As we mentioned in the previous entry, we embarked on a 6D/5N trip to Hong Kong together with my mum and sis. It was a hastily arranged trip as we made a pretty last minute decision to visit HK just 3 weeks before. But it turned out to be a brilliant decision eventually as the trip turned out to be a thoroughly enjoyable one and we practically shopped till we dropped - and broke!

Throughout the entire length of the journey, we snapped about 600 photos so you will have to expect that these 4-part entries are gonna be filled with lots of pictures. :)



We arrived at the Hong Kong International Airport on Saturday night. It was regarded as one of the best airports in the world but honestly, it failed to live up to my expectations or perhaps, I expected too much instead.



The first thing that struck me about Hong Kong was the sightings of tall, multi-storey apartments and condos everywhere. It gave the impression of Hong Kong as the City of Lights as the sky was well-lit by the assortment of neons and light bulbs emitted from the skyscrapers and tall apartments. However, the abundance of tall buildings in a small country can only mean one thing - a very densely populated country! Lest I digress, I'll dwelve into the subject later on.



This was the hotel that we stayed in for the duration of the trip. It was located in North Point - an area which was located next to Causeway Bay. The hotel made an error in recording our bookings prior to our arrival, but luckily they still have rooms available for that day. Otherwise, we might have to sleep on cardboards under the bridge just like those homeless men often depicted in TVB dramas.



This was the street view at night just outside our hotel. Several rows of shoplots, blocks of apartments and endless streams of red cabs and double decker buses.



In the morning, the city came to life. Still, there was the usual endless stream of red cabs and buses filling up the streets everywhere. It is not surprising really, considering the exorbitant petrol price for vehicles which was around HK$10 per litre (approx. RM5 per litre).

We were lucky as Vian's friend, Percy was a Hongkonger and she was free to bring us around. In this densely populated city with a fast moving lifestyle, you can easily get lost amid the sea of people without someone to guide you around.


The next morning, Percy brought us to this restaurant which served some delicious dim sums for breakfast.


We had a hard time deciding what to order as there was a vast variety of dim sums to choose from.


We eventually settled for siu long baos, har gao, fu chuk rolls, phoenix claws (chicken feet) and some more. Dim sum is like to Hongkongers what Nasi Lemak is like to us Malaysians. That was the preferred way to kick start the morning here - enjoying dim sums over Chinese tea while chit-chatting with your family and friends.



After breakfast, we then headed to Tsim Sha Tsui - a well known luxury shopping district for the locals. As with most of the locals here, we travelled by foot and MTR.

The MTR stations were often packed and crowded with people from all walks of life and one have to walk closely together in order not to get lost.



This was the Octopus Card - somewhat akin to our Touch 'N Go and Perth's Smart Rider card.


Females always have time to pose for a shot - even while waiting for the traffic light to turn green. The 3 ladies shown above were a good example.

The Gateway Shopping Mall - home to luxury brands such as Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Prada, Marc Jacobs, etc.

One thing about the luxury brands in Hong Kong - they were more like Jusco supermarket on J-card Day Sale rather than the usually quiet and elegant malls in Starhill.



Look at throngs of people lining up to get a hand on their luxurious must-have handbags or wallets. From the experience of staying in HK for 5 days, I can safely say that 9 out of 10 people that you meet in the street will have at least a LV or a Gucci with them and the odd one out that doesn't have any of the luxury item is almost certainly a foreigner.



Just half day gone and we're already carrying so many shopping bags with us. Good for the ladies, but pity the guy who have to carry those bags though. :P
The city was packed with droves of people walking from all directions. It kept me thinking whether in the future HK will suffer from the problem of oxygen inadequacy.



There was this little candy shop located outside the the shopping mall that sells various types of candies, chocolates and snacks. You can choose any type of combination of the candies or chocolates available and they will be charged according to the price per 100 gram. My mum couldn't resist the temptation and succumbed to it by buying 3 packets full of candies, cookies and mini dried meats.



Christmas celebration in HK was sort of like Christmas in Singapore, if not on a grander scale. Streets and high rise buildings were adorned and decorated with colorful neon lights and signboards ushering the impending Christmas celebration. It was a far cry from the normally mundane and more subdued Christmas celebration in Kuala Lumpur.

That night, we travelled to Sha Tin by MTR to enjoy the famous chicken porridge. However, there was an incident which almost disrupted the whole plan altogether.

In the eagerness to savour the chicken porridge in Sha Tin, Vian had accidentally entered the MTR and then the door closed, leaving all 3 of us stranded behind. There was a moment of panic as she was unfamiliar with the stations, and Percy and I were showing her hand signals to indicate that we will meet her at the next station.

However, she was nowhere to be found when we got off at the next station. And we were keeping our fingers crossed that hopefully she will be waiting for us at Sha Tin station which was 2 stops away. Unfortunately, we caught no sight of her when we arrived at Sha Tin station.

Percy decided to go back to the first station while the 3 of us were searching for her at Sha Tin. It was during then that I felt a sudden sense of impulse to look out for her near the elevator.

Perhaps it was pure coincidence or maybe it was pure destiny, there she was - about to descend onto the elevator when I spotted her. It was a huge relief to all of us, and she was visibly shaken from the ordeal. I comforted her and she barely eaten throughout the dinner too because she was having a bad migrain and stomachache at the same time.

That was an eventful first day for us at HK. Not exactly the way we imagined we will have spent the first day in the City of Lights but we were certainly looking forward to the remaining 4 days of our trip here.....

To be continued...Part 2