veronxtravel : Hong Kong Day 3

Hello readers! I'm back! Thanks for continuing my Hong Kong adventure with me. I'm really glad to share them with you guys.

So for the third day, we decided to do some exercise. Okay, maybe MORE EXERCISE. We went hiking. Istg, my legs were damn tired from all the walking and shopping. But decided to went ahead anw, since I know that I won't come back here again in the near future. I was so frustrated cause I totally did not expect to go hiking and thus, didn't have my sports gears with me.

Okay, ya'll might start saying I'm pampered or what not. But I have to have my sport gears with me whenever I have to do something vigorous or activity. I just feel more comfortable that way. I mean, everyone have their own preference. And furthermore, I didn't have my sport shoes wtheck. I have to freaking wear my ultraboost if not my superga might just fall apart halfway. Wth, I actually hike using ultraboost. FML. Nvm, back to the topic. So, we went on a hike up the mountain called Dragon's back.

It is also a tourist attraction. So one tip is to go during weekdays. We did, and there was also a bit of a crowd. Oh, and do remember to go to the toilet beforehand. They have those portable toilets before the climb but I swear the toilets were so disgusting and dirty and there are no toilet papers and it is super smelly. Oh god.

Oh, sorry to mention, this was our breakfast. It looks good right, but actually its just toast and teh. LOL. The toast is spread with butter and condensed milk, yup its good but super overpriced. -.-

I can't remember how to get to the mountain but I'm sure you can find it online, so now I'll just spam some pictures I took.

The air was so fresh. I really love it, I love the weather, the air, the people. Everyone was so friendly. I also enjoy escaping their fast paced city life for once. It was so slow, everyone just take their own sweet time. I swear Hong Kong is such a fast paced city life, and I went there right after my finals I don't even have time to breathe and slow down. 

Oh yes, and in the end I had to hike with jeans wtf. Who else actually hike with jeans man, omg.

Oh right, in the end, we did not climb up the Dragon's back but we went to the big wave bay. It was just another route down. I regret not bringing along my swimsuit and all man. I could have jumped into the ocean and maybe try surfing for a couple of hours. :'( It looks so shiok.

We sat on the rocks and rested before leaving the place. I really love the sea breeze, loving the sea and the scenery. It kinda reminds me of the dream beach of Bali. How I wish I lived there. But I was contented enough just by experiencing it for myself for just a couple of hours. Hopefully, next time when I visit there, I can try to surf and learn how to surf. (:

We left after that, we actually took a private bus back to the city, I think it costs HKD 12 which is like SGD 3 but we were so darn tired so we took a nap in the bus. 

We had dinner at Kungfu Dimsum, sorry I forgot to take picture cause I was super tired and super hungry. But it was just nearby the train station. We still have the whole night to go, so we didn't want to waste the night. So in the end, we took the train over to Causeway bay. Never did we know that, causeway bay is like our sg orchard road, everything sold there were branded or rather stuff that we can never afford.

So when you alight at the station, you will see this mall. This mall is like our MBS, all the shops here are luxury brands, like YSL, Louis Vuitton etc. We only walked around and went to their fair at the top floor which sells like discounted kanken, but I did not get any cause the colours were very limited. We didn't stay there for long actually we went back shortly after. Cause we were superrrr tired from all the hiking and stuff. 

And the we have to reasearch on our next day itinerary which is the most anticipated itinerary out of all! The OCEAN PARK! hehehe, please do stay tune for my ocean park adventure, I promise you will be excited to see the animals as I am! Hehe.

veronxtravel : Hong Kong Day 2

Hello readers! I'm finally back. Sorry for taking such a loooooong time cause I was really busy with netball. This whole holidays I'm spending more than half of my time in school for netball training and IHG. But, yay we won 2 matches and lost 1 currently. We have to win the next one to proceed to the quarterfinals. Hopefully we'll win *fingers crossed*

Okay, but this post is not about netball. Its about my Hong Kong trip. Hahaha, sorry can't help it cause my life is all about netball, netball and more netballlll as of now. Let's get back to business!

So, for Day 2 we actually went to Tsim Sha Tsui for some shopping and exploring. Okay, then we actually realised that the shops are relatively repeated from Mongkok and even Jordan, which is where we were staying at. So, in the end, we did not get much stuff as well. Well, everything is so freaking expensive I was afraid that I would not have enough money for food for the rest of the stay. LOL.

The morning streets of the temple street, where we were staying at. It was a pretty cold and windy morning. Guess where we're heading for breakfast?

Hint: In the picture.

Australian Dairy Company! I swear to god, it is sworn by everyone who have came to Hong Kong before, the breakfast is superrrrr good. Especially the scramble egg toast. I have never tasted scramble eggs sooooo good before. I was totally blown away.

So, we ordered the breakfast set I think it was about HKD49, about SGD9. Yes, expensive I know. It came with a toast with scramble eggs and macaroni with ham. I also realised that the locals like to have macaroni for breakfast. Not that I hate it, I actually really like macaroni. 

We have also ordered an additional scrambled egg toast and the steamed custard which is one of their best sellers too. I was really satisfied with the meal. 

And then we head off to our destination, Tsim Sha Tsui! Okay, from now on, I'm gonna use TST for short.

Mission #1: Get that Jenny Bakery biscuits! So we went a loooong way and we finally arrive. Okay, please take a look at that queue. LOL. They actually have a few outlets but we went to the one at TST. 

There were so many China tourists I swear and they swept like I don't know 10 tins per person? There was this women had a whole luggage of Jenny Biscuits I was like omg. However, they only limit to 2 tins per person. Oh, and their plastic bag costs HKD1 what the hell right. Okay la, as I've mentioned earlier, when you shop in Hong Kong, they don't give you plastic bags you either have to hand carry or pay for one but sometimes they don't even sell one. -.-"

Actually, the biscuits taste like normal butter cookies. That is what I feel personally. I mean its slightly above average la, but abit overrated I feel. One tip from me is that, if you bo bian have to buy more than 2 right, you go queue from different lines cause they actually have a few lines so I guess if they don't notice you're the same person from the previous lines, you probably can get like 6 tins.

After getting the cookies for our friends and family, guess where we headed to?

SHOES SHOPPINGGGG!!!!

Disclaimer: Pardon the bad quality photos. Some of the photos are taken from my iPhone 6S which is like going to spoil anytime soon. 

So we came across this giant Adidas flagship store. We ahem.. I had to go in and see. I can't say no to shoes shopping man. 

My brother asked me to help him look for a certain designs for their latest EQT collection. Which then, I fell in love with that khaki colour with black linings. Omg, that pair was the prettiest shoes I have ever seen. I really felt the urge to get it but it was I think HKD1199 or something, I only know it is almost half of my whole budget in HK. 

I would have to eat grass if I bought that. But I really did consider getting it I just couldn't put it back. But my friend stopped me. :( 

So the adidas store have like 4 levels. I was super fascinated, I mean you will never find something like this in Singapore, cause Singapore have no space and no land for such luxury. LOL.

Oh, the flagship store is at Peking Road btw. Hehe.

So these are just some of the places that we explored or passed by while we were exploring TST. There were tons of people crowding at Kowloon park playing Pokemon GO LOL. I didn't know it was still in trend. I thought it had already been died down.

And then, we were hungry so we decided to go and hunt for fooooood.

Its CHEESE NOODLE! Okay, it doesn't look appetising here I know. But I swear it is soo good.

Look at that piece of pork collar meat. OMG. Personally, I don't usually eat pork. Okay, I don't usually eat meat cause I prefer fish. But wth, this is super good please.

Okay, it can get abit jelak cause of the cheese overload. But the meat is so good, and it is so tender. I personally cannot stand fatty meat, especially roast meat that have a thick layer of fats in between, I would only eat the lean meat. But this one is totally lean. It is so good I finished everything. I think it was HKD 47 which is about SGD 9.

And whats after mains? Desserts! hehehe, Istg this trip is so sinful. Well, but holidays meant to be like this. 

So, we went to Hui Lau Shan where they are famous for their mango dessert. Omg, as a mango lover I super love this. Love the mango ice cream, fresh mangoes and the chewy rice balls. I'm a big fan of rice balls, actually anything chewy. So this was really a plus for me. They have a lot of variations so if you really like mango, you should go and try it. They have many outlets as well. You can probably find one just by walking along the streets at TST. There is also one near the harbour.

After our desserts, we rushed to the harbour to get a good spot for the light show; A symphony of Lights. It happens everyday I think but have different languages for each day. It is free for all, I would advice getting there early to get a good spot.

We actually saw this mobile softee, it is a van that sells ice cream. I thought it was so old school and cool. But I had to pass cause we just had a cold dessert and the weather was cold enough.

Camera on auto landscape mode.

It wasn't the best light performace actually. It is just flashing laser appearing at different buildings. Furthermore, it was SUPER cold from the sea breeze and all. But I think it is a really great experience. I think one should see it at least once. 

P.S. It is kinda hard to adjust the lighting for this one, I've actually change to manual mode and shot the pictures (not the first picture) This was the best exposure I could get I think it is the most even exposure as compared to the auto landscape mode. 

There was actually a screen behind us playing the animations I tried hard to climb on top of the seats to get this picture. I couldn't really balance, so I gave up in the end cause I couldn't see anything while standing on the ground. -.-'' 

Just fyi, the harbour is near the star ferry. Star ferry is also one of the tourist attraction that you pay to get a ferry tour I think. But we didn't want to spend that money cause we personally felt that it was not worth it. However, if you really want to see Hong Kong in a different perspective I think you should try it. (:

Saw them buskers in the subway when we're heading back. The guy was really good. I personally, really enjoy buskers on the streets. I mean, it takes a lot of courage to perform infront of a crowd.

And then, it was time for DINNERRR! Omg, yes I know we kept eating and eating. -.-"

But we saw this place and thought we couldn't just pass by.

Its Lan Fong Yuen! They are famous for their stocking milk tea. In chinese we called it 丝袜奶茶 I think they tarik the milk tea with stockings. I really wanted to try, so guess why we're here haha. I know the rice don't actually look appetising. Indeed, it was just average. But the char siew was pretty good and there were two eggs! hehe, I love eggs. 

I was actually quite disappointed cause I thought the milk tea tasted the same as normal milk tea, okay maybe it is just me. But if ya'll are nearby the area, please do go and try it out! I think this meal also cost SGD 9 if I remembered it correctly.

After that, we took the train back and head back to our tiny apartment. It was such a looooooong day. However, never did I know, it is gonna get longer the next day omg. Please look out for my day 3 post to know what I actually did. I almost wanted to die. Haha, nah kidding. But, yup, I've actually spend an entire day in TST. My friend actually kept complaining after that. Oopsie! hahaha, please stay tune for part 3!

veronxtravel : Hong Kong Day 1

Hi readers, I guess it took me long enough to finally sit down and craft out this post. I have been really busy with my hall netball especially inter-hall games are coming up. I'm really stressful during this period of time. However, due to the morning softball match tomorrow, I'm all alone in hall today and I thought okay I might as well take the time to sort out my photos and update the blog. So this time round, I'm off to.. HONG KONG! Its my first time been to Hong Kong, so I was actually quite excited. I'm up to explore any new places anytime man. I thought that Hong Kong would very much be similar to Taipei since I have already been to Taipei twice. But I swear Hong Kong is such a fast paced city, everyone is just rushing here and there. They even rush when they are having their meals, oh god. It got so bad to a point I just told my friend that I will not care anymore and I will take my own sweet time to finish up my meal. So now, I will be posting pictures taken by my Canon 750D.

Once we landed, we took the airport express bus (N21) called the cityflyer. It is about SGD$6 per trip per person. It is cheaper than taking the airport express train which cost HKD$100 per trip per person, which is like SGD$20?! That is crazy man. You would have to buy a special ticket for that as well, normal octopus card cannot be used for airport staion. Oh, their ezlink card is called the octopus card. The octopus card can be bought at the airport for HKD$150 with $100 credit inside and they will refund HKD$50 when you trade in your card later on when you are leaving Hong Kong. I would recommend everyone to get the octopus card if you planned to travel by their public transport which is highly recommended since it is very conveninent.

Our apartment resides in Temple Street, where the temple street night market happen every night, so its shopping everyday! Yay! Oh, fyi Temple Street is at Jordan, the nearest MTR station is called Jordan as well which is around 5 mins walk to the station.

These few pictures shows the streets of Jordan. I did not take pictures of our apartment because our apartment is VERY small. Its almost the size of the Singapore's one room flat. There are no rooms at all it is basically like a studio apartment. I must say, I really cannot tahan the toilet cause it is SO SMALL. I think you can only rotate your body, you cannot even move an inch after you closed the door. I have heard about small apartments in Hong Kong, but I totally did not expect that. However, I guess if you are going to Hong Kong and not on a budget trip, the best is to book a hotel room instead.

There are many these kinds of herbal tea shops there which we used to see it a lot in Singapore. But I cannot seem to find them anymore. It is where you drink from a bowl on the spot after you paid for it after selecting the kind of herbal tea you want.

So after we landed, we were starving. We went into this Hong Kong Cafe near our place and I swear the food was so bad that I did not even bother taking a picture of it. One thing about the food in Hong Kong is that it is sooooooooooo expensive! So from the picture $34 is like the cheapest in the menu and its is about SGD$7. It is so expensive! Furthermore, it does not taste good at all. I mean like, I could get a meal in Singapore for $7 including a drink.

Oh, and I forgot to mention that there are no such thing as kopitiam or even hawker centre in Hong Kong. Its either 茶餐厅 (tea cafe) or restaurants, thats all. Of course, we opted for the cheaper options. So, you can guess all our meals are almost this price range. (heartbreak)

We had a dessert as well. Its the black sesame with rice balls. I LOVE RICE BALLS. Omg. But I don't usually had black sesame. I think it is very thick and abit too sweet. Kinda glad that I shared it with my friend, we managed to finished everything. I think it is about SGD$4.

After spending the whole afternoon to evening exploring Jordan, which is nearby our area, we decided to take their MTR (which is our MRT haha) over to Mongkok. Mongkok is where the youngsters are, it is almost like our Bugis Street. I'm particularly excited to go to the Fa Yuen Street where they also call it the sneakers street. Anywhere with sneakers, I'm in!

And I forgot to mention, if you're near Mongkok, do visit their ladies market as well. I think personally felt that all the night markets are sooo expensive like they marked up the prices since it is kinda a tourist attraction. I did not get anything but I think if you're not on a budget like me, you would really enjoy it there. Also, it is good la to go and experience the ambience. I really love the pasar malam feels. Hehe. Last but not least, if you're getting anything from the night market, always always ALWAYS BARGAIN. Due to the marked up prices I think even if you negotiate about $20 less they will also accept. Another tip is that if they don't agree to the price that your quote, WALK AWAY. They will always try to make you stay by quoting a lower price. If not, continue walking down and you will probably find the same thing in other stalls and you might want to compare their prices. They actually have a few stalls selling the same thing so do not rush to get it once you saw something that you like. I would suggest walking till the end first and then go back for the cheapest price quoted if you're kiasu like me.

This is how their MTR station look like. Basically it is the same as Singapore's. It is really easy to navigate if you understand English or Chinese. It also very easy even if you are required to change line.

Look at the huge Adidas Originals store! My heart screamed. I think I entered almost every Adidas and Nike shops that we have came across. Sorry, my love for shoes or rather sneakers will never fade.

Then while walking, we saw a huge crowd of people standing on the streets so being the kiasu Singaporeans we are, we had to stop and see what's going on. Then we realised that there are a few photographers they are actually setting up a photobooth in the middle of the street. I guess the commotion is about the group of cheerleaders wanting to take a photo and passerbys stop to watch cause they are cheerleaders. Well, their outfits are ... well, outstanding. Then I was just kiddingly joke that I can also open a photobooth since I was holding on to my DSLR. HAHAHA. 

After which, we came across this mega huge H&M store. We had to go and check it out. I mean, when do you see H&M HOME COLLECTION? RIGHT?! Yes, I know ZARA actually have a ZARA HOME but it is not available in Singapore. But I did not know there is actually a H&M HOME. Furthermore, they just launched their makeup line not long ago.

So this H&M store have 3 storeys and it is super spacious. After browsing through I realised that their collections are almost the same in Singapore's. But their winter wear are on sale, which mostly consists of sweaters, wool jacket and thick padded coats. I would love to get 'em but... I'm scared that my luggage will be overweight and my mom will probably be like when will you get to wear them in Singapore?! Sigh. Oh, and one more thing, their prices are almost the same as Singapore's, so we didn't get anything. Well... not worth our luggage space ya.

Our night came to an end after having some supper in Mongkok. So my friend ordered this beef noodle from a random stall which we saw had a lot of people in it. As I have mentioned earlier, I swear eating in Hong Kong is like a participating in a fast eating competition. Once you finished, they will straight away come and clear your bowl so by hook or crook, you have to leave after you're done. Another thing is that, they are very particular about paying after you have finished eating. Normally in Singapore, we order and pay before we get our food right. But in Hong Kong, you have to order first, then pay after you have finished eating.

Oh, and btw the noodle is actually quite good. It is so much better than what we had at the Hong Kong cafe in the afternoon. So we were quite satisfied hehe.

And this, I must say, THIS IS SO GOOD! I actually have no idea what is this though. It is abit like Churros. But this harder than churros, crispy I would say. It is almost like a biscuit. And you're supposed to choose the fillings flavour. I went with the original one which I think is milk flavoured. And it is SO GOOD. It costs about SGD$4 and I think its quite reasonable, I mean if you find it in Singapore it would probably be one of those 'hipster food' that are deemed as overpriced. LOL.

They actually have like durian, chocolate and matcha flavour as well. The filling is actually cold so it is almost like ice cream in a biscuit. You should give it a try if you're around the area.

This is how temple street looks like at night. The sun sets very early in Hong Kong. The sky is almost dark at around 6pm which I always thought its already 8pm. Even though there are no time difference. HAHA. So we went back to walk around the temple street night market before heading home. I didn't really bought anything on the first day, cause I wanted to save it for Shenzhen, hehe heard there are a lot of cheap clothes there. Well, that would be for another post. So, do stay tune! This will be the end of Hong Kong Day 1.