Hong Kong!! WHEE!!! day 1

i recently spent about 5days in Hong Kong. longer than my usual holidays but... let me tell you, it was too short and it was too long.

i went with my mum and my younger brother (pictures will be uploaded later,not kinda lazy). My last night at Penang i slept at 2am (didn't want to leave my fishes alone lol) and my mum woke me up at 330am (shudve just stayed up). Groggily we made our way to Penang International airport to catch our 6am flight. when we got there, the check in line was soooooooooo long!

FYI: those who has a printer at home, please do an online check-in. you can print your boarding pass at home. online check-in and sms check-in can be done 48hrs before your flight. i stayed up long enough to see the plane take off. the feeling of being lift off the ground is my fave part. the view from above is breathtaking. Penang is truly very magnificant. as soon as we flew pass Penang, i went to sleep.

FYI: bring a pillow. sleeping practically upright for 4hrs with no place to rest your head is a very fatiguing experience.

i went to Hong Kong from 29th Nov until 4th Dec 2009. the beginning of winter. PLEASE BRING NORMAL CLOTHES AND 1 JACKET!!!!

EVERYONE told us that it would be cold. chilling. dry wind which will crack your lips. WRONG!! the wind was a little chilling and HK is less humid than Malaysia but i was sweating in my 2 layer top!

we didnt use the gloves we bought, the hats we borrowed and the warmest jackets were only used when we went to The Peak! (more on that later) Since we thought we would be under warm jackets all the time, we did not bring our best Sunday clothes. so... we looked like part of the poor when we were in Hong Kong. When you live in a tropical country, you dont really invest in nice looking clothes that keep you warm.

We stayed in the Kowloon Hotel. VERY nice hotel. highly recommended.the services are good. the concierge is very knowledgeable and all sorts of convenience is but a walk away. Usual price for a deluxe room for 2 is HKD2000 per night but my mum the wise booked and paid 5months ahead, during the height of H1N1 for only HKD600 a night

the first thing we did when we arrived at the airport is to get an Octopus card. its a cash card that can be used for virtually anything (MTR, bus, even at a convenient store!)
HKD 50 for deposit and HKD 100 reload for the first time. subsequent reloads are at a minimum HKD50. at the end of your trip, you can return the card and you will get back your cash, including all the credit that is left inside.

the website says that there is a free coach to the Kowloon Hotel but apparently we didn't read the fine prints. In order to take the free shuttle, we had to take the Airport Express Train (HKD190 per pax) to the nearest station and then the free shuttle will take you to your hotel doorstep.Since we just got there and we had no sense of distance, we paid for the Express. it was a very pleasant ride. very comfortable and very fast. we had glimpses of Hong Kong along the way.

Once we checked into the hotel, we set out to get food!!!
stumbled upon a very nice, very old fashion noodle and beef shop. DELICIOUS!!!!

turns out right beside our hotel has a MTR station called Tsim Sha Tsui station. Hong Kong has one of the best public transportation i have ever seen. everything is connected to everything! there is no need to be above ground when everything is connected underground! the taxi's are very very costly but in Hong Kong, everyone walks. we walked from sunrise to sundown. we return home every night exhausted but satisfied and worth the agony we all felt on our soles. it was a workout holiday! one i am thankful for because i was able to enjoy all the wonderful meals and not feel guilty.

we basically explored the neighbourhood around our hotel on the first day. there is a big chain of duty free shops called Sasa. they seriously sell cheap cosmetics and perfume. arond our hotel we found any kind of Factory outlet stores imaginable. Esprit?YES! Adidas?YES! Giordano??YES!! there were cheap clothes everywhere! and we went mad with shopping. not on the first day. first day was just for surveying ^^

we stopped by at a mouthwatering dessert shop for teatime and went home to rest. at night, we set off to Temple Street, a very well known must see tourist place. for those who have good flee markets in your hometown, don't go.it was highly recommended by an Indonesian tourist couple who we shared a table and swapped stories with at the earlier noodle shop. so we went hungry and excited. since it was our first day, we were not sure of the MTR stations and we were slightly disorientated. when we finally found our way, we were highly disappointed. everywhere everyone was selling seafood. expensive seafood. a Yong Chou fried rice was HKD37!!!!! after hunting in vain for food other than seafood and finding none, we resigned ourselves to one of the shops. we ordered the fried rice, a simple stir fry vege with garlic and a deep fried squid (which wasn't prepared by that shops cook, later we learned) and it cost us a large HKD190!! it was the single most expensive meal we had in those 5 days and the least delicious. all lessons must come at a price. we were thankful to have learnt it quickly and swiftly. the streets were strewn with poor imitations and expensive prices. we quickly got out of there. on the way out we saw many food courts. oh well.... when you are the foreigner, you can't escape paying the price for being new.

we got home, exhusted. ever since we landed in Hong Kong, we only sat down for less than 2hours. we fell asleep even before our heads touched the pillow.

~the end~