Kung Hei Fat Choi! Join us for the biggest Hong Kong celebration of the year with the best seats in town! Board our 80ft yacht, enjoy the open-bar hospitality, dinner buffet, the fantastic night view and the magnificent Chinese New Years firework show.
Author: greetings
Tea tasting in Hong Kong
Tea tasting is a must do if you’re visiting Hong Kong.
We had a new addition to the small public group tour last week, Aneurin offered us some free teas at his house! Here we are having a try brewing and mashing the Matcha and enjoying the delicate and subtle flavours of puerrh, oolong with rose and Japanese green tea.
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Small group tours run most Saturdays and cost HK $475 per person. If you would like to join too, please email info@hkgreeters.com or complete a booking form.
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We also herbal tea tasting in Sheung Wan with a herbal tea specialist. Ally was very keen to cure his hangover, Gemma wasn’t sold on the taste!
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How to learn more about Tea in Hong Kong
There is a long history of tea in China.
Museum of Teaware
If you’re visiting Hong Kong, the Museum of Teaware in Hong Kong Park is free to enter and there is a near by tea house.
Tea Ceremony
In Ngong Ping village on Lantau Island, close to the Big Buddha, there are sporadic free tea ceremony demonstrations.
Marriage proposal at The Matchmaking God
Where better for a marriage proposal than in the presence of the Matchmaking god?
Our hugest, heartfelt congratulations to Durand and Madeline who were engaged at the God of Marriages, Yue Lao, on our tour today in Repulse Bay.
Who is the Matchmaking God?
Yue Lao is the matchmaking god also known as the Old Man under the Moon. The legend tells that the love of your life is decided from birth and that you are attached to one another by an invisible red string. Traditionally, couples following the Taoist belief, visit Yue Lao to bless their union, or their current relationship. He is holding the ‘Book of Marriages’ which identifies those that have been universally linked together. Some people leave red strings at his statue to represent these ties.
Durand left the ring box on the step – so this is a new Western tradition to continually bless the marriage!
#HongKongGreeter #iloveHk #RepulseBay #YueLao
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Replace Your Husband in Tai O
On a recent trip to Tai O on Lantau Island, we were delighted to uncover replacement husbands for sale at a bargain price of HK $25 only!! We’re kidding. No husbands are for sale and however much they annoy us, most of us wouldn’t replace them. In actual fact, what they are selling is a shrimp and pork pancake. The pancakes are fried over a coal barbeque and well worth the money if ever you make a visit. Below is a clip of the locally prepared gai dahn zhai (鷄蛋仔) or little chicken egg waffles cooked in the same way.
What and where is Tai O?
Tai O is just a ten minute bus ride away from the Big Buddha and Po Lin Monastery on Lantau Island. Some 50 years ago it was a thriving village, through fishing, agriculture and merchant industries. It is notable for its unique stilt houses dotted around the coastline. These stilt home were a product of the Tanka people not being allowed to build on land. It is the only remaining stilt village in Hong Kong. However, with constant modernisation, nobody’s sure how long it retain its charm, so now is the time to visit.
Nowadays, Tai O is famous for its dried fish products, dragon boat water parade in June, mangrove forest and access to the Chinese white dolphin. However, please note that we would recommend a tour with the Hong Kong DolphinWatch for the best experience.
Additionally, Tai O village offers a boutique heritage hotel. With only 9 rooms in this former village police station and a pleasant restaurant, you’ll find it’s a lovely place to stay. Especially as it is renown for the spectacular sunset. Located on the most westerly point of Hong Kong, Tai O is definitely worth the detour!
#TaiO #鷄蛋仔 #iloveHK #HongKongGreeter
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Inquire about the various tours we offer at Hong Kong Greeters. Our Lantau Island day trip including a trip to Tai O is highly popular.
Tripadvisor Certificate of Excellence 2015
I am very proud to announce that Hong Kong Greeters have received the Tripadvisor Certificate of Excellence award 2015. Thank you to all visitors past and present who toured with us and took the time to complete a review. Being a small business it is fantastic to get this endorsement from our customers, and to learn and grow with every tour we do.
We will endeavour to continue to keep up the good work, and could not possibly do that without all of your help! Thank you, dor je, and a big massive mm goy from one of the best places in the world, Hong Kong xx
#Tripadvisor #CertificateofExcellence
HK Greeters play Hong Kong Beach 5’s
Hong Kong Beach 5’s has been an annual event since 2011. Every year it gets bigger and better. Held in Repulse Bay, teams of 5 compete at various sports including rugby, football, dodge ball, netball and volleyball. It’s not as famous as the Hong Kong rugby sevens or the Dragon Boat racing that takes place in June, but it’s growing in popularity. Not only that, it’s the largest beach sport’s festival in Asia.
Hong Kong Greeters gets Sporty at the Hong Kong Beach 5’s
As a locally based company, we love being involved in local events. This year we entered our very own netball team into the competition. Here they are – the gorgeous Hong Kong Beach 5 Netball team representing Hong Kong Greeters. Their kit is rather dashing don’t you think?
Well done to our team who thrashed in out in 29 degree heat and the toughest netball terrain! #HKBeach5s
They were also featured twice in the Southside Magazine… Go Girls!
You can read a little more about a tour we ran in Repulse Bay, (where the Hong Kong Beach 5’s are held), here.
Other Hong Kong Sporting Events
The Hong Kong Rugby Sevens
Established in 1976, this growing event has evolved into possibly the biggest party in town. The games are fast and furious, the crowd is international, ebullient and often in fancy dress. Keep an eye on the Hong Kong Sevens website to find out upcoming dates and make sure you don’t miss this fabulous Hong Kong sporting event.
Dragon Boat Racing
There is both a Dragon Boat Festival and a Dragon Boat Carnival. The Festival is a one day event and there will be various races held around the city. Stanley, Sai Kung, Sha Tin and Tai O all have their own races. The Dragon Boat carnival is a larger event held in Victoria Harbour. It lasts three whole days. Three days of colourful competition set to the beat of a drum.
Voted one of Hong Kong’s best Tour Guides!
Yes, we have been voted one of Hong Kong’s best tour guides! Hong Kong Greeters has been chosen by Hong Kong Hub as one of the best. Thanks so much Mawgan and Lindsey, to say that we are chuffed to bits is an understatement!
Hong Kong Hub
After all, Hong Kong Hub is a well regarded website. Written in English, it’s a great place to go to find out what’s happening in Hong Kong. They list many of the best things to see, do, eat and buy in this vibrant city.
The HK Hub
Have you got guests coming to town? Or do you just fancy getting out and exploring more of what Hong Kong has to offer? Here’s HK Hub’s guide to the Hong Kong’s best tour guides who will show you the hidden gems of this wonderful city!
Hong Kong Greeters, possibly one of Hong Kong’s Best Tour Guides
We offer a wide range of tours to suit your time frame. Our private walking tours are a fantastic way to get up close and personal with the city. However, if you’re short on time or have accessibility issues, we also offer private car tours. Our tours are customised and we can often combine popular Hong Kong sights with some of the lesser known and quirkier pockets of the city. Alternatively, pop over to neighbouring Macau for one of our tours. This former Portuguese colony has a completely different vibe to Hong Kong and is worth exploring in its own right.
Chinese New Year Firework cruise
Book here for Chinese New Year, 29th January 2017 – the Year of the Rooster
Thank you to all our valued guests who joined us for this wonderful evening of fun, food and music. We had a blast!
On the menu we had a full Chinese buffet, including a whole roasted pig (see picture above), Year of the Sheep inspired cake-pops and free-flow hospitality. The captain of our luxury yacht also managed to get us a ring-side spot for the astounding 24 minute firework display – the best display of the year and certainly the best position for the evening given the low cloud.
If you would like to join for the cruise next year, please email info@hkgreeters.com or book here #CNY2017. We look forward to welcoming you on board!
ExpatLiving Magazine Talks to Hong Kong Greeters in Tai Wai
Back in September 2014, Expat Living Magazine invited me to participate in their Street Talk article.
I Love Tai Wai
I jumped at the chance, because I love where I live, Tai Wai. In fact, I also love to tell people about it too!
My love affair with Tai Wai began very early on when I first arrived in Hong Kong in 2010. A new friend invited me to cycle from Tai Wai (where she lived) out to Tai Po. I used to volunteer for Sustrans as a cycle ranger in the UK and thought there was not going to be an opportunity to get the miles in cycling in Hong Kong. Also, I have to confess I was way too scared to cycle on the roads! She convinced me there was a cycling wonderland in the New Territories. A wonderland where you never even got a sniff of the main road and the route was immaculately managed. I had to see if it truly existed….
It was fantastic, we cycled along the Shing Mun river and followed the paths all the way up to Fanling. When we were done we got the train back home. Since then I have discovered more routes, hidden villages, abandoned villages, temples at the top of very steep hills, BBQ pits, farms and museums! Here is a link to that first route of mine – I hope you get an opportunity to go!
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It turns out there are a few options when it comes to cycling in Hong Kong. Find out more here.
A Quick Round-up of Tai Wai’s Highlights
Tai Wai is quieter than living on the Island or in Kowloon and the air is cleaner. It’s a more traditional area and also boasts one of the most intact Hakka villages remaining in Hong Kong. We’re also close to the Heritage Museum and all the shopping malls of Kowloon Tong and Shatin are only a stop away on the MTR. There’s a fabulous water park close to the MTR which is great with kids. Tai Wai MTR is an interchange station offering access to both the East Rail and Ma On Shan line meaning we’re well connected with the rest of the city.