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ORIENTATION AND ARRIVAL |
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Orientation for new arrivals in the main urban areas is relatively
easy: if you are " Hong Kong-side " - on the northern shore of Hong Kong
Island - Victoria Harbour lies to your north, while to your south the
land slopes upwards steeply to the Peak . The heart of this built-up
area on Hong Kong Island is known, rather mundanely, as Central . Just
across the harbour, in the area known as Tsimshatsui , you are " Kowloon-side
", and here all you really need to recognize is the colossal north-south
artery, Nathan Road , full of shops and budget hotels, that leads down
to the harbour, and to the phenomenal view south over Hong Kong Island.
Two more useful points for orientation on both sides of Victoria Harbour
are the Star Ferry Terminals where the popular cross-harbour ferries
dock, in Tsimshatsui (a short walk west of the south end of Nathan Road)
and in Central.
Arrival
Public transport is so convenient and efficient that even first-time
arrivals are unlikely to face any particular problems in reaching their
destination within the city - apart from the difficulty of communicating
with taxi drivers or reading the destinations on minibuses. All signs
are supposed to be written in English and Chinese (although the English
signs are sometimes so discreet as to be invisible) and travel times
from the main international arrival points are reasonable, though road
traffic is often heavy
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