HK, here we come! Part 1

After much waiting, we finally arrived at HK, and the weather forecast for the duration of our stay seems pretty good. Temperature range for these 5 days are 18-25, and except for the 2nd day which has a predicted drizzle, the rest will be sunny. All credits will have to go to Dear for making all the arrangements without even complaining. Er well, I'll help her to do the bookings and plannings the next time we go overseas again.

Park Hotel is where we will be accomodated. Located in the heart of TST along Cameron Road, it is very accessible for us to take the MTR anytime due to the many MTR exits nearby. This area is certainly bustling with night activities. The shops and eateries close after 11pm, and along Nathan Road at ChungKing Mansion, there are some recommended Money Changers which provide the best rates in HK, like SD1 to HKD4.95 (as at 10/04/2009)? Well, certainly not the best but I guess it's good enough already.


Day 1.
Check in Park Hotel / Check out Tsim Sha Tsui

Our room

With nicely refurbished corridors

Since we slept little the previous night, we were already dead beat and we napped for an hour or so, followed by having our late lunch and exploring our neighborhood. At night, we went to the famous Ladies' Street and that whole bunch of pasar malams. I had to look for a chiong Coach wallet that my mum wanted and the prices those Chinese stallholders quoted were almost that of an authentic Coach! So I told her I'm not buying if it's more than S$10, and she gave in. Ha! Dear contemplated getting a Kitty towel but somehow she didn't get any.And the Symphony of Lights! It's advisable not to waste your time there, because the whole show practically makes no sense to us. Spend more time shopping instead lah.


Day 2.

South Horizons Plaza / Ocean Park / Madame Tussauds and The Peak

Ap Lei Chau (鴨脷洲)

We were all poised to set out for Ap Lei Chau, a small little island off the coast of Aberdeen and is considered the most densely populated island in the world. And I thought Singapore should hold this title, given how we behave like sardines on the MRT every morning. In any case, I was there for 2 things: Check out their 'HDB' estates and, most importantly, a visit to Space, the much raved Prada warehouse in South Horizon Plaza that a Prada fanatic like me couldn't miss.

Some flats near the warehouse (South Horizon Plaza)

It's pink!

Dear sacrificed the morning part of the Ocean Park visit so that we could spend an hour or two browsing through the warehouse, which has an interior decor so nice that it's almost like a boutique itself!

I don't know what pose is that

A view in front of Space

Women's collections

Like what many netizens have claimed, this store sells some off-season merchandise which are in fact quite recent from what I remember. There was this Jacquard (canvas) range that I spotted last Xmas and they have some designs on display, and I got myself a sling bag. Can't find the exact model in the Paragon store anymore but the lady said it is on 40% off. Yes, you can get such whopping slashes especially for bags. Another waist pouch I was eyeing in Singapore was too costly, and over here it's S$200 cheaper.

Dear got herself a pink sling which can be used as a handcarry bag. I'm quite tempted to get myself some other stuff but I guess there must be a limit. We left the store contented and hungry, so the next step was to find food, and that's where the trouble kicks in.

I cursed myself for not paying attention to the lyrics of Faye Wong's album, nor trying to learn Cantonese from those TV2 blockbusters when I was younger. Now I have problem understanding what does a 魚片雲吞面 consist of. Shame on me. You could have imagined how the others in the coffeeshop stared at us like we were aliens who just came from Space, pun intended. Dear just wanted some luncheon meat noodle and we had a hard time confirming our orders with the grumpy stallholder of a local 茶餐厅. But surprise surprise, our lunch didn't taste so bad after all, the 魚片雲吞面 was delicious! Dear's luncheon meat noodles were quite alright though, she just wanted to play safe by eating the correct stuff when everything else looks inedible to her.

A HK$26 meal, which is around S$5. Cheap!

The serving is huge!!

魚片雲吞面

After a hasty lunch, both of us tried to ask a cashier at the 7-11 nearby how to take a public bus to Ocean Park. Surprisingly, a young lady standing beside us overheard our conversation and beckoned us, in Cantonese, to follow her somewhere and the only word I could make sense is Siu Ba (小巴 or small bus). With my right hand holding on to my phone that is hidden in my bag, I was ready to use it to defend ourselves in case she turns out to be a kidnapper.

The Siu Ba with the Siu Dou driver who scoffed at me for wasting his time.

We were brought to this makeshift bus interchange (which was actually just a stall with a chair, table and some books with the bus timings on it) by the lady and we thanked her profusely for showing us the way to Ocean Park. So touched!

The bus driver was not around and we waited for a few minutes until a bus with the words 'Ocean Park' stopped in front of us, just to confirm with the driver, I asked him if the bus does go to our desired destination, and I was returned with an angry face and some crude sounding Cantonese which I absolutely had no idea which parent of mine he is scolding. Another kind soul on board the bus told us in fluent English that the ride will bring us to somewhere near Ocean Park, and a 10 mins stroll from there will enable us to reach Ocean Park easily.

Yipee! Along the way, I notice that the passengers asked the bus driver to drop them off. Dear realised that there is no bell to be pressed. How interesting! Imagine us having to shout out lungs dry to inform the Bus Captain we are alighting.

Ah Cek ah wa ai lo la. ShiTopppp!

Yipee! Cheap and fast bus ride!

Eh, register a slope?? How troublesome.

Ocean Park

This is the only amusement park we have been looking forward to! Disneyland was not a choice for us as I think I'll die of laughter when I hear Mickey speak Cantonese. Overall, Ocean Park was fun but I guess more could be done to minimize the queuing times. When we just reached there, the roller-coaster was closed for maintenance and we thought that was a pity, but miraculously, it re-opened within a couple of hours. Gonna queue for it soon =)

Alan's virgin Cable Car ride!

I shuddered in fear when I saw that.

Praying hard I better not fart big time!

Dear like no kick leh

Ok, so that's her reaction when I squeezed out a big fart

Aberdeen Harbour

Ocean Park (up the hills)

We walked around looking for things to do, and ended up wasting around an hour plus for the roller coaster ride and half an hour for the Pirate Ship. For an old uncle like me, I still can tahan the roller coaster but I guess Dear was already screaming her head off.

Somany Pirates

Waited another half an hour for the Sea Animal Show to start. Rather impressed with the performance put up by the dolphins and the sea lions though. I was wondering why they didn't teach the Sea Jellies and Sting Rays all the stunts below.

After that, some fast food to fill our tummies before going to the Peak.

Eating with plastic gloves? How original!

And not forgetting the Pandas! I even caught one of them making a cake! We were also lucky to have caught them playing together, and they look so darn funny when they are sitting up.

Madame Tussaud's

Tian mi mi ~

Wa lau eh watch where you are going man!

Wa seh never dreamt that I'll be staring at her assets.

And who said I'm the only pervert around?

I am as decent as her ok

Please help me put in a good word when you see Mr MBT ..


.. cos my wife says the flats in S'pore are way too ex!

Er, who's she waving at?

...

Stress ..

Madame Tussauds was well, not that all exciting. I felt that most of the time we were just entertaining ourselves. The only sweet part is the wax hand mold that both of us made together, which sits on my computer table now. And the strong cold winds of The Peak (HK) ! We went back to our hotel feeling super exhausted from all the walking, but we still have 2.5 days to go.
I'll continue to update the rest this weekend.

Stay tuned for part 2!