Late in 2009 I did a post on the cultural melting pot that is Chungking Mansion.

Located on Nathan Road (opposite the new iSquare Mall) Chungking Mansions is easily the cheapest place to stay in Hong Kong.

However, until recently, it was probably also the ugliest, dirtiest building in Kowloon.  I say ‘Kowloon’ because I’ve seen some UGLY structures in the older part of Kowloon Bay.

A couple of days ago I noticed that the outside of the building is covered in the green netting used when construction takes place.  In fact, while traveling to the Hong Kong Stadium for the Sevens, I saw some Chinese workers starting to off-load truckloads of bamboo in Nathan Road.

I made this clip to show you:

CWB is the abbreviation for Causeway Bay. The busy shopping and eating district is, of course, also home to the Hong Kong Stadium; home the Cathay Pacific/Credit Suisse Hong Kong Sevens.

Those of you who choose to stay as close as possible to the Hong Kong Stadium, here are several options within walking distance. In fact, most hotels are virtually equidistant between the Hong Kong Stadium in So Kon Po and the party district of Wan Chai. On the Hong Kong Island MTR-line, Causeway Bay is right next to Wan Chai.

(Click on the MTR map for a larger view)

Here are some hotel options in the Causeway Bay district:

MetroPark Hotel (here)

Excelsior Hotel (by Mandarin Oriental) (here)

Regal Hotel (here)

Very popular option with Sevens tourists as the Hotel is about 10 minutes away on foot.

Park Lane Hotel (here)

The Park Lane is situated right in the busy Causeway Bay shopping district with some great restaurants meters away. Depending on the room, you can have a great view of Victoria Harbour and the next-door Victoria park.

Holiday In Express (here)

Charter House Hotel (here)

Again, visit this page often as I will be updating the information in the next few days.

Here’s a static Google Map of the Causeway Bay area, click here for an online/interactive version

Below is the great view you could get from the Park Lane Hotel. You can even see my apartment across the Harbour!

I have received many requests from abroad about where to stay for the Cathay Pacific/Credit Suisse Hong Kong Sevens, so here is Part 1 (TST).

Please visit this page regularly as I will be updating the information in the coming days.

In a nutshell, you can choose between 2 areas: Hong Kong Island, where the Hong Kong Stadium is situated, or Tsim Sha Tsui also called TST (Kowloon-side) where accommodation is generally cheaper.

If you choose the latter, traveling to Hong Kong Island for the Sevens (or Wan Chai and Lan Kwai Fong for the parties!) is easy and only about 5-10 minutes away by MTR (underground rail system).  If you have time on your hands, a Star Ferry-trip across Victoria Harbour is a great choice; in fact it’s a must-see.

Here is a map of Tsim Sha Tsui:

The 24 teams stay in the official hotel, The Marco Polo Hong Kong Hotel in the bottom, left-hand corner of the map.

Some of the hotel choices in TST include:

Holiday Inn Hong Kong (here)

Inter-Continental Hotel (here)

Hong Kong Hyatt Regency Hotel (here)

Kimberley Hotel (here)

Kowloon Shangri-La Hong Kong (here)

Marco Polo Gateway Hotel (here)

Marco Polo Hong Kong Hotel (here)

Marco Polo Prince Hong Kong (here)

New World Renaissance (here)

Park Hotel Hong Kong (here)

Peninsula Hotel Hong Kong (here)

Royal Pacific Hotel Hong Kong (here)

Sheraton Hong Kong Hotel (here)

The luxurious Peninsula Hotel is situated about 5 minutes from where the players stay for the Sevens.

Jenny Morris, or the Giggling Gourmet as she is known as back home, is one of South Africa’s most-loved food personalities.  An author, magazine writer, radio and TV presenter, celebrity chef, teacher, caterer and culinary tour guide, Jenny has had an ongoing love affair with food since she was a child.

When she dons her hat as culinary tour guide, Jenny leads groups of fellow foodies on tours around the world to discover some of the sights, sounds and tastes that others only see on telly.  The busy chef is currently planning one such tour to China and she and her band of merry foodies will make a stop-over right here in Hong Kong.

Jenny Morris will lead a culinary tour to China in early 2011 (Pic: www.jennymorris.co.za)

To give her and her group a glimpse of the culinary scene on this side of the noodle-gordyn, we’ve scoured the web and found this short but informative clip on YouTube.  My apartment is but 5 minutes from the Hong Kong Intercontinental where you can find some of the world’s best restaurants… all in one building nogal.  The world-renowned hotel is home to SPOON by Alain Ducasse, NOBU InterContinental Hong Kong as well as the Michellin starred Yan Toh Heen.

World-renowned Nobu Matsuhisa has a restaurant at the Hong Kong Intercontinental

Click here to have Louis Baleros, Chef Concierge at the Intercontinental show you around Hong Kong (YouTube clip) and stay tuned to Howzit-HongKong.com for more on this topic.

While I was living in Taiwan, a colleague used to tell stories of his days spent in Chungking Mansions.  He was travelling on a “backpackers budget” and Chungking was the only the place he could afford.   In a city where space for accommodation (both for locals and tourists) come at a premium, Chungking Mansions is universally known as probably the cheapest place to live in Hong Kong.

Wikipedia describes it as: “a labyrinth of guesthouses, curry restaurants, African bistros, clothing shops, sari stores, and foreign exchange offices. It often acts as a large gathering place for some of the ethnic minorities in Hong Kong, particularly South Asians (Indians, Nepalese, Pakistanis, Bangladeshis and Sri Lankans), Middle Eastern people, Nigerians, Europeans, Americans, and many other peoples of the world.”

I have not stayed at Chungking Mansion, but must admit that I do like to go there to buy some otherwise hard-to-get South Asian spices, fresh vegetables and other products.  When I do venture out there, I’m always amazed at the long lines that form at the elevators.  Bear in mind that air conditioning on the ground floor is virtually non-existant and in the height of summer this place could be unbearable.  “Melting pot” then takes on a whole different smell!  However, the queues that form also tells me that the place is also very popular, especially with budget-conscious travellers. 

My visits to Chungking Mansions have also be limited to the ground floor mall, so I cannot tell you what it looks like upstairs.  However, while research Chungking on the internet, I came across this informative video (posted 2 years ago):

Stay tuned for a first-hand account, right here on Howzit-HongKong.