Hello,

I am wanting to go punting in Hong Kong this year for about 1 week or 13 days.  There are a couple of things that's been hampering me.  But let me describe my situation.  

I'm from the States, & I will be staying w/ my relatives in Lam Tin/Kwun Tong area.  It's been 5 years since I've been to Hong Kong, but can still get around via MTR.  I cannot speak/read Chinese(Mando/Cantonese) too well, but can read/speak English. I can pass off as a local.  I have fair complexion and was approached by others to buy a 'flag'. lol

For the most part, I'll be alone, unless on the weekend.

The most challenging thing for me is for me to cover my tracks. I basically want to go punt during the day on my personal time.  I will probably bring my laptop w/ me so I can browse, but I hope my relatives have internet!  (Will confirm w/ them).  They are rarely home, so they don't' have net at home.

Questions:
**Now in regards to getting a punting phone & service, can I get this done at Fortress?  I speak English, so would it be okay for me to approach a sales person that way?  Will it be enough time to get activated for the week?  Don't want to sign any contract.  I know the thing about IDs, so I'll have my US drivers license.

**Getting around is going to be challenging, as well as communicating w/ the agent since I am new.  Will they be able to converse well in English? I am interested in younger girls, the petite type.  I'm not familiar w/ the buildings or hotels.  What if I wanted a girl in Tsuen Wan, and had no clue of where the walk up is?  I think by appointment girls are more to my liking?

Please advise.
Thank you.

[ Last edited by  Bottom at 3-1-2012 03:42 ]

You sound like a young guy.  Chill!  You have a whole lifetime to punt, and you won't get it
exactly perfect the first few times.

1. Regarding phone.  Do you have an unlocked GSM phone?  If so, all you need is a SIM card worth 60 HKD at any 7-11.  If not, you can get one on ebay for like $15.  Otherwise you'll need to buy a throwaway phone at any of the countless phone shops in Hong Kong.  Can't imagine it being more than 200HKD, but other bro's can chime in.  Everyone manning those phone shops speak basic English.

2. Most hotel girl dispatchers (agents, papasans, etc.) speak basic English.  But as this is your first time, I think you should try walk-ups -- these are entire buildings where you go from floor to floor knocking on each door, and if you don't like, you smile and move on, if you do, you smile and walk in.  Check out the sticky posts in the "141 walk-up" forum for maps to the big ones.

If you have an android phone, download Pdanet, which will allow you to tether your laptop to your phone for internet access.

The People's card had the best value for internet, although not 3G it was pretty snappy and was unlimited.  When I was at the airport I tried to buy a SIM at the airport 7-11 but they were sold out of People's.  They wanted to sell me something else but I held out and bought one at a city 7-11

While you are busy downloading stuff for your phone, be sure to grab Google Translate, HK Public Transport, and Audio Manager (for hiding all those pics that you are going to be sharing with us)

i'll be goin to hk/china next year too so in a similar situation as bottom.  do those people cards work in china too? or do i need to buy another one in china?

They do, but then you have an HK number.  It is possible to get a dual number SIM - a simple google search should reveal your options, but for me, the best bet ended up buying a China Mobile SIM as soon as I crossed the border.  Same with Macau - you are always cheaper getting a local SIM rather than roaming.

China Mobile has good prices for international calling, but I was puzzled for a while as no calls were going through.  I went back to the China Mobile shop - turns out international calling has to be 'activated'.  They will also sell you RMB100 refill cards which you just apply as needed.  I found that all of the China Mobile stores in touristy areas had English speaking staff, so it wasn't much of an issue at all.

Similar experience with the People's card in Hong Kong.  Although I bought the SIM at a 7-11, I was unable to get the internet working. A quick stop off at a dedicated People's store had me set up pretty quickly.

...I'll go collect my commission from China Mobile now...

I suggest you hang out at the bars in Wan Chai to start it off.
There are lots of foreigners there and many filipinas who can speak very good english.
From there you'll be able get urself into the groove before you start trying out those walk ups and hotel walk ins.

replies have pretty much covered it ...

except that it's dead easy to find an address in Hong Kong:  most profiles already have a direct link to Google Maps, just print off the page you need and take it with you.  

My suggestion would be to start with a 141 walkup - no agents, you pick your timing, easy to find and get to.  
Lots to choose from in Kwun Tong (if you're brave) or cross over to SKW if you want to be further from home.  
Or find a good reason to be in TST (should be easy enough) and you're literally spoiled for choice.  

But the best advice is to start the way you feel most comfortable.  

For a younger good-looking guy, bars would be a breeze - the girls will be only too happy to show you around, if you're paying.

I have looked around the DB, and the 141 walk ups do help a lot, but I am wanting to try appointment booking and this is where I'm afraid of the dialogue.  I would prefer hotel walk in, because I get to browse to my likings.

So does, 12-3, really mean the girl is only avail during noon till 3?  Right now, TST has a couple of good selections, but still concerned bout finding it.  Yes, I've found the FAQ to be helpful, such as denying the girl if I don't like and what not.

Still, net all, I'm only there for a few days, so I'm trying my best.  TST and CWB seem to be more pricier but better.  I hope it's true.  Still, what worries me is direction and the actual booking process.  I would say, booking 30min to suffice?

Thanks.

[ Last edited by  Bottom at 4-1-2012 10:46 ]

I have an unlocked  samsung galaxy s2.  The network specs show Quad band GSM 850/900/1800/1900.

I prefer to just get a sim and make it painless.  I'm not sure about bringing over my laptop..

I'm sure the place you'll be staying has FREE WIFI and with ur handy Galaxy S2, you can already browse the internet so no need to bring along a laptop.

Yes I have the Samsung Vibrant which is pretty much the same phone.  Some people buy cheap throwaway phones because you seem to lose so much more stuff when on vacation than not, but I went for convenience and took a chance on it not fleeing.

Having a nice netbook or tablet would be great for db searching on the run - I find even the Galaxy's 4" screen to be a little small when surfing.

Another thing that surprised me was the speed of the internet on a laptop.  The length of time it takes to load up a page on the Galaxy is not the internet connection - it must be the browser.  When I hooked the phone up to the laptop it was almost like being on broadband.

thanks prob only gonna do a quick 2 day cp trip so as long as the hk card works i'll prob not bother getting another card in china.  (assuming the roaming charges arent ridicolous and say, can only make like a couple of calls on  a 100 card.

actually unless you know the agents well, they will not let you "browse to our liking"... you choose a girl from the DB, call the agent, agent tells you where to go and when the door opens, most of the time, its just 1 girl there (unless they're short of rooms)

141 walk ups, however, allow you to knock, look and if necessary, politely decline.

I'm staying w/ my relatives and don't think they have internet at home.  I was thinking about buying one of those pre-paid sim cards, but I was hoping someone could confirm here on that, given my circumstances.  Here in the States, I have always used the 'network' / 'data' key, and rarely even attempted to tap the 'free' spots, so I'm unfamiliar. I keep getting paranoid of someone being able to hack around the 'free' spots.

If thats the case then you have to search for FREE WIFI connections from nearby establishments like McDonalds, etc.

Sorry, what I meant was that I would prefer 141 DB because that allows me to browse a girl, as opposed to just randomly 'ringing bells'.  My plan is to concentrate on the hotels near an area, like Tsim Tsa Tsui and just punt that region.  

Or does anyone have a suggestion in terms of a region that's closer to the MTR?  Anybody can chime in on this, particularly the booking process as well as girl availability?  

More so, any 'reputable' members can do a meet up?


Seems like a couple of hotels are within walking distance.

Thanks.
I'm so excited..

TST has many MTR exits and actually its better if you just cross from streets to streets for shorter length.
I felt a bit more tiring when i walk underground the MTR passages.

What do you mean? I only know English and it's been 5+ years since I've been there.  

My biggest worry is booking process.  I can speak very broken Cantonese, b

How come some girls availability is so short, from 12-2?  That means, only 2 customers per day for her?

its usually 12pm - 2am so 14hrs in the waiting for customers to visit her everyday.
for Hotel walk ins you talked with their agents and some do speak and understand english.
for Walk ups, you just knock at their doors and check them out when they open their doors.
enter if you like them, politely decline and walk away if you dont.

I started to punt in HK at a young age.

I found it easy as i can speak cantonese fairly well, what i did on my first year in hk looking for a punt was buying those PCCW wifi cards from the convenient stores. Its like a prepaid card where you can access the PCCW network (internet). Theyre fairly cheap and i used one last time i was in hk ( a week ago)

and these wifi hotspots for PCCW are in EVERY Mtr station even in lam tin station.



it all comes with experience dude.