Tokyo, Seoul, Hong Kong, or Singapore?

[shoma444]

Originally Posted by yondaimetobi

Hong Kong of course. Attractions, shopping, food, transport all excellent

well hk does have nice shops but if u want shopping, good food (all kinds, international foods i mean) tokyo definitely beats hong kong... i got a friend in hk that visits tokyo every year to go shopping and airs better in tokyo... singapores nice too, i guess. ill go with tokyo then hk, singapore then seoul..

[DawnW]

I have been to all of the cities you have listed except Seoul.

I pick Singapore. I loved it there. It is also the place I have spent the most time of the 3 cities I have been to. I stayed for over 4 months one year. I would have stayed longer, but at the time I was a senior in college and my dad said if I didn't get my butt back to college his funding was drying up!!! So, I went back and finished college. HA!

Dawn

[DawnW]

I see this is an older thread....

You make some great points.

I have taken the train up to China and back from Hong Kong very easily. There is also a Disney in Hong Kong and in Tokyo!

Dawn

Originally Posted by JMT

Hong Kong, hands down.

I agree with the earlier posts about Singapore. Way too much of a police state. Sure, it's clean, but at what price? It's like what Disneyland would be like if it were run by Hitler.

I love Tokyo, too. But Hong Kong is just so amazing. Unlike the other cities, you can go from "downtown" Hong Kong (Central) to mountains and beaches within minutes. Sure, Hong Kong is crowded, but you're never very far away from remote islands and country parks. And getting around Hong Kong is not only cheap, but FUN. Subways, light rail, trains, ferries, double decker trams, a funicular, cable cars, double decker buses, taxis, and even the world's longest stretch of outdoor escalators.

[shoma444]

Originally Posted by yondaimetobi

Hong Kong of course. Attractions, shopping, food, transport all excellent

Tokyo has better shopping, food, attractions and transport. it's just more expensive. Hong kong has good chinese food though (of course)

if you like gambling go to macao island in hong kong, u cant gamble in tokyo

[doggy5]

It depends what you're looking for. Food wise, Singapore offers you the best diversity, but Hong Kong and Tokyo are better in terms of quality. That being said, the quality of food in Singapore is still pretty good by most standards, and if you want to try Malay and Indian food, Singapore is definitely better than Hong Kong and Tokyo. I've been to Seoul on a package tour, and the ginseng chicken soup (samgyetang) was pretty good, but I didn't manage to wander around on my own so I can't comment on the overall quality of the food. In any case, I speak some Cantonese and Japanese, but I don't speak Korean at all, so my opinion may be a little biased.

Shopping wise, it would be Tokyo, Hong Kong, Seoul then Singapore if you're looking for clothing, though Hong Kong and Seoul would swap places if you're looking for cosmetics. For pop culture, Singapore loses hands down to the other 3. The same goes for vibrancy, and anyway, Singapore's most vibrant areas are probably Geylang and Little India, which are outside the city centre and not frequented by foreigners, so you will likely stand out. However, racism is less of a problem in Singapore than in the other 3 cities, as the government has actively promoted racial tolerance.

Language wise, Singapore would probably be advantageous since most people, except the elderly, speak enough English to communicate, though you may have some problems understanding the local creole known as "Singlish", as it incorporates words from various other languages, most notably Hokkien, Malay and Cantonese, and a little from Teochew, Tamil and other languages. English has been the medium of instruction in Singapore schools since the 1980's so all younger people would have at least reasonable fluency in English, and most people would try to speak standard English when conversing with foreigners. In Hong Kong, most professionals and businessmen would be fluent in English, and most service staff like shopkeepers, taxi drivers and waiters would know some basic English. However, don't expect your average person on the street to be fluent in English, though if it's just simple stuff like asking for directions or enquiring prices, you should be ok unless the person is elderly. In Tokyo and Seoul, English speakers are not common. If you need help from an English speaker, try writing down your request in simple English and show it to college or high school students, and they may be able to help you out.

[OyCrumbler]

I've only been to Hong Kong and Tokyo thus far, and I'm tipping my vote towards Tokyo just because everything was so damn curious to me.

Also, I'd like to throw Taipei into this poll as another vibrant and dense city. The food there is amazing, places are accessible (great public transportation and incredibly cheap taxis), the people are absurdly nice for the most part, and bing lang is fantastic fun.

[miguel's mom]

I've only been to HongKong and Singaport.

Singapore was nice but not very exciting, very clean and safe. Have seen it, but wouldn't want to go there again b/c there are still so many places to see.

HongKong?!?! Amazing, breathtaking, crazy, wild, dazzling. A great city. Would love to go there again!

I would like to see Tokyo and some other places in Japan but it seems out of reach at the moment. I'm rather likely to visit the US before I see any Asian country again.

As for living - I'm really content with Germany. I even wouldn't want to live in a different country in Europe. I guess I would miss the food and just my life style itself. It's so different in different countries.

[doggy5]

Originally Posted by OyCrumbler

I've only been to Hong Kong and Tokyo thus far, and I'm tipping my vote towards Tokyo just because everything was so damn curious to me.

Also, I'd like to throw Taipei into this poll as another vibrant and dense city. The food there is amazing, places are accessible (great public transportation and incredibly cheap taxis), the people are absurdly nice for the most part, and bing lang is fantastic fun.

Definitely Taipei should be considered. But compared to Hong Kong, there is a relative lack of English speakers in Taipei, though if you try approaching college or high school students, you'll probably get around fine. If you want to learn Mandarin though, Taipei is a good place, though they tend to mix in some Minnan(Hokkien) every now and then. Hong Kong is definitely NOT a place to learn Mandarin; most locals there aren't fluent in it, and they probably speak English better than they speak Mandarin.

[JL]

When i was young, i lived in Taipei/Saigon and had visited/lived months at a time in Seoul, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Singapore, but really don't remember much as my family emigrated to the states soon afterwards. I am planning to take a vacation to all of these cities soon though ! Taipei was great! I have fond memories of Yamingshan. I even got to meet Chiang Kai-Shek though i was too young to really know any better..lol