Advertisement
Published: December 17th 2006
Edit Blog Post
HK Skyline
Views from the peak First and foremost - magnificent skyline. As we approached central HK from the airport, it was around 10pm and the views of the city was amazing! all lit up HK shone. We arrived at the hotel - very hungry and quickly realised that in our local area, only local food is served after 11pm - tough! Anyway, we had a very expensive meal at the hotel, planned the events of the next few days and fell asleep looking forward to seeing the sights and experiencing Hong Kong.
Day 1 - We took the hotel shuttle bus service was only 10 mins away and came across amazing tall buildings within the financial district - Bank of China was one our favourite and the views from the 43rd floor were spectacular. Designer shops occupied most of this area with the Landmark Plaza being the shopaholic's designer heaven. Of course we took a photo overlooking the divine store of Dior and came away with no purchases, as tempting as it was - HK is by far the most expensive asian city of them all...(very similar to Singapore we have been told)
This City is bustling, full of city workers, trams, buses, taxi's
and cars oh and lots of designers clothes shops - people here have money - I assure you! Our cash was quickly disappearing (unlike Beijing)
Our favourite was the New World Shopping Plaza (in Tsim Tsha Tsui) and the Avenue of Stars where we came face to face with Mr Bruce Lee himself, amazing views over Kowloon. Oh and I must mention the MTR (Tube/Metro) and how quick they are, delays are unheard of and you even get fined if you eat or drink on the tubes. Very easy to get around...Brilliant - and your phone works underground...fab!
I'm sure Mukesh will tell you - so I'd better get in there quick. On the way back to the hotel, we took the metro to Shen Wan (western district) and I decided to lead the way!!!! (bad move) what I thought was a short walk to the hotel, became a long 35 mins in the rain through the tiny streets of HK - anyway we passed lots of shops (mainly wholesalers of chinese herbs) lots of bakeries, shops selling second hand watches - which we would never have seen eh...Well - 35 mins later (prob more I think) shattered and
wet - we got HOME!!!
After a much needed siesta (becoming abit of a habit) we got ready for an evening out.
We started off by heading to the Peak Tram which felt like a fairground attraction with all the queues and excitement - basically this tram would take us to a fairly high point with views over HK and the skyline - and boy was it worth it...with lovely little shops this is a must if ever you get the chance to come to HK! We even met Pierce Brosnan (woh).
The night ended in SOHO (which actually stands for South of Hollywood), with lots of bars and restaurants, we found many ex-pats mingling here and we dont blame them - we loved it here and were spoit for choice over which restaurant to go to..We ended up at a Tapas Bar/Restaurant and the food was yummy and atmosphere electric until they changed the music to hip-hop (much to Mukesh's dismay)!!
Another highlight is the longest Escalator (probably in the world) it went on for miles, it was right smack bang in the middle of SOHO - Easy way to connect one district with another!
Day
Landmark Shopping Plaza
At least I got this close to Dior! 2 - Big Budda/Monastery/Light show/Temple Street Night Market & Nathan Road
What a jam packed day - we headed off fairly early to visit the big budda - although a miserable day (it was raining hard - had to buy an umbrella) we were still very excited. We took a ferry over to the Lantau Island where we caught the number 2 bus over to the budda - it took ages on the bus, travelling through small villages along a winding road. Once we got out of the bus (still raining hard) the big budda stood high above us looking over the whole island - it was an amazing sight - we got abit carried away with the photos (havent published all of them) A staircase led right up to the budda, with an exhibition/museum just below and the view got better and better as we climbed the stairs leading up. You can never tire of watching the big budda - amazingly peaceful...
We headed off to the Monastery. a haven for the buddists - once again very peaceful, lots of incense sticks and lots of vegetarians - I was in my element. We had lunch near the
MTR (Metro)
Still didnt get a seat! Monastery and to be fair - it was one of the best meals I had in HK - delicious vegan food, even Mukesh was impressed by the quality!
Still raining and by this point - I was fed up with holding the umbrella and my hair was wet anyway - so gave up! - We had to wait for the bus to take us back to the ferry pickup - we waited prob about half an hour! Before I forget - in China and in HK there are no such things as waiting in queues - they all push in!
In our usual fashion, we headed back to our hotel for a siesta so that we were well rested for this evening...
After a much needed rest - we caught another ferry over to Kowloon to see the spectacular famous light show at 8pm. The best views were from Victoria Harbour and luckily we got there just in time! I cant even begin to describe the light show - its nothing like I have ever seen, and I doubt London could ever put on something like this - we have it all on video though...
Off
Avenue of Stars
Mukesh trying to mimic Bruce Lee we then went to spend some cash at the Temple Street Night Market - it was fab. We managed to buy an oil painting that we had been looking for since China and some chopsticks - cos now I know how to use them.! So many people, so many of them tourists - if you want a bargain, you have to haggle here - and I'm pleased to say that Mukesh is now a pro!
Nathan Road was our next stop, only a short walk from the night market - This road is one of the busiest with shops and bars/restaurants running along - I think this is called the Golden Mile...You'll be able to see from the photos - it was very glitzy!
I wont bore you with all the details - but HK is superb with the best skyline in the world. Having both of us been to New York - we think its even better here in HK.
In short - this is an amazing city, with delicious food, bars & restaurants. And for sure where East meets West..
Looking forward to Sydney - our third stop.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.077s; Tpl: 0.016s; cc: 10; qc: 24; dbt: 0.053s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
Sanjay, Kanan & Keya
non-member comment
Hello again
Judging by the amount of write up, I think you guys enjoyed HK! When in Sydney, don't forget to go to MacDonalds in Sydney Harbour and try the world famous Haggis Sandwich. Only one MacDonalds in the whole world that does it!!! For you, Ashmita, there is also a Veggie speciality, the "Dingo Mushroom" sandwich. No one does this anywhere in the world either!!! Let us know know about that culinary experience.