My Spellbound Travel Hong Kong Galore

06.05.2007

2009-01-06T05:21:00.000-08:00

6th May 2007. It was the day after my last examination. Yes, I have finally graduated after four years of ‘torture’ and some sleepless nights just to rush over projects, preparing for tests and exams,etc. The trip was to reward myself for working hard and for not taking a plane ride after 13 years…I felt like a ‘mountain turtle’! Of course, Hong Kong was chosen due to budget constraint (I was a poor student back then) and it has always been a dream for me to visit Disneyland. So off I went on Cathay Pacific, taking a 3 hour and 50 minutes trip to the land of shopping paradise.

When we reached Hong Kong, it was already evening. As our stomachs were grumbling, we headed to the nearest tea house (茶餐厅) to have our dinner. They actually offered set dinner for four persons (HK$190=SGD$42.20), so we ordered that as it was more worthwhile than to order separately. The set is something like our Zi Cha back here in Singapore, but it was more oily.

Heh heh heh…by the way, most of their tea houses’ tables are made in such a way that it’s for 4 people; hence if you have more than that, you may have to sit separately. So if you plan to go with a large group of friends, be prepared to sit at different tables!

As we booked a free and easy tour, we stayed in the same hotel (Hotel Name) room for 5 days. It is situated just beside Jordan train station, thus making our transport very convenient. However it is a 3 and a half star hotel, so the room is not very spacious as seen below.

View from the hotel room:

Well, the buildings are very close to one another and the roads can be very complicated; the street names can change just by crossing over one road. I was so confused when looking at the map as I can’t seem to find my way…there’s no street number or avenue number like what we have in Singapore. I guess Singapore made it too accessible. However, it was a good learning experience as one learns to adapt to the country’s style. :)

MODE OF TRANSPORT

2009-01-06T05:18:00.000-08:00

The cheapest way to get around Hong Kong is to use their MTR (similar to our MRT) as their taxi and bus fare can be very expensive if used incorrectly. So get ready your coins and prepare yourself to stand in front of the automatic ticketing machine to purchase your boarding tickets!

PROS AND CONS OF THE MTR SYSTEM

2009-01-06T05:14:00.000-08:00

Thumbs up:
(1) Efficient and fast
The train comes in 2 minutes interval, regardless of whether is it peak timing or off peak. Dun have to worry about being late for work/dates! I like!

(2) Good signage in the train
They have a light up system which indicates which stop it is approaching and which door is going to open. Very convenient, especially for people who did not hear the announcements properly. The signaling of which side is the opening door is the one I like the most as you will not look like an idiot if you stand at the door, thinking it’s going to open BUT the other side opened instead…Yes I’m always the one confusing myself between which door is opening in Raffles Place and City hall back here in Singapore. However, I got to ride on a train which is similar to Hong Kong’s version back here…say one and a half years later? Probably they figured out that it is a good system too…

Thumbs down:
(1) High cost of fare
The MTR tickets are not considerable cheap; a three station ride only can cost you HK$11 (SGD$2.40). So do plan your travel for the day very carefully as it can amount to about SGD$10 a day just on transport alone! If you have to travel extensively on a particular day, I would recommend you to buy the tourist pass.

(2) Long walks to the station / Interchanging of train stations
Getting to the train platform can be a LONG journey. Yes and I mean LONG. It can take you 10 minutes. Or more. I would have though that it’s like SG, we can reach the platform easily just by an escalator ride. I was so wrong! And they do not have so many escalators; you have to walk up and down the stairs. No wonder Hong Kong residents are so skinny. We are too fortunate already!

(3) Presence of a turnable wheel at the gantry
Something I dun understand why must one still turn the wheel after the gantry open. Waste effort waste time…

STREETS IN HONG KONG

2009-01-06T05:13:00.000-08:00

Hong Kong is made up of many “Streets”, and all the streets are best known for their cheap and nice goods. Be it clothes, bags, toys, accessories, DVDs, blankets, food, you can basically find everything here!

The unique thing about these streets is that they are not shops; they are those make shift stalls just like the pasar malam we have here in Singapore. The difference is that these make shift stalls stay permanently there; hence if you forgot to buy anything, you dun have to worry about not able to get it again. Just head back provided you remember where the stall is! The stalls only open in the late afternoon, so you can just sleep till very late in the morning before you begin your shopping spree. The best part about them is they close at 1am in the morning. Really shop till you drop. :)

And YES, the things are REALLY CHEAP. Tops can be as cheap as HK$10 (SGD$2.20). Bags too! What you see in Singapore is 4 or 5 times the price you get in Hong Kong. Horrendous isn’t it?

TEMPLE STREET (庙街)

2009-01-06T05:11:00.000-08:00

One of the streets as mentioned previously. Walk-able distance from Jordan MTR station. As it was taken early in the morning, see how bare the place look! And notice the interesting signboards they have all over the place; it looks even nicer at night when all of them lights up.

MARKET STREET (花园街)

2009-01-06T05:08:00.001-08:00

Located near the Prince Edward MTR, Market Street is another wonderful bargain places where you can find LOTSA cheap and nice goods. Initially we were unable to find the place as when we came out of the MTR station, we were greeted by rows of aquarium shops. But there is a short cut from the station; you just have to look for a narrow dark walkway and you will reach the place. I would strongly recommend this street as there is a wide range of variety goods for sale as compared to the others. Really shop till you drop!

NAM CHEONG STREET (南昌街)

2009-01-06T05:05:00.000-08:00

Located near to Yat Liew Street, this street offers many products which are for sellers to get their goods at really dirt cheap prices. However, you have to buy the goods in bulk (at least 12 SIMILAR TOPS), if not the people will not even bother to talk to you. I hit the nail when I tried to buy one piece of clothing; she gave me the dirty look and walked away. How rude! Haa so dun expect to have customer service in this area. Still, it’s a steal for shop owners to look for stocks in this place.

YAT LIEW STREET (鸭寥街)

2009-01-06T04:59:00.000-08:00

The famous Yat Liew Street, where there was a Hong Kong drama serial based on it. It offers a lot of electronic goods, but also second hand products. Not only that, they also have some shops in between which sell collectible toys in sets. One of which is located in ADDRESS , where I managed to get a lot of cheap toy sets. This shop is actually a warehouse and they have so many toys available; I almost did not want to come out of the shop! The shop owners are very nice people too; there was this Stitch item which they are selling as a set of two, but I only want one set back then, the shop owner overheard what I said and she offered to take one set out and half the price for me. :)

These are some of the toys I gotten from the shop:

MONGKOK(旺角)

2009-01-06T04:39:00.000-08:00

Mongkok is also another popular shopping street in Hong Kong where you see many youngsters hanging out even in the wee hours of the night. Just look for Mongkok MTR station and you will be greeted with many shops once you step out of the station. More branded shops can be found here, and if you have time to catch a movie, there is a cinema located in the middle of the place (see pictures attached). However I did not have to chance to experience the cinema as time was tight; I only have 5 days to tour the country!

And guess what, I spotted many gacha machines in the vicinity, so exciting! Haha..have to take a picture with them! Oh, and the gacha toys are much cheaper there and are the latest items! Brrr…you can spot the machines outside 7-eleven chains. FYI, there are MANY 7-eleven stores in this country. And their 7-eleven sell a lot of interesting items you dun get to see in Singapore. So if you are a gacha addict, prepared to go crazy there!

ONE TOY PARADISE , RICHMOND COMMERCIAL BUILDING

This building offers A LOT (yes and I mean A LOT) of gacha toys for sale; be it set or separate items. There are many levels in this building and I was so happy to get some of the items, hence I managed to complete the sets I previously couldn’t back in Singapore. However, price might be slightly more expensive than the one in the Yat Liew Street. But the good thing is you can choose not to buy a set.

Some of the items I’ve gotten:

SHOPPING CENTRES

2009-01-06T04:25:00.000-08:00

If you happened to go Hong Kong during hot weather, then shopping on the street in the afternoon may not be a very good idea. You can visit their mega shopping centres with air con on full blast….heard that they recently had one that is even bigger than Vivocity. !!!! However we did not manage to visit many shopping centres at that time, the only places we visited are located in Causeway Bay and those along the Jordan stretch.

CAUSEWAY BAY （铜锣湾）

2009-01-06T04:16:00.000-08:00

One of the most popular spots in Hong Kong, the shopping centre has some very good architecture inside and outside the building. Especially the mosaic ceiling, I like it so much and had to take a photo of it. Haahaa.

The famous clock tower and Eiffel Tower.

A very long escalator leading to the shopping mall…If you are not interested in shopping, you can also visit the rows of shophouses just opposite the shopping mall.

Monchhichi, a very popular character from Japan. They have many chains of shop selling only this particular character. As it was my second eldest sis favourite character, I had to take these photos and show it to her. This toy is not cheap at all! I only bought her a small one. Haaa haa haa…

DAI YU SHAN (大屿山)

2009-01-06T04:14:00.001-08:00

After days of endless shopping, we decided to go to one of their famous temples located in Da Yu Shan. The temple is really big and is also one hot tourist spot. As there is nothing much in the surroundings, so we only hang around for a short while.

The other famous one is located in Lantau Island, however we did not have the time for a stopover. Hopefully we are able to if we re-visit the country again!

HONG KONG DISNEYLAND

2009-01-06T03:41:00.000-08:00

Well, I cannot possibly upload all pictures here as I took A LOT (around 200 pictures?), hence I will be putting it in this slide format. Probably highlight some interesting rides and those ‘must-go’ below, so meanwhile, enjoy the slide!

As this is the smallest Disneyland in the world, the rides are quite limited and there is only one thrilling ride, which is the Space Mountain. Initially I was really scared, but it turned out to be quite ok…not as scary as I thought. I took the ride 3 times! Haahaa. So if you are going there, do remember to try this ride!

Fancy some shooting games while on a car ride? Try Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters! If you are lucky enough, you may spot him hanging out in this area; I did but did not take a photo with him as he was too busy taking photos with other people. -_-.

Mickey PhilharMagic 4D show is the other you must definitely see; 3D glasses will be provided to you and the show is really GREAT! Get on an adventurous ride with Donald Duck and be prepared to get WET!

Jungle River Cruise is another fun ride you should definitely try! Let the boat man cum tour guide bring you through an exploratory journey to the deep jungles where animals roam freely and even volcano erupting! There are three languages to choose from, so you dun have to worry about not understanding what the tour guide is yapping about!

As we went at that time where they were promoting Pirates of the Caribbean at World’s End, pirates were roaming everywhere in Adventure land. Guess who I caught?
Yes…….JACK SPARROW! Weeeeeeee! But dun be too happy, he’s not Johnny Depp ok. Haahaa…

Get to drive a car at Autopia in Tomorrowland! Regardless on whether you have a driving licence or not, you can have a feel on driving! Well the steering wheel is much smaller than normal cars though...still happy pressing on the acceleration and braking pedals!

Oh, you MUST definitely go to the Stitch Encounter!! I’m not excessively promoting it just because I’m a Stitch fan, but this one is really funny! He will interact with you on screen! It’s something like Aritificial Intelligence and I really had a ball of a time in this show.

Oh, do take note of the timing on certain shows as they will change frequently; try not to miss out the Marching Parade as the performers will be putting up a very good show dancing and singing to you!

Do remember to visit the photo taking garden where many Disney mascots are waiting for you at their respective stands! I managed to take with many characters but these two are the ones I like the most, especially the one with Minnie Mouse. Sweet isn’t it? :)

Last but not least, you must DEFINITELY stay for the fireworks at 730pm. That is the best and most magical part of the place! I was totally in love with it. Remember to find a really nice view and make yourself comfortable as you will be sitting/standing there for at least 40 minutes!

One of the videos I took on the fireworks:

PROS AND CONS OF HK DISNEYLAND

2009-01-05T05:28:00.000-08:00

Thumbs up:

(1) Photo taking with many mascots
This is the only Disneyland where you can see many mascots roaming around and you can take photos with them anywhere! It’s very hard to catch mascots in other Disneylands as the areas are much bigger; you need sometime to get from one place to another. Hence by the time you finally spot one mascot, it may have already walked elsewhere or it’s time for it to rest; you won’t be able to take photo.

(2) Worth the money for one day of fun
The cheapest Disneyland of all, it is really worth the price as you can almost play all the rides (provided you are prepared like me to run everywhere like a mad woman) and see a lot of great views in the themepark. However, take note that ticket prices differ between Peak and Off peak period. I will strongly recommend going during a normal weekday as you dun even need to queue for any rides! I managed to take repeated rides. :) But do pick a day when the weather is cooling.

(3) Three languages provided
It offers three different languages and this is very useful to elderly who dun understand English. Like my mum, she had such great fun in Disneyland! Haa and you will enjoy yourself thoroughly if you know what they are talking about. When I was in Tokyo Disneyland, I did not enjoy as much as I did in Hong Kong because I do not comprehend what they are saying. I heard that France’s Disneyland is also the same thing…well…so communication is really important. To me, that is! Haahaa!

(4) Suitable for people of all ages
Well, the rides are mostly suitable for all ages, so everyone can enjoy themselves. Very good to bring your parents/small children as you dun have to worry about the rides scaring out of their wits! :0

Thumbs down:

(1) The Disneyland is too small
Well, what can I say; due to land constraint, this is the smallest Disneyland of all. If you plan to visit this Disneyland as well as other bigger Disneylands, do go to this one FIRST. Because if you only choose to go this one after you have visited others, chances are you won’t be enjoying yourself as it is incomparable to the bigger ones. But if you visit this first, you will definitely enjoy it! After that then you proceed to a bigger one; you will have even more fun there. So you get double (or triple) the fun!

(2) Not many thrilling rides
Hmmm. This depends on how much your heart can take. Haahaa! If you have been to the Tokyo Disneyland, you will then know what is THRILLING over there. Can’t wait to go to the original one in Florida! :)

(3) Riding time is shorter; Only one fast pass given
Well. The riding times are half of what you get in other Disneylands. And you have to plan carefully on which Fast pass you are using for if the day happened to have a lot of visitors. But I was lucky that time as all there weren’t a lot of people, thus I dun require to use my FP. ;)

(4) People are not into wearing costumes/accessories

Disneyland always sells a lot of characters accessories such as hats/caps/hair bands, but you dun get to see many people wearing that in the themepark. Perhaps they think that they will look silly in them. On the other hand, the Japanese in Tokyo Disneyland are very fun-loving people and you see almost all of them with a Disney item on their head, around their necks, etc. It actually livens up the atmosphere and makes it an even more memorable experience. If you plan on going to this themepark, maybe you can initiate it! Heeheehee.

FINALE: MY TAKE ON THIS COUNTRY

2009-01-05T05:25:00.000-08:00

Well, as we did not go to those places of interest (like Madam Tussard, Lantau Island, The Peak, etc), the only thing I enjoyed the most is Hong Kong Disneyland as I get to play, eat, shop, and best of all, be part of the fireworks which was really fascinating. As for shopping, I’m not a mad fan so too much of it makes me very sick. The food is another thing which I did not exactly enjoy; I still prefer our local delicacies. I missed the food back in Singapore so much that I actually lost 2kg over there. -_-. I’m not a fussy eater, but the taste just does not suit me. And I can’t speak Cantonese, so communication can be a problem at times. But we happen to meet some really nice Hong Kong people and would try to speak to us in Mandarin even though they are not good at it. If you are a clean freak, you may want to re-consider as the pathways may not be as clean as what we have back here. However, if you want cheap and good deals, and like to travel free and easy, this is the place to be! (Oh…or ogling over handsome guys and pretty girls…haahha…)

THE END!