COMING AND GOING

Before You Come Please make sure your travel documents and visas are in order. All visitors to Hong Kong and Mainland China must hold a valid passport. Residents of some countries require a visa to enter Hong Kong. This can be obtained through any Chinese Consulate. Anyone who is not a Chinese citizen will need a visa to travel to the Mainland. You are advised to buy your own travel insurance before you come. If you have special dietary requirements, please inform us by e-mail or fax.

Upon Arrival Upon arrival in Hong Kong you are advised to obtain HK$500 cash for initial expenses (US$l app. HK$7.75). Money can be exchanged at the minibank at the Hong Kong International Airport, Lo Wu or Kowloon railway station. You may also withdrawn Hong Kong dollars from ATMs.

Traveling, Eating and Shopping Hong Kong has an efficient public transportation system that includes buses, taxis, a railway (KCR) and an underground railway (MTR). For sight-seeing and shopping, the most convenient form of travel is the KCR (New Territories) and the MTR (Hong Kong Island and Kowloon). Both the KCR and the MTR have Kowloon Tong stations, which are within walking distance to the Baptist University. For those places not directly accessible by railway, it is suggested that you take a taxi to and from the nearest railway station.

We may have the highest number of restaurants per capita in the world. If you enjoy exploring, you will find Hong Kong offers all kinds of cuisine (Chinese, Japanese, Thai, Vietnamese, American, European, etc.) in all kinds of environments (from outdoor stalls to elegant restaurants). However, the correlation between the quality of food and the price is low.

Around the corner from the Conference Center is a student cafeteria serving inexpensive food. On Junction Road near the conference venue there is a Park'n Shop supermarket and several restaurants and several banks. Two nearby shopping centers are Lok Fu Shopping Centre (at Lok Fu MTR station) and Festival Walk (at Kowloon Tong MTR station). Lok Fu has a more local flavour while Festival Walk is more modern and more expensive. It is a 15-minute walk from the University to either of these shopping centres.

Tsim Sha Tsui and Causeway Bay are two large shopping areas in Hong Kong. The Hong Kong Tourist Association also provides information at the airport and at either terminus of the Star Ferry on where to shop. You can exchange foreign currency into local currency at money changers, or banks (usually the best rate). Almost everywhere in Hong Kong there are automatic teller machines that dispense local currency to holders of major credit cards.

Climate Hong Kong's climate is sub-tropical, tending towards temperate for nearly half the year. Air-conditioning is very popular in Hong Kong. Thus, we recommend you to bring a sweater or jacket with you. The table below shows some useful meteorological normals and extremes for Hong Kong's June in 2003.

Rainfall:	Total 523.5mm
Temperature:	Mean 27.7oC, Max 33.3oC, Min 24.8oC
Relative humidity:	Mean 81%

If Departing by Air Please remember to reconfirm your return flight soon after arrival. Also put aside the HK$80 per person departure tax that will be required when you leave Hong Kong by air.

Remark: Taxis charge passengers for all tunnel tolls plus HK$5 for handling each piece of luggage.