Visiting Hong Kong early September [9/4-7]

Hoping you guys would help with some questions-

staying at the Shangri La.

is there indeed a Ferrari dealer and should we visit? i will have my 11 year old son who loves car stuff and football [soccer - any games that time of year?]. other fun things to do? My wife wants museums and fine restaurants. So any and all recommendations would be appreciated!!!

any safety concerns?

and do US cell.s work there or do i need to get one locally???

we would hope to meet any Ferrari guys who might be town and invite you to dinner, etc.

Thanks so much for your help!!

Best,

watt

 

Never been to Hong Kong (though I always wanted to visit, the city just looks incredible).

But here is a good site to give you a start:

http://www.discoverhongkong.com/usa/

 

u better check with your local service provider whether roaming is possbile with your cell......cos i guess only certain models are compatable with the system here in hk

there are shangri-las in hk one is in admiralty and the other one is in tsim sha tsui so not sure which one you are staying......

the ferrari & masa dealer is in causeway bay also in causeway bay are mb, bmw and bentley dealers.....

there are a couple of museums in tsim sha tsui, i guess you can find out more upon your check-in at the hotel

 

Go to the peak at night via cable car. They have good view of HK and a Haggen Daz there.

Take the ferry at night. It's cooler and has great view of HK side.

Lots of shopping for the wife. Some sight seeing and car stuff for you. If you get a visa for China (not HK), go to sheng zheng (sp?) via train. You'll be amazed with

# of people crossing the immigration into China via train (cheapest way to enter and leave China)

# of counter fake bags, clothes etc. Bargain 1/10 the price and you'll get it. A lot of stuff are cheap and break after a few use though.

Around mid-level area in HK, you can find pubs and restaurant that are for foreigners. A lot of international food.

 

Giuseppe

Having lived in HK for 5 years, I can assure you that it is one of the most exciting cities in the world, and also one of the safest for a gweilo (foreign devil!) visitor.

The tourist office should be your first stop. They have lots of free information and are very helpful. (I think they still have people at the airport handing out maps etc).

One of the greatest delights is the quality and variety of cuisine. Fashions change but there are some useful good food guides available. If you need to top up on quality Western food, Jimmy's Kitchen in Wyndham St is a HK institution and reasonably priced.

On a trip to the Peak, take a walk around Lugard and Harlech Roads to get an over view of the island (and to see where most Ferrari owners live!).

For most people, HK means shopping. Two words of caution: if you plan to purchase anything expensive, do your homework before leaving and shop around! Some of the shops in Nathan Rd are notorious tourist traps.

Enjoy!

John

 

thanks guys,

gweilo is me, i had an office there in the 90's and visited frequently but remember nothing!!, but your help is appreciated.

we're staying at island shangri-la Pacific Place, Supreme Court Road, Central, Hong Kong.

my wife is going over to soft open the new disney park for the VIP's and thinks it's a good experience for our son, so any recommendations for him would be helpful also!!!

i see HK has a pro soccer team that plays in HK stadium but cant find any schedule info, anyone know when the season starts and how to get tix???

thanks, watt

 

I would suggest visiting SPS-automotive in kowloon bay, they always have an assortment of exotics, last time i was there they had an Enzo, F40, SLR, CLK-GTR, a few GT2's GT3's a 1950's SL300 gullwing.

 

You shld just buy a pre paid card ,while in HK as most Carrier's from the states would not be roaming in Hk,and if they do, it wuld be really expenisive.

 

This it? http://www.hkfc.com.hk/

I doubt the quality of soccer is as good as the bigger countries in Europe/S. America though.

 

Whether your cell would work or not in hk depends on your phone plan and your phone. If your phone is a tri-band(900/1800/1900GSM), then your phone would work. I have T-mobile here in the states, and it does roam over in hk, so that depends on your plan.

As for car dealers, there are a bunch of them located along Gloucester Road which includes Kingsway(dealer of Lambo and Lotus). The Ferrari dealer in Causeway bay is not really a dealer, its more like a showroom, and a very tiny one. If you want to see a whole bunch of Fcars, go to the old airport; The pre-owned Ferrari showroom is there(yes, inside the airport). You can also go to the Italian Motors(dealer/service dept.), which is less than a mile away from the old airport! You will most likely find an enzo in the service bay. There is also the Maybach showroom in Repulse bay(southern district of HK). Nothing much to see and i think they are by appointment only, so you can't really go in. But the area is very nice with a beach and some very nice cuisines inside the old Repulse Bay Hotel(they are quite pricey tho), the hotel is also where Italian Motors hold alot of their launch parties(550, MC12, 430...etc); so its worth a visit...

As for soccer, sorry i cant really help. But soccer is huge in HK, I believe the HK team just played the Madrids a few weeks ago in the HK stadium! Hope this helps. Have a great trip in HK

 

US cells can be tricky. I bought a GSM dual-band from T-mobile in June during a trip and it doesn't work here with my local carrier even after unlocking. I later found out that it's 850/1650 (I think) band, so you want to make sure phone isn't one of those with a 50 in the bands.

Soccer is big here, but local teams are nothing to get excited about. When local teams play each other, you typically see more players than spectators.

Like others said, HK is arguably one of the safest large cities in the world. Once, I left my car parked in a large parking lot with the windows down and money in plain view, and everything was untouched when I returned a few hours later.

As far as seeing exotics, your best bet would be the SPS shop that Tezta mentioned. You can add 288GTO to that list. The owner also has a 512TR cabrio, though he took it out of the shop now. But, if you really want to see it I suppose something can be arranged. Looks like you don't arrive until Sunday, otherwise, you could join one of the several early Sunday AM drives that exotic car owners do every week.

 

Hey watt... we do have a ferrari dealer here in Hong Kong...

www.italianmotors.com

but they dont have much cars at the showroom... instead, their sevice center on the kowloon side has a LOT of ferraris. I just bought a 456 from them. They have virtually every imaginary running Ferrari there... when i was there earlier this week, there were at least 5 456s, a lot of 360s... and an Enzo.

Not sure whether they let people wondering round... but hey, it's exciting enough to stand outside and watch the cars go in and out of the service center.

 

Of course we do! The URL is actually:

www.italianmotors.com.hk

As Tezta said, I think SPS would be a good bet to see a variety of cars:

http://www.sps-automotive.com/sps_open.htm

If you'd like, you can PM me for my cell, and then call me when you get here.

 

i was there this morning to pick up my car......cant see any enzo but there was a F50

btw did u buy the red 456GTA?

 

Is your plate#JS 51?

 

There was a black Enzo on the day I first saw the red 456. But at the end, I got the burgundy one.

 

Speaking of fun things to do, how about this?

http://www.sideways-driving-club.com/

I still haven't been there, but I hear nothing but good things about it.

 

I've just returned to the UK, having been in HK for two weeks. Didn't see a lot of Ferraris (about 5 on the roads), but the weather wasn't great for one week and I spent a lot of time in the NTs away from the action.
There's a Lambo dealership with a couple of cars in Wanchai (you can't miss it).
Things to do:

The highlights of my trip were Ocean Park (a tiring day, but great for kids. The aquarium is amazing).
Hong Kong at night from the peak, and even better, from the car park top deck above Ocean Terminal on the Kowloon side. There are either fireworks or a laser show at 8:00pm. Afterwards, wander up Nathan Road and just feel the atmosphere of the place.
Temple Street is well worth a wander at night (also good atmosphere). If you can't make that, go to the Ladies Market during the day, and if you're interested in fish, go up Fish Street, next to the Ladies market where there are loads of tropical and marine fish for sale in bags and tanks.
Go on a ferry to one of the outlying islands. There are excellent seafood restaurants on Lamma Island (go to the one at the very end and you won't be disappointed). Go and see Big Buddha at the Po Lin monastery on Lantau island. There are some interesting lanes and a nice beach on Cheung Chau island (you can get to all of these islands from the pier, towards the harbour from the big IFC tower). Public transport is incredibly efficient and easy to use. When you get there, go to an MTR station customer service desk and get Octopus cards. You pay a $50 deposit, which you get back, and then you add money to the card, which you can use on all public transport, so you don't have to worry about carrying the right change around everywhere. You can top up the card at 7 eleven shops, which are everywhere.
Also, go to Stanley market on the No. 260, 6, 6X or 66 buses from Admiralty (from the Shangri-La, go into Pacific Place and across the Pacific Place walkway over the main road, down the escalator on the right then turn right to the bus stops). At Stanley market you'll find a shop up one of the lanes which sells copy Ferrari caps, T-shirts and jackets. Beware - the T-shirts shrink, so get large sizes! There's also a stall on Temple St. that sells some Ferrari and other car related clothing.
If you want to know anything else just ask....

Sitar Man