Saturday, February 21, 2009

2008 Holidays - Part 4 - Hong Kong 28th Sept -03rd Oct 2008

Day 1 - Walk around Tsim Sha Tsui
My first day in Hong Kong was actually spent on the mainland area where i stayed, Tsim Sha Tsui. Checked in to the hostel after the train ride from Lo Wu to the other end Tsim Sha Tsui East. Had a 10 minutes walk underground to my destination.

I stayed in Yiu Fai Guesthouse/hostel.. what to do.. on budget mah... cost me HKD 350 per night.. so still ok... :D the place is situated at Golden Crown Court next to Standard Chartered Bank, opposite a mosque along Nathan Road and just less than 5 minutes walk to the MTR. Very convenient in terms of transportation and i could say everything is just stone throw away... food, convenience store, shopping..you name it, you'll have it... Pretty busy place, small but not as dodgy. The place is pretty secured with 24 hours guard watch and security cctv cameras available. The lift is of course very small... fits me and my bro with our 2 huge luggage and that's it... The owner of the place is Raymond... nice man.. ready to provide information anytime and he has got a notebook at the counter where everyone can use at anytime we want to check emails and stuffs... our room is not 5 star, just a normal bed with basic necessity.. bathroom attached is quite big with heater available. it has one little tv available and air conditioned. Room size is acceptable... it fits a double bed and also an extra foldable single bed which budak decided he wants to sleep on it.. it has got a dressing table with the tv on top of it.. phone is also available in the room and calls within HKG is free :D

Anyways, after check in, we both went out for our first meal in HKG.. brother hungry d :D

Experienced cha chan teng food :) it's weird that during this trip... i rarely feel hungry... the time i stop and eat is when i see someone pull a black long face.. siapa lagi... budak ler.. (budak refers to my bro) :P.. wahahah... so when i finally come back.. i realised that i've missed eating so many local delicacies/food there :( so the next trip go must eat eat eat :P

Yam flavoured Gai Dan Chai...

Me and my bro was walking around from Tsim Sha Tsui to Jordan and some part we pretty much got lost :P but of course with the help of the map and the road names, moving around on foot is an easy task :) Day one is all about walking, from my hostel to the areas of Tsim Sha Tsui, to Jordan, China Ferry terminal, Victoria Harbour, Avenue of stars and back to hostel again... superb workout :P


Symphony of Lights at Victoria Harbour. Managed to make it on time for the daily 8pm show and got a nice spot too :) It was spectacular and pretty... And of course not missing the Avenue of Stars where all the stars' hand print are at

Day 2 - Hong Kong Disneyland, Lantau Island

I slept and woke up at 4 something in the morning and could not sleep after that... watched tv until 7am before i get up and get myself ready for Hong Kong Disneyland!!! Getting my bro to bathe and get ready is not an easy task...he takes more time than what i need... haiyooo... that is one of the thing that gets on my nerve every morning... so we missed out breakfast and head to Disneyland straight. My counterpart Cindy so happen was having holidays with plans to HKG as well so we actually planned to meet up in prior to my trip, and Disneyland was chosen as the meet up location :D I've never seen her before but we do closely liaise with many shpts from XMN to PEN. She was there with her bf Kunta and the meet up went great at the entrance, we clicked immediately, got the tickets and there we go on a day full of fun and laughter in Disneyland :D Got on all the rides and shows, so nice.. felt like a kid all over again..

At the entrance of Hong Kong Disneyland... so happen the time i went, the theme was Halloween, the night before Christmas kinda theme with pumpkins and villain characters all around :D

The first thing your see when entering the gate is Disneyland Railroad train at Main Street, USA. It seems to be connected or sponsored or something by UPS. That me and my CAN counterpart Cindy in front of Sleeping Beauty's castle and a whole lot of pumpkins...

In the Disneyland stores... pretty and expensive :P

Photos with the Disney characters.. Mickey, Minnie, Donald and Mushu. Missed taking photos with the rest of the gang.. next time must go on weekdays and non holidays :) cos the line is so so longgggggg~


Before we bid Disneyland bye bye ~

Cindy stayed a night at the same hostel as I did, and Raymond (the owner) gave her room next door. We went back together dead tired and hungry, the last meal we had was lunch in Disneyland, freshen up and off we go for dinner or should i say supper.. and because we were too hungry i forgot to take photos of the food :P we had the typical wan tan noodles soup with huge yummy wantans, beef tripe noodles, beef tummy noodles and oyster porridge if i remember correctly... :D Thanks to Cindy, although we only manage to spend only one day together, it was definitely full of fun!

Day 3 - Tung Chung, Ngong Ping 360, Tian Tan Buddha, Po Lin Monastery ,Wisdom Path @ Lantau Island & Mongkok
Cindy planned for Hong Kong Island that day so i proceed with my itinerary to Ngong Ping 360, the Giant Buddha, Po Lin Monastery and Wisdom Path at Lantau Island. Parted ways and took the MTR to Tung Chung.... and off we go on the cable car experience to Lantau Island.

The ride was fun.. the cable car fits 8 person but it's more spacious than the one we have for Genting.... we have a mother with 2 kids and their grandmother together in the cable car we're in.. very chatty and lots of questions.. pretty much kept us company the whole journey... that's the station, the view and isn't that cocker spaniel a cutie.. the owner left him there go get her Starbucks coffee :D


Walk around Ngong Ping Village.. everyone will pass this "village" on the way to the Giant Buddha and Wisdom Path. It has got plenty exhibition theatre, souvenir shops and restaurants.

The magnificent Giant Tian Tan Buddha... beautiful isn't it.... good thing the weather also not bad.. it's sunny but with cold breeze.. windy~ nice... a walk up the stairs to the Giant Buddha and you'll have a nice view of the island.... it's all green and away from the busy city... and good for the eyes too.. :D

Wisdom Path is around 10 minutes walk from the Giant Buddha...

On the way down, only I realise there's a view of DHL's Hong Kong Hub.. :D only got a bird eye's view.. and little Kuzu there :D
Tung Chung Station itself is connected or nearby to a huge mall and it's Hong Kong first outlets mall, the Citygate Outlets.. they have Nike, Adidas, Esprit, a lot a lot of other sports, accessories and children brands and plenty of other designer brands too... go visit the site for the directory :D i was suppose to go elsewhere, in the end forego and walked around the mall.. pretty big... and i've got a 4gb SD card for MYR 90. Then it's cheap la.. i think now cheaper... cos when i asked around other shops they quote me like MYR 200 to 250... crazy.... i din buy la cos i know in MY cheaper mah... manatau finally can find around the same price there... haha... so that explains my photo taking frenzy la.. what i have is memory what :P

Off to Ladies Market at Mongkok... did some shopping until someone pull long black face and potong-ed my steam la... So we went to KFC cos everywhere else is full... in fact KFC is also full... Mongkok is packed like a stream of people walking up and down... if you bring your kids there, make sure u carry them or u hold on to them tightly...

Proceed to Hui Lau Shan, Mango pudding n desserts.. they have franchise all over Hong Kong... so happen to pass thru the one in Mongkok, so we went in and managed to get seat. It's full all the time... patrons in and out... and yes, the mango desserts are yummy... but a bit pricey...

Day 4 - Ocean park, Admiralty & Stanley

Took the MTR to Admiralty from Tsim Sha Tsui... i did not manage to experience star ferry believe it or not :( MTR faster mah.. although it's more costly la... if only i have more time :D Anyways, upon arrival at Admiralty station, there is ticketing booth already for Ocean Park and Octopus card holder get's discounted price.. haha.. lucky i've got myself Octopus card.. more convenient mah... So u buy the ticket there and out form the station you see whole long stretch of people... lining up.. well.. cos the day I went was their National Day public holiday... wrong day.. so imagine the people!!! Anyways, outside the MTR station, is the bus stand... so busses all over and you can see it's pretty organized... there are attendants standing at the entrance making sure everyone queue and go on the correct bus.. most busses all go to Ocean Park wan la :D my first bus experience in Hong Kong.. the double decker bus :) it took a while to reach Ocean Park but i can tell you it's hell lot of ppl there!! i can imagine how crowded is Disneyland that day... and it's damn hot and humid.. good thing the cold breeze is still there.. else i would have fainted cos so many people are fighting for oxygen....

Ocean Park has got it's own fun compared to disneyland... but i guess it's because of the tremendous amount of people... and it's smaller in size.. so we pretty much covered all the rides and the park by 4:00pm. Got to see the cute lazy seals, lazy pandas, and of course all the rides there... challenging... haha.. more hebat than Disneyland's rides... it has got the triple loop roller coaster... shiok!

The off we go on a bus ride to Stanley... it's a long ride.... haha.. but you'll pass the rich people's houses at Repulse Bay and Stanley itself.. expensive sports car and maids walking their dogs... and a lot of designated bbq spot by the beach.. just like in the movies/series... Stanley has got breathtaking views as well... and the sea breeze.... just nice for a walk in the evening...

Cafes and bars along the promenade... there's also the Stanley market where they sell a lot of souvenirs and chinese paintings, arts and crafts.. besides the normal shops selling clothes and stuffs.. it's more artsy type of stuffs..... noticed that there' s a lot tourists and expats here too.. and a lot of dog owners.. and i mean real good breed dog owners.. either they will bring the dog for a walk themselves or the maids will, with few dogs each...

Nice view isn't it? the promenade and the Murray House is in the photo as well.. a long ride but worth going... after that we rushed took like another hour bus ride from Stanley straight to Tsim Sha Tsui... it's long long ride.... Stanley is at the other side of Hong Kong island and there we were on our way to the mainland... was thinking if taking the bus to Central or Admiralty then make out way back by the MTR but we were too tired, we decided to enjoy the slow ride since the National Day fireworks only starts at 9:00pm at Victoria Harbour... well.. we made it on time but did not manage to go over to the habour cos the police had blocked the roads and the pedestrian bridge :( don't even try to imagine the crowds... so we viewed the spectacular fireworks standing in front of Shangrila... it would be a nicer view at the harbour... missed it...

Joined the Dings for steamboat supper at Tao Heung, Carnavon street... they were pretty much half way already... and pretty surprised that I've manage to locate the shop as well :) hahaha..

Coming up~ Last day at Hong kong Island... more photos :D

3 comments:

lollipoopmonster said...

hi, you mentioned that you stayed in Yiufai guesthouse, do you happen to have a picture of their bathroom? was their bathroom a glass door? coz my friends and I want to stay there too and it might be pretty awkward we'll have a see-through door for a bathroom.

Wenlynn said...

it has regular bathroom door. Am not sure if they have renovated rooms, but you might want to check out golden crown guesthouse too located in the same building. I just went and stayed in May this year. But you must choose renovated rooms with slightly better environment at the same price. Size wise it's a shoes box, but otherwise all fine, cos the location is superb.

Wenlynn said...

it has regular bathroom door. Am not sure if they have renovated rooms, but you might want to check out golden crown guesthouse too located in the same building. I just went and stayed in May this year. But you must choose renovated rooms with slightly better environment at the same price. Size wise it's a shoes box, but otherwise all fine, cos the location is superb.