The Rough Guide to Hong Kong and Macau - Edition 6 (Rough Guide Travel Guides)

Features

• Cover Type: Paperback with 416 pages
• Published by: Rough Guides
• Edition: 6th Edition May 1, 2006
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 1843535343
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-1843535348
• Book Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.1 x 0.8 inches
• Weighs: 13.4 ounces

Product Description
Explore every corner of two of Asia’s most exciting destinations with the fully-revised sixth edition of the Rough Guide to Hong Kong and Macau. From shopping on ‘The Golden Mile’ to the Ten Thousand Buddha’s Monastery - inspired by dozens of photographs - the 20-page, full colour introduction highlights all the ‘things-not-to-miss’. In addition, there are two brand-new, 4-page, full-colour inserts: ‘Cantonese Cuisine’ and ‘Architecture’. The guide includes a new ‘author’s pick’ section of the very best hotels and restaurants, plus up-to-date listings of all the top bars, clubs and shops, to suit all budgets. The section on Macau has been completely revised and extended and there are detailed chapters on Hong Kong’s background from post-handover politics to feng shui and Chinese Astrology. The guide comes complete with maps and plans for both regions.

Reader Reviews
I used the sixth (2006) edition of the ROUGH GUIDE TO HONG KONG & MACAU during a recent two-week stay in Hong Kong. Reading it before my trip, I found it to portray Hong Kong as a fascinating and immense place to visit, where one can spend weeks covering all manner of out of the way places. This was a great contrast to the Berlitz guide to Hong Kong I also took along, which make the region seem like a two-day stop where the only interesting thing is shopping. There's a chapter each on Hong Kong Island, Kowloon, the New Territories, and the outlying islands. The description of each town or wilderness inside these divisions takes the form of a walking tour. The authors guide the reader through the streets well, and like all Rough Guides the maps here are clear and accurate. I unfortunately didn't visit Macau, so I cannoton that portion of the guide. I didn't use the accommodation listings, as like many travelers I prefer to stay with local from hospitality associations for closer contact with the local culture. As the Rough Guide does not cover this option, I have removed one star from my rating. However, there does indeed seem to be an adequate amount of both budget and luxury accommodation, with the stops in between of course. The needs of shoestring travelers are not given short shrift here, as in the offerings of all too many guidebook publishers. I did use the recommendations for restaurants, which do a great job of steering travelers to hole-in-the-wall eateries with little English signage which might not look fancy, but which show you the real Hong Kong in a way flashier places don't. At the end of the book one finds a history of the region, as well as some general information on Hong Kong culture. The history soberly discusses the uncertainty of Hong Kong's true autonomy after the handover, while other guidebooks I read gave only a rosy view. In these appendices there's also a list of films and books, fiction and non-fiction, about Hong Kong, letting the reader learn more about the place before he visits. If you're an independent travelver going to Hong Kong, I'd certainly recommend ROUGH GUIDE TO HONG KONG & MACAU. I find it better than the Lonely Planet guide due to the range of its listings and the quality of its maps, and light years ahead of the paltry listings and assumption that the reader is a millionaire which one finds in many other guidebook lines.