Singapore or Hong Kong?
The practical differences, drawn from our own write-ups rather than from a brochure. We are not going to tell you which is better - they are different trips. What follows is what actually changes between them.
Places written up here 20 11
UNESCO listings among them 1 0
Cost level Very high High
Busiest month in our write-ups January October
Currency Singapore dollar (SGD) Hong Kong dollar (HKD)
Plugs and voltage G - 230 V G - 220 V
Everyday languages English, Malay, Mandarin, Tamil Cantonese, English
Driving side left hand side left hand side
Region South-Eastern Asia Eastern Asia
Capital Singapore City of Victoria
Singapore
Four cultures in efficient harmony; rules are posted, enforced and genuinely followed.
What we have written up
- Chinatown, Little India and Kampong Glam old town
- Fort Canning Park fortress
- Gardens by the Bay botanical garden
- Haw Par Villa open-air museum
- MacRitchie and the TreeTop Walk trail
- Marina Bay and the Skyline monument
Worth knowing before you go
- Tipping is not expected - a service charge is included
- Cards and phone payments work everywhere; hawkers increasingly too
- Tap water is safe
Hong Kong
Vertical, fast and dim-sum devoted; efficiency is the courtesy.
What we have written up
- Dim Sum and Cantonese Cuisine dish
- Dragon's Back Trail trail
- Man Mo Temple monument
- Ngong Ping Cable Car cable car
- Ocean Park theme park
- Sai Kung and the Geopark national park
Worth knowing before you go
- A 10% service charge is standard; leave small change beyond it at most
- Cards and Octopus cover nearly all payments
- The MTR is world-class - stations anchor every neighbourhood
Counts describe this site, not the countries: "places written up here" means how many pages we have finished, and it keeps growing. Currency, plugs and languages are practical facts and change rarely; check anything visa-related with the relevant official source before you book.