Hong Kong Report

[jcx]

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ive been thinking about taking a trip out to hong kong in a year or 2 probably, but what concerns me is that i get the impression that nobody speaks english and therefore there is nothing to do and noone to talk to. arent you just some random outcast walking down the street with everyone staring at you?

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No way dude, plenty of Brits and other Europeans around Hong Kong. At least there were when I was there.

Even if they all left, there's a TON of stuff to do in HK. Go, you'll love it.

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I've been to HK post handover, and while a lot of the ex-pats left, communication was not a problem. If you stay in one of the better hotels the staff will speak English (I highly recommend the Grand Hyatt). The street signs & subway are bilingual. Lan Kwai Fong and D'Aguilar streets are the main nightlife areas in Central and a good place to meet more sophisticated locals (likely English speakers) as well as ex-pats.

A trip to Lantau Island to see the giant Buddha is worthwhile. The Temple Street night market is a lot of fun. As Andy mentioned, seeing the peak (both day and night) and riding the Star Ferry is a must. Hmmm, I've got to get back...

[bennyk]

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everyone speaks english and all the signs and menus and everything has english and chinese. plus, it's a more eclectic mix of people than you might think. bankers & business people from all over the world work in HK, so you won't stick out at all.

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this was not my experience at all...YMMV

still an unbelievable city though!
bk

[mason55]

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ive been thinking about taking a trip out to hong kong in a year or 2 probably, but what concerns me is that i get the impression that nobody speaks english and therefore there is nothing to do and noone to talk to. arent you just some random outcast walking down the street with everyone staring at you?

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yeah i'm taking a trip next year and i only speak english.


luckily my girlfriend speaks mandarin and cantonese so i can't really help you at all.

[JimRivett]

Hello Andy,

Did you have dim sum for lunch?

Jim

[andyfox]

Of course. The best thing about it, for my wife, who like to eat and be served quickly, is that you can have twenty-three things to eat inside of 30 seconds. We also went to the seafood market where you pick out your live fish, bring them to the restaurant, and have them prepare it to your liking.

[andyfox]

Yes, at the others have said, English is spoken and people are extraoridinarily friendly. Two times we wre studying our map when strangers came up to help and point us in the right direction. In most of the city, all signs are in both Chinese and English; in some of the older sections, only Chinese, but it's not hard to find an English speaker. Even the cabbies, who a few years ago, in my experience spoke no English, now understand and speak some. Good idea, still, to have your destination written in Chinese. All the subways have clear direcctions in English.

[andyfox]

I don't speak a word of either Mandarin or Cantonese and I've never had a problem here. Sometimes that means a bit of an adventure, but that's a good part of the fun.

[[censored]]

Sounds similar to Korea

[EliteNinja]

Sucks that my mom is from HK and I've never been off North America. We be a poor family. Time for me to graduate, move out and make some dough for myself.