[psampras88]

Checked out the car parks today - indeed one can find anything in between HKD 1,700 to 2,200 a month depending on which floor the car park is located and how close to the towers.
Interesting to note that some of the car park floors are not accessible from the normal lifts but one has to go down / up some stairs before getting there. Needless to say, those are the 1,700 ones....anyway, car parks there are still cheaper than Tung Chung or Gold Coast.

ALso found out there is a very nice public promenade right at the foot of Tower 1 - nice views and breeze, great place to ride a bicycle.

Also learnt that there is an hourly shuttle bus to the airport for airline staffs - there has got to be lots of pilots / stewardesses in Bellagio.

Anyone knows about the country park (Tai Lam?) located nearby Bellagio? Any good treks there?

[larac]

Saw some airline staff this evening and wondered if there was a shuttle. Also noticed that shuttles go to either Tseun Wan or TST from the complex.

The promenade goes right around the front of the building, I coulld be wrong but there is a sign banning lots of things and bikes might be one. Castle Peak Road though would be great for running or cycling - long, quite flat and not too much traffic.

For the carparks there is a service lift that goes to every floor but it is a bit of a painn to wait for.

We went exploring for the country park last weekend. Just before the Gold Coast you turn right at the lights past the Agean Sea? and up through a village - can't quite remember the name. Anyway it goes up and joins the Maclehose trail part way through stage 10. From the reading I did you can go from there to Tuen Mun or back toward stage 9 or you can start at stage 9 which joins directly into 10. The books said starting at 10 wasn't very practical. It looks like stage 10 goes right beside a huge resevoir up there the pictures looked quite pretty. I think the park is called Tai Lam.

The other road off Castle Peak Road just goes to the prison and you can't go any further by car - not sure about on foot.

[psampras88]

Checked out Castle Peak rd today - indeed a great place to ride a bicycle. All cars seem to be taking the Tuen Mun highway above the CP Rd, making it an ideal place to ride.

The sea views are great as well, too bad the road is so short and seems to end at this round about. I reached the round about which is still under construction - anyone knows what is beyod that point?

Also, anyone knows any good beaches around the area?

Funny how one can find such nice and peaceful areas in HK nearby such densely populated areas as Tsuen Wan / Shum Tseng. Castle Peak Road is also surprisingly under-developed by HK standards.
I bet this area will become very popular once those more recent developments like Bellagio, get more popular with Gweilos in search of green and sea views at affordable rates (and those in search of Bridge views)

I also timed Tsim Sha Tsui today: 17 min from Bellagio by car.
Since I am a very careful driver, I assume that mini-buses would take less to get there....

Anyway, lots of good surprises from Bellagio / Shum Tseng really, hope I can finalize my lease soon (I am bidding for 3 flats, awaiting the owners' feedback)

[larac]

As I understand it Castle Peak Road used to be the main road before the highway was built so once was busy but not any more. Not sure how far it goes at the Tsuen Wan end but the other way it goes up to the Gold Coast and close to the Tuen Mun town centre. They have nearly finished a big new bridge along that way too and planting lots of trees so its quite nice.

The beach at the Gold Coast is ok and given the amount of carparking it must get quite busy but I wouldn't go in the water - it is just a few minutes up the coast from Sham Tseng where there are huge signs warning you the water is polluted. There are a few other beaches sign posted just before the Gold Coast too.

From our apartment you can see the oil slicks and sometimes rubbish in the water but yesterday with the sun shining it was a beautiful green and really sparkly so whilst I wouldn't dip a toe in it makes for a great view.

[larac]

ok I found the down side to Bellagio
1. Loud ship horns at all hours of the day and night - until now it has just been one every now and then but this morning there were several, super loud and long.
2. Poor sound proofing between the floors - our upstairs neighbours are driving me crazy 6.30 every morning like clockwork they stomp all over their apartment. On the weekend we had to get the management to ask them to be quiet - it sounded like they were running on a treadmill or playing drums or something all afternoon.

[psampras88]

Finally we got one downside - but this one, I would say, is quite common in HK. I have had to intervene myself personally once with my neighbours upstairs on HK island, making sure I looked really angry, and this seems to work better than calling in the management. You got to do this repetitively though and show you ll keep on harassing till they take you seriously.

The worst is probably to get some mah jong game going late at night - nothing worse than the tiles clicking and the shouting...

As for the ship horns, I used to have them as well when i was on South side - I actually like that, makes you feel like you are somewhere in Cornwall, Brittany...

[Krawall]

Just signed a contract for Tower 1, a B unit.

Moving in soon (just moving from Ocean Pointe anyway, it's not a far move)

[psampras88]

Krawall,

Do you mind telling me how much you rent that B unit? High/Low floor?

I am in the middle of negociations, this would help a lot....

Fantastic views from those Tower 1 A/B/C units - and nice to rent a brand new apartment in a move-in condition with no renovation work to be done.

[Krawall]

Originally Posted by psampras88

anybody would know what the catch is? isn't this place too good to be true?

I'm living in this area for 5 years now, I should probably mention that, and I haven't had any problems with minibusses. You just need to shout when you want to get out, and secondly you need to check how much to pay if you only ride a section. For the latter, it usually is enough to shout a few places to the driver, it should eventually work out (or just pay the full price, it's not like they are expensive)

Red minibuses in the area should be avoided, though, they are more expensive (usually those passing by are the ones from Yuen Long to Jordan). Don't take them within Sham Tseng (like I mistakenly did from Sea Crest to Parkn'Shop long long time ago, the driver asked me for outrageous $10!!!- it's a few hundred meters only)

Other than that... the 302 (starting in HK Gardens, far away) is always full in the morning (that one would be good for me, stopping near Kwai Fong MTR) so just take any of the 96M's (starting at Sea Crest Villa 4, on the hill, and some other Letters, I think C, starting at Bellagio) or similar to the Tsuen Wan MTR station.

The 308M is going to Tsing Yi, that's cool too and it isn't always full but it's not going so frequently, that one's starting at Sea Crest Phase 1.

That's all the minibusses I know. Really.

[psampras88]

Any intel on mini buses to Central and Causeway Bay?

Thanks