New direct bus service between Hong Kong and Shenzhen Airport

 HK-Shenzhen Transport  11 Responses »
Apr 242009
 

Wharney GuangDong Hotel

The direct bus service through the Hong Kong – Shenzhen Western Corridor seems to be the most convenient and popular way to travel between Hong Kong and Shenzhen Airport. Please see my previous posts here and here. The route is from Kowloon Station to Shenzhen Airport, and vice versa.

The service has gained such popularity that the bus company ChinaLink has started to run a new route, this time from Wanchai on the Hong Kong island to Shenzhen Airport, with effect from 21 April 2009.  

The service point in Wanchai is located at The Wharney GuangDong Hotel (No. 57-73, Lockhart Road).

How to get there:

Take MTR and get off at Wanchai MTR Station, and take exit C. You will be at the Lockhard Road. Turn left and go straight. After the first junction (between Lockhart Road and Luard Road), the hotel is at the right hand side. The bus company has a reception inside the hotel lobby. 

Wanchai to Shenzhen Airport:

One-way price: HK$110; Two-way price: HK$180;  Tel Enquriy: 852-2529-0900 (Wanchai hotline); 852-2230-3030 (Hong Kong hotline) 

Schedule: 

Direct bus from Wanchai to Shenzhen Airport:

07:15; 07:45; 08:15; 08:45; 09:15; 09:45; 10:15; 11:30; 12:30; 13:30; 14:30; 15:30; 16:30, 17:30; 18:30

Direct bus from Wanchai to Shenzhen Airport, but with transfer at the Kowloon Station:

10:45; 11:15; 12:15; 12:45; 13:15; 13:45; 14:15; 14:45; 15:15; 15:45; 16:45; 17:15; 18:15

Direct bus from Shenzhen Airport to Wanchai/Kowloon Station:

08:30; 09:00; 09:30; 10:00; 10:30; 11:00; 11:20; 11:40; 12:00; 12:20; 12:40; 13:30; 14:00; 14:20; 14:40; 15:00; 15:20; 15:40; 16:00; 16:20; 16:40; 17:00; 17:20; 17:40; 18:20;18:40; 19:00; 19:20; 19:40; 20:00; 20:20; 20:40; 21:00; 22:00; 22:30; 23:00; 23:30

One-way price from Shenzhen Airport to Wanchai is RMB100, and two-way price is RMB180.

buses parking outside the Wharney GuangDong Hotel

buses parking outside Wharney GuangDong Hotel

Please note that the earliest bus departing from Kowloon Station is 06:15. So if you want to take a very early bus, you should use the Kowloon Station bus service. Also, at Wanchai service point, you can not check in for flights from Shenzhen Airport. Only at the Kowloon Station, you can do so.

The total bus journey time between Wanchai and Shenzhen Airport is about 80 minutes, excluding the immigration time, which is about 15 minutes. 

As said in my prevous posts about the direct bus service between Kowloon Station and Shenzhen Airport, the advantage of using this bus service is that it uses Hong Kong-Shenzhen Western Corridor, which is open to vehicles only, so it is fast, and the Chinese and Hong Kong customs at the border crossing (called  Shenzhen Bay Port ) are located under one roof, so it is convenient. But note that the last two buses from Shenzhen Airport (23:00, 23:30) use Huanggang border crossing, which may lead to longer travel time.

 Posted by Anna at 6:08 pm

Sins of Hong Kong women and men

 Hong Kong As It Is  No Responses »
Apr 202009
 

Recently,  fevered internet chat in Hong Kong has seen both sexes attack each other. 

The “sins” of Hong Kong women and Hong Kong men are summarized as follows:

“Sins” of women: demanding men pay for everything, being late for every date, an unquenchable desire for luxury goods as gifts, lack of knowledge of current affairs and an inability to do housework.

“Sins” of men: low academic qualifications, low income, no confidence, staying at home and overusing the internet. 

These accusations against each other reflect, among other things, an aspect of Hong Kong’s gender terrain:  There has been a rising number of women receiving better education and occupying higher positions, leading to more young women’s choice of not to get married, as they cannot find a man of similar education level and financial clout. Of course, they can choose to marry “downward” – to marry men of lower education levels and with less financial stability- but they don’t want to.

Those beautiful female pop stars marrying into the town’s richest families are viewed with envy by the wider community here and publicized immensely in the media. It is women’s path to happiness, the media frenzy seems to say. 

Maybe Hong Kong women can seek a wider path to happiness in order to find real happiness?

 Posted by Anna at 4:41 pm

Easy and beautiful walking trail in Sai Kung

 Hiking, Travel Tips  1 Response »
Apr 122009
 

The route is in Saigon, from Hoi Ha Village to Wan Tzai. The first part will be treading a path around the Hoi Ha Wan Marine Park, which is protected and does not allow any fishing or interference of human activity. The water of the sea is therefore as calm and clear as a mirror. The Marine Park is simply serene.

The second part involves Wan Tsai, which is a small peninsula. Originally a burrow area, it was converted to become part of the Sai Kung West Country Park in 1996.

Wan Tsai s renowned for its picturesque natural setting and sweeping vistas of some coastal gems like Tap Mun. With nature trails and large camping facilities in the area, Wan Tsai is very popular with youth organizations arranging camping activities for the kids and the young.

The most pleasant walk, speaking from my personal experience, also lies in this part, Wan Tsai – with wide paths lined with tall green tress, dotted with yellow flowers – just like a shady boulevard.

How to get there:

Take minibus No 7 from Sai Kung, all the way to the last stop. The bus ride is about 30 minutes. Every 20 minutes there is a bus.

Where you get off the bus, is the entrance to Hoi Ha village. You will see a map on display showing the hiking routes in the area.

At the first crossroad after entering the village, turn right to a string of restaurants. Carry on and you will be on the way to see Hoi Ha Wan Marine Park at your left.

After half an hour walk, you will come to the intersection between Hoi Ha Wan and Wan Tsai. Just carry on, and soon a camping site appears at your left.

If you just go straight, you will find yourself see more camping sites unfolding, and then after some walk, you find youself having made a small circle and back to where the first camping site is. Then follow the original route back to Hoi Ha village, and take the bus back to Sai Kung.

If you don’t want to go the original path back, you can take ferry from a pier in Wan Tsai (which is inside one of the camping sites) to the Yellow Stone Pier, from where you can take bus to Diamond Hill MTR station.

Duration of the walk (from Hoi Ha village to Wan Tsai, and then back to Hoi Ha Village): 2-2.5 hours

 Posted by Anna at 11:26 pm

Hong Kong’s tram way

 Transport, Travel Tips  1 Response »
Apr 092009
 

Hong Kong’s icon, the 100 year old trams, are set to undergo change after a Hong Kong conglomerate Wharf (Holdings) which owns the Hong Kong trams, has sold a 50pc stake to French giant Veolia Transport. 

Hong Kong’ tramway started operation in 1904. There were 16 one-deck trams then. Now the 2-deck tram fleet has expanded to 163. 

Trams are the cheapest means of public transport in Hong Kong. Adults pay HK$2 (US$0.26) and children pay half that price. The fee has remained unchanged for over 10 years. That is pretty amazing. 

When you are in Hong Kong, don’t miss out a ride on this Hong Kong icon.  I hope the tram will remain as cheap a means of transport as it is, and its look and service will sustain the Hong Kong way after the new owner takes over.

 Posted by Anna at 2:55 pm

Sham Shui Po for a dose of reality

 Hong Kong As It Is, Where to Visit  1 Response »
Apr 082009
 

If you want to know a bit more about Hong Kong, other than visiting the sightseeing spots, go to Sham Shui Po. This area, according the latest government census, is the poorest area in Hong Kong. 

The result should not come as a surprise. Sham Shui Po has, as always, gathered many low-income households, including those of immigrants from mainland China and old people. Its household median income is HK$13,800 per month. The richest area in HK – Wanchai – is HK$30,000.

Hong Kong started its compulsory pension fund scheme only a few years ago. For the elderly, they don’t have pension funds to rely on and it is a common scene in Hong Kong that the elderly collect free newspapers/paper cardboards and bring to the recycle shops for a few dollars a day, just to make a living. In Sham Shui Po, you can easily see a scene of this, as elsewhere in Hong Kong.

And if you tour around Sham Shui Po and look carefully, you do feel that the area smacks a bit of poverty. There are shops and stalls that boasts cheap price everywhere. I went into a snack shop for breakfast. For a cup of soybean milk and four rice-dough sticks, I paid only little more than US$1. But I looked at the bottle of black sauce on the table. There was something moving on the surface of the liquid sauce. I could hardly finish my breakfast and I left. 

apliu market, sham shui poTip:

Besides seeing bits of reality of Hong Kong, you can visit Sham Shui Po for another reason – to visit its famous flee market Apliu Street Market, which sells all sorts of electronic stuff, from radios, clocks, to hifi and batteries, at low price.

How to get there:

MTR Sham Shui Po station. 

For going to Apliu Street Market, Exit D2 of Sham Shui Po station.

 Posted by Anna at 12:57 am
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