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Sai Kung activities and schools

  1. #1
    Raquelly is offline Registered User
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    Jan 2009
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    Hong Kong
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    Sai Kung activities and schools

    Hi there,
    We are about to move to HK and we think Sai Kung sounds lovely.
    Can anyone tell me what is available for my 2 year old boy to do there apart from the obvious (good for walking/beaches etc) - are there any drop in services, or fun classes for him to join or do these sort of things seem to happen more on the island?
    We are curious about schools there too? Are there decent primary schools there or at least nearby as I don't think I want to have a massive trek to school every day if that can be helped - or do buses come and take the children to various schools?
    At the moment we don't think we will have a car but is that necessary around here for getting to schools etc?

    Finally! How long does it take to get to Central on public transport from Sai Kung? 40mins? or longer.

    Thanks everyone!
    yeah2


  2. #2
    Matty is offline Registered User
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    Mar 2006
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    Hi Raquelly,

    Sai Kung is a lovely place to live.
    Cleaner air and more open spaces.
    We lived in the Midlevels for 7 years before making the move out here, and we'd never go back!
    The commute to central depends a lot on where you live.
    We live close to Sai Kung town and if you do public transport the whole way it will take about 50 mins.
    You can live further out again, up in the country park, or you can live 10-20mins closer to central between Sai Kung town and Clearwater Bay.
    Though you can get by without a car, having one out here makes your life a lot easier, especially with children.
    There are private school bus services that can take your children to school.

    I have a list of things like Soccatots and playgroups that I can email to you if you PM your email address.

    Last edited by Matty; 01-29-2009 at 09:48 AM.

  3. #3
    carang's Avatar
    carang is offline Registered User
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    my two kids LOVE socatots! my kids are 2 & 4.

    we live out in the country park and enjoy it, but it would be IMPOSSIBLE without a car. personally, i lived in clearwater bay before i had kids and one of the reasons i moved into the city was because i didn't have a car. with children, i could not imagine living out here without one. you can get very good deals on used cars, and usually when you rent a village house a minimum of one car park is included.

    there is the ESF primary school at clearwater bay. it has buses for the kids. i know that there is a bus that comes all the way to our village in the park. for kindergartens, my boy attends the local one. there are quite a few western kids in his class, and a few other mixed kids (like him). it's mostly in chinese, but the teachers and staff are used to having non-chinese speaking kids in class and all notices are given in english or chinese. i have spoken to the principal there and she said, normally non-chinese speaking kids spend the first year listening. the second year trying to take part and by the third year, they are speaking relatively fluently in chinese. as my son is mixed, i find that he is already more comfortable using chinese, whereas before he HATED speaking it. also, it is only $160/month when you have the gov't voucher (anyone, once they have a HKID can apply for one).

    there is also renaissance college in ma on shan. it has buses, too.

    there are heaps of playgroups/classes for little ones to attend, including dance, art, languages etc.

    another area that you might be interested in is discovery bay. it is very family oriented and a very easy ferry ride to central. we lived there for years and miss it. we only moved to sai kung because the rents are so much cheaper.


  4. #4
    Raquelly is offline Registered User
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    Thanks for your responses. Very helpful.

    So much to think about before we even get there!!


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