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Introduction: Why Hong Kong?!? |  |
Hello!
My name is Kyla Gurganus, and I am a chemistry teacher from Ypsilanti,
Michigan. My favorite pastime is planning and taking
international trips. I had hopes to travel to the 2008 Beijing
Olympics but was shocked by the prices, so I decided to go to my first
Asian destination, Hong Kong, over Easter instead (as my summer was
already packed with teaching workshops and classes). Why Hong
Kong? Prices were reasonable, and it was sufficiently exotic to
satisfy my wanderlust. Another big advantage: I didn't need an
expensive Chinese visa!
I
travelled to Hong Kong with my mother. We had an absolute blast,
and I would recommend it to anyone. Hong Kong has a wonderful
tourist infrastructure and excellent public transportation.
Signage is in English (and Cantonese), and there are plenty of Western
restaurants to eat at (for the non-adventurous eater like
me). We
had very pleasant weather (warm with only a little rain). Splurge
for air conditioning, though; we needed it even though it was March.
Planning for the trip involved lots of Internet searching (http://www.discoverhongkong.com is a good place to start) and reading two excellent books, Frommer's Hong Kong (9th edition, 2007) and Lonely Planet China (2007). Eastern Michigan University's Halle Library also has a great tourist information and map section; they had recent copies of detailed Hong Kong maps and tourist brochures. Once we landed at Hong Kong's international airport, there were plenty of free brochures and maps at the (then closed) tourist information booth to meet all of our additional needs. We got Macau maps at the Macau Ferry Terminal on Hong Kong Island, but Macau was much more difficult to get around than Hong Kong. Do note that Hong Kong currency is usable in Macau; we didn't change any money for our day trip.
Planning for the trip involved lots of Internet searching (http://www.discoverhongkong.com is a good place to start) and reading two excellent books, Frommer's Hong Kong (9th edition, 2007) and Lonely Planet China (2007). Eastern Michigan University's Halle Library also has a great tourist information and map section; they had recent copies of detailed Hong Kong maps and tourist brochures. Once we landed at Hong Kong's international airport, there were plenty of free brochures and maps at the (then closed) tourist information booth to meet all of our additional needs. We got Macau maps at the Macau Ferry Terminal on Hong Kong Island, but Macau was much more difficult to get around than Hong Kong. Do note that Hong Kong currency is usable in Macau; we didn't change any money for our day trip.
Thank
you for visiting my website, and I hope you enjoy my pictures!