Hong Kong: HKU, Central, Peak, Tsim Sha Tsui (Day 1)

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Early in the morning, after showering, we took MTR to Jordan station, then we walked to Australian Dairy Co. (consult google maps for exact location) for our first breakfast in HK. It was a very busy place that we had to share a table with other person. Our table-mate happened to be two Taiwanese female, who are sisters, and who are tourists like us. However due to language barrier, they are not fluent in English and we are not fluent in Chinese, we barely talked. But we did take photos and added each other on facebook. What a cool encounter!
After breakfast, we took MTR back to Tsim Sha Tsui, then walked to opposite Harbor City to catch a bus to Hong Kong University. We took 973 to HKU. The bus stopped outside west gate of the university, too bad it didn't go inside. We had to climb a staircase nearby to get into the campus. HKU is a nice university, not too modernised, yet not too old, in terms of buildings. There was a Sun Yat Sen statue there, by the pond. And the thing that I envy about HKU students is the fact that they speak English with American accent! Darn. After photo session, we asked a male student about getting to city. And off we took a bus to Central area.
We started our walking tour (based on Former's recommendation here) from Statue Square, followed by Chater Garden, Bank of China, HSBC rooftop, Standard Chartered Bank, Court of Final Appeal, St. John Cathedral, Zoological and Botanical Garden, and finished at Peak Tram station.

Yep, if you have read my 2010 Great Adventures blog, you would've figured out I've been to the Peak before. So I went to the Peak again, as a part of give-and-take policy with my travel partner. We did almost exactly as what I did last year, we went up to the sky terrace, had meal at the cafe right beside Madame Tussauds. Only difference is we had a chance to explore the Peak Galeria. Bought a Hard Rock t-shirt from there =D Then we took bus 15 to Star Ferry Terminal at Central. Star Ferry is just one of a number of ferry operator in HK.

At the terminal, we used our MTR cards to board the ferry which took us from Central to Tsim Sha Tsui. This type of ferry leaves about every couple of minutes, so we didn't wait so long. There's another option to enjoy the ferry: the harbor tour. The tour is 1 hour long and it covered 4 terminals (Central, Tsim Sha Tsui, Wan Chai, Huang Hom), but we didn't take this one due to time constraints. After reaching Tsim Sha Tsui, we walked to Avenue of Stars. On our way, we encountered Clock Tower, 1881 Heritage and HK Space Museum.

We reached Avenue of Stars around 6pm and it was a foggy February afternoon. We were wearing 2 layers of clothes (tee and cardigan for my friend, tank top and tee for me) and above knee pants. The wind was blowing strong enough to make my hair dancing, but not strong enough to make me feel cold. As a person who prefer cold weather but dislike wearing thick jackets, that was the perfect weather for me. Then suddenly an auntie came to me to question why I don't feel cold, in Chinese, in loud voice. I just shook my head, smiled and walked away cos I am not fluent in Chinese. I'm proud to dress my own way =) We continued photo session with the walk of fame and seaside views. The fog ruined the skyline I wished to capture sigh. But good thing is, I can create "Guess The Building Name" photos. Check it out.

At 7pm, we have finished exploring Avenue of Stars promenade, but the Symphony of Light is not played until 8pm at the promenade. Hungry and tired, we walked to East Tsim Sha Tsui MTR station to have dinner. We ate at a Chinese restaurant whose name I've forgotten. Then we rushed back to Avenue of Stars. We were late for 3-5 minutes and it was already so crowded. The concept of the show is cool, however the 18 minutes show was kinda boring, because the sequence of light is somehow repeated (at least that's what I think), and only less than 10 buildings participated in the show. Hopefully if I go back in 5 years, it'll be better.

After the show, we went to Temple Street night market near Tsim Sha Tsui. I bought a handphone pouch there. Then we called it a day and walked back to hostel.

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