Traveling in Hong Kong: Tai O Village

Date: 2011.08.04 | Category: Hong Kong | Response: 5

I visited Tai O fishing village last Tuesday while I was waiting for my passport in Hong Kong. If you want to see a different side of Hong Kong you should visit this charming place on the Lantau island. You can take the metro to Tung Chung station and take a bus number 11. You can also choose to take a ferry from Central to Mui Wo and then bus number 1 to Tai O village.

Tai O is the place for seafood lovers, but unfortunately I’m not one of them. Even the smell of dried fish is little bit too much for me. But there is also much more to do at the village than eat. Sea, mountains, local people, culture, old buildings. Tai O has it all!

Some people are living in traditional stilt houses called pang uk. According to Wikipedia “pang uk were evolved from boat houses of Tanka or fishing people, after moving to reside on land”.

For 20 HKD (16,50RMB, 1,80EUR) you can take a quick boat trip to see some dolphins. We were lucky to actually see two or three of them, but they were far away and this is the best photo I got (look above). It was the first time I have seen a dolphin in the nature so it was really exciting!

If you are living or visiting Hong Kong, give Tai O a chance. It’s a lovely village, but if you want to, you can manage it in a hour or two (plus bus and metro). Or have you been there already?

Buying a camera in Hong Kong – Don’t! (Part 3)

Date: 2011.07.23 | Category: Hong Kong | Response: 33

Still smiling few hours before scam number 2. Trying to act like a real expat!

Earlier this week I told you how I ended up buying my camera in Guangzhou because the prices were the same (or higher) in Hong Kong. Other reason to do that was that I got fooled really badly while trying to buy Canon 1000d. But that wasn’t the end for my camera hunt. I still needed one more scam to get me run back to mainland.

Scam number 2

(Lory, this is also a true story!)

This also happened in TST, but I don’t remember the street. So play it safe and avoid all the cheap camera stores in Hong Kong!

We had a long chat with this salesman, but here’s a short version of our discussion:

Me: Hi! I’m buying a camera and would like to know how much this Canon 1000d costs.

Salesman: That’s 4000HKD.

Me: Really, that’s quite expensive.

Salesman: Come inside, take a seat and you can try it.

Lots of small talk like where are you from, where do you live, do you know any Cantonese and so on.

Me: It was closer to 3000HKD in one other store.

Salesman: Let me see if I can make a better deal for you.

Me: 3500HKD, that’s still on the high end. I have quite tight budget.

Salesman: Come on, this is a very low price.

Me: And you surely have the camera? I just want to ask because in the other store they sold the camera to me and then they didn’t have it!

Salesman: Of course we have it. You pay, you get the camera. That’s how we do business.

Me: Well, that’s still little bit too much for me. I buy it right now if I can get it with 3200HKD.

Salesman trying to bargain like he really was selling me the camera.

Salesman: Okey, this price just for you. You pay now and we get the camera for you.

Me: Where do you get the camera?

Salesman: This is little bit older model so we don’t have it in the store. I have to get it from my office.

Me: I don’t know. I got fooled once in this same situation today and don’t want to see that happen again.

Salesman: That is not going to happen. I know that other stores do business like that, but we don’t.

Me: You are absolutely hundred percent sure you have the camera and I can buy it?

Salesman: Absolutely!

Me: Fine. Here’s the cash, go get the camera.

Salesman: While we are waiting I can show you another camera that you can buy next when you come back.

Showing the same Fujifilm camera that they tried to sell me in the first scam. Now the tricks come along. He also changed the white balance settings in the Canon and compared it to Fujifilm. Then he started talking about flash and other gear I should get.

Me: I have already decided which camera I’m going to buy.

Waiting for few minutes while the Salesman realises that I’m not going to buy the Fujifilm.

Salesman: Hey, I just heard that we don’t have the Canon.

Me: What?! You said that you are absolutely sure you have it! So you do business like the rest of the stores!

Salesman: (Don’t remember how he exactly said it, but something like this:) So why you trust people.

Me: So you tell me I shouldn’t have trusted you! How can you even make business like this?! Lying to my face! Give me my money back right now!

Salesman: Here’s the money, you can count it.

Again cursing my way out of the store. Unfortunately I only cursed in Finnish even I can curse in Cantonese too.

What just happened (again)

I just couldn’t believe what happened and it was the second time on the same day! I became so angry that my friend suggested we go to a nearby Irish Pub to cool down.

So why did I believe him? In the beginning he didn’t use any tricks, in the beginning he didn’t try to sell me something else. Those tricks only started after I paid. And again I want to remind you, that in Guangzhou it’s normal in wholesale stores that you pay first and then get you product from the storage.

Conclusion

• If you want to buy a camera in Hong Kong you should go to the big stores like Fortress, Broadway and Suning.
• Don’t believe salesmen.
• Do your research well before buying. Check the prices and ask around.
• In Hong Kong get the product first and only after that give the money.

Buying a camera in Hong Kong – Don’t! (Part 2)

Date: 2011.07.21 | Category: Hong Kong | Response: 35

On Tuesday I compared the prices in Hong Kong and Guangzhou. The conclusion was that even though there are rumors that cameras are cheaper in Hong Kong, there’s no need to rush there to shop. In the comments Mike reminded us that there are cheap stores in Guangzhou too, but you just have to know what you’re buying and know about the different guarantees.

Today I’m going to tell you the first story of the camera shop that tried to trick me into buying something I didn’t want.

Scam number 1

It happened on the Peking road and you can see the shop in the picture above (from Google Maps). This is how it happened:

Me: I’m interested in buying a DSLR camera. Could you show me something cheap and good for beginners?

Salesman: Sure. Here’s the Canon Rebel XS (1000d).

Me: How much is it?

Salesman: That’s 3800HKD.

Me: In the other shop they said it’s about 3000HKD.

Salesman: Come sit here and take a look at the camera. I can give you a good deal.

Sitting with my Finnish friend in front of the salesman and trying the camera. Salesman doing some small talk.

Me in Finnish to my friend: I’m sure soon he’s saying how it’s a “special price for you my friend!”

Me in English to the salesman: I like it but it’s little bit over my budget.

Salesman: Don’t worry. I can give a special price for you my friend. And later on when you buy a new camera or your friend wants one, you can come back here.

Me: Okey, that’s good.

Salesman: Playing with his calculator. What about 3500HKD? It’s a very good price for a camera like this.

Me: I’m not so sure. But I could buy it right now for 3200HKD.

Salesman: No, that’s way too little. You see how good this camera is!

Me: I have a budget so there’s nothing I can do.

Salesman: Fine. I’ll ask me manager. Asking something from a other salesman in Cantonese. Okey, my manager said it’s okey.

Me: Good. Can I see the new camera?

Salesman: This is little bit older model so we have to get it from the storage. You pay first and then we go get the new camera for you.

Me: Okey. Here’s cash.

Salesman takes the cash, counts it and writes a receipt. We start waiting for the camera.

Salesman: While we are waiting I can show you a camera you should buy next time. It’s Fujifilm XXX (Can’t rememer the model) and you can see how much better it is compared the camera you are buying.

Salesman takes a picture with Canon and then with Fujifilm. The latter one looks much better but that’s because of the white balance setting in the Canon are the worst possible.

Me: Looking at the Canon. Where can I change the white balance?

Salesman: Takes the camera from my hands. I’ll show you. Oh, wait. I’m sorry the battery is dead.

Me: Oh, can you put a new battery?

Salesman: Sorry, that’s the only battery we have.

We continue waiting for the camera I bought. Me and my friend already understood that he want’s us to buy the Fujifilm camera that’s only slightly more expensive than the Canon, but perhaps in reality it’s not as good as the Canon. Salesman is trying all the tricks he knows to sell us something more expensive.

Salesman: You know, I’m already working over time and I have to go now. Here is my manager and he knows you are waiting for the camera and he will close the deal with you.

Salesman leaves and we still continue waiting for the camera.

Manager: I just got a call from the storage and the Canon Rebel XS is only in Japanese. Is this okey for you?

Me: What? Do I look like I understand Japanese?

Manager: It’s an older model so it’s only in Japanese. But we can give you the English manual.

Me: Are you kidding me?!

Manager: If you don’t want it you can buy something else or get your money back.

Me: You bet I’m getting my money back! Is this really the way you do business?!

I left the store with my money and kept cursing in Finnish all the way to the street.

What just happened

The salesmen in Hong Kong are clever. They know what to say to make you feel good and “become friends”. They know how to change the settings in the cameras in order to make you buy a more expensive camera. But in reality the more expensive one might not be better one.

At this point I thought that they really didn’t know that they don’t have the Canon in storage and had to come up with something so I would choose an other camera. In Guangzhou it’s normal that you pay first and then you get the product from the storage or warehouse. I thought that’s just normal.

I also thought that this particular store was just an isolated incident. I didn’t know that this is the way most of the small and cheap Camera stores in Hong Kong work.

Later this week I’ll tell you how naive I was and how I got fooled the second time. It’s even better!

Click here for part 3 and find out how the scam number 2 happened!

Buying a camera in Hong Kong – Don’t! (Part 1)

Date: 2011.07.19 | Category: Hong Kong | Response: 8

Buying camera in Hong Kong (if you live in Guangzhou like me) just isn’t worth the trouble. I noticed this last week when I was trying to buy a DSLR camera there and got fooled twice! Luckily I didn’t lose any money and it was almost fun to see what kind of tactics the sellers use.

This is the first post of a miniseries that will have three posts in total. First we will take a look at the prices in Hong Kong and find out why there’s no need to rush to travel just to buy camera in Hong Kong. Then in the following two posts I will tell you two examples how they try to sell you a camera that you don’t want.

Part 1: Prices

I have heard so many times that cameras and other electronics are cheaper in Hong Kong than in Mainland China. But Hong Kong camera prices aren’t always the lowest, you should do some comparison first.

For example I just bought a Canon 1100d in Guangzhou from Gome at 3748RMB. That’s 413 euros and 4519HKD. But in Hong Kong at Fortress the same camera is 4980HKD which is 461HKD more expensive than in Guangzhou. In this case Gome is the best option because in Guangzhou at Suning the same camera set is 3949RMB, 4760HKD.

Or maybe you have little bit more money and want to buy Canon 550d. It’s 6446RMB at Gome (7771HKD) and 6680HKD at Broadway and at Fortress. There’s a camera you should buy in Hong Kong if you happen to be there. It’s 1091HKD cheaper in Hong Kong. Again you shouldn’t go to Suning in the Mainland because there the same set is 6849RMB, 8257HKD.

Conclusion

This is only a small comparison and maybe a weak one. But I would advice everyone to compare prices first and then decide where to buy.

Also notice that if you find a cheap camera in Hong Kong (like Canon 550d), but you live in Guangzhou, it’s possible not saving to travel over there for shopping. Hong Kong is quite expensive and if you plus the train tickets, possible metro tickets and a lunch perhaps, the camera will soon be the same price than in Guangzhou.

What about the cheaper stores?

You might ask why to go to the big stores like Fortress in Hong Kong. Why not try the smaller ones along Nathan Road like in the photo above. Later this week I will tell you two stories from that kind of shops and after reading them you will surely avoid them too.

Click here to read part 2 and find out how the scams happen!

Culture Shock in Hong Kong

Date: 2011.05.15 | Category: Hong Kong, Me | Response: 28

Before coming to Finland I spent almost five days with my friends in Hong Kong. I had been there before, but just for a short Business trip and saw only glimpse of Nathan Road. This time I was prepared to find out what Hong Kong really is and if I like it or not. Someone told me that people either love or hate it, but maybe I am somewhere in the between.

What I do love about Hong Kong is the weather and toilets. Compared to Guangzhou there is zero pollution and the blue sky was amazing. There were clean public toilets at least in some metro stations which is something I would hope to see in Guangzhou in the future too. Right now would be too optimistic.

Our hostel was Pay-less Guest House in Chungking Mansion on the Nathan Road. Our room seemed to be the cheapest in town, 180HKD (16,24 euros) for tiny room with two beds and ever smaller bathroom. I can recommend the guest house because it wasn’t dirty, it was safe and the boy running it was nice and relaxed.

My least favourite place in Hong Kong is absolutely in front of our hostel. That is the place where I felt the need to grab my purse with two hands. But location in Tsim Sha Tsui was great for our “luxury suite” and just few block away I could breath again.

It felt really weird to be surrounded by fellow laowais, foreigners. Where are all the Chinese people? Or do they prefer to be called hongkongnese? In some parts Hong Kong truly is it’s own thing and at Star Ferry Pier there was plenty of propaganda (or should I just say information) about how bad the party in China is. Something you could never see in China, or if you do, then… Well, let’s not get into politics too deeply.

On the first day of my trip I had a conversation with a Finnish exchange student that had stayed about a year in Hong Kong.

Me: I think I have a Hong Kong culture shock.

Him: Oh yes, everything is so much better than in China.

Me: Um, actually I was thinking about how expensive everything is and how you have to wait seven minutes for the metro.

There are foreigners who love Hong Kong and then there are us who love the mainland China. Even though Hong Kong seems to be a nice place to visit, I don’t see any reason for me to move there. Too many foreigners, too many English speakers. Guangzhou isn’t maybe the perfect place to study Mandarin, but Hong Kong would be even worse.

If someone would force me to move to Hong Kong, then I would choose one of the numerous island. Islands like Peng Chau reminds me of mainland with familiar houses, grandfathers playing cards and stray dogs. Just the view and the weather would be supreme.

Want to see more photos from Hong Kong? Check out my photo gallery!