Berlin: Difference between revisions
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*to XX - at least Euro XX | *to XX - at least Euro XX | ||
=== | === Underground/ U-Bahn === | ||
The subway/underground in Berlin is called the U-Bahn. | |||
The | |||
The U-Bahn is efficient and reliable and it covers the major areas of the city. It can also be taken across the border to XX. Note that you'll need a visa to enter XX. | |||
[ | *[http://www.zonu.com/images/0X0/2011-05-30-13808/Berlin-subway-2001.gif Route Map] | ||
===Buses=== | ===Buses=== | ||
Buses in Berlin are plentiful. | Buses in Berlin are plentiful. | ||
XX | |||
=== Taxi === | === Taxi === | ||
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'''One thing to watch out for''' | '''One thing to watch out for''' | ||
===Ferries=== | ===Ferries=== | ||
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*[http://www.hkkf.com.hk/index.php?op=timetable&style=en Hong Kong and Kowloon Ferry Holdings Ltd.] Hong Kong, Lamma and Peng Chau | *[http://www.hkkf.com.hk/index.php?op=timetable&style=en Hong Kong and Kowloon Ferry Holdings Ltd.] Hong Kong, Lamma and Peng Chau | ||
'''XX ferries''' | '''XX ferries''' | ||
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== Nightlife, Dining and Entertainment == | == Nightlife, Dining and Entertainment == | ||
XX | |||
===Main Nightlife Areas=== | ===Main Nightlife Areas=== | ||
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===The Underground=== | ===The Underground=== | ||
XX | |||
Events, venues and organizations | Events, venues and organizations | ||
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==Sports, Activities and the Great Outdoors== | ==Sports, Activities and the Great Outdoors== | ||
'''Hiking''' | '''Hiking''' | ||
*[http://www.hiking-in-hong-kong.com/hiking-trails/area/index.html Hiking in Hong Kong trail index] | *[http://www.hiking-in-hong-kong.com/hiking-trails/area/index.html Hiking in Hong Kong trail index] |
Revision as of 08:48, 14 February 2013
Berlin's Couch Situation
Berlin is a major Couchsurfing city where there are CS events happening almost every day. XX
XX
The Berlin last minute couch request group is in:
Berlin Hostels and Guesthouses
Hostels cost in the range of Euro XX to XX within the city.
The major backpacker's hostel area in Berlin are:
These hostels come highly recommend by CS travellers:
- XX
- YLoft XX
- XX
- XX
- XX (single rooms here are for a higher budget than the ones listed above)
- XX (also slightly higher budget than the ones listed above)
Mid-range and Higher end Accommodation
These are another option for budget travellers if your couchsearch doesn't work out and hostel reservations are hard to make. Team up with other CSers and you can share costs.
- Lonely Planet's list of mid-range hotel options
- XX $420(single)-$720(triple)/night, $7,500-$11,700/month
- XX $600-$1,100/night
- Top 10 budget hotels in XX Prices are listed in Euros.
Short/Long term stay
Some websites that our CS-ers recommend, if you're looking for flatshare/renting a flat in Hong Kong:
Or try our "Apartment/Flat-Share Hunting" subgroup under the CS Berlin group.
Getting Around
Public transportation generally goes almost everywhere in the city. XX
From Airport to City
Express Train is the fastest way to get to the airport from XX. Express trains run every XX minutes from around XX a.m. to XX a.m. Journeys from the airport to XX take approximately XX minutes and a round-trip ticket costs XX.
Bus to/from the airport from/to various parts of the city
Transfer to MTR Buses S1 or S56 take you from the airport to the nearest MTR station (Tung Chung Station).
Taxi
- to XX - at least Euro XX
- to XX - at least Euro XX
Underground/ U-Bahn
The subway/underground in Berlin is called the U-Bahn.
The U-Bahn is efficient and reliable and it covers the major areas of the city. It can also be taken across the border to XX. Note that you'll need a visa to enter XX.
Buses
Buses in Berlin are plentiful.
XX
Taxi
Taxis are expensive. XX.
One thing to watch out for
Ferries
Outlying Island ferries - There are several companies which operate ferries to XX Island. For schedules and fares, check the links.
- New World First Ferry HK Island/ Kowloon, outlying islands and Macau
- Hong Kong and Kowloon Ferry Holdings Ltd. Hong Kong, Lamma and Peng Chau
XX ferries
Nightlife, Dining and Entertainment
XX
Main Nightlife Areas
Central - Lan Kwai Fong and Soho / Wan Chai - Lockhart Road / Tsim Sha Tsui - Knutsford Terrace
Magazines and Event listings
The following websites can help bring you up to speed on the local club scene, nightlife, concerts, festivals and shows.
- HK Magazine Free print copies available around town.
- Timeout HK Print copies available at bookstores and some clubs.
- Hong Kong Ticketing Be sure to scroll down the yellow column on the right hand side to see all the listed shows.
Bars
Some favourite local haunts include: (Central, Soho and Wanchai.)
- Le Jardin bar, weekly meetup venue
- Yumla bar, dancing, house music
- Club 71 bar, al fresco, chilled
- Makumba African bar, dancing, World music/French influence
- Mes Amis bar, dancing, pop music
The Underground
XX
Events, venues and organizations
Comedy
- Takeout Comedy - live standup and improv shows, local and international performers, most shows in English, Cantonese shows on Mondays and Thursday
- Free Open Mic Night Every Wednesday in Central
Restaurants
- Openrice HK restaurant search engine
- Frommers HK restaurant listings
- EatDrink HK restaurant listings
Vegetarian Restaurants:
- Vegetarian restaurant listings
- Another list of vegetarian restaurants
- A group discussion thread
- Website of our CS friend Dan F - who did a vegetarian food tour in HK
- HK Vegetarian blog
Vegan Restaurants:
- Vegan restaurant listing
- Holistic Asia For listings of holistic/alternative/complementary health and healing events.
Karaoke
Sports, Activities and the Great Outdoors
Hiking
Be sure to check these boards for regular hiking activities
Running and Hiking events
Swimming and Beaches
Camping
Wakeboarding and Waterskiing
Windsurfing and Kayaking
Diving
Rock Climbing
Para-gliding
Snowboarding
- Slope Infinity Indoor snowless snowboarding
Language Exchange
There are lots of language exchange options available in Hong Kong from one on one meetups to clubs that meet regularly in person to social networks available online at your convenience. Mandarin/Cantonese for English seems to be the most popular combination wanted here but there are also many other languages on offer from Japanese to Russian. Here are some of your options:
For one on one exchange:
Groups that meet regularly:
- Meetup.com Mandarin English Language Exchange
- Hong Kong Language and Cultural Exchange Club (this group has social outings just for fun or for language/cultural exchange)
Language exchange social networks:
Hong Kong CS language groups
Paid language courses
HKU Space has a variety of language courses available including French, German, Italian, Spanish and Russian.
- Intensive Introductory Putonghua for non-Chinese speakers
- Intermediate Putonghua for non-Chinese speakers
- Cantonese level 1
The Hong Kong YMCA also has courses in Mandarin and Cantonese for non-Chinese speakers.
Sightseeing
Hong Kong is extremely easy to get around by subway, taxi, bus, minibus, walking etc. You can easily design your own itinerary picking the places that you want to visit from below. Most people do not need a tour guide for Hong Kong. For an overview, here are two fun timelapse videos of Hong Kong featuring many of the city's famous landmarks:
- Hong Kong: Funky Time Lapse on youtube.
- timelapse Hong Kong on Vimeo.
Cultural Heritage and Building architecture
- Sample itinerary and walk tour - Central area with a very useful map
- Temples and historic villages
Markets
- Stanley Market Stanley is famous for its relaxed ambience, sea environs and bargain buys in the main street market. Stanley Market is open daily, 10:30 a.m. to 6.30 p.m..
- Temple Street Night Market Temple Street night market opens at 4 pm, but really comes alive after sunset. It offers an amazing range of inexpensive items, especially for men. There are also fortune-tellers and impromptu Chinese opera performances.
- Jade Market and Jade Street The Jade Market, located in Yau Ma Tei at the junction of Kansu and Battery Street, features 400 stalls selling jade of all types, shades, sizes and prices. Open daily, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.. Nearby is Jade Street, located on Canton Road between Kansu Street and Jordan Road, with shops open 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Jade and gemstone testing is available at Jade Plaza.
- Ladies Market The Ladies Market in Tung Choi Street is the place for bags, accessories and inexpensive women's clothing. Men's and children's clothing and toys are also on sale. Open daily from noon to 11:30 p.m.
- Bird garden/ flower market/ goldfish market The charming Chinese-style garden on Yuen Po Street includes some 70 songbird stalls as well as courtyards and moon gates. Look and listen but it’s wise to avoid contact with the birds. The Bird Garden is open from 7am to 8pm, daily. The colourful Flower Market sells everything from Dutch tulips to exotic orchids, open daily from 7am to 7pm. The Goldfish market on nearby Tung Choi Street sells aquariums, corals and exotic fish, open daily from 10:30am to 10pm.
- Western Market This Edwardian-style building features arts and crafts, fabric shops, alfresco dining, and ballroom dancing.
- Local neighbourhood street markets discussion
Temples, Monasteries, Nunneries
- Man Mo Temple One of Hong Kong's oldest temples, dedicated to two deities, the ‘civil’ (Man) and the ‘military’ (Mo).
- Chi Lin Nunnery The serene 1930s Chi Lin Nunnery (rebuilt in 1998) is spread across 3.2 hectares and is China’s largest group of hand-crafted timber buildings incorporating traditional Tang dynasty (618-907AD) construction techniques.
- Po Lin Monastery, Giant Buddha and Wisdom Path Located on Lantau, this is one of Hong Kong's largest temples and monasteries, housing the world's tallest outdoor bronze seated Buddha, at 34 m (111ft.) high.
Parks
- Hong Kong Park Overlooked by the towers of Pacific Place and Admiralty on one side and Central on the other, the park features a hot house, a Tai Chi garden, a waterfall and the Museum of Tea Ware.
- Kowloon Park An oasis in the heart of Kowloon next to the Kowloon Mosque. Enjoy a walk among the trees, a bird sanctuary, fountains and a swimming pool.
- Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens Looking down on the old Government House, the Gardens date back to 1864. Look out for the gibbons and orangutans.
Theme Parks
Other references
- For more ideas check the Hong Kong Sightseeing Wiki
- For a very long alphabetical listing of HK areas and sights to see check here [3]
- For Lonely Planet's list of things to do in Hong Kong (based on a recent survey of Lonely Planet readers), see [4]
- For a blogger's list of ten things to do in HK check here [5]
- You can check out some panoramic photos of popular spots at 360cities.net
- For more tips about what to see/do in Hong Kong, see [6]
- For more tourist info about Hong Kong, see I Love Hong Kong
- For a blogger's tips and other HK info, see Journey to Hong Kong
- Welcome to Hong Kong - a guide for visitors and expats [7]
Crossing the border
- Planes: multiple daily flights leave from Hong Kong International Airport (Chek Lap Kok) to airports in mainland China.
- Trains: The subway of Hong Kong and Shenzhen connect to each other (you'll need to get off the train for transit and custom office crossing)
- The MTR East rail line goes Lo Wu and Lok Ma Chau where you disembark to cross the border into Shenzhen.
- Intercity trains to Dongguan, Foshan, Guangzhou East rail station and Zhaoqing leave from Hung Hom station daily.
- Fares, schedules and online ticketing Note that once you are in China, rail tickets for any destination cannot be purchased online. They must be purchased at the rail station itself.
- Ferries: Ferry services run from Hong Kong to the province of Guangdong in mainland China, departing from both the city centre and the Airport. See the Ferry section above for more information.[8]
- Buses: These private companies operate bus services to many locations in Guangdong, Guangxi and Fujian Province:
- Hong Kong airport to Shenzhen airport - see discussion here
Visas
XX
Baggage Storage
XX
Cost of living
We've had some questions about the cost of living here. Here's a link to a thread on the topic to give you some idea.[9]
FAQs
XX
Group on the hospitality network
If you still can't find the answer you wanted, subscribe to the
and ask the friendly folks there!
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