Two hours. No walking. A proper conversation.

This is for people who want to understand Hong Kong and do not want a walking tour to do it.

You sit down with me in your hotel lobby, or at Hong Kong International Airport if you are on a layover. You ask what you actually want to know. I answer from 50+ years of living here and from 2,500+ private tours since 2011. You leave with a clearer picture of how this city works than you will get from a screen.

I do not take you up a hill. I do not put you on a set route. I do not write an itinerary for you. If you already have a plan, bring it. If you do not, that is fine. The chat stands on its own.

Who this is for

It suits first-time visitors who want a briefing before they start walking.

It suits people who have already seen the main sights and now want the stories behind them.

It suits travellers who are tired, jet-lagged, travelling with children or older parents, or simply not in the mood for another four hours on their feet.

It suits business visitors who have a gap in the diary and would rather talk than dash.

It suits Hong Kong residents with family or friends in town who want a straight explanation of the place, in English, from someone who has been here since 2nd January 1972.

It also suits people who want a different take. I am English, born in Middlesbrough, England. My wife was born in Hong Kong. We have three adult sons. A local Cantonese-speaking guide will give you one kind of truth. I give you another. Guests tell me that mix is the point.

Who this is not for

If you want to cover ground, book a private tour. The Insider Chat is not a short tour in a chair.

If you want me to build your days from scratch, I will not. That is your plan, or no plan. I will talk it through with you. I will not write it for you.

I do not do food tours. I do not do phone calls or video calls. Everything is in writing until we meet.

What two hours actually covers

You steer it.

Some people want daily life: money, manners, MTR (Subway), taxis, weather, what is worth the time and what is a crowd with a ticket booth.

Some people want history and politics without a lecture and without the version they read before they landed.

Some people want an honest view of Victoria Peak, the Big Buddha, Tai O Fishing Village, the harbour and the old streets, from someone who has walked them with guests for 15 years and lived with them a lot longer.

Some people just want to test what they think they know. That is a good use of the two hours.

I will tell you the good, the awkward and the occasionally ugly. No script. No filter. Plain English.

If you already have a plan

Bring it. AI, a spreadsheet, a page of notes, a list from a friend. I will go through it with you.

I do not write a new one.

The usual problem is not the list of places. It is the timing. Hong Kong looks small on a map. Walking to the station, waiting, changing lines, queues and weather eat the day. A plan that looks tidy on a screen can turn into a 12-hour slog. Two hours in a chair can save you that, if you want the plan checked. If you do not have a plan, we talk about the city instead.

Practical facts

When: a time that suits you. Morning, afternoon or early evening.

Where: your hotel lobby, a quiet seat we agree, or Hong Kong International Airport for layover and transit guests. If you would rather talk over breakfast, lunch or dinner at a place you choose, I can do that. Drinks and food are not included. I talk more than I eat these days.

Duration: 2 hours.

Group size: private, 1 to 6 people.

Fee: US$200 flat, about HK$1,560. That is the total for the group, not a per-person price. Cash on the day, US$ or HK$.

Airport meetings: add US$25 / HK$200.

Last-minute bookings: yes, when I can. Twenty-four hours’ notice is kinder.

Larger groups: ask. I will tell you if it can work.

The live fee and the booking form sit on the Prices | Book Now page. Treat that page as the current list if this one and that one ever disagree.

How to book

Contact me.

Use the booking form on this page, the form on Prices | Book Now, WhatsApp to +852 65325013, or email. I reply within 24 hours unless I am already out with guests.

Tell me the date, the rough time, how many people, the hotel or airport, and whether you are bringing a plan. That is enough.

I do not take phone calls. Written notes keep the details straight.

So there you go.

J3 Premium Private Experiences | Real Time Calendar

Please note that you cannot click on the calendar to make a booking use my booking form further down the page or you can simply send me a short message using my contact form or an email

• Please note that bookings are subject to my availability and are on a first come first served basis;

• Generally speaking if the day is marked blank it means I am not available

• I am also available even on days where I have an existing experience depending on your timing for the experience, no harm in asking as they say, I will do my best to fit you in.

• please be reminded that I will do my utmost to try and fit you in if my schedule is busy!

• When checking my availability please note it is IMPOSSIBLE for me to answer the phone when I am with my guests or otherwise engaged, also note that I cannot answer emails or messages when I am with guests, my focus is on the project I am busy with on the day.

• Please remember my availability can change very quickly

• Thanks for visiting my site and considering my Premium J3 Private Hong Kong Tours and Experiences

J3’s Hong Kong Insider Chat Pricing

Prices are in US$ and HK$

J3’s Hong Kong Insider Chat fee is the TOTAL experience fee as per my price below, this is NOT a per person fee, any questions, please contact me

Price List is Valid as of 22nd November 2025

J3’s Hong Kong Insider Chat fee is the TOTAL fee in US$ & HK$- see my notes below regarding food, drinks and snacks and such.

Price List Notes

Payment in CASH when we meet in US$ or HK$

• Duration: 2 hours

• Fee: US$200 flat (HK$1,560) – cash on the day

• The Fee is the TOTAL fee for 1 - 6 people and NOT a per person amount

• Coffee, tea, drinks or snacks NOT included

• Airport meetings: Additional US$25 / HK$200 surcharge

J3’s Hong Kong Insider Chat - Cultural Tourism at it’s very best

Fill in the Booking Form Below

Please note that if you do not want to fill in the booking form to book, no problem, simply send me an email or fill in my simple contact form (below) and let me have the relevant details. I know that forms can be a hassle to complete! and please note I will always confirm your J3 Hong Kong Insider Chat booking.

Once I have received the form | email or whatsapp message I will respond very quickly

Based on individuals, small & large families and groups of people - for example Cruise Ship passengers, Business People, Conference Attendees, Student Study Groups etc.

Ideally no more than 6 people

I have completed over 2,500+ private tours of Hong Kong since 2011 with over 7,000 guests, I am pretty good with people.

……and I have done tours with people who have the following diverse occupations: a real princess, very close relatives of a US President, a one-star admiral of the US 7th Fleet, a nuclear missile operations officer (missileer) for the USAF, plumbers, postman, supplier of all frozen burger patties to McDonald’s, nuclear sub commanders, farmers, chip shop owner, teachers, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists, photocopier repair guys, lawyers, rocket scientists, movie producers, consul generals, police officers, homicide detectives, travel agents, housekeepers, linguists, retired and serving CIA officers, fighter pilots, army and navy guys, socialites, students, judges, journalists, software geeks, nuclear power plant inspectors, surgeons, doctors, forensic pathologists, nurses, coroners, venture capitalists, hospice directors, town planners, accountants, psychiatrists, nuclear physicists, professional athletes, ferry captains, commercial pilots, airline crew, social workers, veterinarians, musicians, theme park executives, professional photographers, college professors, gaming geeks, inland revenue tax officials, American Air Force B-52 bomber pilot, senior engineer / ballistic missiles, bodyguards, beer salesmen, park rangers, scuba diving instructors, popcorn machine makers, coastguard officers, firemen, structural geologists, architects, surveyors, Hooters waitress, dentists, ski instructors, civil engineers, air traffic controllers, electricians, top law professors at major US universities, librarians, steel guys, economists, homemakers, novelists, book publishers, currency traders, carpenters, a rabbi, boiler maker, strawberry farmers, food bloggers, morticians, financial advisers, corporate video makers, private investigators, bounty hunters, chiropractors, builders, stonemasons, botanists, dog sitters, spy, geneticists, Interpol agents, prison food suppliers, radio announcers, military cryptologists, forklift drivers, locksmiths, ice cream maker, pastry chef, baker, zoo keepers, explosives experts, DEA agents, coffee traders, diamond buyers, wedding photographers, Google gurus, geologists, professor of medieval history, navy chefs, camp site operators, animal embalmers, telecoms engineers, helicopter pilots, oil industry divers, navy seals, editor for USA Today, landscape gardeners, Mary Kay super agents, hotel owners, TV actors, optometrists, gourmet chefs, acclaimed plastic surgeons, barristers, travel bloggers, politicians, funeral home directors, former gang member, anthropologist, children’s book author, geophysicist, chicken artist, priest, movie makeup artist, expert witness, bail bondsman, opera singer, master brewer, child prodigy, debt collector, Victoria’s Secret store manager, head of a major charity, celebrity TV talking heads, Fortune 500 CEOs, corporate trainer, futures trader, waitress (quite a few), general manager of a worm bait company, owner of an RV dealership, convenience store owner, owner of an amusement game manufacturer, elephant conservationists, chemist, high school students, crematorium operator, concert pianist, vet from Honduras, hair stylist for a funeral home, calendar maker, pedicab operator, poets, F-16 fighter pilot USAF, Steve Jobs’ doctor, major US Democratic politician, big cheese executives from HBO and CBS, famous journalist and a journalism professor, former Secret Service agent, famous rare coin and stamp collector, major charitable foundation owner … and some really, really senior people from J.P. Morgan, Starbucks, United Airlines, Boeing, Google and Microsoft.

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