InCoB2007 Frequently Asked Question Blog Site
InCoB 2007 is well underway. If you have any questions, please feel
free to add to this website any questions you may have.
If you have answers, we would be grateful if you can fill them
in below, citing the question carefully.
ON-LINE FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
FAQs and Answers
FAQ1. Planning your Arrival
Make sure before you leave, that you have the necessary passport (at least 6 months validity)
and visa (if necessary).
Clearing Immigration and Customs should be a breeze. Don't forget to collect your checked-in luggage if you have any (best to travel light and bring a carry-on).
When you arrive at the incredibly modern HK International Airport, note
that it is on Lantau Island, connected by bridges and road link to
Kowloon Mainland (where HKUST is located) and to Hong Kong Island.
You should figure out how to get to your Hotel first if you arrive
early, or if you are headed straight for HKUST campus/conference site for
your hostel/guest room. We suggest for you to look for Hotels around
the MTR stations which are a short train plus bus/taxi ride away from HKUST campus in
ClearWater Bay. Options include hotels around Quarry Bay (HK island) or Yau Ma Tei (Kowloon
mainland).
FAQ2. How to Get to HKUST Campus
Getting to HKUST, the venue of InCoB2007 takes about 1.5 hours from
the HK International Airport which is on an island (Lantau Island)
while HKUST is on the mainland Kowloon (Clearwater Bay).
Cost can be USD 50 for a taxi direct from the airport, to USD 20
by a combination of airport bus to Kowloon and taxi OR try your luck
with the local bus A12 (Don't forget to ask the bus driver where to alight).
Don't forget to get loose change in HongKong currency at the Airport Bureaux de Change.
Here is a useful guide for getting to HKUST by taxi, train, bus etc from Peggy Lee, HKUST (bcsauyat --at-- ust.hk: Getting to HKUST (pdf)
FAQ3. How much is HK Dollars in my currency
Converting HK Dollars to your currency is easy. Go to xe.com for an estimate.
FAQ4. Where to stay in Hong Kong
- InCampus
For maximum convenience, stay within the beautiful campus in HKUST.
Limited number of Rooms between USD 70 to 110 per night are available.
Hurry and book with Peggy Lee, HKUST
Please fill up InCampus Booking Form and mail to bcsauyat --at-- ust.hk asap.
- OffCampus
- YMCA For off-campus budget accommodation, the YMCA international house in Yau Ma Tei has offered us a special rate of HKD460 +10% (USD 65) per night (up to 25 July). In-room facilities (free 24-hour internet access) and accessibility to public transport (5 min walk to nearby subway station, take the Tseung Kwan O train line, 30-40mins to HangHau MTR station, get to the bottom of the MTR station (Exit B1) and catch a quick bus ride No.298P to HKUST campus Bus 298P schedule or 11M MiniBus).
- Others For more information on other luxurious hotels on Kowloon and Hong Kong island, please see webpage Accommodation for off-campus hotels. Tip: A lot of night life at the hotels in Quarry Bay on Hong Kong island. The MTR train takes 15-20mins undersea to HangHau station.
FAQ5. Power source
Hong Kong power supply follows the British Standard - 230Volts 60Hz and square 3-pin sockets.
Don't forget to bring your adapter plugs!
FAQ6. Internet Access
Charles Choy, of Computer Centre, HKUST, will be arranging for guest accounts with the HKUST.
Please email him to enquire : charles.choy __at__ ust.hk.
Don't forget to bring your wireless Internet card 801.11x and UTP
cable in case you get a port.
Internet access at the Visitor Centre
FAQ7. Fastest way to get back to MTR from HKUST
One local person, George AuYeung, says it is best to catch the 298P (same number as the one
you came in from HangHou MTR) from HKUST but you should alight at Metro City to take the
train at Po Lam Station (which is the last stop of the Tseung Kwan O train line -
one stop after Hang Hau). Thereafter it will be another short train ride back to your
Quarry Bay hotel (undersea to Hong Kong Island), or the ones at Yau Ma Tei (on Kowloon).
George has produced an illustrated Travel Guide for how to get from Tsim Sha Tsui station to and from HKUST.
FAQ8. Catching a bus from Po Lam MTR station
Url for costs and additional travel directions:
https://www.ab.ust.hk/sao/iss/arrival/arrival.htm
Note that you may be tempted to ride on bus no. 91M and if you do, that's a good choice but
please beware that bus stops in Hong Kong can be pretty weird. Two bus stops may be
adjacent to each other and share the same bus number but they go opposite directions
(as would be the case when deciding which bus to take in HKUST back to Po Lam).
91M leaves Po Lam for HKUST and final destination at Diamond Hill Station and vice versa.
We advise the participants of InCoB07 to look out for which direction they are going, just in
case they board the wrong direction, they would just have to take a longer train ride back
to Quarry Bay.
George AuYeung has produced an illustrated Travel Guide for how to get from Tsim Sha Tsui station to and from HKUST.
FAQ9. Proof of Status for Student Discount and Local Participants
Proof of student status or ISCB can be any documentary proof, e.g. student
ID card of your university, letter from your department office with letterhead
and official signature etc; or ISCB membership registration receipt or
attendance at ISMB in previous/current year.
Proof of being a local participants and in receipt of sponsorship can
be the Special Sponsorship Code given to you.
When you arrive at the Registration Desk, please present your Registration
Name and Transaction ID and proof of your status. If not, you may be
charged with the difference between the full price at the time
of registration and the student discount/local participant sponsorship.
FAQ10. Paypal Payment Problem
The following is an anonymised problem from just one person in China!
- Problem 1:
I have a UK credit card, but I have moved to China, and my billing
address is now in China. Paypal doesn't seem to like this.
Yes, it probably thinks it is a UK stolen card and
transferred to another country illegally. Try to ask somebody
else who has successfully paid using credit card to do the
payment on your behalf, and register your name when payment is
completed.
- Problem 2:
I have a PayPal account, but I wish to pay by credit card instead.
If you already have a paypal account, please use the paypal account
to pay. For some reason PayPal system will redirect you to
the PayPal account to make payment.
Conversely speaking, if you wish to pay by Credit Card, please
try not to sign up for PayPal account. Make your payment first.
PayPal may redirect you to payment by PayPal Account if you
have already registered and you may not be able to pay by
Credit Card directly.
- Problem 3:
I have just created a PayPal account, but I have no money
inside. Whenever I try to make InCoB Payment, PayPal directs
me to my PayPal account. I have linked my PayPal account
to my credit card, and tried to make payment. PayPal reports
error that it cannot draw out money from my credit card
into my PayPal account and make a PayPal funds transfer.
The reason is probably because you need money in PayPal
account before you can make payment. If you link your
PayPal account to your credit card, you have to authorise
it to deduct money from your credit card. For this you
need a cash credit line which has to be separately approved.
Meanwhile, the PayPal system essentially locks you out
of the Credit Card payment mode. Either try to
cancel your paypal account, or de-link your credit card,
or use another credit card for the payment.
- Problem 4:
I have accessed the sb-reg.html. I cannot see the "Continue" button to click on to the Credit Card
Payment.
Yes, clear your cache, then click on the VISA/MASTERCARD logos, and a new page from paypal will appear with the USD dollar at the top. The "Continue" hyperlink it is there near the bottom on the left panel just above
the "Return to Asia Pacific Bioinformatics Network" hyperlink. Click on it and
the form for filling in your credit card information will appear.
FAQ 11. Proof of Student status
Mr Che Lun Hung (Emailaddress: allen _-at-_ sslab.cs.nthu.edu.tw)
Company/Institute: the Department of Computer Science, National Tsing-Hua University
City/Country: Taiwan
My FAQ or Answer:
From the information of registation, I need to present the proof of student status. So, what is the proof you need?
Answered above FAQ9
FAQ 12. Registering for HKUST accommodation
Mrs Jeongheui Lim (Emailaddress: jhlim #|at|# kribb.re.kr)
Company/Institute: Korean Bioinformation Center
City/Country: Korea
My FAQ or Answer:
I need to reserve a room (1 suite or 1 twin) in the HKUST Visitor Center for attending InCoB 2007 as a speaker of tutorials sessions.
Date: Aug. 26 - 31, 2007 (5 nights)
Please reply me as soon as possible.
My FAQ or Answer:
We would like to reserve the On-campus serviced apartment for the conference. We have 4 people (2 woman and 2 man), so we need 2 small single rooms (250 HKD) and 1 double room (400 HKD).
Answered above FAQ4: Fill up application form and email to bcsauyat --at-- ust.hk.
FAQ 13. Registering for HKUST accommodation
Dr Prema narayan Jagadev (Emailaddress: pnjagadev #&at&# yahoo.co.in)
Company/Institute: Orissa University of Agriculture & Technology
City/Country: BHUBANESWAR, INDIA
Tel: 0091-9861128437
My FAQ or Answer:
How to arrange a single male accomodation of self at NANSHA for one night i.e. 30 Aug. 2007 for attending the workshop and how much to pay?
Please email bcsauyat --at-- ust.hk for registration details
FAQ 14. Details of Poster Presentation
Ms Vanessa (Emailaddress: h0328078 #-at-# hkusua.hku.hk)
Company/Institute: The University of Hong Kong
City/Country: Hong Kong
My FAQ or Answer:
What's the expected size of the poster please?
Please look at Instructions at poster.html
FAQ 15. Payment by Bank Transfer
In view of the problems we have trying to pay by PayPal, we have
introduced
Off Line Payment via Inter-bank Wire Transfer.
Mrs Yen Lin Huang (Emailaddress: slippers.bi92g %%at%% nctu.edu.tw)
Company/Institute: National Tsing Hua University
City/Country: Taiwan
My FAQ or Answer:
I registered last month, but i don't know if I registered sucessfully. How could I know it?
Please contact payment --at-- apbionet.org or tinwee --at-- gmail.com
Mr Himanshu Manchanda (Emailaddress: himanshu_pisces11 +-at-+ yahoo.com)
Company/Institute: guru nanak dev university, amritsar, punjab, INDIA
City/Country: INDIA
Tel: 91-9888746753
My FAQ or Answer:
can u tell me the date and venue of the next confrence/workshop of InCoB as i miss this confernce.
The successful bidder to run InCoB 2008 will be announced at the InCoB 2007 conference
Mr Dinesh Chandra (Emailaddress: dlohumi =&at&= yahoo.com)
Company/Institute: National Institute of Malaria Research
City/Country: Delhi/ India
My FAQ or Answer:
How to reach venu of workshop at Hanoi
Please register with Dr Le Tran Binh binh --at-- ibt.ac.vn, the local organiser
and details will be forwarded to you.
Dr Michael Shmoish (Emailaddress: mshmoish -_at_- yahoo.com)
Company/Institute: Technion-IIT
City/Country: Haifa/Israel
My FAQ or Answer:
1) Where exactly will the InCoB2007 Opening Ceremony take place (what room/hall)?
2) Who can help "Mr. Charles Choy, of Computer Centre, HKUST", to answer eventually my 2-weeks old request about "arranging for guest accounts with the HKUST"?
Guest account is a standard incob07 login, information which is available at the registration desk.
Opening Ceremony is at LT J as indicated by the notices in the HKUST campus.
