edmund wee

Day 5 is our last day in Hong Kong, we would be returning on a 8.30pm flight to Singapore.

We left our luggage at the lobby and went to Mongkok to do our final shopping at Ladies’ Street.

They sell lots of products ranging from clothes, fake watches, souvenirs, shoes and soft toys, counterfeit bags and more. Haggling of prices is allowed, but if you bargain and agreed on the price, make sure you buy it otherwise the street vendor might get angry.

I bought T-shirts, souvenir key-chains, a pair of sunglasses and a car transmitter for Ipod, at bargained price.

At around 3.30pm, we went for a meal of Dim Sum nearby our hotel, after which we collect our luggages from our hotel.

We made our way to the airport using MTR and upon reaching our destination we returned our Octopus Card and got back the remaining value as refund.

At 8.30pm, we departed from Hong Kong back to Singapore.

Day 4 in Hong Kong is totally devoted to Disneyland. It was a day where we relived our childhood once again.

In the morning, we took MTR from Tsim Sha Tsui to Sunny Bay station, and from there transferred to Disneyland Resort Station. As it was a Sunday morning, lots of tourists and locals flocked to Disneyland. The ticket cost HKD350 which is SGD$70.

Disneyland is a child’s fantasy. The landscape is designed and decorated with a classic old American theme with colourful painted streets with candies, ice-cream, toys and souvenir stores. A mini fire-station, a bakery, mini train station, camera stores, parks, amusement rides added on to this dreamland. There is also a retro double-decker bus and classic old western taxi driven by service crew to provide transportation. A mini train system built within the theme park help to transport visitors from one attraction to another.

We spent more of our time taking photos with Disney characters and tried a few of the rides like Space Mountain and Autopia. Fancy me, a soldier in Disneyland taking kiddy rides, but image here isn’t the greatest concern as there will always be a kid in all of us.

We ended our tour of Disneyland at 5.30pm after watching the Lion King performance, which was performed in a mixture of English and Cantonese, which gave me great confusion caused by their dialogue and I got bored. We left Disneyland after the Lion King performance ended at 5pm.

Next, we returned to Tsim Sha Tsui and visited Avenue of Stars, which we failed to do so on Day 1.

Avenue of Stars is located next to the river separating Tsim Sha Tsui and Central. Every night at 8pm, there would be a laser performance – Symphony of Lights. It is a laser display with lasers shining from buildings at both sides of the river. It was not very impressive, so we left halfway to continue to our next stop –  Jordan.

At Jordan, we shopped at the local night market and I bought a backpack from one of the street vendors. For once, I felt like a mute because the street vendor spoke to me in fast Cantonese and I could not understand. It’s really difficult to grasp and the older Hong Konger doesn’t understand Mandarin. So I had to bargain by typing my preferred price into the vendor’s calculator. Numbers speak louder than words.

From Jordan, we shopped all the way back to Tsim Sha Tsui and returned to our hotel. In the hotel, I tried to pack my stuff into the backpack I just bought. Everything fits in and it was a good purchase at that kind of price. And then we all slept when all of Tsim Sha Tsui is still awaked!

On Day 3, we visited The Giant Buddha at Lantau Island in the morning. The station to alight is Tung Chung Station. Outside Tung Chung Station is a huge shopping centre –  Citygate Outlets

As it was public holiday, lots of locals and tourists formed the cable car queue. We were quite impatient to wait for the cable car so we took a bus up. Each bus ticket is HKD 26 which is around SGD$5 and you can use the Octopus Card.

I am glad that I took the bus instead of cable car, because the view offered by the bus is definitely more. En route up the steep mountains to the Giant Buddha, one can enjoy the scenery of Lantau Island.

Around 3.30pm, we descended from the mountains and return to Tung Chung Station, after which we shopped at Citygate Outlets. This shopping mall housed lots of factory outlets stores of major brands selling at discounted price. Tourist crowded most of the branded stores.

Dinner was at Food Republic in Citygate Outlets. Yes! Hong Kong do have Food Republic. I tried the Fried Hokkien Noodle to see if it was comparable to our Singaporean version. I was quite impressed, taste not exactly the same but nice in its own way, really unique. It cost HKD 40 = SGD$8!

After dinner, we took MTR from Tung Chung Station to Central Station which is the nearest station to the famous wax musuem at The Peak – Madame Tussaud. We encountered long queues of visitors as today was Labour Day Holiday and we queued for almost one and half hours!

We paid HKD 200 for the 3-in-1 combo package which includes The Peak Tram ticket, entry to Madame Tussaud and sky terrace.

The tram up to the peak was very unique as it ascend up the mountain at almost 45 degrees! The bad thing was they have got only one tram operating up and down the mountain, and that explained the very long queue.

The highlight of the night was definitely inside Madame Tussaud Museum. We went around posing with celebrities and famous icons. But the night ended with us patiently waiting with the crowd for the tram down the mountain. By the time we got to the bottom, it was already almost 12am and we fast-walked to Central MTR Station. We thought like in Singapore, we had missed the last train but luckily train services were still available.

When we exited from Tsim Sha Tsui station, the streets were still buzzing and alive unlike the Central district during midnight.

Walking back to our hotel from Tsim Sha Tsui Station under the brightly-lit neon signboards, we saw locals still shopping, eating, snacking at dessert and fast food joints, contractors working on renovations of retail stores by the streets. Hong Kong is definitely a city that does not sleep!

We chose to visit Macau on the 30th April so as to avoid the Labour Day Holiday crowd.

In the morning, we walked from our hotel to China Ferry Terminal. It is roughly 30 minutes as we walked to the speed of the working crowd travelling to work on a cool Friday morning. China Ferry Terminal is situated inside Harbour City which is a shopping mall, very similar to Harbour Front in Singapore. I was using the toilet and I saw a logo on the toilet roll holder and realised that Harbour City actually belongs to a property developer company in Singapore. No wonder, they are very similar!

A 2-way ferry ticket to Macau cost roughly HKD300 which converts to SGD$60, with flexible departure and return time. Ferries operates at 30min interval so it is really convenient. We took the 9.30am ferry to Macau. It’s exactly one hour on board and I slept all the way to there to prevent sea sickness.

Entry to Macau was easy, queue up, fill up the immigration form and there you go. Singaporeans need not apply for VISA to Macau and the best thing about Macau is that they also accept Hong Kong currency.

Macau is quite different from Hong Kong. The architecture and streets are mainly influenced by the Portuguese. And they call it a “City of Sin” and it is like the Las Vegas of Asia. I had to agree because during the taxi trip to visit The Ruins of St. Paul, I saw quite a few casinos among the grand hotels- really is a “Disneyland for Gamblers.”

We spent fruitful time at The Ruins of St.Paul buying local snacks, T-shirts and taking photos against the magnificent Ruins of St.Paul.

Lunch was at a Macau cafe. I found the menu similar to a Hong-Kong cafe’s menu and I didn’t tried the famous Macau Pork Chop Burger.

After lunch, we proceed to visit Macau Tower. Initially, the plan was for us to go up to the top of the Macau Tower to catch the bird-eye view of Macau City, but after some ticket price calculations, we decided not to go up. It cost HKD 100 roughly SGD$20 per person! We found it expensive and did not proceed. Later we learnt that there is a sky-jump at the top of Macau Tower, definitely not for the faint-hearted.

We found a free shuttle bus outside the entrance of Macau Tower, that would take us to the City of Dreams and The Venetian Macau. Both are entertainment hub with casinos, hotel, shopping, performance and food. A must-visit tourist’s attraction!

I also made the first bet of my life at The Venetian Macau, placing a joint-bet with a friend at a game of Russian Roulette. I lost HKD 100, roughly SGD$20. I was very disappointed as to how unlucky we could be. Our bet was on an even number so if the ball drops on any even numbers, we still wins. This means that there was a 50% chance of winning and we lost!

Later, we proceed to try some jack-pot machines, and total damages of the day – HKD160, roughly HKD$35. I did not even win once. So morale of the story, don’t gamble.

Down and dejected from our lost, we proceed to eat our dinner at a food court in The City of Dreams. After which we catch an animation performance at The Bubble – Dragon’s Treasure.(source from youtube)

After the performance, we explored the City of Dreams and took some photos. Around 8.30pm, we took the free shuttle bus from The City of Dream back to Macau Ferry Terminal. From there, we board the 9.30pm ferry back to Hong Kong.

In Hong Kong, along the way back to our Hotel, we shopped at an Esprit Factory Outlet but left the store empty- handed as the prices were not any cheaper than in Singapore.

Comparing Hong Kong and Macau, I think Hong Kong have a better transportation network than Macau with its extensive MTR network. Really convenient for free and easy travelling. In Macau there is no MTR, we had to depend on taxis and the free shuttle bus provided by the casinos.

So try make full use of the shuttle bus even if you don’t intend to gamble, there are shopping, performances and food outside the casino. Definitely worth a visit!

We took a Jetstar flight at 0630am on 29-04-10 from Changi Airport Terminal 1 and reached Hong Kong at 1030am. First thing we did was to buy an Octopus Card which is Hong Kong’s equivalent of Singapore’s EZ Link Card. The service counter is conveniently situated at an area after you cleared the customs.

Went directly to Empire Hotel at Tsim Sha Tsui by MTR. This is the cheapest way to travel from the airport to Tsim Sha Tsui – Starting from the airport, we transferred at Tsing Yi Station and from there we bought a single trip ticket to Tsim Sha Tsui Station. The alternative way is take Airport Express MTR, which connects the airport directly to the Central area, but this cost a lot more.

The hotel we are staying is Empire Hotel at Tsim Sha Tsui. After checking in, we went for Dim Sum and explore the streets of Tsim Sha Tsui area, visited attractions like the 1881 heritage and ferry terminal area. Shopped at local street stores and tried the mango ice at Xu Liu Shan(Hui Lau Shan in Cantonese). I realised the eating out expenses in Hong Kong is rather high as compared to Singapore. A typical dessert meal of mango ice is minimally priced at HKD 30 which is at $6 onwards. At night, it rained heavily and spoiled our plan to visit the Avenue of Stars. Interestingly, a salesperson at a fashion outlet later told us that raining on the first day of our vacation represents luck. Probably that’s what Hong Kong people believes in.

One thing I realised about people in Hong Kong is that they usually eat dinner late, and we also had a late dinner that day in KFC at 9pm. One unique thing I found out is that KFC in Hong Kong actually provide plastic gloves for diners to peel the chicken!

It had been a eye-opener for me – the buildings, the trademark signboards of Hong Kong streets and the neon lights. The moment I exit the MTR underground pass, I thought I was in a Hong Kong film setting. Quite surreal when considering the day before, I was still in camp!

I went back to Chengdu, this time on a holiday with my family. I brought along a film camera – Nikon FE and came back with these pictures. Enjoy!

All photos at a glance

I was in camp reading a copy of The Straits Times, when I came across an article about this Japanese bicycle traveller who cycled across 124 countries. It took him 11 years and he is still on the go.

I went over to his site to have a look at his travel stories and it made me inspired to write about my own trip to Chengdu 2 years ago. I will write based on my memory, photos and videos, and I hope it also serve as an informative guide as well. First post is already up in the “Chengdu” category.

By the way, here’s the Japanese traveller’s site, if interested to read:
www.daisukebike.be

Some of the developed photos…

Taken with Holga 120N

Went to Johor Bahru with my family and relatives. Took a bus from Causeway point where there was no traffic jam, went to City Square. Shop around but did not find anything to buy. Have lunch at food junction, realised should have learn speaking basic malay which makes ordering food easier.

Realised JB changed alot since the last time i went there. Last time it is very crowded but now it’s quite empty.

Had dinner at Pizza Hut near Kortaraya Plaza. The price is same as SG but is in Ringgit so means it’s half price, but the taste not as good as Sg or Chengdu, but still quite value for money.

Small traffic jam when going home:)

Back in Singapore after Shanghai tour with family.The tour group consist of mostly old folks, so my brother and I are actually the youngest there. Trip covers lots of scenery – lakes, mountains and fields. Shanghai was very modern and westernized.

Tomorrow school is reopening…should be getting busier and busier with school work soon.