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Hong Kong budget airline Oasis abruptly stopped flying Wednesday, leaving passengers stranded in Hong Kong, London and Vancouver. Passengers who have been caught out have been forced to make their own arrangements home. What a hassle that would be. They have been given phone numbers of other airlines to arrange return flights.



I took an Oasis flight last year from London to Hong Kong. It was their price that got me to fly with them. It seems now though that the long haul low cost airline concept might be doomed with spiralling fuel prices. Jet fuel prices nearly doubled in the 18 months that Oasis was operating. Such increases are proving difficult enough for established airlines, let alone newly started airlines.

Labels: airlines, hong-kong, oasis-hong-kong

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This is a great idea from a phone company in Macau. They are offering one sim card with two phone numbers (A Hong Kong and a Macau number). I don't know if it is a fair tariff but the idea is good as it would save carrying two phones or doing the sim card change every time you cross the border.



Hong Kong and Macau used to be two separate countries before they became Special Administrative Regions of China, but they still have their own country codes.

I hope that the phone companies in Europe introduce something like this. With the open borders with the EU people have become so much more mobile between countries but you are charged exorbitant rates when you leave the country your phone plan is from.

Labels: china, good-idea, hong-kong, macau, mobile-phones

Posted by James Clark - editor of itravelnet.com
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Macau was a Portuguese colony that was handed over to China in 1999. Like Hong Kong it is now a Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China.

Macau is only one hour ferry ride from Hong Kong so it makes for a popular day trip if you are doing a stop-over in Hong Kong. There are ferries up to every half an hour during the day.



I was only in Macau last year and I did not think I would be back here so soon. I thought I might like to come back in 20 years and see how many casinos have sprouted.

I am back so soon because Viva Macau fly from here to Sydney. The combined cost of flying Oasis Hong Kong from london to Hong Kong then Macau to Sydney was about half the price of a ticket on offer with any other scheduled airline.

Labels: china, ferry, hong-kong, macau

Posted by James Clark - editor of itravelnet.com
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The Peak Tram of Hong Kong Island is one of the most famous tramways in the world. The tram runs from Central district to Victoria Peak with some stops along the way. Its steep ascent to the Peak offers great views of the Harbour.





At the top the tram terminates at the Peak Tower, an observation deck/shopping centre/tourist trap, which you have to pay extra to enter. You can walk around the paths at the peak and see the same view for free.

Labels: china, hong-kong, tram, victoria-peak

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If you are booking Hong Kong budget accommodation online you will notice a number of "Mansions" listed in the results. These mansions are great apartment blocks on Nathan Rd, the main road in Kowloon, Hong Kong.



If you are staying at one of these mansions (Chunking Mansion or Mirador Mansion) you might be taken aback by its outside appearance. The blocks are old and shabby, with air-con units and washing lines hanging from just about every window. The blocks are a mix of residential apartments, small businesses and guest houses.




The quality of your budget accommodation guest house will vary widely once you are inside though as there as so many of them. I have stayed in guest houses in both mansions and they have been clean and presentable, but as space is at a premium my rooms have only been slightly larger than the bed itself.

Labels: china, hong-kong, hotels, kowloon

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Boiling Offal Pots

Eating in Hong Kong is hard work if you don't eat meat. I'm not a vegetarian but I'm not a fan of offal, which is what most of what the street food in Hong Kong seems to be.



For a city that was once a jewel of the British Empire it is surprising how little English is spoken on the the street. This makes for ordering food a challenge.

I found a place serving some sort of meat product skewered on a stick, which was most tasty. I then moved on to the next tray, and pointed to these frying balls of something. The lady said "spicy"! I nodded. She said again "spicy"!! I said "OK, I like spicy", then she repeated again "SPICY"!!!
"OK OK give me spicy".

She gave me a container with 10 of them. They were excruciatingly spicy, and I like spicy. I forced the third one down before surrendering and running off to the nearest 7/11 to put out the fire.



Know where your food comes from

Eating in Asia you get a better sense of where your food comes from. In the west we only have to see our meat as prime cuts neatly packaged in a styrofoam container at the supermarket. You can walk around markets and see live chickens waiting to be slaughtered and live fish carved up before your eyes, still gasping for breath.



Live crabs can be bought in shops on the street as well. These crabs aren't in a water tank though. They are bound with bamboo and stacked neatly on top of each other as if they were boxes.



Eating Vegetarian

Eating for vegetarians can be hard going here, even if you go to a "vegetarian restaurant". I looked at some menus of vegetarian restaurants and found that every item had meat in it.



Sometimes vegetarian options at restaurants include prawns and bits of pork.

The safest option for a vegetarian is to go to an Indian restaurant. If they say it is vegetarian you know that it will be. When in Hong Kong I like to visit Branto on Lock Road, which my vegetarian sister put me onto.

There are plenty of other vegetarian restaurants in Hong Kong as well.




Sweet Things

The Hong Kong egg tart is a cheap and tasty snack that can be found all over Hong Kong.



Also on Lock Road I frequent this juice bar daily. They have a variety of fresh juices, as well as a sweet mango or coconut drink with tapioca balls, which I struggle to limit myself to two a day.

Labels: china, food, hong-kong

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Oasis Hong Kong is a long-haul low-cost airline based in Hong Kong. They currently fly to London and Vancouver and are expanding to other destinations in 2008.



I had not considered flying a low-cost airline long-haul due to the perceived lack of services, but the price difference was enough for me to consider again.

Price

This was what got me through the door. The cheapest advertised price was £99, with an asterisk of course.

Fare Breakdown:
Air Fare GBP 99
Fuel Surcharge GBP 29.96
UK Air Passenger Duty Economy GBP 40.00
UK passenger Service Charge GBP 7.90

Total: GBP 176.86

This is for a one way fare from London to Hong Kong. This was booked about one month before travel, and was about half the price of the next best fare found on expedia/opodo with regular airlines. Booking as a one way flight might have made a difference to the fares with other airlines.

Low-cost and Long-Haul?

The low cost model works well for short haul flights as a cooked meal and entertainment isn't necessary on a 2 hour flight. For inter-continental flights though these extras are required to make the long flight bearable.

My perception was that you would have to pay for your meals and your entertainment. Some long-haul low cost airlines are following this route but Oasis haven't.

Meals

Yes, meals are free. There is a dinner service shortly after take off, then a breakfast service before arrival. You can order other meals any time during the flight for a cost.



The meals are your standard inflight fare you would find on a BA/Cathay flight, and you get two choices.

Drinks

Juice and soft drinks are free but you have to pay for alcohol.

Entertainment

Another low cost misconception busted. There is inflight entertainment onboard. Each seat has its own tv screen and has 16 channels plus the usual where are we now Air Show.



Oasis Hong Kong have their own inflight magazine and a selection of newspapars and magazines are provided free as you board.



Remarks

Overall the flight was as comfortable as any flight I have taken in enonomy long haul. The winning difference is in the price difference, though if I found a flight with a comparable price with a traditional alliance airline I would have taken that, if only for the frequent flyer points. The large price difference in this case made gaining points irrelevant.

oasishongkong.com

Labels: airlines, airport, gatwick, hong-kong, london, oasis-hong-kong

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Hong Kong Disneyland, which opened in September 2006, has its own dedicated metro line, the MTR Disneyland Resort Line.

Labels: disneyland, hong-kong, lantau-island, train

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For getting around Hong Kong I got a 3 day train pass which included return travel on the airport express so getting around was easy enough.

Hong Kong is made up of a peninsula of land jutting off mainland China and a number of Islands surrounding.

I went out to Lantau Island to check out the biggest bronze Buddha in the world. It was so foggy though that you could not see the top of Buddha, even from the base.

From there I got the train to Hong Kong Island. From here I got a tram going to Happy Valley. I had not intended to do so, but if you see a double decker tram that says it's going to Happy Valley how could you not get on it. At 2HKD that's a pretty good value tram. Happy Valley is the home of The Hong Kong Jockey Club and its world famous racecourse.

Labels: hong-kong, hong-kong-island, tram

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Greetings from Hong Kong. It's good to be in the tropics. Upon arrival at 6am it was 26c/79f and 90% humidity. I love that feeling of tropical air hitting you as you disembark from a plane, especially from a flight that has come from colder climes.

I'm staying at this place called the Mirador Mansion on Nathan Road, the main shopping street of Kowloon. It is one of the more peculiar places I have stayed at.

The exterior is classic Chinese shabby concrete tower. It reminds me of the buildings next to the old Hong Kong airport that were always used in commercials.



I must have gotten well and truly used to travelling on a budget because when I saw that the number of my building was were I was to stay, I was not in the slightest bit disturbed. What disturbed me more was that when I saw the building I was disturbed that I wasn't disturbed about staying there.

I like the old buildings of Hong Kong and the oversize signage hanging above the roads. One day I presume it will all be blandified with smooth glass towers that have no air con units and washing lines hanging out the windows.

My guest house accommodation consists of a room the width of the bed and a bathroom with a shower hose above the toilet. My room is about $25 USD and includes free wireless access so it worked out better than staying in a hostel. All this and right in the heart of the action in Nathan Rd.



Come lunchtime I was a walking zombie with no sleep from the overnight flight. There was some heavy jungle rain for a few hours, so I took refuge in a cafe and read the South China Morning Post and the International Herald Tribune (you know you are back on the road when you are reading the IHT).

By then the rain had eased, so I spent the rest of the day wandering the length of Nathan Rd and its side streets and markets.

Labels: hong-kong, hotels, kowloon

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