Hong Kong - Live it. Love it!

No words can really describe how incredible Hong Kong is, you have to see the city yourself, live it and you’ll love it. I knew I would like HK even before I’ve been there, I just never expect to fall in love with the vibrant, fascinating cosmopolitan city.

Let me just give you a brief rundown of the fabulous trip.

Flight to Macau departs at 6.30am, so me, Rach, Albert and Kath have to be awake at the ungodly hour of 3am and be ready to leave by 4am. As usual someone just have to be late and it comes as no surprise that the person would be Albert Tan SK. *shakes head* But we made it to LCCT and board the plane on time.

Just our luck we got the last row seats. So we can’t retract the seats to lie back comfortably. But that didn’t stop us from taking out our make-up kits ands start painting our faces. Guess it might have seemed strange to the rest of the passengers, as they kept staring at us when they’re queuing to go to the restroom. Of course we couldn’t care less bout them.

3 ½ hours later we landed safely in Macau. Then we have to drag our luggage to the ferry and take our seats. The waves were pretty choppy that day, causing Rach to be seasick and nauseated. Finally we reach HK and we have to haul our luggage off the ferry and through customs, all this time thinking how CL can manage to do this each time she flies back, with her precious LVs some more. It’s so troublesome and tiring.

But all is forgotten when we saw CL outside the ferry terminal. She totally looks like a Hong Kie! She took us to our hotel in the 5-seater taxi, which is quite spacious. She was so worried that we couldn’t fit in the hotel or like it, but she shouldn’t have. It was much better than we expected and we’re totally grateful cos’ she sponsors it! Okay, at first I said I’m giving a brief account of the trip, but now it seems more like a travel and adventure novel. ;)

First stop was for lunch cos’ we’re all starving like crazy. CL brought us toour first Char Chan Teng (kopitiam) and the porridge there was excellent. All the horror stories bout bland and tasteless HK food was not true at all. You just got to eat like the locals and you should be fine.

Then we’re off to start our shopping expedition.
Day 1

Yau Ma Tei, Nathan Road
Mongkok, Ladies Market

Everything is so surreal and I feel like I’m in one of the movies or TVB drama series. Swarms of people walking everywhere, and walking in super fast speed. Everyone looked like they just step out from a magazine photo shoot. It’s pretty darn intimidating. Seriously I was getting run down or push around by the people there, who seem more robotic than human, zooming in and out of the human traffic jam.

In Yau Ma Tei and Mongkok, there were giant billboards everywhere and endless rows of shops lining the streets. Everything from clothes, branded shoes with lots of limited editions (ooo I totally love the shoes there!), Milan Station (LV’s paradise), mobile shops and etc.

There’s where we tried our first yue tan (fishball), the spicy blow-your-head-off variety. And also the cold noodles that looks like weird Japanese concoctions. But best of all is when we go to the Mango café, where all the deserts are made from sweet, juicy mango – truly a heavenly desert.

Then it’s back to the hotel for the much needed rest. This is when the funniest thing happened. Well it wasn’t funny at that time, but thinking back now it is amusing. Was sharing the bed with Albert, when at first he snores, loudly, then he started to jerk abruptly and randomly every few seconds like he’s possessed or something. Driving me up the wall. I kick, push, shove, nudge and short of strangling him, he wouldn’t stop. So I had no choice but to go down the floor to where Rach was sleeping and ask her to share the makeshift bed. When I just poke her a little to wake her up, she totally freak out like she’s seen a ghost. My first reaction was to laugh, but then I felt real bad cos’ she was really scared. I apologise and told her I couldn’t sleep cos Albert kept kicking me and can I sleep here too. The next day we wanted to kill him, instead he was just banned to sleep on the floor for the rest of the trip.

Day 2

Causeway Bay, Times Square
Central, Lan Kwai Fong
Victoria’s Peak
Tsim Tsa Tsui, Avenue of Stars

Causeway Bay and Central are where you can find all the upscale brand outlets and luxurious buildings, so it’s just window shopping and sightseeing here. But the coolest thing we found out is that the store “Bonjour” sells loads of miniature perfumes and skincare. So we were all like scavengers grabbing the stuff like mad.

We also had the chance to drop by H & M (Hennes & Mauritz), one of the latest fashion craze in HK. Can you imagine lining up outside the outlet to go in? And there were hundreds of people inside already, so it’s like a battlefield to find the items you like and queue up to pay for it. Shessh. But it was a fun experience and something to tell people back home.

After that we took a taxi to the ‘Lower Peak Tram Terminus’ and ride the 45-degree angle Peak Tram up to the Victoria’s Peak. You really haven’t been to HK if you didn’t go to the Peak. Both the day and night view of the city skyline is simply breathtaking and spectacular. We had Burger King for dinner there and we chose to have it outside, like an alfresco dining. As you can reckon it was freezing cold so we were all literally shivering while eating our burgers. It was nuts.

Just as we were about to go down the hill, guess who lost their tram ticket. Ding, ding, ding! No prize for guessing it right for it’s so obvious, it’s Albert Tan SK again. *shakes head*

The last stop of the day was Avenue of Stars at Tsim Tsa Tsui. At this point both of my feet are numb from walking since day till night. But these people can still walk and walk and walk, like energizer bunnies that never went out of batteries. It’s scary. Anyway the promenade was really beautiful as you can see the panoramic view of the harbour and HK island skyline and also the plaques, handprint of stars and sculptures. Since we were totally exhausted, we took a break at a café and had some drinks. I don’t think I’ve ever tasted such rich, flavourful hot mocha in my life!

Day 3

Lantau Island, Big Buddha
Happy Valley, Dinner
Lan Kwai Fong, Clubbing

Since Day 2, we have never woken up on time to start the day. We were always late and it didn’t help that someone always spend more than 30 minutes in the bathroom. *sigh*

To get to Lantau Island (Tai Yue San) we took the MTR to Tung Chung and then a bus to go up to the Big Buddha. There was no way we could take the Ngong Ping Skyrail cos’ there were hundreds of people lining up for it and it could take hours before our turn. The ride up there was pretty nice as you can enjoy the scenic view of the rolling hills, you can’t believe there are still tranquil places like this in HK. It’s a completely different world from the busy, bustling city centre.

The world’s tallest bronze Buddha was indeed a sight to behold. It’s worth it to at least see it once when you’re in HK. But the climb up all those steps can really take your breath away.

After that we rush all the way back to the hotel to change and get ready for clubbing at Lan Kwai Fong. Definitely the highlight of the trip. We were literally dressed to kill that night. :] The first club CL brought us to was the FINDS, which was a very trendy place to hang out and people-watch. The 3 divas wore their princess crowns that they bought earlier and put it on, setting a new trend. ;) I love the whole atmosphere as it was very classy and cosy at the same time. And the lychee martini that I had was superb.

Next we went bar-hopping and ended up in a reggae club, playing some music I’ve never heard before. This is another classic funny moment. We were just hanging out at a corner of the club, Albert’s drinking his beer and the girls were chilling out soaking up the atmosphere. Suddenly this woman, a.k.a. the bitch, started dancing obscenely in front of us. We were like WTF? Then the guy beside her sat down the couch next to Rach and Kath and tried flirting with them. The bitch got pissed off and sat on the guy’s lap asking if he’s picking up girls in front of her. So poor Rach and Kath have no choice but to pretend to be lesbians, just so the guy can get the hint and leave them alone. It was hysterical. After he left, I sat down beside the girls and was daydreaming cos’ I was kind of bored. What songs are they playing here anyway? Out of nowhere this black guy took a seat beside me and start running his grubby hand down my back. WTH is going on here I thought. He was trying to start a conversation with me and leaning really close to me, all the while I was leaning back far far away from the creep. Seriously what’s with the invasion of my personal space by a complete stranger? I kind of squeak help to Rach and she told me to walk off, which I did immediately. After that we made a speedy getaway from that weird club and went back to our hotel.

Day 4

Mongkok
Macau

We were supposed to wake up early and go to Macau to have more time for sightseeing. But since everyone felt that they have not done enough shopping we went for a quick jaunt in Mongkok. Before that we had breakfast at a Char Chan Teng nearby where I finally got my ‘tan nai’ (steamed milk), which taste good but not as great as Siew May describe. :P Later everyone mostly just splurge on more miniature perfumes and skincare in Bonjour. ;)

After that we grab our luggage and head to the ferry terminal for the ride back to Macau. It’s with a heavy heart that I leave HK. I felt that 3 days is not enough to completely savour and enjoy the city. Definitely a place I wouldn’t mind visiting time and time again.

At Macau, we bought all the locally-made cookies like almond cookies, egg rolls and flaky peanut cookies that taste really delicious. So crumbly and crunchy! Then we saw the Ruins of St. Paul and took pictures with it. It looks exactly like in the TVB drama series.

At last, good times doesn’t last forever. It’s time to bid farewell to Macau and to the best tour guide ever, CL. No doubt without her taking us around, the trip wouldn’t have been half that fantastic and amazing. Thanks a lot, CL! *muaks*

Summary

By now never believe when I say I’ll give a short story of my trips. It always end up longer than I expected. ;)

I've got loads of fave parts about the trip but ultimately not even the fabulous places I’ve visit that I'll remember the most, it's the sweet memories of being with my friends, enjoying the moment with them and having fun. Friends as genuine and sincere as them are really hard to find these days. :D

Peace out!