14 Jan 5:50am, Terminal 1.
Jetstar only have 2 flights to HK, one at 640am and the other at 1145am. To maximize my stay there, I took the earlier flight.
Finally, I reached the Hong Kong Airport. History of this airport: The airport was built on a largely artificial island reclaimed from Chek Lap Kok and Lam Chau. The two former islands that were levelled comprise about 25% of the surface area of the airport's 12.48 km² platform. It is connected to the northern side of Lantau Island near the historic village of Tung Chung, now expanded into a new town. Land reclamation for the airport added nearly 1% to the entirety of Hong Kong's surface area. It replaced the former Hong Kong International Airport (popularly known by its former name Kai Tak Airport), which was located in the Kowloon City area with a single runway extending into Kowloon Bay close to the urban built-up areas.
At the airport, I purchased the HKD 300 Train express which includes 2 Airport Express train rides and ride-all-you can MTR for 3 days. Good buy!
My first stop is at zhong huan. From there, I alighted from the Airport Express and make my first "travelling alone" trip in HK. Walking towards Shang Huan, I arrived at Stanley Street/Portinger Street. Traditional street stalls along this distinctive street of stone-slab steps sell ribbons, bows and buttons. Neighboured with modern buildings, this is where old and new charmingly mix. (Discover HK)
Something you'll definitely observe if you travel by foot on HK is that they have many slopes and hills. This means that you better hope that you are walking downslope most of the time, which unfortunately I wasn't. So with all my luggage, a BackPacker's 10 litre bag and my trusty sling bag, I walked and walked...
The infamous Former Central Police Station. This grey building with its Doric-style columns and facade was built in 1864 and stands as testimony to Hong Kong’s colonial heritage. It has undergone numerous extensions and alterations over the years with the current edifice dating back to 1919. It was used as both the Hong Kong Island Regional Police Headquarters and the Central District Police Headquarters until 2000s.
The police station is a central setting in most Hong Kong action films, the place in which squadrons of creepy gangsters (called triads) stage machine-gun battles with adorable good-guy cops. This building just seemed so familiar yet strange. Recalling the1990s HK movies especially Jacky Chan's popular Police Story I, II, III, you'll see this building once in a while in the backdrop
I took photos of sign post once in a while to remind me where i was at that point of time.
Since 1993, Pacific Coffee Company has been providing world-class coffee to satisfy Hong Kong and Singapore's growing demand for specialty coffee beverages. Since then, the company has grown rapidly and continues to bring more stores to your neighborhood. The Pacific Coffee brand is recognized as the 'Best Coffee in Hong Kong', having won Hong Kong Magazine's Readers Choice Award for 'Coffee Shop of the Year' for seven consecutive years. Pacific Coffee Company also was recognized as 'Coffee Shop of the Decade' in Hong Kong Magazine's 'Readers Choice'.
Obviously, Pacific Coffee is a lot more popular in HK than in Singapore. You can see many outlets here and they're usually packed throughout the day. Not to forget, these cafes provide the perfect source for free internet.
Our local bank in HK.
Yes, the ICAC. Again, many HK movies always involves this building, and giving the world a bad impression of HK Police.
Basically, i have walked from zhong huan to shang huan and then back tracked all the way to Causeway bay. It was like a 5 hours walk, with intermittent rest and occassional stops to figure out where i was. At Causeway Bay, I met up with my bro who has just checked into Holiday Inn. In the hotel, I gotten rid of my turtle shell (backpack) and make my way to the Peak, alone. My bro has to entertain his boss first. The tram to the Peak is just walking distance from Central Station.
The view from the Peak is spectacular. It was quite cold and windy, especially the fact that it's winter now.
I got the people there to take a photo of me on the Peak. To print out the photo, it's HKD 80 for A3, HKD100 for A4. Coincidentally, at the shop, I saw one of my colleague's photo being used as their display photo. (when i went back to ask her, she's just as surprised cos yes, she did get a photo taken at the peak, and it was actually like 6 years back when they took the photo.)
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by the way, that was a smile plus teeth chattering, cos it's freezing cold. My face is already frozen hard. haha.
After the Peak, i met up with my bro for dinner. It's 8pm.. He brought me to the popular Macau Cha Chan Ting. Yummy, Roasted Pigeon. One of HK's famous delicacy.
This is the satay noodle which we didn't order. This was actually ordered by the other customer sharing table with us. We ordered XO sauce pork noodle. When our dish came first, the other customer thot it's hers and started eating. For info, it's very common to share your table with other people in HK eateries. When the satay noodle came, she realised her mistake and instead of being apologetic, she started complaining to the waiter. She even say why we didn't voice out when our noodle came. She complained that the meat used in the XO sauce noodle was lousy meat, and that the waiter, and us cheated her of a more decent dish. As you can see, there 's more meat in the satay pork noodle. I offered to share the noodle with her but she say no, and she continue nagging and nagging to her companion - an old man- who just continue eating. Apparently, he's so used to her complaining, treating it like the street's sounds, the cars engines and the eating noises at the eateries.
We ordered fried pork knuckle, but we didn't eat the fatty portion cos it seemed very lethal.
After a filling meal, we went shopping at nv ren jie. I bought myself another sling bag, very similar to the one i brought from Singapore. This is because during the wait for my bro at Tsim Sha Tsui MTR, my sling bag's strap snapped. My bag ke4 si3 yi4 xiang1 (die in foreign land) and i disposed it in one of the dustbin there. I hoped it doesn't blame me for not bringing it back to Singapore for a proper burial. haha.
After shopping, we went back to the Hotel and i finally got my well deserved rest.
Day II (Monday)
Today my plan is to go Disney!!! As Disney opens at 10am, I walked around Causeway bay in the early morning and caught sight of their national library.
Yeah. Finally on my way to Disney.
This is the train to Disney. It has got mickey face on their window.
There, I got to take a photo with Donald Duck, my favourite Disney Character.
Small Writeup on DonaldDuck (wikipedia) :Donald Duck is an animated cartoon and comic-book character from Walt Disney Productions. Donald is a white anthropomorphic duck with yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet. He usually wears a sailor shirt and cap — but no pants (except when he goes swimming).
According to the cartoon Donald Gets Drafted (1942), Donald's full name is Donald Fauntleroy Duck (his middle name appears to be a reference to his sailor hat, which was a common accessory for Fauntleroy suits). Disney's website also states his name as Donald Fauntleroy Duck. Donald's birthday is officially recognized as June 9, 1934, the day his debut film was released, but in The Three Caballeros, his birthday is given as simply "Friday the 13th." In Donald's Happy Birthday (short) it has his birthday as the 13th of March.
Although usually easygoing, Donald's most famous trait is his short and often explosive temper. He is also sometimes portrayed as more crafty and cynical than other characters such as Goofy or Mickey.
Donald's famous voice, one of the most identifiable voices in all of animation, was until 1985 performed by voice actor Clarence "Ducky" Nash. It was largely this semi-intelligible speech that would cement Donald's image into audiences' minds and help fuel both Donald's and Nash's rise to stardom. Since 1985, Donald has been voiced by Tony Anselmo, who was trained by Nash himself for the role.
In Disney, I was more interested in their plays and movies. Above is the Disney awards where they give awards like most Heroic, most Romantic etc. Very interesting and really brings back your childhood memories. Other plays i caught is the Lion King Adventure and the 3D Disney Movie. Thumbs UP!!!
At around 3pm, I left Disney and make my way to Tung Chung station where i'll be taking the cable car from Skyrail Terminal to Ngong Ping. The Skyrail trip takes 20-25 minutes. The round trip ticket cost around HKD 88. (Can't really remember) Here's a photo taken from the cable car. I would strongly recommend all people to take the cable car cos the view is really mesmerising, something you'll never forget for life... The weather is very cool which may well be also one of the reason why i enjoyed this ride so much.
After the cable car ride, i made my way to the Giant Buddha and Po Lin Monastery. The 34-metre-high Giant Buddha, the world's tallest, outdoor, seated, bronze Buddha statue, sits on a lotus throne above a three-platform altar and weighs 250 tonnes. Magnificient sight!
A close up on the Buddha's face... I stayed one hour at the Po Lin Monastery to enjoy the peace and serenity before making my way back to Disney where i'll catch their night view and fireworks at 7pm. My cable car ride back was just as unforgettable. Alone, I sat in the cable car and enjoyed the sun set...
Night View of Disney.. I tried to take photos of the fireworks but not very well taken. Again, if you ever go Disney, never miss the fireworks. All in all, my Disney trip is very fulfilling and it really makes me feel that I'm a kid once again, stress-free without any responsibilities and commitments..
I met up my bro for dinner and this time we ate at Da Jia Le, a food court chain.
Yummy!! Pork Ribs Set.
Steamboat set. Here in this photo, you can catch a glimspe of my bro's tummy. haha. He's not exactly slim as you can see.
After dinner, we had dessert at xu liu shan. Most famous dessert chain in HK.
Next, my Bro brought me to this shop where they sell cold dishes like noodles, bird's eggs, squids etc. There's a lot of variety and you just mix and match. I tried to take a photo of the variety of cold dishes they have but was stopped by the boss. oh well.. Heard there's a similar shop opened in Singapore but not very successful as their variety is limited.
This is the final product. I got green noodle, bird eggs, squid and fish cake. They'll mix it with their sauce and you eat from the clear plastic bag with a pair of satay sticks. Very delicious!!!
Day III (Tues)
My bro is checking out today and returning to Singapore whereas i have booked a room at TST guesthouse for one more night.
Our hotel room is quite big, although it doesn't have a splendid view.
As my bro checked out at 830am with his boss and i can only check in at TST Cosmic Guest house at 12pm, I went to MacDonald's and spend my time reading until 11am. With my backpack, i moved on to my next destination: Cosmic Guest house.
Directly from where i was standing (taking photo of my toilet), the bed is located directly on my right. No table...
The Guesthouse is actually located on the 12f of an old residential building. They just renovate the interior. The walkway of the building..
I took the Star Ferry Tour Ride (HKD 40) where the ferry will make a 1 hour round trip
Shoving off from the north side of Hong Kong Island, I got a classic view of the shiny steel skyline against the fog-shrouded spine of the Peak. The boat follows the curve of the shoreline, past bumper crops of tall condos, then heads into open sea before turning back.. This building is the HK Cultural Centre. If you look at the building, it doesn't make any logical 3D sense. Very interesting architectural design. If you notice the buildings in HK, most of them have very interesting design, unlike Singapore.
After the tour, i walked to the Jade Market... I can't differentiate a jade from stone. haha.
(Discover HK)About 450 registered stall-owners sell amulets, ornaments, necklaces and trinkets made from the revered green stone. This is a fun place to browse and to buy an inexpensive memento of your visit, but think twice about buying anything costly unless you are a jade expert. Open 10am - 5pm daily
And I walked to Flower Market...
This hub of Hong Kong's wholesale and retail floral business will welcome you with sweet natural fragrances and eye-catching colours of flowers and plants sold for very attractive prices. Other accessories, including plant hangers and dried flowers, are also available. Open 7am - 7pm daily. (Discover HK)
And I walked to the bird market...
(Discover HK)Set within an attractive Chinese courtyard design, the Yuen Po Street Bird Garden is a market catering to bird lovers. They come to the market with cage in hand to find new birds of different types and sizes, buy accessories and food for their treasured pets, or to just take their pet birds for a "walk" and meet up with other bird lovers. The garden, with its many singing birds, offers a pleasant and novel experience. While appreciating the beauty and sweet songs of the birds, please avoid direct contact. Open 7am - 8pm daily.
And I walked to the GoldFish Market...
(Discover HK)Shops selling colourful fish of different species along with furnishings and decoration for aquariums line both sides of Tung Choi Street. The shops are usually open 10:30am - 10pm daily.
Goldfish.. Goldfish.. Goldfish.. Goldfish..Goldfish..Goldfish..Goldfish..Goldfish..Goldfish.. Goldfish.. Goldfish.. Goldfish.. Goldfish.. Goldfish.. Goldfish..Goldfish..Goldfish..Goldfish..Goldfish..Goldfish.. Goldfish.. Goldfish.. Goldfish..Goldfish..Goldfish..Goldfish..Goldfish..Goldfish..Goldfish..Goldfish..Goldfish..Goldfish..Goldfish..Goldfish..Goldfish.. Goldfish..
Dinner time. I had my dinner at Macau Cafe again. and this time i tried their Portuguese Cod Fish in Cheese. Yummy!!..
After my dinner, i made my way to the Avenue of Stars where i can enjoy the night scene of HK. i just sat there and look... completely captivated by their night view. There's a symphony of lights show at 8pm daily, best viewed from Avenue of Stars. The show is spectacular as the lights and lasers danced to the music.
Symphony of lights
Bruce Lee...
Day IV (Wed) Last Day.
On my last day, i only have the intention to visit Tai-O fishing village.
Also known as the "Venice of Hong Kong", Tai O is also a hot tourist spot for both foreigners and residents of other parts of Hong Kong, despite damage by a fire in July 2000. The pang uk, a kind of stilt house, built right over the waterway are still quite scenic. A rope bridge tended by local women used to be quite popular with visitors, but it has been replaced with a steel pedestrian bridge.
The traditional salted fish and shrimp paste and storefronts at Tai O. For a small fee, some residents will take tourists out on their boats along the river and for short jaunts into the sea. Many tourists come to Tai O specifically to take these trips to see Chinese white dolphins. It is also a good place to see the sunset.
To get there, I have to take the train all the way to Tung Chung and then take bus 11 to Tai-O. The bus journey is around 45 min.
Took a few photos of their lifestyle. Above is the firewood which they use for cooking. Took a photo of their small huts (below).
This marks the end of my HK trip. What makes HK unique is that it's a place where you can see the city life and country side life all together. Below are some wide photos i took. The resolutions are not that good as the acutal size is quite big which i can't upload.... Cable Car View
Big Buddha
Harbour View
Peak View
Cosmic Guest House Outside View
