Hong Kong and Macau_ City Guide (Lonely Planet, 14th Edition) - Andrew Stone [230]
American Express ( 2811 6122)
Diners Club ( 2860 1888)
MasterCard ( 800 966 677)
Visa ( 800 900 782)
The Visa contact might be able to help you (or at least point you in the right direction) should you lose your Visa card, but in general you must deal with the issuing bank in the case of an emergency. Round-the-clock emergency bank numbers:
Citibank ( 2860 0333)
HSBC ( 2233 3000)
Standard Chartered Bank ( 2886 8888)
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Currency
The local currency is the Hong Kong dollar (HK$), which is divided into 100 cents. Bills are issued in denominations of $10, $20, $50, $100, $500 and $1000. There are little copper coins worth 10¢, 20¢ and 50¢, silver-coloured $1, $2 and $5 coins, and a nickel and bronze $10 coin.
Three local banks issue notes: HSBC (formerly the Hongkong & Shanghai Bank), the Standard Chartered Bank and the Bank of China (all but the $10 bill).
For exchange rates see the inside front cover, or check out www.xe.com.
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Travellers Cheques & Cards
Travellers cheques and their modern equivalent, ATM-style cards that can be credited with cash in advance, offer protection from theft but are becoming less common due to the preponderance of ATMs. Most banks will cash travellers cheques, and they all charge a fee, often irrespective of whether you are an account holder or not.
If any cheques go missing, contact the issuing office or the nearest branch of the issuing agency immediately. American Express ( 3002 1276) can usually arrange replacement cheques within 24 hours.
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NEWSPAPERS & MAGAZINES
The main English-language newspaper in the city is the daily broadsheet South China Morning Post(www.scmp.com), which has always toed the government line, both before and after the handover. It has the largest circulation and is read by more Hong Kong Chinese than expatriates. The livelier and slightly punchier tabloid Hong Kong Standard (www.thestandard.com.hk), published from Monday to Saturday (weekend edition), is harder to find. The Beijing mouthpiece China Daily (www.chinadaily.com.cn) also prints a Hong Kong English-language edition of its paper.
The Asian Wall Street Journal and regional editions of USA Today, the International Herald Tribune and the Financial Timesare printed in Hong Kong.
Hong Kong has its share of English-language periodicals, including a slew of home-grown (and Asian-focused) business-related magazines. Time, Newsweekand the Economist are all available in their current editions.
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ORGANISED TOURS
Despite its size, a profusion of organised tours operates in Hong Kong. There are tours available to just about anywhere in the territory and they can make good options if you only have a short time in Hong Kong or don’t want to deal with public transport. Some tours are standard excursions covering major sights on Hong Kong Island, such as the Peak and Hollywood Rd, while other tours take you on harbour cruises, out to the islands or through the New Territories. For tours to Macau, see Click here.
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Air
If you hanker to see Hong Kong from on high – and hang the expense – Heliservices ( 2802 0200; www.heliservices.com.hk) has chartered Aerospatiale Squirrels for up to five passengers available for $6600/10,000 for 15-/30-minute periods. They depart from rooftop helipads at the Peninsula Hong Kong (Click here) annexe.
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Boat
Several operators offer harbour tours. If you’re on a budget, the HKTB (Click here) offers a one-hour free ride on the Duk Ling, a trad-itional Chinese junk complete with red triangular sails, that departs Kowloon public pier at 2pm and 4pm on Thursday and 10am and noon on Saturday. It also picks up from Central pier 9 at 3pm and 5pm on Thursday, and