. 

wala kaming budget para sa shopping galore, pero ano ba magandang pampasalubong? yung talagang tatak hong kong?

nalibot na cguro namin ang pilipinas on a very minimum budget kaya masasabi naming beterano na kami dyan. first time namin na dalhin ang misyon overseas, kaya medyo ngarag kami ngayon. Sa sept 14 na ang alis namin papuntang HK

maraming salamat sa lahat ng nagreply.

[summerfairy]

hi, pwd ba ang roaming para sa phone calls namin dyan sa hong kong. I mean among us in the group, not between us in hongkong and somebody in pinas. we are a group of 9 and kung sakali maghiwalay kami sa ocean park or disney, paano kami mag communicate?

or baka may idea kayo na mas murang paraan?

thanks!

[niteowl]

hi sf,

regarding sa post mo, wouldnt it be better to do ngong ping and disney on your 3rd day?  wala naman masyado actually makikita sa ngong ping e so sayang lang kung sasagarin nyo ung day nyo sa kanya.  believe me, you can be done with the place in say... 2-3 hours lang.  then focus on TST/Kowloon on your last day na lang.

As for gagawin sa umaga.. hehehe, wala actually masyado, unless you go to the Park or pwede rin the Peak or Avenue of the Stars.

For the rides, then set aside a whole day sa Ocean Park.  Just be there early, mahaba kasi pila dun. especially pag kasabay mo mga mainlanders.  di pa naman sila well mannered, mahilig sumingit.    Disney naman, hmmm, pwede talaga half a day dun e, buti pa nga sila till 8:00 ata ng gabi operations e, so pwd nyo sagarin time nyo dun, unlike OP na 6:00 lang.

ung walled park, nasa kowloon pala, so pag balak nyo pumunta sa peak and st john after, tatawid pa kayo.  why not recheck your itinerary.

here's what i would do:
1st day: OP, Symphony of Lights, then Avenue of the Stars

2nd day: Ngong Ping, Disneyland

3rd day: Hongkong side, so bale andyan and the Peak, St John, Chater's Garden (tama po ba?), shopping (marami actually mabibiling souvenirs sa the Peak,key chains, shirts, etc , and IMHO, parang mas mura pa nga dun compared sa ladies market o night market e), Tram rides and if kaya pa, Lan Kwai Fong sa gabi (mahal nga lang beer dun ha)   Kung hindi naman, you can go back sa Kowloon after then go to Ladies Market/Night Market, at least nasa last stop nyo, malapit na sa vicinity ng place nyo.

4th day: walled park, last minute shoppings if ever basta dun lang kayo sa area ng TST ok na dahil tyak ko kakapusin pa kayo ng oras e.  I know we did.

(tama po ba itong post ko mga phkers?)

budget nyo na 10k per head is ok, pero for me, medyo stretching it. hehehe  naka set aside na po ba yung terminal fee nyo na around 2.5k per head? kasi sisingilin kayo nyan sa airport natin.  so kung hindi pa bawas ang 10k nyo pa so you may have to allot for that as well.  Sensya na po... para sa akin lang kasi, it would be nice to have a back up money dahil parang hindi ko maeenjoy ang Hk kung at the back of my mind e tinitipid ko lahat.  Especially since mahal ang food sa OP and Disney (bawal po kasi magbaon ng food on both parks.)

As for roaming, naku, mas mahal pa yan.  I followed a suggestion by KK and bought myself a Smart 1528 sim (28 ba or 38 hkd, plus load na 50 hkd pa) believe me, mas mura sya para sa akin compared to roaming charges makakatawag ka pa sa manila kahit land line tawagan mo.  yung sa akin nga, me natira pa na 22 hkd e, sayang nga at hindi namin naubos.  bili kayo kahit 3 sims lang ok na.  please note na mas mainam pa ang calls kesa txt sa hk... balita ko, mas mahal pa daw ang txt compared sa calls ata e. so buy ka na lang nung sim na yun.

hope this helps. I'll try to post some pics ng ngong ping para makita mo na hindi ka necessary na masyado magtagal dun.

[summerfairy]

Niteowl, maraming salamat sa inputs mo. ito actually ang hinahanap namin, first hand info from pinoy perspective.

i'l bring up your suggested itinerary sa mga kasama ko. ayon kasi sa ngong ping website, up to 7 hours ang tour sa area. but i checked it again kanina and i saw na may mahabang time na allocated sa souvenir shops nila, hehehe.

yung 10k, para sa HK expenses na po yun. naka set aside na ang hotel at travel tac and airport fees. Tungkol naman sa back up money, may mga credit cards kami. but so far sa mga lakad namin sa pinas, hindi pa kami nakapag cash advance or charge sa card dahil naubos ang budget namin. Yung 10k is our set budget. and after the trip, kung sino pinakamaliit ginastos ay itetreat ng group to free spa! 

saan makakabili nung Smart 1528, sa hong kong na or meron dito?

salamat!

[niteowl]

heheh, pleasure to help, just passing on the help the guys here have given me before din.

regarding ngong ping, are you guys going to take a tour pa?  you can walk around the place actually by your own naman e. hehehe also, if you guys don't mind watching the monkey theater and buddha's enlightenment, pwd nyo na i skip yun, sayang din kasi bayad dun e.. hehehe

good to hear na meron pala kayo credit cards na dala. at least me back up kayo.

tungkol naman sa smart 1528, not sure where sa HK binili ng kaibigan ko e, all he said to me was he bought it sa Central, so hindi ko alam kung saan located...

paging sir KK, baka pwede ka makapag shed ng light sa subject na ito. hehehe

hope this helps.

[spidey]

agree po ako ke niteowl sa mga suggestions nya hehehe...mas magaling pa ata to kesa saming nandto naka-base sa hk...hehehe...

smart 1528 ay mabibili sa worldwide house in central.  tama si bro niteowl. mas makakamura pg bibili kayo ng sim na to...pg ngpa-reload pa nito merong free text to smart pinas.

i second the motion yung suggestion nyang ngong-ping then disney after. mas magandang pumunta ng maaga sa ngong ping lalo na kung magke-cable car kayo...ang haba ng pila pg tanghali na! after ngong ping disney.ok na dumating ng around 3 or 4pm s disney. kung pagaaralan nyo mabuti ung mga shows/rides kaya nyong sulitin yan hanggang mag fireworks display. pg nasa disney wag i-miss yung parade ng mga disney characters, lion king, its a small world, golden mickey show, mickey's philhar magic, jungle river cruise at higit sa lahat yung fireworks display na around 8pm ata...

nga pala yung papuntang airport from TST, ok ding mag airport bus, E21 ata hehehe...mga 40hkd lang yun...diretso na din s airport...pagbaba mo dun na sa luggage check-in at immigration area na kagad...

goodluck sa pagpunta nyo dto sa hk summerfairy! sana mag enjoy kayo!

welcome nga pala sa PHK!

[niteowl]

heheh, hindi naman ser spidey, i just love HK that much, kahit twice pa lang ako nagpunta dyan.  I'd pick HK against Macau if you ask me.  Never kasi ako nag enjoy sa Macau when we went there e. 

hope our suggestions help you SF, and enjoy HK... I know we did.

[summerfairy]

regarding ngong ping, are you guys going to take a tour pa?  you can walk around the place actually by your own naman e. hehehe also, if you guys don't mind watching the monkey theater and buddha's enlightenment, pwd nyo na i skip yun, sayang din kasi bayad dun e.. hehehe

grabe, iba talaga yung may personalized guidance kesa website lang. All this time we thought na yung HK$145 ay entrance fee to ngong ping. So, open to public pala dito? and pwd na yung cable car lang ang bayaran namin. salamat talaga!

i'm sure mag eenjoy kami sa hk urban adventure namin. thanks to all pointers here. grat help talaga. actually, part sa fun namin yung minimum lang talaga ang ma spend. kung pwd nga lang magpitch ng tent sa park dyan, eh magdadala kami ng tent para tipid sa hotel. hehe

[summerfairy]

agree po ako ke niteowl sa mga suggestions nya hehehe...mas magaling pa ata to kesa saming nandto naka-base sa hk...hehehe...

smart 1528 ay mabibili sa worldwide house in central.  tama si bro niteowl. mas makakamura pg bibili kayo ng sim na to...pg ngpa-reload pa nito merong free text to smart pinas.

i second the motion yung suggestion nyang ngong-ping then disney after. mas magandang pumunta ng maaga sa ngong ping lalo na kung magke-cable car kayo...ang haba ng pila pg tanghali na! after ngong ping disney.ok na dumating ng around 3 or 4pm s disney. kung pagaaralan nyo mabuti ung mga shows/rides kaya nyong sulitin yan hanggang mag fireworks display. pg nasa disney wag i-miss yung parade ng mga disney characters, lion king, its a small world, golden mickey show, mickey's philhar magic, jungle river cruise at higit sa lahat yung fireworks display na around 8pm ata...

nga pala yung papuntang airport from TST, ok ding mag airport bus, E21 ata hehehe...mga 40hkd lang yun...diretso na din s airport...pagbaba mo dun na sa luggage check-in at immigration area na kagad...

goodluck sa pagpunta nyo dto sa hk summerfairy! sana mag enjoy kayo!

welcome nga pala sa PHK!

thank you very much for the tips, we shall take note of them.

about ngong ping nga pala, ang sabi lang kasi sa website nila is they are open at 10am. does it refer to ngong ping village and other attractions there or to the cable car only. does it mean na if we want to be in the village earlier, pwd kami magbus going there and then yung cable car when pauwi na kami? Tama po ba?

[niteowl]

hmmmm, hindi ko po alam yan mam e.  but i've read somewhere na me mga gumagawa nun.

i think pwede naman siguro.  anyway, most lang naman ng nasa village is shops. you could probably spend time na muna sa temple and sa giant buddha, then after that, village huli ninyo since dun ang sakay ninyo ng cable car. mas mainam pa nga un dahil ung pabalik ninyo, wala kayo kasabay sa cable car dahil most of them, papunta pa lang via cable car.