About the Book
With details concerning major attractions, off-the-beaten-track spots, drinking and nightlife venues, and restaurants and hotels/hostels from all over the city, Panda Guides Hong Kong is the most complete guide of its kind. Written by a team of expats who live in and know Chinas roaring capital, our Hong Kong title is the first HK city guidebook to offer an opportunity to win a free trip through China by purchasing the book. Apart from all the money readers can save by following the Panda, this edition of Hong Kong also comes with a pullout map of the city, while individual maps can be found inside for key tourist attractions, and mini-maps are provided for every local business (hotels, hostels, bars, and restaurants) that show all major cross streets and the nearest subway station(s). Whats more, weve made the travel experience even easier by placing each attractions vital info (i.e. transportation details, opening hours, admission, phone number, website, etc.) in clearly marked orange boxes at the beginning of every listing. This volume is also packed with sample itineraries, a Cantonese phrasebook, a user-friendly index, sections on culture, history, art, music, and movies, full-color pictures (to give you an engrossing feel of a destination before the reader even goes) and much more! Plus, the Hot Topics section will reveal what life on the ground is like with coverage of fascinating themes such as Air Pollution, Food & Water Safety, Traveling with Kids, Scams, Travel, Culture Shock, Taboo & Etiquette and others. For all this and more, Panda Guides Hong Kong isnt just a guide, its an experienc
Table of Contents:
Hong Kong Overview 10 Getting Prepared 35 Top Attractions 52 Victoria Peak 53 The Mid-Levels Escalators 56 Tsim Sha Tsui Waterfront & the Avenue of Stars 59 Repulse Bay 63 Stanley 66 Po Lin Monastery 69 Chi Lin Nunnery 72 Temple Street Night Market 75 Tai O Fishing Village 78 Ping Shan Heritage Trai l81 Ladies Street Market 85 Star Ferry 87 Other Attractions 90 Parks & Heritage Buildings 92 Country Parks 105 Walled Villages 120 Towns & Villages 125 Markets 136 Museums 144 Temples & Monasteries 151 Beaches 161 Islands 165 Amusement Parks 171 Sleeping 174 Drinking & Nightlife 219 Shopping 232 Distractions 240 Side Trips 243 Macau 245 Guangzhou 256 Shenzhen 263 Zhuhai 268 Travel Stories 272 Hot Topics 277 Culture Shock for Travelers 289 Pollution in Hong Kong 294 Traveling With Kids 299 Food, Water & Health 303 Hong Kong on a Budget 305 Solo-Female, Disabled, LGBT & Travelers of Color 306 Hong Kong VS Mainland China 307 Visa Issues & Visa Runs 309 Lockhart Road: The Red Light District310 Hong Kong Calling Guide 311 Cantonese Phrasebook 312 Glossary 330 Travel Resources 332 Index 336
About the Author :
Mitchell Blatt Mitchell grew up in Cleveland, OH and graduated from Indiana University with a B.A. in journalism. He has written about sports, travel and culture. Since he began studying Chinese, he has become obsessed with Chinese culture and travel. Living in Hong Kong, he contributes to outlets such as ChinaHush, eChinaCities, and TheChinaChronicle.com, where his coverage includes stories on Hong Kong arts, film, and music, and a guide for Go Nomad on traveling on a budget in Hong Kong. In his free time, he enjoys visiting Hong Kong's beautiful country parks. Triston Brewer Born in Dallas, Texas, Triston moved to Europe over ten years ago, working as a performance artist and writer in several countries. Fluent in German, Spanish, and Dutch, he has lived in the cities of Barcelona, Berlin, Istanbul to name a few. He has been published in The Huffington Post, Trespass (London), Adaras Magazine (Miami) as well as featured in publications such as the New York Times, Vogue Italia, Turkish Huriyet and other on-line and print magazines in the U.S. and internationally. He recently released his first novel on life abroad. Currently, he resides in Hong Kong, and is working on his next novel. Robert Linnet Born in Denver, CO, Robert received his B.A. in Linguistics from the nearby University of Colorado. After growing up admiring ancient Taoist philosophies and the furious fists of Bruce Lee and Gordon Liu, he came to China in 2009 for a summer stint at a martial arts school and a month of travel. Utterly smitten with the country and the language, he hurried back in the summer of 2010 and has made it his home ever since. Robert has traveled to more than 20 cities throughout China (the list is ever growing), practices kettlebell and Baji Chuan kung fu, and is obsessed with adding to the thousands of Chinese characters he currently reads and writes.
Review :
Star Rating: 5 out of 5: The opening is as appetizing for travelers as a wonderful tray of dim sum - The writing is lively and pleasant to read - [A] terrific travel book. - The San Francisco Book Review The #1 China Travel Guide - The Hostel Life stands by this guidebook! - Mehdy Ghannad, Travel Writer & founder of TheHostelLife.com Star Rating: 5 out of 5: If you are going to Shanghai you must invest in this guide - [and] once you get to Shanghai, use this guide as much as you can - Travelers, readers and wishful thinkers will benefit from this guide. The information can be trusted and the information is reliable. Start planning today and enjoy your trip! - The Portland Book Review Whether you're planning a long trip through the vast land of China or just a couple weeks in one of its top-notch cities, the folks at Panda Guide seem to have you covered - Plus, they offer discounts, and their books are just so darn good looking! - Xu Zhang, Publisher of CC Media Inc. (Canada) I wish I had used [Panda Guides] during my 10 weeks [in China]... There's even overviews on topical issues such as air pollution and an extensive list of food dishes with Chinese characters included (and to think I walked around with my favourite eggplant dish scribbled on a piece of paper!). Highly recommended. - Becki Enright, Travel Writer & Founder of BordersofAdventure.com Good travel advice, solid writing, organized attraction info, clean translations - Panda Guides knows what needs to come standard in a guidebook these days. But discounts and business mini-maps? What novel ideas! How come no one has thought of this before? We definitely give them an "A" for innovation. - George Xu, President of eChinacities.com Maps are a very important part of any great guidebook. We've been working in this field for 30 years, and we've never been as impressed as we are with Panda Guides' maps. What's more, the mini-maps of hotels, hostels, bars and restaurants are one of the freshest ideas we've seen - none of the other guidebooks on the market have anything like this. - Robert Yan, Publisher at Chengdu Cartographic Publishing House Of course, a guidebook is only as good as its writers and what Panda Guides offers is knowledgeable, insider tips from local ex-pats based in China. - Nikki Vargas, Travel Writer & Founder of ThePinTheMapProject.com
