Gallivanting Through The Pearl of The Orient
Been really really bored at home and went gallivanting over the last week in......Hong Kong! Yes,I know it is not a very far away place but, hey, it is what I could afford in my current situation. Haha.
Day One
Busy packing at home in the wee hours of the morning just after purchasing the ticket and arranging for the hotel online, just hours ago. Yes, this trip, is this sudden, and this FUN! Hahaha.
Caught the early morning flight to Hong Kong aboard the Singapore Airlines A380! The seats are wider and there is more leg room. Also, the blankets are beige in colour, not blue! We took off just as the solar eclipse occurred fully in India but I was not able to catch a glimpse of the eclipse due to the overcast. I could not even see the wing out the window! And I was sitting just next to it! By the time I touched down in Hong Kong, it is a nice and sunny day.
It sure helps that I speak the language and know abit of how things work in Hong Kong. Before clearing customs, I headed over to the duty-free section to see how much a bottle of Dom Perignon 1998 Rose Vintage. It costs only HKD2500! That is way cheaper than the SGD650 quoted at Changi Airport! I am so going to get a bottle from Hong Kong International Airport on my way back. After clearing the customs, I headed on to the Octopass Service Counter to get myself an Octopass, not unlike our Ez-Link cards. What I did not realise is that it costs HKD90 to get to Kowloon, while the value in the card only had HKD100. After transferring on to the Airport Express Shuttle Bus at Kowloon station to my hotel, thankfully it is free, a short journey and I was at my hotel doorstep. Well, not doorstep but it was only a mere 50 meters walk as the shuttle does not stop at all hotels but my hotel just happens to be within 50 meters of one of the scheduled stop. Phew!
Quickly checked in at the Nathan Hotel and begun to unwind after the long night and flight. I chose this hotel as it had the the cheapest rate which provide free in-room Internet and daily buffet breakfast is included in the package. After a quick short nap, I headed out to take a walk along Nathan Road and was it long! The length of it stretched almost as far as our Serangoon Road! One thing I noticed when I walked around was the easy accessibility of pornographic magazines at all newsstands and that 1 out of every 2 advertisement was either about breast enhancement or slimming packages. Even advertisements as innocent as toothpaste had the actress with their boobies spilling out! WHAT THE! I am no prude but they sure get away with plenty around here. After I was done with walking along Nathan Road, I adjourned over to Temple Street to take in the street market. It was nice but I felt that the stores were too repetitive.
Dinner tonight was in one of those small eateries. Had some porridge and noticed a group of Singaporeans when they mentioned if they wanted to eat Bah-Chang. That is so Singapore. Haha. Feeling tired by now, rest is required and I headed back to the room for an early night. However, when I returned to the room, I realised that I was given a smoking room as I suddenly noticed the ashtray in a corner of the room. Arggg. I called reception and requested for a change as I had requested for a non-smoking room. Tried to watch tv on the 42-inch LCD screen in the room but guess I was too tired. My only grouse about the room? There is no BATHTUB! They work with shower heads only. How I wish I could get a nice soak but at the rate I am paying for, together with the free internet, it sure makes it easier to accept it.
Day Two
Had a nice long sleep and awoke around 9am before I dragged myself in to the bathroom for a quick shower before heading up to the Penthouse for breakfast. The selection is not exactly fantastic but I am not complaining, yet. Before heading out to walk around some more, I headed over to the tour counter to sign up for a couple of day tours. A half-day trip of Hong Kong Island for today, A full-day trip to Lantau Island with vegetarian lunch included for tomorrow and a day-trip to Macao for the day after. That leaves me with one more free day before I head back to Singapore. Hmmm......maybe a visit to Disneyland is in order.
Heading out of the hotel, I headed in the direction of Mong Kok and the Ladies Market. The names of the roads here if translated literally to English do sound really interesting. Soya Sauce Street and Watercress Street just to name a few. I could smell the wondrous smell of smelly tofu when I was in Mongkok but I just could not find the stall. Argg! I want my SMELLY TOUFU! As I had to head back to the hotel for my afternoon tour, I started my journey back but not before heading to the recommended Mido Cafe for a nice cup of Red Bean Ice. We call it Ice-Kachang back home but it is different over here and the ice are not shaved. it was however, a wonderfully refreshing drink. Yummmmm!
The tour was done in English as most of the tourists on board only had a common language of English. I laughed at some of the things the guide, Shan, said as she tried to teach the Ang Mohs how to speak simple words in Cantonese. Well, when with us being lucky as such and know the common languages that are spoken over here in Hong Kong, we do get in that little bit more. Heez. The tour started with a trip up Victoria's Peak and it was really beautiful. Back home, we will not even get such a view from Bukit Timah. The tour photographer took photos for us but I did not get any of the plates. Not interested. Haha. We then headed over to Aberdeen where we were shown the life of the inhabitants of houseboats. It looked cramped from what I saw and was kind of glad of the little HDB flat at home. Our final stop was to Stanley Market where I picked up some postcards while walking through the streets. It has become a ritual for me to write postcards home whenever I am overseas. Of course, before we went back, there is the customary stop at one of them jewellery factory. Did not get anything but chatted with Shan and she introduced me to various sites and food to try. She even gave me a list of to do places at Disneyland. Hahaha!
After the tour ended, I alighted near the Hong Kong Cultural Center and took a walk through the Avenue of Stars. It is similar in concept to Hollywood walk of fame and there were many other tourists walking through the area taking pictures. I quickly made my way to the viewing platform behind the Cultural Center to watch the Light Show on the shores of Central and Tsim Sha Tsui. It made use of the buildings on both shores and well-arranged timing of lights on them. It was nice but at the end of it I had a feeling of "Like that only ah?". As I strolled to the ferry terminal to take the ferry over to Central, I passed the old clock tower and it reminded me of our own clock tower at Empress Place.
After reaching Central, I chatted with a couple from Netherlands while waiting at the bus stop for the bus to the Peak Tram Station. We joked about how we hoped the weather will hold for us to take pictures. After waiting for a long while, we wondered why it took so long for the bus which was parked at the bus stop to stop. When another bus returned to the stop, the driver went to help us check. Lo and Behold! The driver of the parked bus was sleeping in the bus! Wah Piangz! I took the tram up to the peak of Victoria's Peak and the night view wa really beautiful. I had not brought my tripod with me on this trip and was wrecking my brains until I noticed the scenic viewing machines. I placed my camera on top of it and shot off many pictures.
By the time I was done, it was 11pm and I was rushing to head back to my hotel before the MTR shut down for the night. I was too tired to have dinner by then and headed straight back to my new room, they had changed for me to a non-smoking room, and quickly showered before I turned in for the night. However, while I was lying on my bed, I heard the voices of my next door neighbor and chuckled when I heard, "Cannot like that lah". Singaporeans next door, our speech patterns are so distinctive. Haha.
Day Three
Woke up feeling really sleepy but the pickup for my tour of Lantau Island begins at 8.15am. Headed to the Penthouse for breakfast again and I am already feeling the monotony of the same food again.
Got on the bus and saw Shan on board again. We laughed and she said that she will be only with the group till we are handed over to her Lantau Island counterpart. Apparently, Lantau Island tours are exclusive and only Lantau Island-based tour companies are allowed to lead tour there. Before arriving at Lantau Island, we had a stopover at the Tsing Ma Bridge lookout point. I spoke to Vince, a tour mate, while on the bus and listened to his stories of his trips in Europe and how he is worried about his daughter not settling down even at the age of 29. Haha. We chatted throughout the entire tour and enjoyed each other's company.
On the island of Lantau Island, we were introduced to the history of the island and how the Cantonese name was changed as it sounded very unpleasant. Lantau Island used to have some farming villages around but have since stopped and the farmers had let loose all the water buffalos and oxen when they left. The Hong Kong government have since taken these animals as government property and persecution of them is forbidden. We stopped at a little village called Tai-O, where it is a fishing community and is famed for their dried seafood and prawn paste.
After leaving Tai-O we then headed on to the Big Buddha statue. Within the Big Buddha houses some relics of Buddha and the ancestral tablets and niches. Outside, the sky was undercast and the Big Buddha kept being shrouded in clouds and there was great difficulty in getting off a photo shot. However, with great perseverance, comes reward and I managed to get off at least a decent shot. According to the guide, locals and non-tourists would have to climb 250 steps up to reach the base of the Big Buddha while tourist need only make the downhill journey of the said 250 steps.
The vegetarian lunch provided at Po Lin monastery was good and everyone polished off all the plates. I walked around the grounds to look at the monastery and to take more photos of course. Our final stop on Lantau Island was aboard the Nong Ping 360. It is a cable car ride, similar to what we have from Mt Faber to Sentosa, but their ride lasts 25 minutes with plenty of scenic views. Beautiful.
The tour soon ended and we were all ferried back to our hotel. I would say that today's tour was interesting to say the least and I could only hope for a less cloudy day. Since I was craving for some Egg Tarts and Seafood, I quickly went up to my room put down my camera gear and headed out. First stop was to Causeway Bay for some Egg Tarts. The egg tart shop came recommended by the tour guide and apparently they had outlets at Mong Kok. Never mind. When I reached Causeway bay, it was but a short walk to the pastry shop for some wonderful Egg Tarts. At HKD5 per piece, they better be good. Haha. After getting my egg tart fix, I headed on to Lei Yu Mun. Taking the MTR to Yau Tong, it was only a short 5 to 10 minutes walk from the station. The restaurant recommended resides right at the end of the alleyway all the way in. Word of caution, ask for the price before ordering, it was damn expensive when I paid the bill. It is almost as bad as Newton Circus. Apparently, this is the cheapest restaurant. I cannot think of what the prices are for the other restaurants then. However, looking at the crab with roe and it was pure gastronomical heaven. Yummy!
With a full tummy, it was onward back to the hotel on the other side of Kowloon Island. Burrp. Excuse me.
Day Four
What is a trip to Hong Kong if I do not drop over in Macao? I had to wake up even earlier today as the bus pick up is earlier. After clearing customs and a 70 minutes boat ride and clearing customs again, I am in Macau. Ok, I wanted to come here a couple of years ago but in the end got diverted to Taiwan instead. Now I am here and on a tour. The tour included stops at the grounds of the old St Paul's Church where all that remains is the facade, A Ma Gong Temple, the Guan Ying statue, buffet lunch at a hotel. Of course there was also the customary Arts & Craft shop where prices began at USD1000 but the guide had told us before hand that there is no necessity to buy anything. I stayed on the bus the entire time when some of the tour mates alighted to do some window shopping in the shop. The final stop was about an hour of free time where I headed to the city center and then to the casinos to have a look at what was happening inside and how it functions. It sure looked interesting at how people were taking notes of the sequence of events before placing their bets.
My day at Macau soon ended and we headed back to Hong Kong. I was feeling hungry when I finally arrived at the hotel and went to the nearby porridge shop for porridge once again. Yes, I love the porridge here. It is not too salty and the quality of the porridge is excellent. After I was done with my dinner, I headed over to Temple Street to walk through the bazaar and to do some shopping for souveniors. I found one particular signage very intersting but the stall owner refused to allow me to take a photo. I remembered the words and it went something like this "渾蛋+壞蛋+王八蛋 = Egg Market" It sure made for a good laugh.
Day Five
Today I allowed myself to sleep in a bit later. I am heading to DISNEYLAND! Hahaha. Yes, overage kid present. After a quick breakfast at the Penthouse, I purchased the admission tickets for Disneyland from the travel desk and headed off. So excited. Hahaha.
Disneyland was having Stich's Summer Party as their current ongoing festivities and it was pretty fun. Alas the rain placed a damper on the street party and it had to be called off halfway. However, I was not to be deterred and headed off to the Jungle River Cruise. With the added experience of the rain, it actually made the ride that much more fun. Haha.
After the rain drenched cruise, it was next to the Lion King show. It was a short retelling of the Lion King story and it was pretty well done. When the show was over, I headed on over to Mickey's Philharmonic Theatre. It was a sensurround experience with 3D glasses and the spraying of air when the image had the popping of champagne and the dripping of water when Donald Duck fell into the water. Haha. It was fun!
What trip to Disneyland would be proper without a picture of the castle? Here in Hong Kong, the castle is Sleeping Beauty's castle. I headed out to Main Street next to view the daily parade but due to the inclement weather, yes it is raining on and off the entire time I was at Disneyland, they changed it to the Disney Rainy Day Express. There was a collective boo when it was announced that the announcement for the cancellation of the parade came on but at least the Rainy Day Express made up abit for the disappointment. Next up, The Golden Mickeys. It was a show in an award-show ceremony-style which celebrates the golden moments of Disney's animated movies. It was pretty good and I liked it that they put in the extra touches of creating bubbles or having wind blow through to match what is being shown on the screen. Nice.
The It's A Small World ride consists of a mini cruise through various scenes where the characters kept singing It's A Small World over and over again, albeit in different languages. Checking my map, I had 2 more must do activities and it was the Winnie the Pooh ride and the Space Adventure Ride. Winnie the Pooh ride was a simple ride through the simple retelling of Winnie's adventures while the Space Adventure Ride was a roller coaster ride which did not have any high falls given that it is built indoors entirely. I still had some time before my reservation at The Corner Cafe and headed to the Stitch Mission Control show. It was interesting as it was interactive and I attended the Cantonese session. Stitch interacted with the crowd and we had quite a few good laughs as Stitch caught out the participants with his wit. It was really funny and I only wish that I had time to go for it again. Haha.
By now I am soooo hungry and headed over to the Corner Cafe. Thankfully I had made my reservations earlier and did not have to wait for a table. The prices here were not entirely exorbitant and were priced similar to our own Jack's Place. I even saw a lady ordering a kid's meal?!?! Haha. The reason for wanting to have my dinner at the cafe was so that I could get a good spot for the fireworks show that happens at the closing of the park at 8pm but alas, even at 7.30pm, I was not even near the front. However, the firworks display was really great and beautiful. Before I left, I headed over to the shop to purchase some stuff and I went Stitch crazy. HAHAHA!
All good things must come to an end and my first trip to a theme park was an enjoyable experience. I would definitely love to come again some time. Although I was done with Disneyland for the day, I was definitely not done with Hong Kong yet. Taking the MTR, I headed over to Central to visit Lan Kwai Fong. Yes, the place of pubs and bars. As I approached the area, you could feel the increased police presence. Also, the revelers were generally well behaved. Round the corner was the famous Yong-Kei, well known for their Roasted Goose. I packed a packet of Roast Goose rice before heading back to the hotel to pack my stuff for my return home tomorrow.
Day Six
It is my last day here in Hong Kong and I had just about done everything I wanted to. All except......DIM SUM! Yes, I could not believe that I have been in Hong Kong for six days and I did not even head on over for any Dim Sum breakfast or lunch. Forgoing my breakfast on my final day at the hotel, I headed down to Tsim Sha Tsui to the Hong Kong Cultural Center. Here there is a restaurant called Serenade. It is very popular with the people and you could tell when the staff could greet the guests by name, showing how regular people returned. The table next to me sat a retired barrister even! Haha. To cap things off on the people front, away at a corner of the restaurant, sat Liu Song Ren, a veteran Hong Kong actor. The Dim Sum here could only be described as heavenly and they had a good view of the Hong Kong island shore line. I should have come here earlier for the Dim Sum. Mmmmm.......
With my Dim Sum craving cured, it was time to head back to the hotel to pick up my bags and check out. It has been a fun 6 days in Hong Kong and it was really great. Before I went to the gate, I had to do my final act of shopping and it was to purchase my bottle of Dom Perignon 1998 Rose Vintage. At HKD2500, it was a steal compared to the SGD650 at Changi Airport's Duty Free. The final surprise to happen to me was when SQ upgraded me to business class on my return leg. Wow! I could really learn to like the Business Class service and seating.
That about wraps up my trip in Hong Kong and have totally blown out my savings. Now I really need to go land a job ASAP. Anyone wants to buy any of my purchases from Hong Kong Disneyland? Hahaha.
Here is a little reward for being so patient and reading through the entire Trip Dairy. It is a video of the fireworks display at the closing time of Disneyland Hong Kong. Unsteady shots and image splicing were due to the video camera running out of batteries repeatedly. Available in both non-HD and HD. Enjoy.
Non-High Definition
High Definition
Day One
Busy packing at home in the wee hours of the morning just after purchasing the ticket and arranging for the hotel online, just hours ago. Yes, this trip, is this sudden, and this FUN! Hahaha.
Caught the early morning flight to Hong Kong aboard the Singapore Airlines A380! The seats are wider and there is more leg room. Also, the blankets are beige in colour, not blue! We took off just as the solar eclipse occurred fully in India but I was not able to catch a glimpse of the eclipse due to the overcast. I could not even see the wing out the window! And I was sitting just next to it! By the time I touched down in Hong Kong, it is a nice and sunny day.
It sure helps that I speak the language and know abit of how things work in Hong Kong. Before clearing customs, I headed over to the duty-free section to see how much a bottle of Dom Perignon 1998 Rose Vintage. It costs only HKD2500! That is way cheaper than the SGD650 quoted at Changi Airport! I am so going to get a bottle from Hong Kong International Airport on my way back. After clearing the customs, I headed on to the Octopass Service Counter to get myself an Octopass, not unlike our Ez-Link cards. What I did not realise is that it costs HKD90 to get to Kowloon, while the value in the card only had HKD100. After transferring on to the Airport Express Shuttle Bus at Kowloon station to my hotel, thankfully it is free, a short journey and I was at my hotel doorstep. Well, not doorstep but it was only a mere 50 meters walk as the shuttle does not stop at all hotels but my hotel just happens to be within 50 meters of one of the scheduled stop. Phew!
Quickly checked in at the Nathan Hotel and begun to unwind after the long night and flight. I chose this hotel as it had the the cheapest rate which provide free in-room Internet and daily buffet breakfast is included in the package. After a quick short nap, I headed out to take a walk along Nathan Road and was it long! The length of it stretched almost as far as our Serangoon Road! One thing I noticed when I walked around was the easy accessibility of pornographic magazines at all newsstands and that 1 out of every 2 advertisement was either about breast enhancement or slimming packages. Even advertisements as innocent as toothpaste had the actress with their boobies spilling out! WHAT THE! I am no prude but they sure get away with plenty around here. After I was done with walking along Nathan Road, I adjourned over to Temple Street to take in the street market. It was nice but I felt that the stores were too repetitive.
Dinner tonight was in one of those small eateries. Had some porridge and noticed a group of Singaporeans when they mentioned if they wanted to eat Bah-Chang. That is so Singapore. Haha. Feeling tired by now, rest is required and I headed back to the room for an early night. However, when I returned to the room, I realised that I was given a smoking room as I suddenly noticed the ashtray in a corner of the room. Arggg. I called reception and requested for a change as I had requested for a non-smoking room. Tried to watch tv on the 42-inch LCD screen in the room but guess I was too tired. My only grouse about the room? There is no BATHTUB! They work with shower heads only. How I wish I could get a nice soak but at the rate I am paying for, together with the free internet, it sure makes it easier to accept it.
Day Two
Had a nice long sleep and awoke around 9am before I dragged myself in to the bathroom for a quick shower before heading up to the Penthouse for breakfast. The selection is not exactly fantastic but I am not complaining, yet. Before heading out to walk around some more, I headed over to the tour counter to sign up for a couple of day tours. A half-day trip of Hong Kong Island for today, A full-day trip to Lantau Island with vegetarian lunch included for tomorrow and a day-trip to Macao for the day after. That leaves me with one more free day before I head back to Singapore. Hmmm......maybe a visit to Disneyland is in order.
Heading out of the hotel, I headed in the direction of Mong Kok and the Ladies Market. The names of the roads here if translated literally to English do sound really interesting. Soya Sauce Street and Watercress Street just to name a few. I could smell the wondrous smell of smelly tofu when I was in Mongkok but I just could not find the stall. Argg! I want my SMELLY TOUFU! As I had to head back to the hotel for my afternoon tour, I started my journey back but not before heading to the recommended Mido Cafe for a nice cup of Red Bean Ice. We call it Ice-Kachang back home but it is different over here and the ice are not shaved. it was however, a wonderfully refreshing drink. Yummmmm!
The tour was done in English as most of the tourists on board only had a common language of English. I laughed at some of the things the guide, Shan, said as she tried to teach the Ang Mohs how to speak simple words in Cantonese. Well, when with us being lucky as such and know the common languages that are spoken over here in Hong Kong, we do get in that little bit more. Heez. The tour started with a trip up Victoria's Peak and it was really beautiful. Back home, we will not even get such a view from Bukit Timah. The tour photographer took photos for us but I did not get any of the plates. Not interested. Haha. We then headed over to Aberdeen where we were shown the life of the inhabitants of houseboats. It looked cramped from what I saw and was kind of glad of the little HDB flat at home. Our final stop was to Stanley Market where I picked up some postcards while walking through the streets. It has become a ritual for me to write postcards home whenever I am overseas. Of course, before we went back, there is the customary stop at one of them jewellery factory. Did not get anything but chatted with Shan and she introduced me to various sites and food to try. She even gave me a list of to do places at Disneyland. Hahaha!
After the tour ended, I alighted near the Hong Kong Cultural Center and took a walk through the Avenue of Stars. It is similar in concept to Hollywood walk of fame and there were many other tourists walking through the area taking pictures. I quickly made my way to the viewing platform behind the Cultural Center to watch the Light Show on the shores of Central and Tsim Sha Tsui. It made use of the buildings on both shores and well-arranged timing of lights on them. It was nice but at the end of it I had a feeling of "Like that only ah?". As I strolled to the ferry terminal to take the ferry over to Central, I passed the old clock tower and it reminded me of our own clock tower at Empress Place.
After reaching Central, I chatted with a couple from Netherlands while waiting at the bus stop for the bus to the Peak Tram Station. We joked about how we hoped the weather will hold for us to take pictures. After waiting for a long while, we wondered why it took so long for the bus which was parked at the bus stop to stop. When another bus returned to the stop, the driver went to help us check. Lo and Behold! The driver of the parked bus was sleeping in the bus! Wah Piangz! I took the tram up to the peak of Victoria's Peak and the night view wa really beautiful. I had not brought my tripod with me on this trip and was wrecking my brains until I noticed the scenic viewing machines. I placed my camera on top of it and shot off many pictures.
By the time I was done, it was 11pm and I was rushing to head back to my hotel before the MTR shut down for the night. I was too tired to have dinner by then and headed straight back to my new room, they had changed for me to a non-smoking room, and quickly showered before I turned in for the night. However, while I was lying on my bed, I heard the voices of my next door neighbor and chuckled when I heard, "Cannot like that lah". Singaporeans next door, our speech patterns are so distinctive. Haha.
Day Three
Woke up feeling really sleepy but the pickup for my tour of Lantau Island begins at 8.15am. Headed to the Penthouse for breakfast again and I am already feeling the monotony of the same food again.
Got on the bus and saw Shan on board again. We laughed and she said that she will be only with the group till we are handed over to her Lantau Island counterpart. Apparently, Lantau Island tours are exclusive and only Lantau Island-based tour companies are allowed to lead tour there. Before arriving at Lantau Island, we had a stopover at the Tsing Ma Bridge lookout point. I spoke to Vince, a tour mate, while on the bus and listened to his stories of his trips in Europe and how he is worried about his daughter not settling down even at the age of 29. Haha. We chatted throughout the entire tour and enjoyed each other's company.
On the island of Lantau Island, we were introduced to the history of the island and how the Cantonese name was changed as it sounded very unpleasant. Lantau Island used to have some farming villages around but have since stopped and the farmers had let loose all the water buffalos and oxen when they left. The Hong Kong government have since taken these animals as government property and persecution of them is forbidden. We stopped at a little village called Tai-O, where it is a fishing community and is famed for their dried seafood and prawn paste.
After leaving Tai-O we then headed on to the Big Buddha statue. Within the Big Buddha houses some relics of Buddha and the ancestral tablets and niches. Outside, the sky was undercast and the Big Buddha kept being shrouded in clouds and there was great difficulty in getting off a photo shot. However, with great perseverance, comes reward and I managed to get off at least a decent shot. According to the guide, locals and non-tourists would have to climb 250 steps up to reach the base of the Big Buddha while tourist need only make the downhill journey of the said 250 steps.
The vegetarian lunch provided at Po Lin monastery was good and everyone polished off all the plates. I walked around the grounds to look at the monastery and to take more photos of course. Our final stop on Lantau Island was aboard the Nong Ping 360. It is a cable car ride, similar to what we have from Mt Faber to Sentosa, but their ride lasts 25 minutes with plenty of scenic views. Beautiful.
The tour soon ended and we were all ferried back to our hotel. I would say that today's tour was interesting to say the least and I could only hope for a less cloudy day. Since I was craving for some Egg Tarts and Seafood, I quickly went up to my room put down my camera gear and headed out. First stop was to Causeway Bay for some Egg Tarts. The egg tart shop came recommended by the tour guide and apparently they had outlets at Mong Kok. Never mind. When I reached Causeway bay, it was but a short walk to the pastry shop for some wonderful Egg Tarts. At HKD5 per piece, they better be good. Haha. After getting my egg tart fix, I headed on to Lei Yu Mun. Taking the MTR to Yau Tong, it was only a short 5 to 10 minutes walk from the station. The restaurant recommended resides right at the end of the alleyway all the way in. Word of caution, ask for the price before ordering, it was damn expensive when I paid the bill. It is almost as bad as Newton Circus. Apparently, this is the cheapest restaurant. I cannot think of what the prices are for the other restaurants then. However, looking at the crab with roe and it was pure gastronomical heaven. Yummy!
With a full tummy, it was onward back to the hotel on the other side of Kowloon Island. Burrp. Excuse me.
Day Four
What is a trip to Hong Kong if I do not drop over in Macao? I had to wake up even earlier today as the bus pick up is earlier. After clearing customs and a 70 minutes boat ride and clearing customs again, I am in Macau. Ok, I wanted to come here a couple of years ago but in the end got diverted to Taiwan instead. Now I am here and on a tour. The tour included stops at the grounds of the old St Paul's Church where all that remains is the facade, A Ma Gong Temple, the Guan Ying statue, buffet lunch at a hotel. Of course there was also the customary Arts & Craft shop where prices began at USD1000 but the guide had told us before hand that there is no necessity to buy anything. I stayed on the bus the entire time when some of the tour mates alighted to do some window shopping in the shop. The final stop was about an hour of free time where I headed to the city center and then to the casinos to have a look at what was happening inside and how it functions. It sure looked interesting at how people were taking notes of the sequence of events before placing their bets.
My day at Macau soon ended and we headed back to Hong Kong. I was feeling hungry when I finally arrived at the hotel and went to the nearby porridge shop for porridge once again. Yes, I love the porridge here. It is not too salty and the quality of the porridge is excellent. After I was done with my dinner, I headed over to Temple Street to walk through the bazaar and to do some shopping for souveniors. I found one particular signage very intersting but the stall owner refused to allow me to take a photo. I remembered the words and it went something like this "渾蛋+壞蛋+王八蛋 = Egg Market" It sure made for a good laugh.
Day Five
Today I allowed myself to sleep in a bit later. I am heading to DISNEYLAND! Hahaha. Yes, overage kid present. After a quick breakfast at the Penthouse, I purchased the admission tickets for Disneyland from the travel desk and headed off. So excited. Hahaha.
Disneyland was having Stich's Summer Party as their current ongoing festivities and it was pretty fun. Alas the rain placed a damper on the street party and it had to be called off halfway. However, I was not to be deterred and headed off to the Jungle River Cruise. With the added experience of the rain, it actually made the ride that much more fun. Haha.
After the rain drenched cruise, it was next to the Lion King show. It was a short retelling of the Lion King story and it was pretty well done. When the show was over, I headed on over to Mickey's Philharmonic Theatre. It was a sensurround experience with 3D glasses and the spraying of air when the image had the popping of champagne and the dripping of water when Donald Duck fell into the water. Haha. It was fun!
What trip to Disneyland would be proper without a picture of the castle? Here in Hong Kong, the castle is Sleeping Beauty's castle. I headed out to Main Street next to view the daily parade but due to the inclement weather, yes it is raining on and off the entire time I was at Disneyland, they changed it to the Disney Rainy Day Express. There was a collective boo when it was announced that the announcement for the cancellation of the parade came on but at least the Rainy Day Express made up abit for the disappointment. Next up, The Golden Mickeys. It was a show in an award-show ceremony-style which celebrates the golden moments of Disney's animated movies. It was pretty good and I liked it that they put in the extra touches of creating bubbles or having wind blow through to match what is being shown on the screen. Nice.
The It's A Small World ride consists of a mini cruise through various scenes where the characters kept singing It's A Small World over and over again, albeit in different languages. Checking my map, I had 2 more must do activities and it was the Winnie the Pooh ride and the Space Adventure Ride. Winnie the Pooh ride was a simple ride through the simple retelling of Winnie's adventures while the Space Adventure Ride was a roller coaster ride which did not have any high falls given that it is built indoors entirely. I still had some time before my reservation at The Corner Cafe and headed to the Stitch Mission Control show. It was interesting as it was interactive and I attended the Cantonese session. Stitch interacted with the crowd and we had quite a few good laughs as Stitch caught out the participants with his wit. It was really funny and I only wish that I had time to go for it again. Haha.
By now I am soooo hungry and headed over to the Corner Cafe. Thankfully I had made my reservations earlier and did not have to wait for a table. The prices here were not entirely exorbitant and were priced similar to our own Jack's Place. I even saw a lady ordering a kid's meal?!?! Haha. The reason for wanting to have my dinner at the cafe was so that I could get a good spot for the fireworks show that happens at the closing of the park at 8pm but alas, even at 7.30pm, I was not even near the front. However, the firworks display was really great and beautiful. Before I left, I headed over to the shop to purchase some stuff and I went Stitch crazy. HAHAHA!
All good things must come to an end and my first trip to a theme park was an enjoyable experience. I would definitely love to come again some time. Although I was done with Disneyland for the day, I was definitely not done with Hong Kong yet. Taking the MTR, I headed over to Central to visit Lan Kwai Fong. Yes, the place of pubs and bars. As I approached the area, you could feel the increased police presence. Also, the revelers were generally well behaved. Round the corner was the famous Yong-Kei, well known for their Roasted Goose. I packed a packet of Roast Goose rice before heading back to the hotel to pack my stuff for my return home tomorrow.
Day Six
It is my last day here in Hong Kong and I had just about done everything I wanted to. All except......DIM SUM! Yes, I could not believe that I have been in Hong Kong for six days and I did not even head on over for any Dim Sum breakfast or lunch. Forgoing my breakfast on my final day at the hotel, I headed down to Tsim Sha Tsui to the Hong Kong Cultural Center. Here there is a restaurant called Serenade. It is very popular with the people and you could tell when the staff could greet the guests by name, showing how regular people returned. The table next to me sat a retired barrister even! Haha. To cap things off on the people front, away at a corner of the restaurant, sat Liu Song Ren, a veteran Hong Kong actor. The Dim Sum here could only be described as heavenly and they had a good view of the Hong Kong island shore line. I should have come here earlier for the Dim Sum. Mmmmm.......
With my Dim Sum craving cured, it was time to head back to the hotel to pick up my bags and check out. It has been a fun 6 days in Hong Kong and it was really great. Before I went to the gate, I had to do my final act of shopping and it was to purchase my bottle of Dom Perignon 1998 Rose Vintage. At HKD2500, it was a steal compared to the SGD650 at Changi Airport's Duty Free. The final surprise to happen to me was when SQ upgraded me to business class on my return leg. Wow! I could really learn to like the Business Class service and seating.
That about wraps up my trip in Hong Kong and have totally blown out my savings. Now I really need to go land a job ASAP. Anyone wants to buy any of my purchases from Hong Kong Disneyland? Hahaha.
Here is a little reward for being so patient and reading through the entire Trip Dairy. It is a video of the fireworks display at the closing time of Disneyland Hong Kong. Unsteady shots and image splicing were due to the video camera running out of batteries repeatedly. Available in both non-HD and HD. Enjoy.
posted by Prosage at 03:39
1 Comments:
Did you manage to take photos of liu song ren?
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