Triangle Trip

Similar to the SPG 2009 Free Weekend Nights offer (see last year’s post as FYI), SPG is bringing back free weekend nights in 2010. Simply stay three (3) times at a Starwood property between May 1, 2010 to July 31, 2010 and you’ll earn a free weekend night. You must redeem your free SPG weekend nights by December 19, 2010. This year’s redemption process should be very similar to the 2009 SPG free weekend night redemption process.

Your 2010 SPG free weekend night should appear on your account 3 to 5 days after your third SPG stay. Keep in mind that “hotels stays” are not the total amount of nights you stay at a hotel. A “hotel stay” is every time you checkin to a hotel.

The 2010 SPG Free Weekend Nights offer is a bit less generous compared to the 2009 offer. The SPG 2009 Free Weekend offer only required two stays to get one free night vs. the 2010 offer. The good news is you can earn unlimited free weekend nights if you chose to check-in and check-out every night.

Here’s the official link to register and official FAQ page. You must register by June 30, 2010 to qualify.

The best option to go from Hong Kong International Airport (”HKIA” or “HKG”) to South China (Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Dongguan, Huizhou, Foshan and Zhongshan) for business or pleasure is by bus (see my previous post with step by step directions). If you are not comfortable with taking the bus from HKIA and prefer the traditional train route, or simply want to stop in Hong Kong for a drink or meal, here is what you need to do to get to quickly get to Hong Kong Central then to Shenzhen or Guangzhou:

1.  Take the Airport Express train from HKG to Hong Kong Station; this drops you off in Central District. You can get a nice meal or drinks here (here’s my previous post on places to visit in Hong Kong if you can spare a day or two before going to the Mainland).

2.  From the Hong Kong Station in Central, look for the MTR train and take the Tsuen Wan (Red) line toward Kowloon.

3.  Get off at Tsim Sha Tsui station and walk to the East Tsim Sha Tsui station (a 10 minute walk)

4.  From the East Tsim Sha Tsui station, get on the West Rail line (dark purple) toward Hung Hom.

5.  Take the train one stop to Hung Hom (last stop) and transfer to the East Rail line (baby blue), which starts from this station.

6.  Stay on the East Rail line to the last stop. The East Rail line terminates into one of two stations, either Lo Wu (Luo Hu in pinyin) or Lok Ma Chau (station for the Shenzhen Free Trade zone). From here, go through customs to cross the border from Hong Kong into Shenzhen.

To get to Guangzhou, you will need to take the “Guangdong Through Train” . follow steps 1 to 4 from above. Instead of step #5, you will need to:

5b. Take the West Rail line (dark purple) train from East Tsim Sha Tsui station for one stop to Hung Hom (last stop) and walk towards the Express train station which is not part of HK’s MTR.

6b. At the train station, purchase a ticket for an express train to Guangzhou East station in Guangzhou. The price of the ticket should be around HK$150 to HK$190. I recommend you pay a bit extra and get upgraded to First Class.

Have a safe journey.

If you’re visiting New York or get on the New York City subway or bus (MTA) at least four times a day, we highly recommend you get an unlimited ride Metrocard. For the visitors, you may want to checkout my previous blog to see NYC in a day (or two).

There are unlimited Metrocards for daily, weekly and monthly use. The published terms and conditions for an unlimited Metrocard are:

1. You cannot use the unlimited Metrocard within 18 minutes of your previous use (also known as “swipe”).

2. You cannot swipe in other passengers for a fee.

These terms don’t prohibit you from swiping your friends in for free. And, the 18 minute hold on your Metrocard only applies to the station you swiped in at. If you go to another station (NOT another turnstile across the street for the same station; an entirely different station), or a bus, you can swipe your unlimited card again, before the 18 minutes is up.

Below is an example of how you could maximize the use of your unlimited Metrocard (see map for reference):

1.  Swipe your friend in at Astor Place for the 6 train.
2.  Walk one block over to the 8th Street station and swipe in to get on the N, R or W train.
3.  Use the same card to get on the M6 bus to go down Broadway.

Here’s what you cannot do:

1.  Swipe your friend in at Astor Place for the 6 train.
2.  Walk one block over to the 8th Street station and swipe in.
3.  Go back to Astor Place for the 6 train. Unless 18 minutes passed between step 1 and 3, the card won’t work.

You can, however, walk up to the Union Square 14th Street station to reuse the same Metrocard.

Hope this helped you maximize the usage of your Metrocard. You may want to use this opportunity to check out all the skating rinks in NYC – check out Omnifarious’ previous post.