Let's start! 4 months ago... (Seriously can't believe i took 4 months to blog about my Hong Kong travelogue!?) Well, I did edit all the photos about 2 months after the trip but didn't managed to find the time to add in the words until today. A Sunday which i came back in the morning at 8am after a whole night of Mahjong-ing, came back, took a 5 hours nap. Time check now - 9.00PM. Alright! I'm quite determined to finish the all 4 days HK travelogue post by today! *punch fist in the air*
Basically i took 2 weeks of holidays in October last year and if you have been a loyal reader, you would have read that i went Phuket during the first week, and guess what? 2 days after i came back, i flew to Hong Kong during the second week! I swear it was a very very impromptu trip! LOL
Basically i took 2 weeks of holidays in October last year and if you have been a loyal reader, you would have read that i went Phuket during the first week, and guess what? 2 days after i came back, i flew to Hong Kong during the second week! I swear it was a very very impromptu trip! LOL
I would say this trip was quite a last minute plan. It was supposed to be the 4 of us - Me, Weifeng, his GF and Chris (Yeah, the same guy who went Phuket too!) but just 1 or 2 nights before, Jeffery managed to settle his own flight and accommodation and decided joined us for this trip! YAYYYY
Out of the 5 of us traveling, we the 4 guys were busy with our commissioning parade at SAFTI, plus the first week, Chris and i were at Phuket, Jeffery at Bangkok so it was quite difficult to coordinate and plan the trip but i'm so glad Wendy (Weifeng's capable girlfriend) managed to do research, check the flights, book the rooms and even come up with an itinerary for the trip! Kudos to her!
I REALISED THIS IS MY 2ND TRIP TO HONG KONG IN 2012! ♥
Air fare to Hong Kong at the end of the year was really really expensive but since we already made up our mind to go, we (or should i say Wendy?) compared the prices and we decided to go for Jetstar. We even got to claim back the air fare through work benefits so technically, it's FREEEEE!
Wei feng brought his Danbo along which is definitely a good photography toy! ♥
The clouds formation in the skies were amazing. ♥
ABOUT 3 TO 4 HOURS LATER, WE LANDED IN HONG KONG!!!
This is when i realised, the plane stopped in the middle of nowhere...
I realised because Jetstar is a small plane compared to the normal ones, we have to get down, walk on the tarmac and there will be a bus to fetch us to the arrival hall! Honestly, it was quite an experience because the first time i went to Hong Kong, i took Singapore Airlines. I won't take Tigers Airways because of the walking part but this time, they managed to "force" me walk on the ground!
Bought a 3 days airport express unlimited travel pass. I would highly recommended this for tourist!
Took a cab over to our hotel. Like i said earlier, this trip was quite impromptu so we didn't have much hotel choices (plus the rates are crazy during year end!) We settled for Gold coast hotel which we found out was on the other end of the island. Not really accessible to the main tourist areas...
FINALLY ARRIVED AT THE HOTEL!!!
I'm literally stunned by how grand this Gold Coast hotel was. It felt like Singapore's MBS! Anyway, it's not cheap hor. It's about 300+ sing dollars/night. It was already one of the cheapest we can find.
Gold coast is where all the rich people stay. No wonder this hotel is so grand. Anyway, the room was huge! 2 super single sized bed, bath tub, make up table, huge TV, what more could we ask for?
The guys found this adult entertainment pay-per-movie section, LOL
BEHOLD THE VIEW WHEN WE OPENED THE CURTAINS!
The view was AMAZING. Nothing was blocking our views, and there were lots of yachts parked neatly below. The night view was so pretty with all the lights. No wonder the price for the room.
The swimming pool on the ground level!
We took awhile to unpack our luggage and took a shuttle bus which brings us to the town!
Basically the hotel provides shuttle bus service which fetches hotel guest to Tsim Sha Tsui at every 30 mins interval and it cost HKD30 ($5) for every trip. The trip takes about 35 mins. Since that's the only way to town, we took the shuttle bus every morning and take a cab back every night. $.$
On the way to meet Jeffery (whose hostel is just nice at Tsim Sha Tsui) for dinner!
All the big brands along this street. Almost everything that you can name of.
One of our itinerary was to visit the Agnes B café! But not on the first night (:
Went over to Jeffery's hostel before going for dinner. From the outside, the place looks like some old rundown building, but when we entered, we were like, "CAN WE CHECK OUT OF GOLD COAST AND MOVE HERE?!" At Hop inn, every room is designed according to a theme by an artist! They have single rooms, double rooms and even family rooms. So pretty and it's cheaper too! Wah lao :(
One piece of advice - When you go Hong Kong, you MUST try their Char Siew rice.
Jeffery, Me and Chris.
Group photos of the guys while waiting for our food!
Amount of Hong Kong dollars i exchanged for this trip. I think around SGD$400... I told myself that's the maximum i will spend in Hong Kong because the previous week at Phuket, i already spent quite a bit on that trip. This time it will just be sightseeing and eating trip. Hmm, we shall see :|
"Danbo wants to eat toooooo!" Okay, lameee.
Behold the most delicious Char siew rice with double egg on earth.
I SWEAR it's the best i have ate in my whole life. Every chunk of Char siew is so juicy and full of flavour. In Singapore, all the char siew are so thin! The thought of HK char siew rice is making me salivated. I can never find such standards in Singapore. I wouldn't mind having it everyday in HK.
Jeffery's Chicken rice set. Taste good but Char siew is definitely better!!!!
Refuse to activate our 3 days unlimited travel pass because it would be a waste if just use the day 1 pass for a night so we bought a one time pass to go over to temple street for night shopping!
HKD$4 per trip, which is like...less than a dollar? 65 cents.
Act one tourist with our MTR card. LOL
Group photo. (Can't find a better caption, LOL)
Night life of Hong Kong! All the neon signage like we see in HK dramas!
If Char siew rice is the best dish you should have in Hong Kong, Shui Lau Shan is the drink!
Reached Temple Street (aka miao jie in chinese) shortly!
Store selling all sorts of iron on badges!
In temple street, the makeshift stores sell all sorts of things from apparels, to gadgets, luggages, and what not. You can try to bargain with the store owners and come to an agreement. Most of the time they will lower the price. I got an advantage because i know how to speak cantonese! :D
Their English super chui. I wonder who will buy this signage.
Anyway, we shopped till about 12 plus when all the stores started to close and took a cab back to the hotel! The cab fare cost about HKD$160 which is equivalent to $26. So you can imagine every night like this. So we have to set aside some money for transportation everyday... Oh wells.
All our hauls for Day 1! Just one night at Temple Street and we bought this!
One last photo to end this Day 1 post! Wendy couldn't decide what ear rings/studs to bring/wear for this trip so she brought "part" of her collection and place it on the make up table! Girls, LOL
Even though this is my 2nd trip to Hong Kong this year, i was really glad that the itinerary that Wendy planned was a total different one from my previous trip! It's like i get to experience the other side of hong kong. The initial plan was to go Macau during one of the 4 days but it was scrapped due to time constraint. But it's okay, i will definitely go there one day.
Even though this is my 2nd trip to Hong Kong this year, i was really glad that the itinerary that Wendy planned was a total different one from my previous trip! It's like i get to experience the other side of hong kong. The initial plan was to go Macau during one of the 4 days but it was scrapped due to time constraint. But it's okay, i will definitely go there one day.
To be continued...