HK PNET Living in HK - Links, information and listings to make living in Hong Kong just that little bit easier!

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Accommodation

Buying Property Estate Agent Complaints Flat Share Hostels: - Anne Black YWCA - Search By Location - YMCA Int'l House, Yau Ma Tei - YMCA Salisbury Rd, TST - Cheap deals Hotels: - A-Z - Harbour Plaza Hong Kong - Miramar, TST - New Harbour, Wanchai - Newton Hotel, North Point - Novotel Century, Wanchai - South Pacific, Wanchai - Search By Location	Landlord/Tenant Advice - Contract Obligations.pdf - Legal Renting Issues - Property is Sold - Renting Tips - Unpaid Rent Serviced Apartments / Hotels: - Asiaexpat - Rent-a-room HK - Go Home
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Animal Welfare

AFCD Quarantine
Animals Asia Foundation
Asian Animal Protection Network
Companion Animal Federation
HK Alley Cat Watch
HK Animal Adoption Centre
HK Cat Salvation Army
HK Dog Rescue
HK Reptile & Amphibian Society
Laboratory Animal Defenders
Lamma Animal Protection
Lamma Animal Welfare Centre
PALS - Lantau South
Pets
Rescue Centres (Adoption)
Society For Abandoned Animals
SPCA
WWF

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Banks

A List of All Banks
Bank of China
Bank of Communications
Bank of East Asia (BEA)
citibank
DBS
Exchange Rates
Hang Seng
HSBC
Standard Chartered

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Charities

List of...
Online Donations:
- Christian Action
- Clear the Air
- Crossroads International
- Friends of the Earth
- Greenpeace
- HK CancerFund
- Lamma Animal Welfare
- Oxfam
- PLK Protect the Young
- Salvation Army
- SPCA
- St James' Settlement
- The Community Chest
- WWF

Animals Asia

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Cinemas

AMC
Broadway
Chinachem
Cityline (Tickets)
Golden Harvest
Listed By Region
Space Museum Omnimax
UA

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Complaints

Domestic Helper

amahnet.com Annual Leave: - Legislation - Tips Contract Sample Deployment Guidelines Discussion Forum Employment: - Guidebook - Guidelines - Ordinance End of Year Payment FAQ: - Government - Proxy-maid	Hints & Tips Holidays Interview Tips Immigration Guidelines Local Helpers: - FAQ - Overview - Sample Contract Maternity Leave: - Legislation - Practical Tips Practical Guide To... Practical Tips	Rest Days: - Legislation - Tips Sick Leave Severence Payment: - Legislation - Tips Statutory Holiday: - Legislation - Tips Termination: - Legislation - Tips
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Entertainment

AsiaWorld-Arena Cinemas Gold Coast Family Buffet HK Arts Festival HK Coliseum HK Cultural Centre HK Sevens HK Stadium Historical Photos Hot Events: - HK Ticketing - URBTIX	Int'l Festival of Inclusive Arts Jazz Restaurant and Bars Symphony Under the Stars The Fringe Club The Punchline Comedy Club Tickets: - Flights - HK Ticketing - URBTIX Tourist Attractions
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Environment

Council On Smoking and Health Clear The Air Campaign Environmental Protection Dept. Friends of the Earth Global Cool HK Harbour District Kadoorie Farm & Botanic Garden Planning Applications and Consultations Planning Department Save Our Harbour Save Our Shorelines The Conservancy Association Urban Renewal Authority WWF	Recycling - Plastic Bags - Plastic Bottles - Rechargeable Batteries - Start Your Own Scheme - Where to Recycle - Caritas (Computers) - Crossroads International - Electic Appliances to Elderly - Friends of the Earth - Oxfam - Salvation Army - Search by Category
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Etiquette

Beliefs and Etiquette
Business
Chinese Culture
Culture and Customs
Eating
Gift Giving
Social Etiquette Basics
Video Guide To...

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Finance

Buying Property: - Brief Guides - Consumer's Corner - FAQ - Procedures - Purchasing Property - Estate Agent Complaints - Go Home Property Search - Government Transaction Records - Mortgage Calculators - Stamp Duty Table - Valuation - Bank of China - Bank of Communications - DTZ World (DBS) - Hang Seng - HSBC	Banks Health Insurance: - Arthur Wong Financial Planning - Blue Cross - HSBC Firstcare - Manulife Transunion Credit Report
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Forums

asiaXPAT.com
Allo' Expat
Batgung
Dave's ESL Cafe
GEOexpat.com
HK PNETs Forum
Opinion Platform
Orient Expat

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Gardening

Asian Earth
HK Gardening Society

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Government Services

e-Cert Digital Certificate
Government Departments - Full List
Government Services Website
Leisure and Cultural Services Dept
Libraries:
- Location
- Online Renewal
- Opening Times
MPF
Notify Change of Address
Public Holidays: 2007, 2008
URBTIX

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Health

AIDS: - AIDS Concern - HK AIDS Foundation - Virtual Aids Office Dentists: - AsiaExpat - Dental Council of HK - Malaysia: - BrightSmile Dental - HKPTU List - Thailand: - Dental Implant Centre - Thailand Dental Center Doctors: - hkdoctors.org - HKPTU List - AsiaExpat - Specialists (HKPTU List)	Family Planning Ass'n of HK Healthy Hong Kong Hospitals: - Accident & Emergency (A&E) - Community Nursing - Find a Hospital - Out-Patient Services Insurance Men's Health NHS Direct Health Encyclopedia Paramedical (HKPTU List) Smoking: - Council On Smoking and Health - Smoke Free & Fresh - Tobacco Control Office
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Hiking

Country Parks
Hiking in Hong Kong
Hong Kong Adventurer
HK Hiking Meeting Group
Hong Kong Trampers
Lung Yeuk Tau Heritage Trail
Roz's Hiking Page
Trail Tales
Walk Hong Kong

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Immigration / Visas

China Visas: - A Guide To - Agents: - China Foreign Ministry - China Travel Service (CTS) - Golden Yacht Travel - Japan Travel Services - Lo Wu Border Crossing - Sunshine Int'l Travel - Lo Wu Border Crossing - Shenzhen 5 Day Visa	HK Visas: - Immigration - Contact Info - Working Visa - Visa Extension: - Application Form (ID91).pdf - Example Employer Letter.doc - Example School Letters: - Contract Renewal.doc - Mid Contract.doc Identity Cards - Hong Kong Handbook Taiwan: - Apply in HK - Detailed Info
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Jazz

Clubs:
- Blue Door Jazz Club. 5/F 37 Cochrane St, Central. 2858 6555
    - Fri and Sat nights 22:30-00:30
- Fringe Club. 2 Lower Albert Road, Central. 2521 7251
    - Big Band / Swing Saturday nights from 22:30 $80
    - Occasional gigs as well
- Gecko Lounge and Wine Bar. LG/F, Ezra Lane Lower Hollywood Road, Central. 2537 4680
    - Jazz most week nights until 02.00
    - Reviews
- Grappa's Cellar. Jardine House, 1 Connaught Place, Central. 2521 2322
    - Jazz Thu-Sat 21:30-late
- Ned Kelly's Last Stand. 11A Ashley Road, TST. 2376 0562
    - Jazz most nights from 21:30-01:00. HH until 21:00.
    - The Ned Kelly Big Band plays the first Sunday of the month.
    - Arctic-like air-conditioning with a congenial, older expat/tourist atmosphere.
- Peel Fresco Music Lounge 49 Peel Street, Soho. 2540 2046
      - Live Jazz, Grooves and Funk Wed-Sat from 9:00 or 9:30
      - "Great selection of local and international jazz/blues musicians. Often no cover charge. Nice intimate feel."
HK Jazz Association
- Organisers of the annual HK Jazz Festival
Radio:
- ClassicFM Jazz (Swith Channel to 'Classic FM Jazz')
      - registration required (free), personalised playlist, ban tunes/artists you hate!

      - Firefox users need to install IE Tab and then create a bookmark to this URL:
           chrome://ietab/content/reloaded.html?url=http://mediaweb.musicradio.com/player/default.asp?s=2&e=-2
- jazzFM.com
      - The Blue Room (smooth and funky)
      - The Red Room (50's to today)
- theJazz.com (Closes 31 March 2008)
Streams:
- Helen Mayhew Classic FM Jazz (click on 'Last 7 Days: Classic FM Jazz'); laid-back Jazz

- Gilles Peterson (BBC); hip hop, latin, funk, soul and jazz
- Jazz Up Late with Gerry Koster (ABC)
- Jazztrack with Mal Stanley (ABC)
- Paul Barnes Blues and Jazz (BBC)

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Jobs

Job Search:
- AsiaXPAT.com
- Career Times
- Careerjet.hk
- Classified Post
- HeadlineJobs.hk

- JobsDB.com

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Junk and Spam

Email:
- FAQ
- Tips for Users
- Tips for Companies
Faxes:
- OFTA Advice
- Stop junk:
      - Dial 1835000, select option 3,2
Telephones:
- Report Nuisance Caller
- Stop recorded messages:
      - Dial 1835000, select option 3,1
SMS:
- Stop Junk:
      - Dial 1835000, select option 3,3

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Language

Cantonese Mandarin Translation: - Char > Eng - Char > Pinyin - Eng > Char - Eng > Char - Eng > Char - Eng > Pinyin - Pinyin > Char	Note: If you get lots of meaningless garbled text you need to change the encoding by selecting "View", then "Encoding", followed by "Big5" (Mandarin) or "GB2312" (Cantonese).
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Cantonese (Guang Dong Hua)

Basic Phrases
CantonesePod: Free lessons
Chinese Bay: Basic Phrases
Chinese Lessons: Vocab+Grammar
Dictionary
Dim Sum: A Guide To...
FSI: 30 Lessons
Learn Vocabulary: Uses Pinyin+Chars
myCantonese.net: 3 Basic Lessons
Slang Cantonese
Tones: An Introduction
Vocabulary Sheets: Uses Pinyin+Chars

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Note: If you get lots of meaningless garbled
text you need to change the encoding by
selecting "View", then "Encoding",
followed by "Big5" (Mandarin)
or "GB2312" (Cantonese).

Mandarin (Pu Tong Hua)

Adult Courses: Themed Lessons
An Introduction To: 4 Basic Lessons
Character Dictionary: Advanced!!
Character Flashcards
Chinese Chess: An introduction
Chinese Horizon: Online paid courses
Chinese Learn Online: Subscription Only
Chinese Lessons: Vocab+Grammar
Chinese Pod: Listen For Free
CTCFL: 22 Lessons+videos
Edict: Dialogues+Exercises
eLanguageSchool: Themed Phrases
FSI: Lots of Themed Lessons
Interactive Exercises
Kids' Courses: 19 Basic Conversations
LearnChinesePod: 9 Basic Lessons
Lessons with Serge: Free To Listen
Links for Learning Chinese
Peacecorps: Basic Conversation
Pinyin Intoduction: Listen and Learn
Standard Chinese: A modular approach
Write Characters: Pinyin Dictionary
Writing Characters: 50 Basic Words
Writing: Introduction to Strokes
Writing Links

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Legal

Court Services
Crime Information To Police
Crime Report to report:
- unsafe product, Short weights,
fakes, smuggling
HK Judiciary
Judiciary Forms
Jury Guide
Lost Property Report
Small Claims Court

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Local History

1967 Riots
Batgung Local History
HKU eGallery
The History of HK
The HK Story

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Maps

Online HK Street Map:
- Centamap
- Restaurant and Bars
- ypmap.com
Macau Online Street Map

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News / Newspapers

bcMagazine
HK Dollarsaver
HK Magazine
news.gov.hk
NOT the SCMP
RTHK News Page
SCMP (subscription)
The Standard
Time
Wall St Journal (Asia)
world-newspapers.com

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Online Shopping

CDWow!
Electronic Price Guides:
- price.com.hk
- Sham Sui Po Golden Computer Centre
Food:
- Aussie Organics
- meat.com.hk
- South Stream Seafoods
- The Organic Farm
- Wellcome
- ParknShop
HKBay.com
HMV
Paddyfield.com
PCCW Shop
Red Source Gifts
Sasa
ShopinHK.com
Shops that Deliver to HK
WingOn Net
YesAsia.com

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Pets

AFCD Quarantine Animal Welfare HK Cat Fanciers' Club HK Cat Lovers' Society HK Kennel Club HK Parrot Club Spray & Neuter Assistance Programme Vets: - HK Veterinary Association - Vet Directory - Vetinary List	Rescue Centres: - Companion Animal Federation - HK Alleycat Watch - HK Animal Adoption Centre - HK Cat Salvation Army - HK Dog Rescue - HK Reptile & Amphibian Soc'y - Lamma Animal Protection - Lamma Animal Welfare Centre - Protection of Animals Lamma South - Society of Abandoned Animals - SPCA
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Software - All free to download and use

AntiVir Personal Edition
- The best free antivirus software around as detailed in the PC World Antivirus Review.
Firefox Portable
- The best internet browser around. Faster, safer and easier to use that Internet Explorer.
- Features include: multi-site home page, tabbed browsing (view 10+ sites a the same time),
                           favourites search, fully customisable, take it on a memory stick when you travel.
- Copy it onto a memory stick and you can use it anywhere in the world!
- Add-ons
    - add even more useful functions and options to Firefox.
         - Bookmark Synchroniser automatically syncs your home and office PC.
         - DeskCut creates a shortcut to the current page on your desktop.
         - Download Status Bar displays the progress of your downloads at the bottom of the screen.
         - Fasterfox optimises connection speed and allows link background-prefetch
         - Firetune quickly optimises Forefox for your computer and internet connection
         - Flashblock automatically stops those annoying adverts from starting
         - Forecastfox displays weather forecasts at the bottom of the screen.
         - IE Tab allows you to display a website using Internet Explorer.
         - Menu Editor allows right-click context menus to be tidied and setup as you want them
         - Pdf Download enables background download of .pdf files instead of waiting for them to load
         - Tab Mix Plus provides even more customisable options for tabbed browsing.
Fastone Image Viewer
- A small, fast and easy to use image viewer and editor
- Features include: supports all major formats, convert picture, red-eye, slideshow, wallpaper,
                           large number of effects and tools, EXIT editing, emailing utilities
Foxit Reader
- A super alternative to Adobe Reader that won't slow your PC down and use 100+Mb of disk space.
Panorama Perfect
- Create superb panoramic images from your photos
Photo Story
- A free slide show editor, quick and easy to use, great for kids to make their own projects
- Features include: slide effects, music embedding, auto-fadeout of music, special effects
Quicktime Alternative and K_Lite_Codec_Pack
- A superior alternative to Quicktime.
- Uninstall Quicktime and install both these to browse and play Quicktime videos.
Real Alternative
- A great and superior alternative to Realplayer. Uninstall Realplayer and replace with this.
Thunderbird Portable
- Fabulous, free email software that is a great replacement for outlook.
- Move it onto a memory stick and you can access your emails anywhere in the world!
- Add-ons
      - add even more useful functions and options to Thunderbird.
          - Attachment Extractor make sit easy to download all downloads
          - Edit as New adds an 'Edit as New' button to the toolbar for quicker use
          - Lightning upgrades Thunderbird to include calendar and events.
          - Quicktext allows pre-determined / favourite text to be quickly inserted into emails
          - ScheduleWorld syncs your contacts, calender and events between PCs and also with Outlook.
Utilities
WavePad Music Editor
- Very easy to use music editor.
- Features include: cut, copy, delete, insert, silence, trim, fade in/out, change speed,
                             change pitch, split.
- Don't install 'Recorder' and 'Switch as they stop working after a 14 day trial period.
Website Development
- Blogger.com Very easy to use, lots of designs to select and step-by-step guides on how to do it.
- Google Sites easy to use with 100Mb storage, but with limited selection of layouts
- Pbwiki.com easy to use and setup, but only 10Mb free space
- Wordpress.com 3Gb of storage with easy to use interface
Winamp
- Great alternative to Media Player with superior library and more efficient memory use.
- Add-ons:
      - Find File On Disk adds 'Explore Item Folder' to the item in Media Library
Zonealarm Firewall
- The best firewall around and what's more it's easy to use and free!
- If you aren't using a firewall or are only using the XP firewall then you MUST get this.

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Utilities

- AoA Audio Extractor creates mp3 from video files
- Auslogics Disk Defrag defrags your hard disk to improve speed
- Cablenut optimises your internet connection
- Cacheman improves the speed of your computer
- EasyCleaner makes it easy to clean and monitor your computer's setup
- Firefox:
      - Link Checker checks your webpage links
      - Gspace allows ftp to gmail
- FreeRIP converts audio CD to MP3 or WAV
- IE Privacy Keeper deletes your history, temporary files and searches from Internet Explorer and Firefox
- Image Optimiser Online reduces the size of your gifs, jpgs and pngs for web publishing
- Movie Joiner stitches together mp3 files
- Proxies to overcome Restricted Internet Broadcasts
        - Canada: www.freeproxy.ca
        - UK: www.daveproxy.co.uk, babylonproxy.info, www.afunnel.com
        - Other Countries (You'll need to search for your country's name)
- RealVNC allows remote control of computers
- Regseeker allows easy access to registry. Includes registry cleaner for improved performance
- Rname-It allows you to rename multiple files at the same time
- Spybot Search & Destroy removes spyware from your computer
- Trendmicro Housecall Spyware Detection scans computer for spyware, adware and hidden tracking software.
- XP Page File Monitor displays the size of your page file and it's maximum usage

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Sport

Athletics Association Aussie Rules Basketball Association Climbing: - HK Climbing - Walls - YMCA Courses Cricket: - Cricket Association - Kowloon Cricket Club Cycling Darts Dragon Boat Racing: - HK DB Association - Island Paddle Club Fencing Fishing License (Resevoir) Football: - HK Football Club - Other Clubs Gaelic Football Hockey Ice Hockey	Jockey Club Kiteboarding Netball Orienteering Ass'n of HK Paintball Road Runners Club (Ladies) Roller Sports Rugby: - Clubs: - Social Clubs - Women's Clubs - HK Sevens - HK Tens - Rugby Football Union Sailing - HK Sailing Federation - Hobie Club - RHKYC - Tide Tables Scuba Diving: - CWB Dive Training - HK Underwater Club - Scuba Network HK - South China Diving Club	Skateboarding Softball Sports Institute Stadia: - HK Stadium - Kings' Park Surfing Swimming Association Tennis Association Ten Pin Bowling Triatholon: - HK Dragons - ITU Asian Cup Ultimate Frisbee Unicycle Hockey Volleyball Wakeboarding Water Polo Windsurfing
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Tax

Calculate Your Tax Bill Change of Address Form Inland Revenue Website Forms Guide for First Timers Guides to Tax Save For Tax Sheme Tax Rates - Salaries Tax	Tax Return: - Contact Tax Office - How to Complete and File - Internet Filing - e-Tax Password - Guide to Submitting - Submit Online - View Tax Return Online
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Telephones / Internet / Utilities

IDD: - 1507: offers - 1638: offers, rates - idtasia.net: offers, rates - jajah.com: offers, rates - Skype: rates Internet: - Globe7.com:Rates - HGC - i-cable - PCCW: Netvigator - Skype: Rates Junk Faxes + Calls	Landline - HGC - IDD - New World Telecom - PCCW Mobile Phones: - Vodafone OFTA (Office of Tel'ns) Report Nuisance Caller Utilities: - CLP - HK Electric - Gov't Rates + Rent - Towngas - Water Supplies Dept - Water Quality
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Tourist Attractions

Christmas: - HK Christmas Fair - WinterFest Santa's Town HK Sevens Lamma Fisherfolk's Village Museums: - Dr Sun Yat-sen Museum - Flagstaff House Museum of Teaware - Heritage Museum - Railway Museum - Museum of Art - Museum of Coastal Defence - Museum of History - Sam Tung Uk Museum: photo - Sheung Yiu Folk Museum	Ngong Ping 360 (Big Buddha, Lantau) Ocean Park Parks: - HK Park - HK Zoological and Botanical Gardens - Kowlooon Park - Kowloon Walled City Park - Nan Lian Garden The Peak Tourist Board Transport Wetland Park
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Transport + Travel

Agents:
- 2100travel.com
- China Travel Services
Airlines:
- A List of all Tel Nos + WWW
- airasia.com
- Air Macau
- Air New Zealand
- Bangkok Airways
- British Airways
- Cathay Pacific
- China Airlines
- China Eastern (Chinese)
- China Southern
- Dragonair
- jetstar.com
- KLM
- Oasis Hong Kong
- Orient Thai Airlines
- Quantas
- Shenzhen Airlines (Chinese)
- Sri Lankan Airlines
- Thai Airways
- Virgin Airways
- Viva Macau
Airports:
- Hong Kong Airport
      - Arrivals
      - Departures
- Macau Airport
      - Arrivals
      - Departures
- Shenzhen Airport

Buses:
- Citybus
- Discovery Bay
- Kowloon Motor Bus
- New Lantao Bus
- New World First
China Visas
Currency Converter
Ferries:
- Discovery Bay
- First Ferry
- Lamma:
    - HKKF
      - Rainbow Restaurant
- Macau
      - New World First
      - Turbojet
- North Point:

      - <> Kwun Tong
      - <> Hung Hom
      - <> Kowloon City
- Outlying Islands
- Shenzhen (Turbojet)
- Star Ferry
- Tuen Mun <> Tai O

- Tuen Mun <> Tung Chung
- Zhuhai-Central (CKS)
Flights:
-