Population/Currency/Facts, Hong Kong

Favorite thing: I stayed in the Causeway Bay area and there are loads of money changers in the area but you have to pick the right one that has the best rate as they vary wildly. Some of the best exchange rates I found are on Yee Wo Street.

Favorite thing: By far the best rate of exchange on my last trips to Hong Kong were to be had at Chungking Mansions. At the entrance in the lobby area there are several exchange booths so the competition is pretty good for the traveller. As always count your cash before you leave the booth counter.
36-44 Nathan Road, walking down towards Salisbury Road about 250 meters on the left hand side before Salisbury.

Favorite thing: Population - 7.6 million
Area - 1 092 sq km
Full name (Mandarin): Xianggang Tebie Xingzhengqu

July 1 (1997) - Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Establishment Day
October 1 (1949) - National Day

GDP: $198.5 billion
Unemployment: 7.5 % (2003)
Internet Users: 4.35 million

Favorite thing: This is not fake money! Relax when you received it. It is a new Ten Dollar Note issued since July 2002 and the ten dollar coin will be phased out gradually. No need to call the police when you receive it! (Really happened some time ago)

Favorite thing: What's this? It's psychedelic Hong Kong money designed to give counterfeiters colorful hallucinating headaches.

Fondest memory: If you wish to change foreign money in Hong Kong, it's always better to do so at one of the big banks (HSBC, Bank of China, Standard Chartered) instead of the little money exchange shops that you'll see in tourist shopping areas.
The only exception is if you are changing Chinese yuan back into Hong Kong dollars. Make sure you check the exchange rate if you do this particular transaction because those shops are competing with each other for this big business. You also need to check and see if there are any commission charges.

Favorite thing: Okay this tip is not confined to hotels in HK only but to all hotels where an electronic safe is found at your hotel room.

Suggestion :

Wipe the touch keys down before operating it with a damp cloth, and then dry it before entering your secret code. Try to do this every time you use the safe.

Also after you have keyed in your code and closed the door firmly locked on the safe. Press all the other keys /numbers that do not make up your code, and press them firmly. Doing this may set off a small alarm from the safe but it stops quickly and no one will pay any attention (!!).

The reason to do this is because certain hotels have caught their own hotel staff placing, a light oil residue or powder on to the touch keys that shows them when using a certain light what numbers were pressed. They were managing to open the safe, and one very clever thief was taking only 1 or 2 US$ from each room. Would you have noticed ? It is not a lot but in a 400 or 500 room hotel the guy was doing quite well for himself.

Favorite thing: Electricity: 220 V, 50 Hz, which is compatible to equipment in Great Britain. Most hotels have 110 V outlets for shavers. Hong Kong has a variety of plug outlets, most standardized on Great Britain's three-pin square sockets (13 amps); these differ from the outlets used in the United States and Canada--and even mainland China!

Favorite thing: Hong Kong's currency is the Hong Kong dollar. As of 1999, the Hong Kong dollar is pegged to the U.S. dollar at HK$7.80 = US$1.00, with the rate being able to fluctuate by only 10 HK cents.

Traveler's checks are a safe way to carry money abroad. Visa, MasterCard, and American Express are widely accepted in Hong Kong. Note that the airport is probably the worst place to exchange currency for Hong Kong dollars. Most banks will do the exchange at a much better rate.

There is no sales tax in Hong Kong.