Hong Kong or Singapore

I'm thinking about taking the wife away for a short break (about 5 days) to either Honkers or Singers. I've been away for her birthday and our 10yr anniversary so a treat is in order, I'm told.
I was in Singers a few years ago but that was through work and didn't get alot of time off so I'm unsure about any of the tourist stuff. The same can be said about Honkers as well but I was there maybe 14 years ago.
One thing I know is Singers is very clean and to my mind doesn't have an awful lot of character to it. they cleaned up Clark quay for instance, Peoples park is a concrete slab next to a shopping mall etc. Honkers I vaguly remember to have more about it.
I'm open to suggestions, pros and cons of each place. So any ideas / recommendations folks.
Ta

I agree. Hong Kong i much more interesting. I've been to both and Singapore was a bit boring really.

Does it have to be HK or Singapore? How about the Malay Peninsular? You could, for example, fly to Singapore and take the train to Butterworth from where you can get to Penang where there are some rather fine Buddist Temples. Or you can go to Kuala Lumpur, hire a car and drive to the Cameron Highlands and spend a few days high in the mountains - be sure to buy the tea they grow there, "Boh". I wouldn't spend much time in Kuala Lumpur though.

It depends on what you want to see or do. My family goes to Hong Kong every July for the end of season sale and we eat and shop til we drop. Been to SG a couple of times as well and the latest one was last December. Both cities are very modern and manic if you want a leisurely trip and your days will be filled with activities and sight seeing.

It all boils down to preference, my favorite would be Hong Kong because shopping is cheap, food is yummy and weather is good. Although there aren't many new attractions except for Disneyland and Ngong Pin. You can also take a quick trip to Macau or Shenzhen, China.

SG has it's own charm as well with new developments like Marina Bay Sands, Gardens by the Bay and River Safari. You can also easily cross the border to Indonesia and Malaysia.

I'd say both places are clean, very crowded, people can speak ok English.

Penang was suggested here and my husband and I are taking a short cruise trip from Penang to Phuket t0 Krabi then back to Penang for a few days this coming Easter holidays. Based on my research, it's pretty chill there.

Hong Kong every time, Singapore is boring (better for business). You can pop over to Macau on the ferry if you're a gambling man there are one or two casinos there. There are great bars, shops and restaurants in HK although I preferred the place pre 1997 before our 100 year lease ran out. I mentioned in a recent post that HK is the only place I've been in the world that looks the same on TV as it actually is when you go there, busy busy busy.

Or as the Don has mentioned, you can take the train from Kowloon up into mainland China, about two and a half hours (take 1st class as its cheap or reasonable as the Chinese would have you say).

Whichever you choose, enjoy.

Oh, and don't forget to tell us about the trip

I am totally biased, having lived in Hong Kong for seven years; you either like the one or the other...

I think it really depends on what sort of holiday she would like, and where you can get to conveniently, eg from Clark!

Some more thoughts...

Thailand may not be ideal at the moment, but Cambodia has a lot to offer and is cheaper and more peaceful at present.

Thanks for the thoughts everyone.

Mark the wife is pretty set on Singers or Honkers so for the time being its going to have to one of these. Like your other suggestions though, might think about that later in the year.
Blue Acid, I like the first point you make about Hong Kong is shopping but I'm going to be trying my best to keep the wife away from the shops! Not going to go all that way to walk round yet another shopping mall, lol! But purely out of interest what bargins are there to be had there?
Dom & Timmers have a nice idea about a train ride over the border, something to look into.
Andrew, think flying from Clark will be a good idea. Better to only drive for an hour than 3 into Manila.

Right I think I'm sold on Honkers. No to research attractions, things to do, places to eat and to look into these train rides with maybe a night stop over.

You have to remember that Hong Kong is one big shopping mall! A lot of them are connected to each other and are usually the exits of the MTR stops

Is you wife a UK or Filipino passport holder? If Filipino, she would need a visa to go to Shenzhen or any part of China. Macau is just visa on arrival.

When are you planning to go? The biggest sale and bargains would be between July-August which is their end of season sale where a lot of items go from 30-70% off. The high street brands in HK are easily cheaper compared to Manila if you play full price, what more if it is discounted. Lots of good finds in stores like Giordano, Cotton On, Esprit, Bossini, Hang Ten, etc.

There are also stores and local brands are not available in Manila like H&M, Pull&Bear, Crocodile, :Chocoolate, Venilla Suite, Tout a Coup, b+ap, etc.

And there are the outlet stores! There is the Citygate outlets for high street bands which is near the airport and Ngong Pin. There are are a lot of brand outlet stores in Tsim Sha Tsui area if you don't feel like going to Citygate. And the mother of all out let stores, there is the Space outlet in Ap Lei Chau that has past season Prada and Miu Miu items. A few blocks away is Horizon Plaza, a tall building that houses a lot of higher end brands like that of Joyce, Ralph Lauren, Lane Crawford, Max Mara.

Food wise, we tend to eat local food and that means Chinese food in HK. The original cheapest Michelin starred restaurant is in HK, called Tim Ho Wan. There are also a lot of delicious dimsum places, roast places, street food, noodle and congee shops where you can eat to your heart's desire. If you like western food, hop on to Central and you would be spoiled for choice.

Attraction wise, on top of my head - Disneyland, Ocean park, Ngong Pin, Kowloon Park, Victoria Peak, Victoria Harbour + Avenue of Stars, a couple of temples and harbour views. There are also a lot of markets around the island although pricewise, it would be cheaper to shop in 168 Mall or Divisoria.

Blue Acid, thanks for the reply. So basically no getting away from the shopping malls then?

My wife now has her british nationality and passport so travel at long last shouldn't be a problem. I was planning to go towards the end of March for maybe 5 nights. I am actually interested in that outlet place Space because the wife has been bugging me for years for a gucci or prada handbag but after seeing the prices in Manila I walked out the shop laughing!! Does the Space outlet have sales or is it the same throughout the year? How are the prices compared to Manila?

I did recently read about Tim Ho Wan in a magazine as the cheapest Michelin starred resturant in the world. I love my food and really want to try this place. Can you just turn up or do you need to book or anything?

I Think Victoria Peak is a definate as is Kowloon park, the Harbour and a few other others. Going to start looking on trip advisor now.

Well, stores will be all over the place so just hope and pray that your wife won't get distracted

End of March should still be nice and cool and you can avoid the crowd since their is an influx of tourists during the Easter holidays.

The prices are definitely cheaper in Space HK by around 30%. The price of a Prada bag in the Philippines is super expensive (very little difference with SG too, last I checked). My main beef about HK outlet is that the choices are a bit more limited. I have compared prices of Space HK vs the Prada outlet in Bicester Village in UK and it has more items and the prices are cheaper too. If you can get it in Europe, the better.

Is the wife bent on Gucci or Prada? Not really my top choice (especially Gucci) so I can help out in recommending a good brand/model depending on your budget.

When Tim Ho Wan first opened, it was on an obscure area near Mongkok and only seats maybe a maximum of 30 people at a time. They don't take reservations or bookings and the first time we dined there, we waited for 2.5hours. Was it worth it? The experience was great but I don't think I will do it again because HK has a lot of good dimsum places. They now have a few branches in HK so I am hoping the queue won't be so long this time. They are even opening a branch here in Manila this year. I can suggest other dimsum places if you want.

Not sure if it is still there but you can take a traditional boat ride near Victoria Harbour and would be a good cultural experience seeing how people were before. Did this when I was a kid and loved it to bits. Go to Victoria Peak in the late afternoon so you can see the sunset and admire the HK skyline.

Some thoughts:

http://www.hk.artsfestival.org/

http://hk.history.museum/en_US/web/mh/

http://www.hkmaritimemuseum.org/

http://www.discoverhongkong.com/eng...performing-companies/the-hong-kong-ballet.jsp

There is lots to do besides shopping and eating!

Lets us by no means forget this!

http://www.hksevens.com/eng/home.php

I hope you don't mind if I plug my own work?

http://gwulo.com/ACBs-history-of-hong-kong

Thanks for the links Andrew I'll check them out. The wife (as am I) would love to go see the rugby, the 7's might be something a bit different. Museums are always good.

Blue Acid, thanks for the tips. So basically for that sort of thing its better to get in the UK. I'm going to try to keep shopping to a minimum now if thats the case and concentrate on sights and eating.

Don't forget to buy a HK rugby sevens shirt, good quality, last for years and all your pals in the local hostelry will want one.

Funny you should mention that; I was wearing my 1998 one in the gym yesterday!

The Hong Kong Sevens are in my humble opinion the best spectator experience that rugby can offer - the atmosphere is quite unique and the standard of play is always exceptional. Don't miss it - you will kick yourself for ever - and do book tickets and hotels for that weekend now.

By the way, the home crowd always cheer Fiji and boo Australia; this goes back to a foul in the late 70's; there is no malice in it - it is just a tradition. The North stand is the more riotous of the two, if you get a choice.

There is certainly a wealth of knowledge here, no question about that.

Pick any topic or subject and there are always really good and detailed replies, so glad I joined British Filipino

Nice tips again folks. Certainly looking into the rugby now so I may time our trip to coinside.

Any tips on hotels? I used to look at 5* only but as we spend less and less time actually in them I feel they are a bit of a waste of money. After all we only really use the mto sleep and wash in!! So any recommendations will be welcome.