Author Topic: NumbersGuy's Etihad-Fueled Excursion to Hong Kong and China  (Read 3828 times)

Offline NumbersGuy

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NumbersGuy's Etihad-Fueled Excursion to Hong Kong and China
« on: February 15, 2016, 11:42:10 PM »
Introduction:
Although a first time poster, I have lurked on DDMS and DDF for over a year. I recently returned from an Etihad-glitch fueled trip to Hong Kong/ Mainland China and felt that it was my turn to contribute by way of a trip report. Hopefully, others will find this information helpful and please inquire if any additional detail is needed.

I will not be including pictures in this report, so I realize it will be a long read. Therefore, I will break the report into several posts for readability. 

Pre-Flight:
Upon reading about the deal, I instantly booked a ticket JFK – AUH – HKG outbound and HKG-AUH-CDG-JFK on the return for a total cost of $353. The trip was to occur in late October-early November. Over the next 10 months, my flights were changed about a half dozen times, including removal of the CDG stopover on the return.

When the time of the trip actually arrived, I did not have sufficient vacation to fully take off work during the trip. Nevertheless, my travel companion, a relative of mine, and I decided that we would take advantage of the opportunity and work as best we could during the trip. In practice, that meant working from about 11:00 PM – 3:00 AM several nights.
After booking the tickets to HKG, we explored several possibilities for how to spend the 12 days we had available. Ultimately, we decided to tour Mainland China in addition to Hong Kong. As we were staying in China for a full week, visas had to be obtained at a cost of $140.

Our final itinerary was as follows, occupying a two week timeframe:
Tuesday Night – Leave JFK
Thursday Morning – Arrive in HKG
Monday Morning – Fly to Beijing
Wednesday Night – Overnight Train to Xi’an
Thursday Night – Fly to Shanghai
Monday Night – Fly to HKG
Tuesday Night – Leave HKG
Wednesday Morning – Arrive in JFK

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Re: NumbersGuy's Etihad-Fueled Excursion to Hong Kong and China
« Reply #1 on: February 15, 2016, 11:44:02 PM »
Traveling Day:

In preparation for the trip, I packed a variety of non-perishables: tons of breakfast bars, crackers, canned corn, tuna, wafers, cereal as well as some shelf-stable meals. In order to get to JFK, we rented a car from AVIS. One way cost from suburban NY was ~ $45.
Check-in and flight was non-eventful. KSML was given on both legs, entertainment was adequate.

Day 1: Arriving in Hong Kong

We arrived at HKG at about 9:30 AM. Upon landing, we quickly cleared passport control and claimed our baggage. Our first order of business was withdrawing money and then obtaining an Octopus card.

For anyone not familiar with Hong Kong’s transit system, the Octopus card is a transit card that can be used on all buses and trains, including the Airport Express, which takes you from the airport to downtown in 20-25 minutes. Additionally, it can be used on the Star Ferry, and even to pay admission to museums and at convenience stores. Needless to say, this card is quite useful when staying in Hong Kong.
However, the process for obtaining and refunding a card could be a little confusing. When you first obtain the card, you must hand over 150 HKD (1 USD ~ 7.75 HKD). 100 of those 150 HKD are eligible to be used on trains, buses, ferries, convenience stores, museums etc. and 50 is refunded to you if you elect to return the card. You can go negative against your $50 HKD deposit, but any additional expenditures into the $50 reserve will not be returned to you when you return the card.  If you have value left on the card above the $50 deposit, it will be returned to you. In the case of any refund when returning the car, a $9 HKD refund fee will be assessed.

As we were staying at the Sheraton in Kowloon that night, we elected to take the A21 bus to Nathan Rd and Middle Rd. The decision for taking the bus vs the train was threefold:
a)   The bus afforded a more scenic and relaxed view of Hong Kong’s Territories.
b)   The bus was cheaper ($33 HKD vs $90 HKD)
c)   The bus was direct, whereas the train required a transfer.

As an SPG Platinum member, we were upgraded to the Harbor View Suite at the Sheraton. The category 5 hotel is quite nice, with a solid lounge and well-appointed rooms overlooking Victoria Harbor. Additionally, the hotel provided a Smartphone that could be used for unlimited local calls and 3G data, which we found quite helpful as were traveling without a SIM.

After settling in, we headed over to the Hong Kong Museum of History, about a 10-15 minute walk from the Sheraton. The museum is excellent, containing 8 different sections on Hong Kong’s history, ranging from ancient life in Hong Kong to the emergence of culture in Hong Kong, its takeover by the British following the Opium Wars, and its return to China in the late 1990s. We spent 4 hours at the museum (A word of caution though: we are history buffs). Entrance to the museum was $10 HKD, payable by Octopus. We also purchased audio guides for $10 but the museum is well-documented, so I would advise against spending the extra money on the audio guide.

We then returned to the hotel, availed ourselves of the evening cocktail in the Sheraton Club Lounge and then headed back to our room to catch the 8:00 Symphony of Lights show. Essentially, this is a light show where lasers emanate from the tops of various famous buildings both on Kowloon and on Hong Kong Island. The show lasts about 13 minutes. While the hotel offered a great view, I found the show underwhelming, but I suppose it is an iconic thing to do while in Hong Kong.

Having about two hours until we had to start working, we then went over to the Temple Street Night Market, about a 20 minute trip either by walking the entire length or taking the Metro for one stop to cover part of the journey. The market offered a range of goods, some more interesting than others. It hardly was the best market we visited on the trip, but it was cool to see such a lively night market.



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Re: NumbersGuy's Etihad-Fueled Excursion to Hong Kong and China
« Reply #2 on: February 15, 2016, 11:45:43 PM »
Day 2: Friday in Hong Kong Island

As we were going to spend Shabbat in the mid-Levels, we checked out of the Sheraton at about 11. We walked over to the Star Ferry station (about a 10 minute walk), and took the ferry over to Central on Hong Kong Island. The ferries offer great views, are dirt cheap (2.5 HKD), and serve as a landmark on Hong Kong’s harbor. A ferry ride is about 8 minutes.

We then took a taxi and dropped off our bags at Bishop Lei International House, situated between the Chabad in Hong Kong Island and Ohel Leah, a historic Synagogue built in the early 1900’s which the local Hong Kong community frequents. The Bishop Lei was affordable and functional, a room cost about $100 USD. We were upgraded to a two bedroom design, which was nice for Shabbat as the bedroom could be kept dark while there was a room for reading. 

After stopping at the JCC to pick up some bread, we took a taxi down to the Victoria Peak Tram station. From there, you can catch the Peak tram, a quaint funicular that takes you to the top of Victoria’s Peak. Round trip tram tickets are $40 HKD. The line was a little long and one taxi driver tried to scam us by claiming that the wait was an hour and that he would drive us to the top for $200 HKD. However, the line moved and we were at the top within a half hour.

The Peak was one of the highlights of our stay in Hong Kong. From the top, make a left out of the mall and there are incredible views of the Hong Kong harbor. Skip the ticketed observation deck in the initial mall and head to the Galleria mall at the top, where there is a free viewing platform on the 3rd floor.

We took the tram back down, stopped at Chabad to drop off our smaller (laptop) bags, as we were not staying at the hotel Saturday night and returned to the hotel to prepare for Shabbat.

Day 3: Shabbat in Hong Kong Island (Friday Night – Saturday Day)

For Friday Night, we went to Chabad on McDonnell Road. It was about a 15 minute walk from the Bishop Lei, just down Robinson and Garden Road. There were probably about 40 people davening at Chabad and 30 or so went to Rabbi Avtzon’s house for dinner. Dinner was quite good, consisting of multiple courses and many interesting travelers.

We woke up in the Morning and went to Ohel Leah, about a 10 minute walk from the Bishop Lei. The shul is exquisite and historical. Community was pretty large (about 150-200 at davening), mainly locals attended. Be advised that there is strong security at the entire JCC complex. After davening, everyone was invited into the JCC for a sit-down Kiddush luncheon. As there was a Bar Mitzvah that week, the meal was overly lavish, though there is a sit-down lunch each week. For lunch, numerous tables were set up with lazy-susans containing a mezze of various salads and dips. Then, two different types of chicken, brisket, and rice were served, before tea and dessert.

As we had already checked out of the hotel, we spent an hour touring the JCC and reading the history contained within it. We then headed over to the Hong Kong Zoo, right on the way to Chabad. The zoo is free and the central attraction is the collection of apes, including orangutans and gibbons. There was a nice aviary within the zoo as well and there is a museum on Tea Ware in the park that we did not get a chance to attend.

We headed back to Chabad for Shiur, Mincha, Seudat Shlishit, and Ma’ariv and then picked up our bags. We changed at the hotel and then took a taxi to the Macau Ferry Terminal, where we would be spending the next 20 hours.

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Re: NumbersGuy's Etihad-Fueled Excursion to Hong Kong and China
« Reply #3 on: February 15, 2016, 11:47:25 PM »
Day 4: 18 Hours in Macau (Saturday Night – Sunday)

As we would be staying at the Sheraton in Macau, we took Cotai Waterjet to Macau. The ticket office and departure gate are on the top floor of the terminal. A one-way ticket to Cotai was $201 HKD. The ferries are nice, but I can’t comment much on the 1 hour trip because I napped during the entire ride.

After clearing immigration, we took a shuttle to the Venetian as the Sheraton is part of a cluster of hotels on the Cotai Strip (Venetian, Four Seasons, Sheraton, Hard Rock, Holiday Inn etc..). As a level 4 hotel, the Cash + Points Rate was 5000 Points + $75, which was a great value on Halloween night. After a brief stop in the lounge, we spent the night walking around the various hotels on the Cotai strip. We did not play at all as the table minimums were quite large. Lowest bet anywhere was $300 HKD (~ $40 USD) and at many hotels, the minimum was $500 HKD ($65 USD).

We returned to the hotel at about 2 and enjoyed a comfortable night’s sleep. We then spent Sunday touring the historic area of Macau. We headed over to City of Dreams to take the shuttle to Macau Peninsula (Sintra Hotel) and walked over to Largo de Senado. There we saw the old Senate building as well as the historic Post Office. We then waded through the throngs of people through the square and walked 10 minutes to see the ruins of St. Peter’s, a UNESCO heritage site consisting of an ornate façade to the 16th century church.  To the right of the ruins is the Macao Museum. While we did not have the time to attend the museum, we did climb up to the top of the fortress, filled with cannons used by the Portuguese during the struggle to maintain control of Macao. The fortress logically provides excellent views over all of Macao.

After spending ˝ hour up on top of the fortress, we walked down to the hotel area on Macao peninsula, visiting the Grand Lisboa, Wynn, and MGM Grand, before heading back to catch the 5:00 ferry to Hong Kong. As we were on the peninsula, we utilized TurboJet, another functional 1 hour ferry ride. The fare back to Hong Kong was $168 HKD.

A note on Macao. I know there is a back in forth in the Hong Kong Master Thread where Dan expressed his opinion that Macao is not worth the trip but I disagree. I found the juxtaposition of history and modernity fascinating, though I agree that if one is going just expecting to gamble, he may be disappointed. We also had a relatively long amount of time in Hong Kong. 

After going through immigration once again upon returning to Hong Kong, we took a cab to the all-you-can eat buffet at the JCC. The buffet consisted of salmon, a Chinese style of Chicken, Rib Steak, Sausages, Ribs, Deli Meat, Fruits, Vegetables, and Cakes. It was a veritable and enjoyable smorgasbord. Note that the cost was $380 HKD (~ $49 USD), which was higher than I anticipated and does not include drinks. Still, it was a relative bargain based on the quality and quantity of food it contained. 

When finished with the buffet, we returned to the Sheraton in Kowloon for another Reward night. In reflection, this was a waste of a Category 1-5 Reward night as we were in the hotel for a total of about 6 hours.

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Re: NumbersGuy's Etihad-Fueled Excursion to Hong Kong and China
« Reply #4 on: February 15, 2016, 11:49:00 PM »
Day 5: Traveling to Beijing
We awoke at 4:00 AM, packed, and took a taxi to the airport. The taxi with toll and baggage came out to $300 HKD (the claim was that the toll was 80 – not sure if this is accurate). We then flew HKG-PEK on Hong Kong Airways. The 2:40 flight was quite pleasant, with KSML service and reasonable entertainment.  Amazingly and luckily, we had no issues with notorious Chinese air delays throughout our trip.

We got into Beijing and after struggling to exchange money for a little bit, tried to find a taxi to take us to the Crowne Plaza Wangfujing. When we got outside, we encountered our first instance of potential scamming in the Mainland. The taxi information kiosk insisted the rate would be 300. Then a policeman came over and informed me the rate would be 130. Sure enough, the driver was honest and the final total was 135 RMB with tip, even after we went to the wrong hotel first (Grand Hyatt in Wanfujing).
A note: None of the taxi drivers in China, and even some in Hong Kong, speak any English. Make sure to get the destination written in Chinese characters or have a map to point out the destination to the driver.

We checked in to the hotel. It cost about $90 USD a night and was probably an international 4 star hotel. We then walked over to Tianamen Square, which we thought would be a 15 minute walk. Along the way, we were approached by a couple of “friendly” locals, who actually provided solid recommendations and insight into Beijing’s attractions and suggested what we should visit. Of course, they then led us to their art gallery which was part of the “shortcut” to the square. After viewing their calligraphy for several minutes, we continued on to Tianamen.

As it was already late in the day, we cleared security, took some pictures of the square and headed inside the gates toward the Forbidden City (note, we did not enter the Forbidden City as it was closed on Monday). We spent 15 RMB to climb the Tianamen Watchtower, affording some decent views of the area. I wouldn’t rush to spend the 15 RMB on that, but if you are there on a Monday it may be worth it.

We then left as the area inside the gates was closed by 5. On our way back to the hotel, we stopped by one of the hutongs, old communal courtyards filled with authenticity and camaraderie that is charming. One hutong was enough for us to get an impression, we did not feel a rickshaw tour was necessary.

We continued back to the hotel, where we re-charged with some of our non-perishables. Then, after an hour or break, we headed out to the Olympic Stadium area (Line 1 to Line 2 to Line 8 on Metro). The Olympic area is beautifully lit at night, with the uniquely designed Bird’s Nest and Water Cube brightly illuminated. In addition, there is the torch, a tall pagoda, the National Indoor Stadium, and some monuments in the area. Definitely an attraction that I would recommend going to if you have a night free in Beijing and are interested in Olympics history.

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Re: NumbersGuy's Etihad-Fueled Excursion to Hong Kong and China
« Reply #5 on: February 15, 2016, 11:49:53 PM »
Day 6: Forbidden City and Zoo

We made our way out of the hotel for our second day in Beijing and made our way over, once again, to Tianamen Square. This time, we spent some time in the historic square itself.

Making our way north through Tianamen gates, we then entered the Forbidden City, a fascinating complex probably several miles long, consisting of numerous courtyards and gates. The architecture is very interesting. While admission the “museum” is 40 RMB, there are two additional galleries available for a nominal charge (10 RMB apiece). We elected to visit the Hall of Clocks and Watches and were glad we did. It contained an exhibition on some of the ornate timepieces collected by the various Chinese dynasties. We did not have enough time to do the Treasure Gallery justice.

After making our way through the courtyards and gardens to the innermost palace, we headed out of the Forbidden City and walked all the way to Xisi subway on line 4. This was probably a 30+ minute walk as it was difficult to resolve the actual distance as the map lacked scale. We took line 4 to the Beijing zoo station.

The reason we attended the zoo was to see the Giant Panda exhibit. Admission to the zoo in low season (November – March) was 10 RMB with 5 RMB extra to see the Giant Panda exhibit. We spent the majority of our hour observing the Giant Pandas and then were able to see some other animals as well such as Lions, Tigers, Gazelles, Zebras, and Elephants. Note, the zoo closed by 5 sharp so we didn’t have much time at the zoo.
We returned the hotel and I spent the night working, while my traveling companion shopped in the Wangfujing night market adjacent to our hotel.

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Re: NumbersGuy's Etihad-Fueled Excursion to Hong Kong and China
« Reply #6 on: February 15, 2016, 11:51:14 PM »
Day 7: Great Wall + Overnight Trip to Xi’an

While we initially had planned to hire a driver to take us to the Mutianyu section of the Great Wall, we ultimately decided that it would make more sense to travel to the Badaling pass, which is the nearest to Beijing and is accessible by public transportation. This decision was based on the fact that it was not high tourist season and Badaling was unlikely to be overly crowded, which is considered its main drawback.

We checked out of our hotel and took a taxi over to Beijing North Railway Station to catch the S2 train to Badaling. However, they were sold out of tickets even though we had arrived 40+ minutes before the train. The next train was not for another 3 hours so we headed over to Xizimen Metro Station and took the train over one stop to Jushiutan. About an 8 minute walk east of the station is Doshengmen bus station which has 2 buses that go to the Great Wall at Badaling.

On the way there, we took bus 919, which has more stops than bus 877. The bus dropped us off in a parking lot after about a 90 minute ride. From there, we caught a 5 minute shuttle to the main lot of the Great Wall. The bus cost 14 RMB.
Once at the wall parking lot, we headed up to the Great Wall museum. Very few people were in the museum but it was pretty informative with regard to the history and significance of the Wall.

It is about a 10 minute walk to the entrance of the wall. There are two ways up, by cable car (100 RMB round trip) or by walking. If you walk, you have to pay a 40 RMB entrance fee, which I believe you have to pay for as well when taking the cable car.When you walk up, there are two paths you can take. Turn right and you can go up the North path, which is the path that the overwhelming majority take. If it is really busy, it may be worthwhile to turn to the left and hike the South Path. We climbed all the way up the North Path to Gate #8 (the highest point accessible) and then headed back down.  The experience was surreal and a climb up the wall is a must on any trip to Beijing.

After heading back own, we haggled for a few souvenirs and then caught bus 877 which you pick up about a 10 minute walk from the main entrance/exit. The bus ran express to Doshengmen with 0 stops in between. We then took the metro back to the hotel, grabbed our bags and cabbed over to Beijing West Railway Station to catch the overnight train to Xi’an.

The overnight train was an authentic representation of how the Chinese travel long distance. We booked a soft sleeper for the 11.5 hour trip. Soft sleepers consist of 4 beds, so we were assigned the 2 upper bunks, sharing the room with 2 native Chinese men, one of whom spoke pretty decent English. We spent an hour or two talking with the English speaking man and then went off to sleep, surprisingly comfortably for the remainder of the trip.

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Re: NumbersGuy's Etihad-Fueled Excursion to Hong Kong and China
« Reply #7 on: February 15, 2016, 11:52:23 PM »
Day 8: Xi’an

Xi’an is an ancient city in Central China, sitting at the Eastern end of the Silk Road and serving as the capital city for 11 Chinese dynasties. It is primarily known, from a tourist perspective, for the Teracotta Army, a set of life-sized Teracotta soldiers that a Chinese king had buried alongside his grave.

We hired a tour guide + driver for the day for 600 RMB. Our tour guide picked us up at Xi’an railway station upon our train arrival. Unfortunately, we were taken to a quick shopping stop, which was still informative as we learned how replica soldiers are made. After breezing through the stop, we went to the Teracotta Army Museum (admission = 150 RMB), about 30 minutes east of the Xi’an city center. The museum was intriguing but relatively small as we were there for only an hour or so.

On the way back to the center of Xi’an, we stopped off at Banpo Architectural Village (50 RMB admission). The museum highlighted models of different structures created by the villagers 5000 years ago based on architectural findings from the past 50 years. Fossils from the Ancient village are also on display in the museum, as well as an exhibit on the lives of the villagers. This museum is a worthwhile stop on the way back from the Terracotta Warriors.

We then continued onto the city center, passing through the City Wall. Our guide gave us a couple of hours to explore the area on foot. First, we went to the Great Mosque, unusually designed for a mosque in traditional Chinese style. Then, we went to the Drum and Bell Towers and snapped some shots of them being lit up at night. We spent the remaining time walking through the Muslim quarter and buying some souvenirs in the bazaar.

Our driver then dropped us off at the airport and we flew Juneyao Airlines to Shanghai, a 2 hour flight which I slept right through.

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Re: NumbersGuy's Etihad-Fueled Excursion to Hong Kong and China
« Reply #8 on: February 15, 2016, 11:53:35 PM »
Day 9: Friday in Shanghai
We arrived at around 1 AM on Friday in Shanghai. As we could not check in to the Sheraton until 8, we decided to stay in the airport for about 5-6 hours. Now, in order to get free wifi at the airport, and in most wifi enabled places in China, you need access to a code delivered via mobile phone. As we did not have a phone with us, we were able to get a local teenager to input the code for us via some hand signaling. This let me get some work done at the airport in addition to grabbing a 2 hour nap.

We then took Subway Line 2 to Longshequan, and then walked 12-15 minutes to the Sheraton Shanghai Hongqiao, where we stayed in the lounge until our room was ready. The category 3 hotel was $55 USD + 3500 points for Friday night. We were upgraded to a two room suite. Overall the hotel was a great fit for Shabbat with accessible doors and steps, a separate room for reading and an understanding of the restrictions.

After settling into the hotel, we took the Metro over to People’s Square, with the intention of going to the Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition Hall. When we got out, a group of Chinese teens asked us to take a picture of them. After some small talk, they tried to coax us into heading over with them to a Tea Festival that was occurring two blocks over. We politely declined and continued on our way.

As we made our way over to the museum, we were again stopped by some Chinese teens, asking to take a picture. They also asked us to head over to the festival. When we told them that we were planning on going to the Urban Planning Museum, they told us that there were a lot of school groups at the museum and we shouldn’t bother going. Then, we asked about the Shanghai Museum which was also in the area, and they said there were also a lot of kids there. We ignored their suggestion and went to the Urban Planning Museum. Needless to say, when we got to the Urban Planning Museum it was practically empty. Clearly, they were trying to scam us though I’m not quite sure what the ultimate plan was once we would attend the “festival”.

When we got to the museum, there was the ability to buy combo passes pairing the Urban Planning Museum with other attractions. We ultimately decided to buy the 120 RMB Combo Pass for Urban Planning Museum and the Jin Mao Tower Observatory, a savings of 30 RMB (Independently museum = 30 RMB and Jin Mao Tower = 120).

The Urban Planning Museum was excellent, with the highlight being a scale model of Shanghai, much more intricate than the one of New York at the Queens Museum. Some of the exhibits on floor 4 could be avoided though. This Museum is highly recommended if you have more than a couple of days in Shanghai.

We then raced over to the hotel for Shabbat prep.

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Re: NumbersGuy's Etihad-Fueled Excursion to Hong Kong and China
« Reply #9 on: February 15, 2016, 11:54:25 PM »
Day 10: Shabbat in Shanghai
There are two minyanim in Hongqiao, which is where the majority of the observant community of Shanghai lives. In addition to the Chabad, there is also the Jewish Center, an incredibly hospitable Sephardi community located in an apartment building several blocks over from the Chabad.

We attended the Sephardi congregation for all minyanim and meals, each meal containing a mezze of dips and salads in addition to chicken and beef dishes (Hamin on Shabbat day) and fruit for dessert. Overall, I was very impressed with the community and their hospitality. About 50% of the attendees were locals and the other 50% tourists or businessmen.

After nightfall, we took a taxi over to the Holiday Inn Downtown Shanghai, a serviceable and cheap (around 80 USD a night) hotel near the Shanghai Railway Station, providing an easy way to travel to all of the attractions in Shanghai.

Once we were done, we took the metro to the Bund (Line 1 to People’s Square, transfer to 2 for East Nanjing Road). We stopped at the Fairmont Peace Hotel (formerly the Cathay Hotel built by Victor Sassoon) and visited the exhibition downstairs on the history of the building. We then snapped a few pictures of the Bund and the Pudong skyline being lit up at night, but all the lights went off promptly at 10 PM. We then walked up Nanjing road and took a cab back to the hotel, calling it a night relatively early.

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Re: NumbersGuy's Etihad-Fueled Excursion to Hong Kong and China
« Reply #10 on: February 15, 2016, 11:55:16 PM »
Day 11: Full Day in Shanghai

Having heard about the Shanghai Acrobatic show ERA – Intersection of Time over the weekend, I left early in the Morning to purchase 120 RMB tickets for the nightly show at 7:30. On the day of the show, those tickets appear only to be available at the box office itself. If you book in advance, it may be available online by some vendors.

When I returned, we took the metro once again to People’s Square. Interestingly, in People’s Park, on Sunday Mornings, there is a congregation of parents of singles who carry around information regarding their single children, such as age, height, job status etc. It seemed that the ages ranged from about 28 to 55, with most in their early 30s. Also, it seemed that there were more prospective men being advertised than women. While there were many parents there displaying information, very few were interacting with each other or anyone else.

We continued through the park to the Shanghai Museum, a well-organized display with 4 floors and about 13 exhibits/collections. We spent about 1.5 hours in this free museum, focusing on the Ancient Jade, Chinese Coins, Pottery, and Furniture collections.

We then walked over to the Bund, and walked up and down the Bund, entering historic buildings where we could. Disappointingly, the visibility was extremely poor so we could not even see the skyline across the river. In fact, I’m not sure we saw the Sun the entire time we were in Shanghai, something to keep in mind when visiting a city known for its skyline.

We then headed back to our hotel, had a quick snack, and then took the metro just three stops to Shanghai Circus World. The venue was small, so our 120 RMB corner seats were just fine. Show was 90 minutes with a 10 minute intermission. The acrobatic displays ranged from breathtaking to somewhat repetitive with most ranging toward the former and the opening and closing actions being excellent. Highly recommended at lower price points, (120 and 220 RMB) but I would not purchase the more expensive tickets (600 RMB).

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Re: NumbersGuy's Etihad-Fueled Excursion to Hong Kong and China
« Reply #11 on: February 15, 2016, 11:57:46 PM »
Day 12: Final Day in Mainland

On our final day in Shanghai, we checked out of the hotel at about 10 and then headed out on Metro line 4 toward Ohel Moshe, the old synagogue in the Hongkou district that houses the Museum of Jewish Refugees. In all of the hotels, there are brochures on the Jewish refugees that point out the relevant sights preserved in the Jewish “ghetto”, in the vicinity of the museum at Ohel Moshe. These sites include the old Jewish shelter, today enclosed with a fence portraying paintings of Sino-Judaic co-existence. Take a left onto Zhongshan road and you can see the architectural complex where many Jews lived, including the former home of Michael Blumenthal.  At the bottom of the street, at the intersection with Houshan road, you can see the park where many Jews congregated socially. The park is undergoing construction now so there is not much to see other than the monument to the Jewish refugees in Chinese, English, and Hebrew. If you continue west on Houshan road, you can see the site of the headquarters of the American JDC which provided aid to the refugees. If you head east, you can see a similar complex where refugees lived, as well as the theater they frequented. For all of these complexes, you can view from the outside only as they are private residences today.

Then, we made our way to the museum (50 RMB). Tours are supposedly offered in English and Chinese at various times, but we found the collection well documented with no need for a guide. The first section is the Shul itself. On the inner wall of the courtyard is a wall inscribed with the names of all refugees. Then, there are two exhibit halls depicting the story through artifacts and the words of the refugees themselves.
I was amazed at the level to which all the sites are preserved and documented, and would obviously recommend spending 2-3 hours exploring the ghetto and museum to anyone visiting Shanghai.

We then raced over to the Bund Museum at the top of the pedestrian side of the Bund, at the bottom of the Bund signal tower.  We spent ˝ hour in the free museum, which educated us on the history, evolution, and significance of the bund. Certainly not a must see due to the limited hours (9-4 weekdays), but we found it helpful.

We took the metro across the river to Pudong and explored the area on foot. We were able to see the Shanghai World Financial Center, the newly developed second tallest building in the area, and then headed over to Jin Mao tower and headed up to the Observatory. We were warned that visibility was poor, but we had already committed to the tickets, something to keep in mind if purchasing a combo pass that locks you in to an observatory. We headed up to the 88th floor nonetheless as this was our last chance. As we were warned, the visibility was very poor. In addition, the view to the Southeast was blocked by the new building. The coolest part of the visit was looking down to the 56th floor lobby of the Grand Hyatt, the highest hotel lobby in the world. The light from each floor juts out further creating the illusion of light shooting right up to the top. Unless visibility is excellent, I cannot recommend the Jin Mao Observatory. Also, if going at twilight, note that the buildings may not be lit up yet so I would recommend either going at Morning or at Night.

We figured the buildings probably lit up at 6, and given our travel schedule, gambled that we could run over from the Metro to the Bund as the buildings lit up. We were correct and captured the illumination of the building via video, a very cool experience. We left after a few minutes and raced to pick up our baggage at the hotel. I’m not sure where to find out the information, but if visiting Shanghai, try to investigate when the buildings will begin to be illuminated and make sure you are at the Bund viewing platform, overlooking Pudong and the Bund as it happens.

To get to the airport, we took Metro line 1 and then transferred to line 2 and got off at Longyang station. For the novelty, we transferred to the Maglev, and took the World’s fastest train to Pudong airport. The highest speed achieved during the 8 minute trip was 301 km/h. A combo all day Metro pass + single Maglev ticket was 55 RMB, meaning the Maglev ride comes out to 37 RMB. We then flew Hong Kong Airlines for the 2:20 flight back to Hong Kong.

Offline NumbersGuy

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Re: NumbersGuy's Etihad-Fueled Excursion to Hong Kong and China
« Reply #12 on: February 15, 2016, 11:59:02 PM »
Day 13: Half Day in Hong Kong and flight back to US

Again landing after 1 AM, we spent a few hours in the Airport, heading to the city at about 8:00 AM. Since Etihad only has 1 flight a day, its check-in/baggage drop was not available and we had to use Left Baggage service at a cost of 168 HKD(1 USD = 7.75 HKD) for 2 pieces for 7 hours (they charged a full hour for 15 minutes).

We then took the Airport Express to Central station in Hong Kong and began exploring the area on foot. Return tickets on the Airport Express, if traveling in the same day, is 100 HKD. We went to IFC 2, the second highest building in Hong Kong, connected to Central station, then walked southeast for about a mile, stopping at the General Post Office, Statue Square, the old Supreme Court Building (oldest building in Hong Kong), the HSBC building, and the Bank of China tower. We then took the metro one stop to Wan Chai and headed up to the Central Plaza Sky lobby on the 46th floor for free splendid views of Victoria Harbour, Hong Kong Island, and the uniquely shaped roof of the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center. We then walked about a mile south to the toy market and spent our remaining time observing the different toys available in the market.

We then headed back to Central by metro, transferred to the Airport Express, cashed in our Octopus cards and picked up our luggage, then checked in to our flight back home. 

I won't be documenting the trip home as it was uneventful. Hope this write-up is helpful for others.

Offline yakrot

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NumbersGuy's Etihad-Fueled Excursion to Hong Kong and China
« Reply #13 on: February 16, 2016, 12:41:49 AM »
Thank you a lot of information and was written very clearly, but not drawn out.

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Re: NumbersGuy's Etihad-Fueled Excursion to Hong Kong and China
« Reply #14 on: February 16, 2016, 10:07:06 AM »
Wow. Read the TR. Felt like sipping from a fire hose! Thanks for sharing.
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Re: NumbersGuy's Etihad-Fueled Excursion to Hong Kong and China
« Reply #15 on: February 16, 2016, 10:27:10 AM »
wow! very informative. thanks for taking your time
#TYH

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Re: NumbersGuy's Etihad-Fueled Excursion to Hong Kong and China
« Reply #16 on: February 16, 2016, 11:52:14 AM »
Thanks for the interesting TR.  It is very informative.  Do you have any pictures that you could post?
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Re: NumbersGuy's Etihad-Fueled Excursion to Hong Kong and China
« Reply #17 on: February 16, 2016, 11:59:11 AM »
Do you have any pictures that you could post?
I will not be including pictures in this report, so I realize it will be a long read.

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Re: NumbersGuy's Etihad-Fueled Excursion to Hong Kong and China
« Reply #18 on: February 16, 2016, 01:03:41 PM »
Really nice TR. I like your attention to detail (turn left, road intersections, etc), would have been more helpful before I got back from HKG though.  ;)

Just a few questions and a comment:

Questions:
1- Why did you chose to spend shabbos on HKI and not with KZ in Kowloon?
2- Why did you chose to fly back to HKG and spend the night in the airport/half a day as opposed to staying the night in Shanghai and just flying back to HKG for a few hours to connect to your flight back to the US?
3- Did the community in Shanghai charge for meals? If so how much?
4- How was the weather in Beijing? Smoggy? What about in Xi'an?
5- Did/do you or your travel companion speak any Chinese? Did you find it easy to get around by yourself without any?
6- Did the horrendous traffic in Beijing make taking taxi's there a pain? It did for me, but unfortunately the metro would have taken just as long for where I needed to go.
7- What was the points breakdown? It seems like most of the trip was cash though.

Comment: The highest lobby in the world is the PH in Beijing, as their lobby is on the 63rd floor. While still in China, it's not the GH in Shanghai.

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Re: NumbersGuy's Etihad-Fueled Excursion to Hong Kong and China
« Reply #19 on: February 16, 2016, 01:59:07 PM »
Really nice TR. I like your attention to detail (turn left, road intersections, etc), would have been more helpful before I got back from HKG though.  ;)

Just a few questions and a comment:

Questions:
1- Why did you chose to spend shabbos on HKI and not with KZ in Kowloon?
2- Why did you chose to fly back to HKG and spend the night in the airport/half a day as opposed to staying the night in Shanghai and just flying back to HKG for a few hours to connect to your flight back to the US?
3- Did the community in Shanghai charge for meals? If so how much?
4- How was the weather in Beijing? Smoggy? What about in Xi'an?
5- Did/do you or your travel companion speak any Chinese? Did you find it easy to get around by yourself without any?
6- Did the horrendous traffic in Beijing make taking taxi's there a pain? It did for me, but unfortunately the metro would have taken just as long for where I needed to go.
7- What was the points breakdown? It seems like most of the trip was cash though.

Comment: The highest lobby in the world is the PH in Beijing, as their lobby is on the 63rd floor. While still in China, it's not the GH in Shanghai.

Thanks all for the positive feedback.  Sorry for the delay in positing the report as it has been several months now.

1. We stayed in HKI for three reasons:
a) The ability to interact with the local community, rather than just solely business travelers.
b) The chance to visit the historic Ohel Leah shul.
c) The availability of activities such as the Hong Kong Zoo to pass time during the afternoon as we had to check out of the hotel in advance of the Macau trip on Saturday night.

2.  To avoid any issues with China's infamous air delays.

3.  Nope, you can donate what you wish.

4.  Weather in Mainland China was fine. Early November is a great time to visit as crowds are low then and temperature is moderate. Got a little chilly at Night. Smog was a serious issue in both Beijing and Xi'an, more so in Beijing due to the larger and more industrialized population.

5.  Nope, and it can be a serious problem if you get lost as virtually no one we encountered in Beijing or Xi'an speaks any English. Metro systems are modern and display all stops in English so they are navigable. Buses do not display or announce stops in English so I would advise against using them unless going to the Great Wall. The most difficult part of the trip was trying to improvise and perform research while in Mainland China as Google is blocked by the Great Firewall. I would strongly advise that travel prep be completed either while at home or in Hong Kong.

6.  Traffic was rough in Beijing when we took taxis but we asked the concierge how much time we should leave in advance of when we had to be at the destination which helped manage expectations. We had a very positive impression of the Metro but I could definitely see how certain itineraries would be unnecessarily long with the Ring system.

7. Rough cost breakdown from memory:

Airfare (per ticket):
Etihad JFK - AUH - HKG / HKG - AUH - JFK: 353
Hong Kong Airlines HKG - PEK: 123
Juneyao XIY - PVG: 65
Hong Kong Airlines PVG - HKG: 70
 
Hotels (decisions were made with an eye toward the IHG Accelerate Promotion):
Sheraton Kowloon: 2 Free Nights SPG Cat 1-5
Bishop Lei: $98 for 1 Night
Sheraton Macau: $75 + 5000 Points for 1 Night
Crowne Plaza Wangfujing: $90 per Night for 2 Nights
Holiday Inn Downtown Shanghai: $80 per Night for 2 Nights
Sheraton Hongqiao: $55 + 3500 Points for 1 Night

Guide:
Xi'an: 600 RMB