non-European question

You might have more success on TripAdvisor or Frommers. Some people on this site are from Hong Kong, or have visited there and may answer your question, but the strength of the Rick Steves site is that it specializes on European travel.

Jonathan,

Your best bet for answers to your questions is the Thorn Tree Message Board on the Lonely Planet website (click the "Community" tab at the top of the page).

It's a large board with sections to cover just about every part of the world, and I'm sure someone there will be able to answer any questions about Hong Kong.

Happy travels!

There are a few of us here who have been to HKG and may be able to answer your question. However, depending on your style of travel one of the other sites will have more indepth info. If you are an independent traveler willing to potentially rough it, then Lonely Planet can't be beat.

So, what are your questions?

I've been to Hong Kong three times; all in January. In terms of money, HKG is in general cheaper than London or Paris. Hotels are cheaper, food is cheaper, the sites cheaper, and you can bargain at the markets:)

Just a couple questions: It does appear that Hong Kong is cheaper by about 400.00 in September for some reason. However, the flight from New York [EWR] to Hong Kong is 15 or so hours, and on a 777. I just would like to know if anyone has ever experienced a flight this long [twice as long as it is to Europe, though this route being one of the longest in the world].

Second has anyone had problems with the water in Hong Kong?

Third, How well was the English spoken, can someone with absolutely no background in Cantonese get by?

I am sure I have others, but those are it for now, thanks again!!

I've done eastern N.America to Hong Kong 3 or 4 times, and it's a killer. Make sure you're there long enough to make it worth your while. If you're looking at Continental, their 777 extended range seats 3-3-3, so be careful with your seat choices.
Water in the hotels and nice restaurants is fine...otherwise, I use bottled water, just in case.
And yes, you'll be fine with English there.

All my flights to HK have been on the non stop Continental flight via Newark Norm mentioned. The very last row in coach is 2-3-2. If you select one of the aisle seats to the left or right side, you'll get extra leg room. Continental also has this new on-demand in-flight entertainment system. There are literally thousands of titles to choose from, anything from classic movies/TV shows (Citizen Cane, Lawrence of Arabia, Mary Tyler Moore) to new releases that make the time go by a bit faster. The water is perfectly safe, most everyone speaks English...remember it used to be a British colony. Make sure you visit Happy Valley horse track on Wednesday night, hike around the "Peak", and checkout new Wetland Park. Although I'm a huge Disney fanatic, Disneyland HK is not worth it. It's very small and it's mostly just kidde rides.

Michael (are you a long-ago Compuserve TravSig member?):

Not sure that mentioning the last row layout is a good thing - it's 2-3-2 because the body of the plane narrows down at the back, so there's not any more room. Frequently the last row has limited recline. Also, since you're seated behind a 3-3-3 row the seats in front don't line up, so (IME) you end up with tray tables in the armrests.

As always, the best place to go when considering seat choices is http://www.seatguru.com.

We flew JFK-HKG on Cathay Pacific a few years ago. Including a short stop in Vancouver (we weren't allowed off the plane) it was roughly 20 hours onboard. We left midnight Saturday night and arrived abour 7 or 8 Monday morning. We had a short nap and were sightseeing in the afternoon.

Never been on Compuserve. There is extra room...enough to put in the extra seat if the airline so desires; the seats do line up with row in front. Like I said, I've selected these exact seats on six flights, and there is lots of extra room...I'm not imagining it:) In fact SeatGuru agrees with me:
"...becuase of the missing aisle seat there is extra room for the person in 44b to stretch their legs...."

http://www.seatguru.com/airlines/Continental_Airlines/Continental_Airlines_Boeing_777-200_B.php

Thanks all again, but to answer to Michael, I can tell you that I will not be in the back of the plane due to the being that close to the bathrooms, but again I do like the 2-3-2..hmm things to think about.

Does the seat recline? And how about the nastiness of being that close to the bathroom?

I will be honest though I am a little worried about eating the food and drinking the water. I have a umm...well a very light stomach/colon system....

Is the water quality like here in the states? I did read somewhere that one should drink bottles of water for the first couple days, just want to know if that is true...thanks

44A and B recline as much as any of the other seats....44 K and L do not.
As for food, you'll not find a lot of "heavy" eating there....lots of noodles and "stir fried" or "steamed" meats and vegetables....pretty light on the stomach, I've found.

The proximity of the bathrooms isn't a big deal. The doors are "around the corner", so you don't see or smell anything. Also, there's just one toilet, so most people head to the middle of the plane to do where there is more availability. But, there is a self-service "bar" nearby where the Flight Attendants leave-out trays of juice and water for passengers to help themselves...it does create a bit of traffic.

is there a window..meaning on back of a lot of planes in the back fuselage they [the airline] cover the windows, though that is mostly for twin turbo jets

I was just in Hong Kong in August and loved it! I think of all the cities I have traveled to, it was one of the most tourist friendly. I traveled on a flight from Vancovuer with a stop-over in San Fran, and it wasn't too bad.

You will have no problem, I did not come across very many people who did not speak english. In fact I was in the subway looking at a map and with in 10 seconds I had someone asking me if I needed help!

The subway is so easy to use as well as the bus system, do a little research get yourself a re-loadable octopus card and you can ride just about anywhere. Of all the cities I have been in HK has to be the most well signposted.

If you have been to London than you will be fine in HK, it is very similiar to London. The only major difference is the people, I have never seen so many people in my life it can be very oppresive at times. And do not go in summer the heat is almost unbearable. I would say it is cheaper than London or Paris, you can eat cheap and do some good shopping, the only thing that is really expensive is accomadation.

I think you will like HK very much, I know I did, if you have any more questions just message me.

if we go, it will be in mid September; like around the 15-22 or so. will the weather be miserable then or fine?