Hong Kong Bus Uncle

For those who may have missed the clip.



And for the music inclined.

Shen Zhen

It never occur to me that I will step into China in my twenties. In my mind, China is still a pretty backward country that is much more suitable for leisure trips paid with your CPF.

But my travel mates all wanted to go so what the heck.

We took the KCR (akin to MTR but another company) from Mongkok KCR all the way to Lo Wu station. Some stations are really far in between but the train was pretty quick. 45 mins ride.



You drop off the train, cross the HK custom, then a river that divides the island and I'm in China for the very 1st time.



This is what you'll see once you move out of China Immigration. For newbies, you may already be harbouring intentions to U-turn but this ain't the place to tour around.

You need to take their subway to Guomao, which is one station away.



Check out their fare card. It's like a coin. Contactless scanning at the gantry. You drop it into the gantry when you exit.



I think the paintwork on the train is not up yet.



See. It's just like Hong Kong here. No rural, uncivilized peasants. Those would be us as we wowed loudly everytime we see something worth wowing over.



This should be your first stop. Jin Kwang Hua Guang Chang. Follow my instructions. Your tongue won't regret.



The things are upmarket brands but you don't come to shop. You come here to eat like a King! Muhahah

If time is of essense, you should make a mad rush to the top floor and head to this place. I can't recall the name but these are the posters outside it.



This is fine-dining at budget price. But be awed by the ambience more than the food.

Show you what I mean.




Even the toilets are amazing. They spreaded numerous unisex cubicles in a big room. It has plastic sheets on the toilet cover. Press a button and it automatically changed to a fresh one for you. How more class can it get!

The cuisine....



SHOPPING

How can one go to Shenzhen without shopping. From the restaurant, you need to walk a fair bit to locate their shopping streets. It's closely modelled after Taipei's Xi Men Ding.



I didn't get much as I don't really fancy their fashion sense, nor Hong Kong's.



Piglet for pets anyone? Cruel, I know...

DINNER TIME

It should be quite obvious that I fancy food over shopping.

We headed back to the immigration area to the shopping centre beside it(There's only 1). A 2 hour massge and all of us gotten hungry.

You need to go to this restaurant on the top floor. There are two on opposite ends and one should have a queue. It's queuing time.

Peking duck, drunken prawns, hotplate beef, etc... *slurpz*



Our prawns drowning in wine



That's all the time we had for Shenzhen. We took the last train back to our hotel, it was close to midnight.

My parting shot of Shenzhen, taken at the bridge to the train platform. I love this pic. Like so pro. haha



To be continued...

Two weeks and counting.....

... and goodbye SBS & SMRT.

Wong Tai Sin & Central

A quick meal to break our fast on day 2.


What's the deal with instant noodle?

It wasn't fantastic but unique loh. hehe.

We headed straight to Wong Tai Sin. It's kinda my idea to break away from the routine of non-stop shopping for a couple of hours.



It wasn't that big a deal really. It's not superbly grand or huge. But still considered a landmark.

And to play safe:



Central-Mid-Levels Escalator

The longest chain of escalator in Asia. It brings you from the bottom of Central, past Stanley Street(which we gave a miss), Lan Kwai Fong, all the way to some ulu alley high up upon some hill.



I read that the escalator is 800m but it sure feels much much longer than that to me.



It also passed by this landmark building. Used to be HK Central police station.



We opted to take a small bus back down. The escalator only goes up and stairway's down.



I like the small bus. It's quick and frequent. That's the importance of public transport isn't it.

HK has small bus, Singapore has price hikes.

If you like branded stuff, Central the place for you too. Or Shenzhen ;)

You have a giant LV boutique



Right opposite an equally humongous Armani



And how could you ever complete HK without hoping onto their tram.



And check this out. Vintage lifts!



And how can I go through a day without....



... my double milk.. *slurpz*

OOoooo. This is so HK Drama..



The Peak

The view says it all...



To be continued...

Tsim Sha Tsui

"The mighty wind was slapping us in all directions..."



It was typhoon signal number 3. It was supposedly heading to signal 8(the next tier) and that means everyone indoor. Fortunately luck is on us.



This is so Hong Kong right.



Space Musuem but we didn't enter. Tell me that is a shopping mall, I may consider. haha

Via the underground tunnels, we made our way to New World Centre & Sogo. Avenue of Stars is right behind the former.



We risked our dry clothes to bring you these photos.



This is my new wallpaper for now.



Based on Silly Celly's recommendations, we made our way to Lai Chi Kok. It's located on Castle Peak Road. Take a cab. The MTR station is bit far to walk.



We went in close to 7pm and spent most time at the Adidas factory outlet. Bought myself a pair of street soccer boots at HK$180!! And no, I didn't steal the signboard.

Dinner was at Jordan Road. We had the world's saltiest wanton noodle. Their oyster sauce there must be damn cheap. HK$18 each. I ordered this fried fish skin side dish. Know about it from some HK series.



I love these vintage bottles.

We proceeded to Temple Street next. It's a famous night market, a must-go.



Da Pai Dang. Too bad we missed it.



The people there sure loves their mahjong



Too bad can't locate Pan Jin Lian street. :p



You just can't stop eating when you are in Hong Kong. Desert was next. I had this milky thing... every single day. Not cheap though. About HK$20. Cost more than our Wanton Mee.



This is nearby Ladies Street. At one of the centre, there's this Esprit factory outlet. They carry out of season collection. I got a pants at HK$119~!



I think we bought enough to open our own Espirit factory outlet.

To be continued...

I miss Hong Kong

"...and with a heavy heart, we set upon the runway of Changi International Airport."

Hehe. So novel right. But I do miss Hong Kong very much.

The last time I was there was 2001. I didn't really enjoy it back then. The food was so-so and the people really have attitude problem. The weather didn't help either.



The entire ride took about 4 ass-numbing hours. My first on Cathay Pacific but still prefers SQ and their on-board nintendo.



For all first-time visitors, you MUST try this cafe Xu Liu Shan. You won't miss it. It's everywhere. Their mango inspired drinks and deserts are simply delicious. But not cheap. This drink cost about HK$20 (That's about S$4.)

Not much pics on our transit to the hotel as it was raining with an impending Typhoon headed our way.

But the first highlight of the trip goes to ...... (drum rolls)



Our five star hotel!

Royal Plaza Hotel situated near to the north of Nathan Road and right beside Mong Kok KCR.

We got lucky and received free upgrades to Executive Suites on the 18th and 19th floor. Woo Hoo~!



It even has free broadband! But I don't have a laptop. :(



We didn't spend much time in our room before heading out to roam the streets. Luckily they have a super long overhead bridge that sheltered us for most of our walking.



We were here for our breakfast on the 3rd day.



Their small buses. No wonder their public transportation reign over ours. More buses than people.



On recommendation, we bought the multi-purpose Octopus card. You can use it to take buses, trains and even buy stuffs from 7-11.



I'm quite amazed by some initiatives by the HK authorities. There's one meant for this Octupus card. To encourage people to walk more, they station rebate booths at places like mid-level escalators and our hotel, places which requires a fair bit of walking to reach.

You sure won't see these from money-minded SMRT.



First stop.... ->



To be continued...