We reached my nephew's condo in Hongkong 3 hours earlier because we were taken in by the earlier flight of the same airline, Cathay Pacific. In the next morning, we hied off to the ferry station for our day trip to Macau. The ferry ride took an hour. We reached Macau in time for lunch so we searched for a place to dine. It's our second time, we had been there in 2012, so we did not avail of a tour guide since we are confident that we can roam around by ourselves. That's the replica of the Macau Tower in the mini-park of Macau Firsherman's Wharf where we had our lunch... Our first casino is the Sands which was quite large and lots of players. But since we couldn't see anything except the gambling, we left for The Venetian. It's a complex like a mall that combines the casino with shops and restaurants. That's the view of the casino on the ground floor.... And after roaming around, we got hungry again. That sky in the photo is a facade - you can be fooled if you don't know. The fastfood has a variety of dishes to offer. I just settled for a hamburger...
We proceeded to the pier before dusk to avoid the big waves in the open sea between Macau and Hongkong. The last time we went there, our intestines were having a riot with the waves that tossed the small ferry boat. However, this time it is a bigger ferry so the waves were not felt very much. Posing by the display train in Macau Fisherman's Wharf... It was a wonderful feeling to realize that I had been there again and maybe would be back after 5 years. In Hongkong, we are already at home and used to commuting by train. After the ferry, we took the train that would bring us home. Fine, we can have a restful night as we estimated that we would reach home by 9 pm. It was only 8:30pm when the train stopped and the announcement said that all passengers should disembark. Oh, that's 3 stations away from Tung Chung, our destination. As per the announcement, there's an accident - a boat hit a bridge so no one could pass, not the train, not the bus either, not even a taxi. That really got us worried. What if the bridge would not be repaired that night? Worse, what if it takes weeks to be repaired. Blame the language barrier. There was an accident that caused heavy traffic so everything was at a standstill. The train resumed operating by 10:30pm and we were home before midnight. Gee, it was my birthday on that Saturday the 23rd and my nephew who owns the condo cooked Chinese noodles for me with fried chicken wings...
On the next day, my nephew asked me to accompany him because he is moving to another rented place. By the way, his condo unit is on the 60th floor of a very elegant building in a classy compound just beside the mall where the train station is located. And that new place he is moving to is located near the marketplace with all the vendors and chaos in the street. Not a good place for him. So maybe when we come back to Hongkong, we will just stay in a hotel instead of in his condo. That's me and my nephew inside the train. After seeing my nephew's new condo unit, we proceeded to the nearby street to shop. The area is called Mongkok, a place known for bargain items that are sold in the street. Take a look at the main street, it is mid afternoon and the vendors are already preparing their slots right there on the street for the night market. I was overwhelmed by the wares being offered so I was able to buy so many items like printed shirts, wallets, bags and even USB sticks in cute designs. Here is the scene in a sidestreet...
After some shopping, it was time to eat. I had a selfie by the menu board on the side of the street. I couldn't understand a thing in that menu and all I look at are the pictures. But my husband wanted the lamb biryani that is only offered in the Indian eatery called Ebeneezer. We were there on the invitation of a friend a few years back and this time we were on our own so expect us to lose our way. The only thing we remembered is the train station of Tsim Sha Tsui. After getting out of the subway and out in the open, that got us thinking which way to go, left or to the right? My hsuband is a quick thinker. Upon seeing an Indian guy in a distance, we proceeded to ask. And the guy gave us the direction. That's one great thinking because we reached the restaurant just in time that I was very hungry. There's the lamb biryani in the photo...
After 2 whole days - 1 in Macau and 1 in Hongkong city area - it was time to go home. Our flight was in the late afternoon but we need to be at the airport earlier so we were ready to go after a hearty lunch at the nearby mall. Maybe we would come back again next year because we visit Hongkong every year. We are lucky to have a flight with Cathay Pacific because of their comfortable plane with a small monitor for the tv. Also, the snack is complimentary. In the other airline (no need to mention), the seating is so cramped that I had leg cramps after the flight. Aside, there's notthing to see and hear so I would just be playing with my phone. There was this unusual work of art in the Hongkong airport, an image of Buddha made of sardine cans.
This would be my nth trip to Hongkong. But this time, we would be staying in Guangdong Hotel because my nephew has moved to a smaller place. He used to rent a good condo in the southern part of Hongkong which is beside a mall and near the airport too. Now, we are on our own so I booked for 2 nights in a 4-star hotel right in the heart of the city, the area called Tsim Sha Tsui. Since we had almost exhausted the tourists spots in Hongkong, our haunt this time is the Railway Museum in Tai Po and the Buddhist Temple in Wong Tai Sin. Done with Disneyland so many times, once in Ocean Park, The Peak, Big Buddha, and other popular places. We even had been to Macau via the ferry, twice already. In fact, we need not go to Hongkong anymore except that my credit card texted me about a plane ticket promo. And that's how this coming trip was made.
I've never been - but would love to visit. I had a friend who was a Professor of English at the University. He really didn't want to go to HK at first - but he fell in love with the city and stayed for 9 years when he retired. I hope you have a great visit and look forward to hearing about it when you get back.
Hong Kong would be fun..but my main desire is to see Mainland China. I want to walk on the Great Wall. I have actually seen some fairly inexpensive trips to China lately. Maybe if I can ever get my house sold...I will go. It would be the trip of a lifetime for sure. Italy and China are both on my bucket list. I have friend who was just in Italy who was raving about it, and I know I would love, love it. Traveling is so much fun, and a way to really broaden your horizons.
We had been to the Great Wall in January of last year. It was worth the cost of the trip although I was shivering with the zero degree temperature. I'm sure you will enjoy the sights especially if you have time to spend so you can walk the length of the Great Wall. As for our recent trip to Hongkong, just got back last night and I'm still drowsy. It was a fun trip because we didn't have a cramped schedule so we were touring leisurely. We arrived in the 4-star Hotel by 10am and set off to roam the area of Tsim Sha Tsui, that is the business district to the small malls are there, vendors of all kinds, etc. For our first meal, we chanced upon a restaurant that looked like the traditional eateries so we sampled their food. My husband ordered chicken rice and I ordered fried noodles plus 2 cans of soda. The rice had a unique flavor with the green leaves and the chicken wings were so delicious. I also liked the friend noodles which has strips of meat. For about $12 USD, it was worth it. However, the servings were huge that it could have fed 4 people like us. In other words, there was a big portion for the leftover. Here is that heavy lunch.... It was too hot in Hongkong with the 37-degree temperature in the early afternoon. We were drenched with sweat like everyone else. But that weather did not deter me from going to the flea market where the street is closed to accommodate the vendors. Everything looks cheap but you have to be careful in buying especially with electronic items that some are not working. That thing in the picture that I was holding is a leather wallet, real leather with a tag price of HK$80 which I haggled down to HK$50 so I had to buy 4 pieces for the discounted price. Not bad because those wallets are good. You can imagine how tired I was when we returned to the hotel before dinner time. We just had a pizza delivered to our hotel room to give my feet some rest.
Great photos Corie...you really are very photogenic, and I love to hear the stories of your trips to places I probably will never visit..
We roamed the city aimlessly, just looking around for something interesting. There was those attractive fresh cherries that has a price tag of HK$38 per pound. We bought a pound and went to a nearby park to eat the cherries. But near the entrance of the park, there was this guy selling boxes of fresh Tunisian dates. My husband loves dates so on the bench in Kowloon Park, we were munching fresh cherries and dates. We visited a Buddhist temple not for a religious experience but more a cultural. And although there were no crowds, I was on a hurry for the entrance, I don't know why. And then I was laughing loudly so my husband asked. I said, I thought it was the entrance to the temple but it turned out it was an entrance to the shops. And in fairness to me, I bought a pack of incense, no, make that 2 packs. In the altar, people pray to the temple proper before placing the lighted incense sticks on the box of sand. I really don't know the ritual but I prayed my own prayers in respect to the Buddha. I may not look good in the photo above because the sun was so hot. And don't be fooled by that photo because there was a big crowd behind the camera.
For our cultural tripping, we went to the Tai Po Railway museum. It's a small museum with a railroad and a train where we can do the pictorial. It was a coincidence that the first train had emblazoned the name Sir Alexander which happens to be the name of my husband so you can expect a selfie by him. But here is my own selfie with that train - In the afternoon, we met with old friends in a park near our hotel. Those women are working in Hongkong for so many years now as domestic helpers. Every time we go to Hongkong, we always meet even just for a short time... to exchange gifts. And after a pictorial with our friends, we had to leave because my nephew was waiting for us. He had a reservation in a Korean restaurant for our last dinner in Hongkong. It was a hearty dinner because it's buffet and a cook-in, there was a stove in the middle of the table where we cook the meat and any other food that were on the buffet table including desserts and pastries. By the way, my nephew is Carl, and if you had read my story Kuya Boy, well, Carl is the eldest son of Kuya Boy. Look carefully at the photo above. Can you guess that nickname of Carl? The hint is a cartoon character of the olden days. He looks like that cartoon character. Take a guess and I will reveal the answer tomorrow.
On our last day in Hongkong, I feasted on sliced peaches for breakfast after the bacon and buttered toast. It was a buffet style but there's not much desirable dishes. I sampled the porridge and it's not good. There's pancake but I'm not fond of it. The boiled egg and the fruits made my morning. Our flight is in the evening so we had nothing to do in the morning. We went to the nearby park to roam and take pictures with the Japanese cartoon characters. We never expected Kowloon Park to be a big one. We were not able to see the entirety because the morning sun was searing hot. Again, we were drenched in sweat. After resting a bit, we went back to the hotel. We decided to leave the hotel after checking out at 11am. We proceeded to the mall that is nearest the airport. Lunch there was okay, cheap but still classy. After checking the mall for anything we can buy, we left for the airport by 2pm. Take note, our flight is 9pm. Well, at least we have no worries because we're already in the airport....