Posted by
Ed
18 yrs ago
FYI http://www.asiaxpat.com/movingquote/
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Yeah, its pretty simple to leave, go to Macau for the day or plan a holiday around it and go somewhere more exotic and upon re entry she will be given a new visa. You can do this multiple times, and for the most part it works. Some people have gone years without getting caught, but there are also instances when immigration does get suspicious and may refuse a visa or grant a ten day one instead if it is obvious from the passport that this has been going on for some time and the passport holder it obviously manipulating the system, It doesnt happen a lot, its more likely to occur with Indian/Phillipines/developing world etc passport holders than with British or EU passport holders but it does happen (the Hong Kong Government can be a little harsh on those it views as coming from third world countries)
I know bugger all about wine so I cant help you there, and yes it is perfectly acceptable to call Hong Kong Hongkers. I cant provide any real general tips because I grew up in Hong Kong, you would probably need to speak to axptguy38, he's normally pretty good on providing tips to people who are just moving out and he has a great website about living in Hong Kong when you first get here, you might try pm him.
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leghk
18 yrs ago
Firstly, congratulations on moving to HK, is a great place to live and am sure you will like it out here.
Not sure on the price in UK but french wine is fairly reasonably priced here. Chateauneuf du Pape (sp?) is around 220HKD (15 pounds). Customs website below that may be useful.
http://www.customs.gov.hk/eng/advice_advice_e.html
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"Honkers (1st question - can I call it that??"
You can, but I have never heard anyone else do so. The currency is called the Honkie though.
"What should I bring plenty of?"
It's a trade-off, since you may not have a lot of space here. Certainly if you have access to a US style discount store like Costco go buy the biggest detergent, washing up liquid, etc packages you can find. Not that the savings will be huge but those are cheaper abroad.
We don't miss a whole lot of stuff. You can find pretty much anything you need, but it might take a while before you find a specific store. Things are a bit less convenient than in US/UK for specialty items. Certainly bring supplies for 2-3 months of soap, shampoo, sanitary pads/tampons and such if you are picky about those things. You will find them here, but you'll be busy hunting for a place to live and doing 1000 other things. ;)
"I'm saying French because I'm thinking that Aussie/US wine will be cheaper relatively"
All wine is more costly that in the UK or the US. But you are correct that Aussie/South African/South American/US wines are more common here.
"you would probably need to speak to axptguy38, he's normally pretty good on providing tips to people who are just moving out and he has a great website about living in Hong Kong when you first get here, you might try pm him."
I am, again, humbled and flattered. The website is http://hongkongtips.rosboch.net. Feel free to PM me any specific questions.
I will PM you with the name of a good helper agency.
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you can get pretty much everything in HK these days, I really would not bother with bringing extra stuff - if there is a certain wine that you really like by all means why not, otherwise, although wine is more expensive than in UK it is still not crazy prices and off course knocking the tax off was a bonus.
I personally miss things like good cheese (costs an arm and a leg here), bread (really not good here - you will have to get a breadmaker and make your own), good organic veggies and meat (again - not much choice, costs a small fortune and nowhere near as good quality as in UK) - but none of that you can bring of course... sadly..
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"you can get pretty much everything in HK these days,"
Yes and no. Many specialty items, in my case some particular computer parts, are impossible to find. In the US I could order pretty much anything from several online retailers. I think you might find the same problem with other obscure items as well. Having said that, you will have to have rather unusual interests or be very picky to not find something or a good substitute in HK.
"good organic veggies and meat (again - not much choice, costs a small fortune and nowhere near as good quality as in UK) "
Good organic veggies are rather costly but you can get them online, for example from http://www.aussieorganics.com (which also carries fish and seafood). The prices are on par or lower than in the shops and the quality is among the best we've ever seen. Some of the stuff tastes like it was just picked. Since starting with them we buy almost no produce (or fish) in the local shops.
"bread (really not good here - you will have to get a breadmaker and make your own),"
In my opinion the bread here is orders of magnitude better than in the US, but I guess that's not saying much. ;) If you live close to Central, Wan Chai or Causeway Bay, CitySuper and Great both have excellent bakeries.
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Ed
18 yrs ago
Olivers has excellent healthy bread as does 360 in the Landmark
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eh, what happened to all the comments about whether the term Honkers was acceptable or not and who were its users?? I'm sure I just posted something earlier.
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and mine!! ed, what is that all about? it was in no way offensive - we are just saving the poor soul from embarrassment of calling it Honkers when he/she gets here!
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Thats not true, I had two aussie blokes come over for work recently who had never been here before and the first thing they said to me when I picked them up at the airport was "they were going to go bonkers in honkers" and they really did, but I digress, as was previously posted which got deleted, it does seem to be more of an Aussie thing than a British or American thing, though I have to admit, I have used it a few times myself.
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If you want to be taken seriously, do not use phrases like "Honkers".
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Kim11
18 yrs ago
I am from Australia as well and have heard many people call it honkers.
I think things are very expensive in Australia because I dont' agree that laundry soap and detergents etc are expensive here. I am amazed at how cheap it is really. I also love all the bonuses they like to give with toothpaste! I have never seen a country with such small living space and so many neat little things to give away.
If you have room I would stock up on shampoo, soap and other daily essentials so you don't have to go find it like mentioned previously. Also bring cooking spices or sauces if you can becuase although you can get lots of things like that here there might be something you think is essential that you can't get. Although it is fun to visit all the grocery stores looking ofr things. If you were from Australia Iw ould say bring vegemite!
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"Also bring cooking spices or sauces if you can becuase although you can get lots of things like that here there might be something you think is essential that you can't get."'
This has not been a problem for us actually. Except cardamom seeds already shelled.
"If you were from Australia Iw ould say bring vegemite!"
This is apparently not hard to find. So many Australians here!
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tons of marmite and vegemite - there was a shortage for a bit but not that's over. I really would not stock up on shampoos etc - I found them cheaper than in UK. Spices however are much more expensive..
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If you have the space for them in your new home here and might sometimes feel the urge for a nice chip butty, bring a bread-maker and a deep fat fryer. They're both available here, but there's not a huge choice of kitchen gadget brands compared to Comet, John Lewis etc. But apart from one or two things like that, as already mentioned by others above you'll find pretty much everything you require here these days. If you haven't already got one, you might want to research wine-fridge costs in the UK and compare them to HK. (PM me if you want an idea of prices here - just bought one so still got price lists.) Also, I seem to remember from looking at HomeBase and garden centres last time I was in the UK that decent outdoor furniture and BBQs are cheaper there too, with more of a selection. If your girlfriend home colours her hair then she might want to bring her favourite brands as DIY hair colour here is almost all permanent and designed for Asian hair. The only thing I'm going to bring back next time I'm in Blighty is a couple of tubes of good insect sting relief cream - none of the stuff here works on me :(
Happy times ahead for you both - enjoy it all!
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re garden furniture - you have to figure out where you are going to live first - as there is not a lot of ourdoor space here unless you live in New Ter. Otherwise, you are lucky to get a tiny balcony - so hold off on garden furniture...
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True about the garden furniture. Depends on the budget though. Some of the townhouses on South Side have nice terraces.
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and flats large terraces of course!
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Visa should last for 3 months and not 6. Think about double-checking this point.
For daily tips on Hong Kong life, just have a look at http://hkvibes.com :)
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Now there's a handy tip. Thanks Jane's Addiction!
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I would reccommend bringing bed linen if you have the room. Yes, you can buy it here of course, but if you want quality and choice without paying a fortune, I would buy outside of Hong Kong. Same goes for towels, especially if you have a favourite colour or brand.
Also if your girlfriend is larger than a UK size 8-10, she should consider buying an extra pair of her favorite jeans, along with plenty of bras and undies. Generally the sizes here are small (if you want quality and choice). There is H&M and M&S, but even there I find it difficult to get bras past a C cup (or if they are they are ugly) There are exceptions to this, but it really helps having a basic comfortable wardrobe when you first arrive without having to seek out the shops.
There was a shortage of Vegemite (it was actually banned for import for a while) it has yet to reappear at my local - had some sent from Australia!
Good luck and be prepared for the heat and humidity when you arrive in June.
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For the record, our wine (of varied vintages) arrived just fine after two months in a container.
"Also if your girlfriend is larger than a UK size 8-10, she should consider buying an extra pair of her favorite jeans, along with plenty of bras and undies."
Oh yes. In the US, my t-shirt size is small. In HK, I'm all of a sudden a large!
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totally agree with RachR on the bedlinen point - go knock yourself out in John Lewis - nothing like that here I am afraid. Ended up buying complete rubbish for quite a bit of money from G.O.D. store here - nothing in comparisson to the quality you would get in John Lewis... ditto towels...
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sxc
18 yrs ago
I don't think that toiletries and detergents are necessary to bring over. Mannings / Watsons has a great selection of shampoos, body washes etc and there are Japanese detergents in the supermarkets which are better than what you get in Australia.
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sxc
18 yrs ago
Also good towels and bedding can now be obtained from Spotlight at Megabox Kowloon Bay
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I was originally going to reply to mrpies that shipping alcohol internationally was not allowed. Then I read the posts........
axptguy - I have had 6 international moves and never have I been able to ship a drop of alcohol?
What gives? I thought it was a complete no no. I just moved to HK in Aug and left scads of booze and wine behind in Dubai.
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Xpatwife - normally you can ship but have to declare so they put tax on it - which pretty much makes it not worth it - that is the only reason why people dont (apart from countries where alcohol not allowed of course). Since HK binned the duty on alcohol, now there is absolutely no reason not to ship, if you would like to.
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"axptguy - I have had 6 international moves and never have I been able to ship a drop of alcohol?
What gives? I thought it was a complete no no. I just moved to HK in Aug and left scads of booze and wine behind in Dubai."
Well, there are ways and ways. I got slammed the last time I talked about it but if you ask nicely most movers will mark boxes "kitchen utensils". Note that this is of course illegal.
However as Idsllvn points out there's no duty anymore. Just declare it and you're fine, barring any shipper restrictions on flammables and liquids.
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