Does anyone have any experience traveling to Hong Kong (alone) with no Cantonese comprehension at all?

I'm thinking about a short trip there for business, lasting about 5 days.

What information should I be looking at while considering this trip?

Any problems getting around? Checking in and out of hotels? Getting to/from the airport?

The flight from Toronto would be about 21 hours, including a stop, probably in Vancouver. I haven't looked into accommodations at all yet. What can I expect in that regard, mostly financially, in comparison to staying in Las Vegas, NY or San Francisco for example?

HK has two official languages - Cantonese and English. You can live there quite happily without speaking a word of Cantonese.

Prices at the top end are similar to NY, but there's a wider range and it's possible to find two and three star hotels that are cheaper than you would see in NY and are still serviceable. I wouldn't go ultra budget in HK though, that's not going to be a good experience.

True, but if you want to visit the really good, or off the beaten path restaurants, you'll likely need to enlist the aid of someone who speaks Cantonese. At least, that was my experience, while visiting.

Agreed, I have spent 4-5 days there in total and certainly getting around as a tourist is absolutely fine, everything has English translations and most people you meet can speak serviceable English.

In the markets however bartering often involved them typing a price on a calculator and you typing one back, and repeating until somebody folds. edit: I did eat at a rice-type takeaway in the shopping centre attached to the hotel (virtually no westerners there) and the lady didn't speak English, but the girl in front translated for me, and then chatted to me a bit to practice her English!

I stayed at the Royal Plaza in Kowloon and it was very nice, I forget how much I paid now but it was substantially cheaper than Hong Kong Island and still fine for getting around (it is a 10 min walk to the MTR). I got a cab from the Kowloon Airport Express station.

As others have said, piece of cake. I think of it as China for the faint of heart.


Simple. Subway system (including extension to airport) is top notch. Oh, and the red Toyota taxis all good, too.


In 2001 (or 2002?) I snagged a "VIP" level room at that Renaissance WanChai for $100/night based in part on Marriott status. In 2008 that room was like $500 US so I booked at the Metropark Wanchai for about $120. Nice, recently revamped hotel. It went on to a certain fame/notoriety when a bunch of guests were quarantined there during a swine flu panic, but a decent place to be quarantined.

Flew back from Hanoi 2 weeks ago on Asiana. Decent service but 30 hours elapsed due to 12-hour layover in Seoul/Inchon. Duty-Free Hell.

EDIT: I should have made clear that I got a room at the Renny for $100 due to post-SARS depression. Can't always count on contagion to get a cheap room! Also, I should say that the 2-3 hour harbor tour from Kowloon was great. It is an amazing, awesome sprawl of a harbor.