Take a sampan ride, it’s the perfect way to explore the old Aberdeen harbour.  Try on one of the woven Tanka hats, traditionally worn by Hong Kong’s boat dwellers (note the shape is very unique!).

Take a sampan ride, it’s the perfect way to explore the old Aberdeen harbour.  Try on one of the woven Tanka hats, traditionally worn by Hong Kong’s boat dwellers (note the shape is very unique!).

When you think of Hong Kong, the first images that come to mind might be of towering skyscrapers, bustling city streets, and a skyline that sparkles like a jewel at night. But nestled within this metropolis lies a hidden gem that offers a rich tapestry of history, culture, and natural beauty – Aberdeen. Join us on one of our private, group or virtual tours of this area to capture the enchanting sights and stories of this fascinating part of Hong Kong.

What is a Sampan?

A sampan is a flat bottomed traditional fishing boat made of wood from China.  Traditionally, fisher families often lived aboard these small watercraft.  Because they are not suitable for rough seas, they are mostly used in rivers or close to the coast.  Fewer and fewer sampans are used for fishing or housing and nowadays, many are used for sampan rides ferrying curious tourists on tours and to restaurants.

Tell me more about the Tanka People

The exact origins of the Tanka people have become lost in the mists of time.  It is thought that they were a people of South East China.  When the Han people moved South, invading and colonising the land, the indigenous people may have moved to coastal areas and began to live on boats.

Hang on, I thought Aberdeen was in Scotland?

The original city of Aberdeen is, but with the British ruling over Hong Kong for many years, one of the many legacies are some of the place names in Hong Kong.  George Hamilton-Gordon was the 4th Earl of Aberdeen and also a Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. There are 33 recorded towns and cities named Aberdeen worldwide, you can find out more about them here.

Other things to do around Aberdeen, Hong Kong

Despite a decline in the fishing industry, you will still be able to see fishing trawlers docked in Aberdeen marina.  They bob alongside modern house boats and the luxury yachts.  Unfortunately the famous Jumbo floating restaurant did not survive during the pandemic (and actually had quite a tragic ending, being shipwrecked on its way to Malaysia in the South China Sea). The good news is that Tai Pak floating restaurant is still there, and they are looking to reopen this in 2024. 

If you’re with the family, Ocean Park theme park is close by and makes a great family friendly outing, alongside their very new water park, WaterWorld, which is fantastic in summer months. 

And let’s not forget Waterfall Bay, a hidden oasis amidst the urban landscape, a serene oasis where nature meets the city and where the name Hong Kong (fragrant harbour) may have been given its name. Seen best from the water, this tranquil waterfall that has been cascading for at least three centuries.

However, if you’re looking for something a bit more quirky and off the beaten track to do, visit nearby A Sky Full of Gods and Buddhas. Or perhaps a visit to one of Hong Kong’s earliest (and luckiest) public housing estates, Was Fu?

Explore Hong Kong

Although a sampan ride is a lovely thing to do while visiting Hong Kong, but there is plenty more to explore in Aberdeen.  Contact us at Hong Kong Greeters to see how we can help with a private tour. 

We do have our group tour and virtual tour options available as well!

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The Advantages of Booking a Private Tour Guide

1. Save Time and Jump the Line

Hong Kong is tremendously crowded and busy. Our population tops 7 million.  The entire population of New Zealand only comes to around 5 million.  If you’re visiting top tourist attractions and want to ride the tram to Peak or the cable car to The Big Buddha on Lantau Island you can expect long queues.  Queuing is practically a national pastime here in Hong Kong.  People are prepared to wait and aren’t deterred by long queues.  It’s orderly and it’s fair, but it’s time consuming.  Time that you don’t want to waste.

By booking a Hong Kong private tour guide, your tickets are organised in advance.  Accompanied by your own private tour guide, you can save even more time and jump to the front of the queue for both the Peak Tram and the Ngong Ping 360 Cable Car.

Alternatively, we can arrange to visit many places by private vehicle.  This means travelling from one attraction to another is time efficient and comfortably air-conditioned.  In case you don’t know,  Hong Kong can be tremendously hot and humid during the summer months.  It can also rain a tremendous amount.  So as well as saving time, you can stay cool and dry whatever the weather.

2. Make Memories

Admit it, you’re not going to remember all the facts, figures and dates about places you visit on holiday.  You’re going to remember the experience and whether it was positive or not so positive.  Private tour guides know the most photogenic spots.  We live here, so we can share some cool insider tips and tricks and can give you the  scoop on what it’s really like to live in Hong Kong.

In 10 years time you won’t remember when the Peak tram was built or the key tenets of Buddhism, but you’ll have that great picture of you eating chickens feet, or holding a snake in the snake soup shop.  Your kids will remember being allowed to sound the bell on the tram or the secret echo chamber we showed them.  You also won’t remember the stress and frustration of getting lost or overpaying for a taxi, because you avoid it by booking a private tour guide.

We can also tell you plenty of things that won’t be in your guidebook.  For example, most visitors have no idea that there’s a fascinating story behind the ragged flags hanging in historic St John’s church or how significantly Feng Shui has influenced some of Hong Kong’s most iconic buildings.

3. Relax, you’re on holiday

Travel is supposed to be fun and you go on holiday to relax.  That’s hard to do if you’re nervous about trying new things. It’s uncomfortable to be in a position where you’re worried you might offend locals by going where you’re not supposed to be and doing what your not supposed to do.  We’re also sure you’ll agree that there’s nothing more frustrating than realising that you needn’t have queued in the rain for two hours or missed the best view point because you followed the catch-all guidebook instructions.

By booking a private tour guide, your trip should be as stress free and enjoyable as possible.  Let us take away the fear.  You don’t need to worry about which bakery sells the yummiest treats, where to find the nearest bathroom or getting lost.  With a private tour guide, you are in safe hands.

4. Enjoy a Customised Itinerary

Let us know in advance if you have any particular interests, whether it’s architecture, history, art or religion.  The routes on our private tours of Hong Kong are fluid and no two are the same.  Alongside some of Hong Kong’s main attractions, our guides want you to see what interests you.  For example, you could enquire about working Hong Kong’s Jewish Heritage into a tour.

5. Have Peace of Mind

You want to know that you’re in safe hands when you’re out and about in a new city.  By law, private tour guides in Hong Kong should be licensed.  At Hong Kong Greeters our guides are fully licensed, so don’t worry about heading out for the day with a rogue trader.  We have public liability insurance and as part of our training have to complete first aid certificate.

Why choose a Hong Kong Private Guide from Hong Kong Greeters?

We are Friendly

Here at HK Greeters we hand-pick our guides.  As well as being knowledgeable, our guides are approachable and friendly giving you the warmest of welcomes to Hong Kong. In addition to all the nuts and bolts facts and figures of your tour, please ask us what living in Hong Kong is really like. You might be surprised at the price of property, you should be impressed by the public transport system and we can tell you that there is absolutely no pineapple in a pineapple bun.

We are Family Friendly

We work hard to accommodate your needs.  Whether you have accessibility constraints or small children, we will help you get the best possible out of your tour. Regardless of whether your want to minimise walking or simply stay away from steep hills and lots of steps, we can take that into consideration when planning a route. If public transport will be a struggle for you with pushchairs or a wheel chair, please inquire about our private car tours.

We all know that children sometimes decide that they need to eat or go to the loo at the drop of a hat. That’s no problem. We know that children can be picky eaters and that even the best of us can suffer from dietary constraints. We will do our best to accommodate that. You can let us know in advance if you have request for any particular type of restaurant.

As an added bonus our city walking tours are free for under 16s, making the tours a little more pocket-friendly for families. Find out more about our family friendly private tours of Hong Kong here.

We speak your language

To make your trip even smoother our guides are all native or near native English speakers. Tours in other languages including Cantonese, Dutch, French, Portuguese or Spanish may be available on request. Please check with us.

Please get in touch if you’d like further information on any of our private tours in Hong Kong.  We also offer trips to neighbouring Macau and additionally offer group tours, like our Vegetarian Food and Cultural Tour of Hong Kong.  If you already have a tour in mind and are ready to book, click here.

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Hong Kong’s Jewish Population

Hong Kong’s total population is close to 7.4 million people.  Despite there only being an estimated  4,000 Jews in Hong Kong, their impact on the city has been substantial.  The earliest Jewish traders set up in Hong Kong, Macau and Canton as China opened up to international trade in the mid-1800’s. Although most are of Iraqi decent, nowadays, approximately half of the Jewish population of Hong Kong originate from overseas.  It seems that they now hail from many countries including the US, the UK, France, Australia, South Africa, Israel and Canada.

Jewish Heritage Sites

We have two synagogues in Hong Kong.  The first is the Ohel Leah next door to the Jewish Community Centre is pictured above.  The magnificent Ohel Leah synagogue in Central is often a surprise detour for guests. The second is Kehilat Zion in Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon. Both have kosher restaurants and will deliver food locally. Additionally, there is the Shuva Isreal Restaurant in Central, Hong Kong.

Hong Kong Greeters is able to provide a specialist tour itinerary to include the Jewish heritage of Hong Kong.  This enables our guests to discover more about Jewish influence and heritage in Hong Kong.

Your itinerary can include:

• The Ohel Leah Synagogue, Midlevels
• The Jewish Cemetery, Happy Valley
• The Peninsula Hotel and Nathan Road, Tsim Sha Tsui
• The Verandah restaurant, Repulse Bay

Please let us know on the booking form, what you are interested in seeing. Our guide Nadia is the perfect guide for these tours, as her mother was Jewish.

How we can Tailor you Tour

Hong Kong Greeters provides customised private tours for visitors to Hong Kong.  We can tailor our Jewish Heritage itinerary to include other sites that interest you.  Perhaps you would like to head up the Peak and admire the famously expansive view.  If shopping is on your agenda, there are plenty of markets to explore, either for souvenirs or to see how locals shop.  There are many beautiful temples, which would contrast neatly with a synagogue visit.  Equally, there are lots of unique buildings, statues and other quirks of Hong Kong life, peppering the streets.

We e are able to offer this itinerary in the comfort of a private, air-conditioned, 8-seater vehicle. Please select below, and confirm the date of your visit by email to info@hkgreeters.com.

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Have you considered exploring Hong Kong’s islands?  They are just as rewarding as the busier parts of Hong Kong and the best way to explore them is on foot. You can take a stroll along the boardwalks of Tai O or the beaches of Cheung Chau.  Or, you can admire the fauna and flora of Lamma Island, there is something for everyone to enjoy.

We love guiding our visitors on day trips and have a huge soft spot for Cheung Chau.  Here visitors enjoy the unexpected contrast from the busy metropolis, chat with local residents, understand their history and experience the local traditions and foods which are harder to find in the urban areas.

Our private guides love handling unusual requests and giving an insider’s perspective – especially when helping our customers to explore the further reaches of Hong Kong’s outlying islands. This goes for visitors and local residents who want to get to know more about the city they live in. Here is a list of our favourite places to visit and why:

Yim Tin Tsai

This tiny dot of a place was once a hub of salt production for the small Hakka community.  However, it was largely abandoned in the 1980’s. Its heritage has since been revived with help from the local community.  On weekends you can visit the old salt pans, a Catholic church and try some of the homemade Hakka snacks.  One such snack is glutinous rice cakes filled with peanuts or red beans.

Yim Tin Tsai is reached via a 15 minute boat ride from Sai Kung Pier.  Many private tour operators will take you there and back from around HK $50 per person.

Cheung Chau

Cheung Chau is a vibrant island with pirate caves, scenic beaches and family-friendly walking trails. It has become a hub for new-starter boutique businesses.  These include arts and crafts, cafes and gift stores.  They are all located in the traditional shop-house buildings.

We love to go and stay overnight with our family in one of the many Bed and Breakfast accommodations, or you can book yourself into the number one hotel on the Island.  Well, it’s the only hotel! It’s called The Warwick and it does a great dim sum menu.

To summarise, Cheung Chau is a great place to enjoy the scenery, food and water activities. Ferries leave every 30 minutes from Central Pier 5.  Alternatively you can catch the Inter-Island ferry from Mui Wo, Peng Chau or Chi Ma Wan.

Tai O, Lantau Island

Technically Tai O is part of the largest island in Hong Kong, Lantau.  However, this tiny enclave has a fishing history centuries long and is a world away from the rest of the island. It was in a key position to take advantage of the economic activity in the Pearl river delta prior to the signing of the lease for the New Territories in 1898, and was only reachable by road in the 1970’s.

There is a huge sense of community spirit and everyone is friendly and welcoming to visitors. We were lucky enough to make some great acquaintances there last summer when running our in depth group tours of the village.

The residents of this unique village have worked hard to retain its unique identity, despite many a plan from the government to redevelop the wooden stilted fishermen’s houses along the creek. It has a great street food scene too.

This place may not be around in thirty years, so it is definitely a must-see if you are visiting Lantau. Ferries leave from Tung Chung New Development Pier every 2 hours.  Alternatively, take bus 11 from Tung Chung Town Centre.

It is advisable to purchase your return ferry tickets upon arrival, especially at weekends.  This is because there is limited space and it is a very limited service. They will run extra services on Sundays. Allow around 2 hours of travel from Hong Kong Island.

Further Island Information

Find out more about Hong Kong’s islands in a recent article we were featured in for Hong Kong Business publication, part of the Hong Kong Development Council:  Settle Down into Island Time

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Preparation

Cantonese duck is much easier to prepare.  The Peking version requires pre-ordering a few days ahead from a specialist restaurant.  Our newest infographic below highlights some differences between the two delicious dishes and where to eat them.  We also recommend delicious ‘must-try’ roasted meat restaurants for your Hong Kong visit.

Cha-Sui

If you enjoy Cantonese roast duck, then you should also try ‘charcoal furnace roast goose in plum sauce’.  In Cantonese it is called ‘cha-siu’ which is seasoned boneless barbecued pork. The best place to try is: Yat Lok Barbecue Restaurant, Stanley Street, Central, Hong Kong.

Having Beijing roast duck is one of the two ‘must dos’ when in Beijing: climb the Great Wall and eat Peking duck. The Huffington Post declares it as the number 1 dish in the world to try before you die! In Hong Kong, find it at Sha Tin 18 at the Regency Hyatt Hotel, Shatin, New Territories.

Book Your Hong Kong Private Food Tour Instantly Below

We use a third party system to provide a one-click booking service to you.  Book a food tour with us today by visiting our food tour page, or by using the booking link at the bottom of the page.

If you’re not a meat lover, we now also offer a vegetarian food tour.

If your date is available on the calendar, you can book immediately.  We just need to know how many people and the length of the tour your require.  Alternatively, get in touch with us to find out more about our various walking and car tours of Hong Kong and Macau.

Discover the difference between Hong Kong egg tarts and Macau egg tarts?

How do you finger count in Hong Kong?

Visit Hong Kong

Hong Kong Greeters offer private walking tours, groups tours, virtual tours and self-guided Hong Kong Quests. Please don’t hesitate to get in touch to see how we can help you enjoy our city.

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Why do people make Century Eggs?

The origins of the century egg are thought to date as far back as the Ming Dynasty.  Similar to jams and pickled foods, the Chinese started preserving eggs in times of plenty.  Legend has it that the first century eggs were created accidentally when somebody found that duck eggs had become preserved in residual slaked lime, left over from building their house.

How is a Century Egg made?

These eggs are specially preserved for around 40 days in a mixture of ash, clay and salt.  Over time, the egg white gelatinzes.  It becomes becomes dark brown/black in appearance.  When you slice it open, you will see yolks that are blue/green egg. A century egg may look a little off-putting, but we can assure you that’s not the case.  In fact, despite appearances, the end result is a delicious creamy egg, enjoy!  The ageing enhances and amps up the flavour.

Would you try a century egg?  Here is brave Will on one of our tour trying out the Chinese delicacy.

Join a Tour to try various Hong Kong Foods

We love introducing our guests to all manner of Hong Kong treats on our tours.  It’s almost impossible to walk past a Hong Kong bakery without cajoling you to try and crumbly egg tart, or sweet pineapple bun.  Street vendors often offer delicious egg waffles.  The numerous wet market display fresh juicy fruits and we love dim sum.  Please get in touch to find out more about our walking tours of Hong Kong.  If you’re vegetarian or vegan, don’t hesitate to enquire about our new Vegetarian and Cultural Group Tour.

#centuryegg #preservedegg #皮蛋

#hkfood #hkfoodie #foodhk

#nighttour#hongkong #hkgreeters

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Why do people like snake soup?

Snake soup is believed to have medicinal properties.  To this effect, people in China have been enjoying snake soup for some 2000 years.  The gall bladder in particular is supposed to be effective on coughs and aid virility.

Where can I try snake soup?

This is Chau Ka Ling, owner of the Shia Wong Hip (蛇王協) snake restaurant in ‪#‎shamshuipo‬. After a bowlful of warming ‪#‎snakesoup‬ she will happily let you hold the ‪#‎snakes‬. This is a ‪#‎kingcobra‬, one of 6 species of snake used in her delicious recipe. ‪#‎hongkong‬ ‪#‎privatetour‬ ‪#‎hkgreeters‬

If you want to try it for yourself, find it at 170 Apliu Street in Sham Shui Po, nearest MTR exit A2.

Even if you’re not sure about tasting snake soup, you can see live snakes in glass cases at the entrance to the small shop and see other diners enjoying their fare.

Facebook:@snakesoup

Sham Shui Po

There are various spots around Hong Kong where you can buy snake soup or even snake wine.  We like Sham Shui Po because it’s such a vibrant and interesting neigbourhood.  As well as snake soup, investigate the electronics shops on Apliu Street.  Wander around and you will see tiny barbershops, busy hole-in-the-wall laundries and plenty of wet market stalls selling fresh meat and vegetables.

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