If you intend to live in Hong Kong even for a week, here are some things to make life easier.
1) Get maps: Buy a street directory, or use an online map service like Centamap to show you the way around Hong Kong.
2) Get a prepaid phone card: If you need to call back to your home country, consider the People's IDD Talk Prepaid card. Phone charges are cheap in Hong Kong.
3) Get a Octopus card: This is very useful for travel on the MTR and public transport. You can keep it for your next visit to Hong Kong or refund it 3 months later at no charge.
4) Open a bank account: Open a HSBC Hong Kong dollar savings account and select the "Easy Savers" option. This will exempt the account from minimum account charges. However, you will be charged a fee if you withdraw money from the bank counter.
To open the account, you must bring identification that shows your home address or have a friend who is an existing customer of the bank to vouch for you.
Ensure that you also apply for Internet Banking, since you may need to access your account from your home country.
5) Apply for PPS: With your HSBC bank account, you can top up your phone card every 6 months indefinitely to retain its number over the Internet.
6) Find cheap accomodation: This is a major challenge as even the cheapest hostels charge HK$400 per night. It is best to find a friend who could lend you his or her sofa.
7) Find cheap food: Food prices go for HK$30+ or above for a full meal. To find reasonably priced food, you must walk around and visit the small stalls in hidden in the minor streets. The ability to read handwritten traditional chinese characters is essential since the storeowners usually cater only to locals.
I ordered rice and 2 vegetable within 5 minutes walk from Chueng Sha Wan MTR for HK$17. It was sited next to a noodle stall. [Should be located at the middle of Cheung Fat Street.] To my relief, the stall owner could speak a little Mandarin. The meal was relatively filling for me. I ordered a take-away packet so that I do not have to subsist on bread the next morning.
I also ordered HK$24 fried rice from a small stall hidden in the corner of Landale Street within 10 minutes walk from Wan Chai MTR. The shopkeeper was very friendly and conversed with me in Mandarin. The fried rice was so delicious and the shopkeeper generous with extra servings that I ordered a take-away. The only issue I have are the numerous cockroaches crawling openly around the stall.
Showing posts with label hong kong. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hong kong. Show all posts
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
ATM Withdrawal Rates & Tips
ATMs are a low-cost and effective means of obtaining cash while overseas. However, there are some tips to observe:
1) Withdraw Hong Kong dollars.
- You can change them to Macau Patacas at Tai Fung Bank at a favorable rate of HKD$1 = MOP$1.03. For other currencies including Chinese Renminbi, Tai Fung bank will charge you a 1.5% to 2.5% spread (i.e. commission) in its exchange rates.
- If you change more than HKD$10,000 to Macau Patacas at Tai Fung, check if they charge you a "transaction fee". [They don't charge a fee as of 09 APR 2009.]
- If you want to gamble, use Hong Kong dollars as casions don't accept Macau Patacas.
- Don't carry Macau Patacas out of the country. Except for Zhuhai (across the border to China), you will have trouble finding other people to change them.
- If you withdraw from a Hong Kong bank in Macau Patacas, you will be charged the unfavorable rate of HKD$1 = MOP$1.02. The money changer in the airport gives you an even worse deal of HKD$1 = MOP$1.01.
2) HSBC ATMs only supply Hong Kong dollar bills in denominations of HKD$500 (US$64) and HKD$1000 (US$128) pieces. Hence, you cannot physically withdraw amounts smaller than that. Other ATMs probably have similar restrictions.
3) If you are withdrawing using a ATM, debit or credit card marked with "VISA", you can expect to pay about 1.6% before any bank charges. MasterCard probably charges a similar amount. [VISA rates]
4) If your bank charges a flat fee (like most Singapore banks) for withdrawals, you can save much if you plan your spending so that you withdraw a larger amount each time.
- If you are traveling from a country like Singapore where you can get exchange rates as low as 1% commission, then change your money to Hong Kong dollars before you arrive in Macau. Don't underestimate the savings, especially if you are a budget traveler.
- The low commission money changers can be found in Lucky Plaza (near Orchard MRT) and People's Park (near Chinatown MRT). Refer to [Singapore Street Directory]
5) Take note of (4) when you charge to your ATM or credit card. If you spend small amounts of money frequently, you may pay a lot in withdrawal fees.
Oh, by the way, please don't give away your money to the casino. There are better ways to do charity. :)
1) Withdraw Hong Kong dollars.
- You can change them to Macau Patacas at Tai Fung Bank at a favorable rate of HKD$1 = MOP$1.03. For other currencies including Chinese Renminbi, Tai Fung bank will charge you a 1.5% to 2.5% spread (i.e. commission) in its exchange rates.
- If you change more than HKD$10,000 to Macau Patacas at Tai Fung, check if they charge you a "transaction fee". [They don't charge a fee as of 09 APR 2009.]
- If you want to gamble, use Hong Kong dollars as casions don't accept Macau Patacas.
- Don't carry Macau Patacas out of the country. Except for Zhuhai (across the border to China), you will have trouble finding other people to change them.
- If you withdraw from a Hong Kong bank in Macau Patacas, you will be charged the unfavorable rate of HKD$1 = MOP$1.02. The money changer in the airport gives you an even worse deal of HKD$1 = MOP$1.01.
2) HSBC ATMs only supply Hong Kong dollar bills in denominations of HKD$500 (US$64) and HKD$1000 (US$128) pieces. Hence, you cannot physically withdraw amounts smaller than that. Other ATMs probably have similar restrictions.
3) If you are withdrawing using a ATM, debit or credit card marked with "VISA", you can expect to pay about 1.6% before any bank charges. MasterCard probably charges a similar amount. [VISA rates]
4) If your bank charges a flat fee (like most Singapore banks) for withdrawals, you can save much if you plan your spending so that you withdraw a larger amount each time.
- If you are traveling from a country like Singapore where you can get exchange rates as low as 1% commission, then change your money to Hong Kong dollars before you arrive in Macau. Don't underestimate the savings, especially if you are a budget traveler.
- The low commission money changers can be found in Lucky Plaza (near Orchard MRT) and People's Park (near Chinatown MRT). Refer to [Singapore Street Directory]
5) Take note of (4) when you charge to your ATM or credit card. If you spend small amounts of money frequently, you may pay a lot in withdrawal fees.
Oh, by the way, please don't give away your money to the casino. There are better ways to do charity. :)
Monday, January 28, 2008
Macao Ferry Services to Hong Kong
The ferry trip between Macao and Hong Kong takes about 1 hour. Macau residents, seniors (above 60 years old) and children (below 12 years old) may obtain discounts.
The ferry companies have a standby queue. If you arrive early, join the queue. You will have an excellent chance of getting onto the next departing ferry ride.
----- TurboJet ------
http://www.turbojet.com.hk/eng/schedule/prd.html
Turbojet the most popular ferry company in Macau. Ferries usually depart every 15 minutes from the Hong Kong Macau Ferry Terminal on Hong Kong island. I have heard that some casinos give complimentary tickets to regular customers.
Operating Hours: 4am - 2:30am (next day)
Weekday: HKD$134 - MOP$142
Weekends & Holidays: HKD$146 - MOP$154
Night: HKD$168 - MOP$176
(Rates are given as: HK > Macau - Macau > HK)
----- First Ferry ------
http://www.nwff.com.hk/engtext/schedule/route.asp
You can travel directly to the Kowloon peninsular in Hong Kong. Ferries usually depart every 30 minutes from the Tsim Sha Tsui China Ferry Terminal.
Operating Hours: 7am - 12 midnight
Weekday: HKD$133 - MOP$140
Weekends & Holidays: HKD$148 - MOP$155
Night: HKD$168 - MOP$175
(Rates are given as: HK > Macau - Macau > HK)
----- CotaiJet ------
http://cotaijet.com.mo/en/destinations/
CotaiJet has just started operating. (Cotai is the name of island formed from the merger of Coloane and Taipa.) If you are traveling to Taipa or Coloane, you can consider taking this service.
Operating Hours: 7:30am - 5pm
Weekday: HKD$134 - MOP$142
Weekends & Holidays: HKD$146 - MOP$154
Night: Not available yet
(Rates are given as: HK > Macau - Macau > HK)
----- Money Saving Tips ------
1) There are travel agencies operating in Shun Tak Centre that will sell you special tickets. Depending on the shop and time, you can get these tickets for HKD$4 to HKD$13 cheaper than the regular price. Apparently, these are tickets that casinos give to favorite customers. As far as I know, no one will check if your name matches that on the tickets.
2) If you are buying tickets in Macau, you can always pay the ticket price as Macau Patacas even if it is quoted in Hong Kong dollars. This gives you a 3% savings.
3) If you walk a short distance from the Macau Ferry Terminal, you can find the place where the casinos provide Free Bus Services. They stop running at 12 midnight. If you are going to a destination near the casino and do not have much luggage, you can take a free ride. When you reach the casino, you can hop on to another casino bus service to the Chinese border for free too.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)