I'm back from my Hong Kong trip! The self-proclaimed shopping and food paradise is only possible if you know where to go! Read about my pre-Hong Kong post here!
Our first day shopping was not successful as the places we went to sells branded items only! So i will be listing the highlights of my trips and where you SHOULD go to shop for cheap stuffs!
A copy of the MTR map. We used the octopus card for transportation. It works like Singapore's ez-link card. Just top up the card and you can tap in and out of the train stations. It applies to buses as well. It simply offer ease of convenience when using HK transportation system.
Highlights
The Victoria's Peak
We went at night and it was quite chilly despite it being summer! We queued to get the peak tram up! It was quite a long queue..
We went at night and it was quite chilly despite it being summer! We queued to get the peak tram up! It was quite a long queue..
We finally see the tram!
The night view of Hong Kong!
Getting there: Walking distance from Central Station exit J2.
Ocean Park
We reached ocean park before it opens to purchase the tickets!
Ocean Park
We reached ocean park before it opens to purchase the tickets!
It was an ok experience. Since we reached there early, we managed to avoid a lot of queues for the rides. My favourite ride is...
Hair Raiser coaster!
It's actually not as thrilling as the roller coaster in USS but the tracks goes up to a hill so when the car goes down, you see the sea alllll the waaaay up there! Wahh!
The other coaster there was not a good experience for me. My head jerked against the safety vest and my ears became red after that :/
This head jerker..
We watched a dophin show!
This is a aquarium, with sharks and stingrays!
Panda!
Getting there: Take bus 629 from Admiralty station. It goes directly to ocean park!
Disneyland Hong Kong
Disneyland Hong Kong
This is my first trip to disneyland and it has drawn me to visit other disneylands as well! At Sunny Bay station where you change train to HK disneyland, we are greeted by Mickey Mouse themed train!
Mickey handrails!
Mickey actually moves up and down! *surfing!*
We watched the flights of fantasy parade as well!
Two of my favourite rides are Big Grizzly Mountain Runaway Mine Cars and Space Riders! Awesome ride experience! The coasters in disneyland are generally not towards the super thilling rides, so you can't expect that 'high'. But these two were fun! If you like to immerse yourself with a themed experience, i would recommend mystic manor and winnie the pooh ride! You follow a story plot and move around with various scenes!
Getting there: Go to Sunny Bay Station and transfer towards Disneyland
Argyle Centre Shopping Mall @ Mongkok (旺角中心)
This is the place to go if you are looking for cheap clothes, bags and shoes! I highly recommend this place! Clothes range from 40-60HKD and they are of acceptable quality! I bought 4 dresses, 1 skirt and 1 jacket! Furthermore, it is already very affordable and you don't need to waste time and energy in haggling for prices, which you MUST do so at ladies market.
Getting there: Alight at Mongkok station exit B1. It is just across Fife Street.
Ladies Market @ Mongkok
Ladies Market @ Mongkok
The place where haggling is a must as vendors highly mark up their prices for tourists. It might be more than 3 times the rate! My friend bought a monopod for 85HKD afyer much haggling and the original rate given by the vendor was close to 200HKD, if i didn't remember wrongly. After checking the rate with our HK friend, apparently it is possible to get a monopod around 60plus HKD.
However, this place is worth a visit to take a look at the local culture. Besides, there are other places you can go in Mongkok, just don't shop at ladies market unless you are up for some fierce haggling.
Getting there: Alight at Mongkok station exit E2 and walk along Nathan Road towards Shan Tung Street.
Yuan Lang Lao Po Bing (元朗老婆饼)
One of the well-known lao po bing in HK. I'm not actually a fan of lao po bing, but i bought some back to Singapore as souvenirs! They have a branch in Mongkok and they sell a variety of other snacks too!
Getting there: Can't remember the exact direction, but you exit from E2, Walk along Nathan Road. You need to turn left into one of the road and it's located somewhere there. Ask the locals! They directed us there as well!
Hotel Review
As i previously mentioned, we booked Lodgewood hotel located in Mongkok. It is around 7mins walk from Mongkok station exit A2. Some pictures of the interior of the room.
There's a glass panel dividing the beds and toilet. There is a curtain that you can draw to close the glass panel.
Overall, i think this hotel is good. Good location with friendly staffs! Not that expensive as well! It is considered a rather new hotel so it is advisable to bring the hotel's name card out with you in case you want to take a cab. Taxi drivers may not know this hotel by its name!
Food Reviews
Our first breakfast in HK! The noodles is damn good! The soup base is rather bland however. This is located nearer to Prince Edward Station. I order the beef with satay sauce! Reasonably price.
We ate at the cafe ocean when we went to ocean park. The food is very flavourful! I ordered sliced pork with tofu under their claypot section. The menu is not too expensive considering that it is located in a theme park as compared to Singapore's restaurants within a theme park. When we went there, it was Halloween themed. Waiters were dressed up like chinese vampire, thankfully without the makeup on their faces. Incense were placed on the tables. We felt uncomfortable by it and moved the incense to another empty table.
Yeah! We ate HK's Tim Ho Wan! Similar to Singapore, they do not really have a huge variety of dim sum. Quoted from my friend, it is around 20% nicer than Singapore's outlets. Their po luo bao... Delicious! We ordered so much that our food needs to be stacked!
In disneyland, we ate at the starliner diner. Most restaurants there display their food sold outside their shops. I ate the grilled chicken breast. If you like tomato sauce, this is the dish for you! The rice is shaped in Mickey mouse! We only ate at this restaurant as our HK friend told us that the rest of the restaurants are not very nice.
Itinerary
Our plan to macau was cancelled as we do not have enough time! Our final itinerary was:
1st day (Touch-down): shopping at Hong Kong Island, visit victoria peak at night
2nd day: Ocean Park
3rd day: HK Disneyland
4th day: Shopping around Mongkok (Argyle Centre, Ladies Market and buying lao po bing)
5th day: Back to Singapore
That's the end of my Hong Kong post! Waiting for next year's Japan trip already!
2nd day: Ocean Park
3rd day: HK Disneyland
4th day: Shopping around Mongkok (Argyle Centre, Ladies Market and buying lao po bing)
5th day: Back to Singapore
That's the end of my Hong Kong post! Waiting for next year's Japan trip already!
