Staying Connected

Telephones

To call Hong Kong: The international country code for Hong Kong is 852. Therefore, to call Hong Kong:

1. Dial the international access code: 011 from the U.S.; 00 from the U.K., Ireland, or New Zealand; or 0011 from Australia.

2. Dial the country code: 852.

3. Then dial the number (there is no city code for Hong Kong). So the whole number you'd dial would be 011-852-0000-0000.

Domestic calls: In Hong Kong, local calls made from homes, offices, shops, restaurants, and some hotel lobbies are free, so don't feel shy about asking to use the phone. Otherwise, local calls from public phones, which accept HK$1, HK$2, HK$5, and HK$10 coins, cost HK$1 (US13¢/7p) for each 5 minutes; from hotel rooms, about HK$4 to HK$5 (US50¢-US65¢/25p-32p).

To make international calls: To make international calls from Hong Kong, first dial tel. 001 (or 0080 or 009, depending on which competing telephone services you wish to use) and then the country code (U.S. or Canada 1, U.K. 44, Ireland 353, Australia 61, New Zealand 64). Next dial the area code and number.

For directory assistance in English: Dial tel. 1081 if you're looking for a number inside Hong Kong; tel. 10013 for numbers to all other countries.

For collect calls: To make a collect call from any public or private phone in Hong Kong, dial tel. 10010.

Toll-free numbers: Numbers beginning with 800 within Hong Kong are toll-free. However, calling a toll-free number in a foreign country from Hong Kong is not free but rather costs the same as an overseas call.

Most hotels in Hong Kong offer direct dialing. Otherwise, long-distance calls can be made from specially marked International Dialing Direct (IDD) public phones. The most convenient method of making international calls is to use an Octopus card. Alternatively, a PCCW Hello PhoneCard, which comes in denominations ranging from HK$50 to HK$500 (US$6.50-US$65/£3.25-£32), is available at PCCW shops, 7-Eleven and Circle K convenience stores, machines located beside telephones, and other locations around Hong Kong. To use it, you have to key in an access number and then the PhoneCard number. You can also charge your telephone call to a major credit card by using one of about 100 credit card phones in major shopping locations.

Cellphones

The three letters that define much of the world's wireless capabilities are GSM (Global System for Mobiles), a big, seamless network that makes for easy cross-border cellphone use throughout Europe and dozens of other countries worldwide. In the U.S., T-Mobile, AT&T Wireless, and Cingular use this quasi-universal system; in Canada, Microcell and some Rogers customers are GSM, and all Europeans and most Australians use GSM.

Using your own mobile phone in Hong Kong is easy, as most of the telephone systems used around the world (such as GSM 900, PCS 1800, and CDMA) are operational in Hong Kong. If your cellphone is on a GSM system, and you have a world-capable multiband phone, you can make and receive calls in Hong Kong. Mobile operators in Hong Kong have roaming agreements with most overseas operators, enabling visitors to use their own phones in Hong Kong. Just call your wireless operator and ask for "international roaming" to be activated on your account. Unfortunately, per-minute charges can be high, so be sure to ask about pricing before you leave.

It is more economical to buy a removable computer memory phone chip (called a SIM card), which allows you to make calls at local rates. Cheap, pre-paid SIM cards are sold at retailers throughout Hong Kong. CSL is a well-known local company that offers a variety of phone services, including a pre-paid SIM card (tel. 852/275 10000; http://prepaid.hkcsl.com) that costs as low as HK$88 (US$11/£5.50), with local calls costing HK9¢ (US1¢/5p) a minute and international calls to 30 destinations (including the U.S., Canada, U.K., Australia, and New Zealand) costing HK16¢ (US2¢/1p) a minute. It's sold at 1010 Centres throughout Hong Kong, including Century Square, 1-13 D'Aguilar St., Central (tel. 852/2918 1010), and Hong Kong Centre, 122-126 Canton Rd., Tsim Sha Tsui (tel. 852/2910 1010), as well as 7-Eleven convenience stores.

Alternatively, if your phone allows, upon arrival in Hong Kong you can also select the CSL network manually from your handset menu, which will be displayed as HKCSL, CSL, or C&W HKT depending on your handset model. From there you can follow instructions for connection.

Renting a mobile phone is also an option. Most upper- and medium-range hotels offer rental phones at their business centers, though it's an expensive convenience (the more expensive the hotel, the more expensive the rental). A better option is to rent from a local company. CSL (tel. 852/2883 3938; http://roam.hkcsl.com/eng/rent/rent.htm) offers phones for HK$35 (US$4.55/£2.30) a day, plus a refundable deposit of HK$200 to HK$500 (US$26-US$65/£13-£32), depending on the model. In addition, you must still buy a SIM card as outlined above.

Voice-Over Internet Protocol (VOIP)

If you have access to the Web while traveling, consider a broadband-based telephone service (in technical terms, Voice-over Internet protocol, or VoIP) such as Skype (www.skype.com) or Vonage (www.vonage.com), which allows you to make free international calls from your laptop or in a cybercafe. Neither service requires the people you're calling to also have that service (though there are fees if they do not). Check the websites for details.

Internet & E-Mail

Without Your Own Computer -- Most hotels have business centers with computers for Internet access, but they can be expensive (some, however, are available free for hotel guests). Otherwise, cybercafes are growing in number, though they are still few and far between. In addition to the suggestions below, check www.cybercaptive.com and www.cybercafe.com. The Hong Kong Tourist Board may also have some suggestions for cybercafes.

The Hong Kong Central Library, 66 Causeway Rd., Causeway Bay (tel. 852/3150 1234), offers free Internet access from its computers for a maximum of 2 hours. You'll find them on the ground floor, to the left. To avoid having to wait, you can make a reservation at tel. 852/2921 0348.

More convenient, perhaps, is Cyber Pro Internet Cafe, located in the Star House across from the Tsim Sha Tsui ferry terminal, next to McDonald's (no phone). Open daily from 10am to 2am, it requires a HK$40 (US$5.20/£2.60) deposit, plus a minimum charge of HK$20 (US$2.60/£1.30) for 1 hour. Four hours cost HK$60 (US$7.80/£3.90).

I like Shadowman, 21A Ashley Rd., Tsim Sha Tsui (tel. 852/2366 5262), for its relaxed cafe atmosphere. It offers a handful of computers providing free Internet access for 20 minutes with the purchase of a drink or food and charges HK$10 (US$1.30/65p) per 15 minutes beyond that. It also offers wireless access for the same price. It's open Monday through Thursday from 8am to midnight, Friday and Saturday from 8am to 1am, and Sunday from 10am to midnight. In Yau Ma Tei, there's Main Street Café, 380 Nathan Rd. (tel. 852/2782 1818), with four computers customers can use for free with purchase of a drink. It's open daily 7am to 11pm.

Pacific Coffee (www.pacificcoffee.com) is Hong Kong's largest chain of coffee shops, most with two or more computers that customers can access for free (you'll probably have to wait in line and use is restricted to 15 min. per visit). Locations include shop 1022 in the International Finance Center (IFC), above Hong Kong Station in Central (tel. 852/2868 5100), open Sunday through Thursday from 7am to 11pm and Friday and Saturday from 7am to midnight.

With Your Own Computer -- More and more hotels, cafes, and retailers are signing on as Wi-Fi (wireless fidelity) "hotspots." In Hong Kong, accessibility begins at its airport, where passengers with laptops have free Wi-Fi access from virtually anywhere in the terminal.

All upper-range and most medium-priced hotels in Hong Kong are equipped with high-speed dataports that allow guests to use laptop computers. Many also offer wireless access (check individual hotel listings for dataport information or call your hotel in advance to see what your options are). In some hotels, Internet access is available upon purchase of an Internet access card for about HK$100 (US$13/£6.50), valid for anywhere from 100 minutes to unlimited use for 5 days, depending on the hotel (in general, the more expensive the hotel, the more expensive its Internet rates). Other hotels charge a flat rate per day, with HK$120 (US$16/£8) for 24 hours the prevailing rate. A small percentage of hotels offer it for free.

Although Hong Kong's electricity uses 220 volts and 50 cycles (compared to the U.S. 110 volts and 60 cycles), most laptop computers nowadays are equipped to deal with both. However, you'll need a prong adapter. Upper-end hotels have built-in adapters that accept foreign (including U.S.) prongs; otherwise, housekeeping can probably lend you one for free. For moderate and budget hotels, you might need a connection kit of the right power and -- for wired connections -- a spare phone cord and a spare Ethernet network cable -- or find out whether your hotel supplies them to guests.

Lots of cafes, bars, and restaurants offer wireless, including Starbucks, Pacific Coffee, Delifrance, KFC, and Häagen-Dazs, with locations throughout Hong Kong, though you may have to pay for the service. Ask your hotel concierge for the nearest location.

For free access, head to Kowloon Park, where the Hong Kong Heritage Discovery Centre (tel. 852/2208 4400) offers free Wi-Fi for laptop users Monday to Saturday 10am to 6pm and Sunday and holidays 10am to 7pm. On the Hong Kong side, ifc mall in Central offers 45 minutes of free Wi-Fi daily; or, drop by the mall's concierge desk for a one-day pre-paid card for HK$20 (US$2.60/£1.30).