Trip to Hong Kong - Day 1

The next morning after my last exam, I left for the Pear of the East-Hong Kong. For the first time, I didn't get much sleep on the flight. I was probably too tired to even shut my eyes, and anticipated for the upcoming days in HK! I was woken up by the passenger who was sitting beside me, saying "I'm dizzy, I'm dizzy..." just before she lost her consciousness. After making sure that I wasn't in my dream, I quickly rang the bell for assistance from the air stewardess. Luckily, she was alright after getting attention from a doctor on board. In the end, I had only about 4 to 5 hours of rest in two days...

Hooray! Here I am in HK, a place I wanted to visit since my first year of University. Hey, I'm back to civilization (those of you in Freddy, you know what I mean)! Without a visitor's visa, I'm allowed to stay in HK for 90 days! Carrying a backpack, a laptop, a purse, and dragging a suitcase, I got myself some HK dollars at the airport (not advisable because they often offer a lower rate than in the city), since I needed some cash for my bus fare to the city centre. Here is what I've got - an Octopus card - which only cash purchase is accepted.


"As a tourist, you will find Octopus indispensable for getting around Hong Kong's sights and shops as you won't need to buy individual tickets for different transport systems or carry coins either.

Octopus is also widely accepted at retail outlets including fast food chains, cake, bakery and convenience stores, supermarkets, personal care stores, vending machines, photobooths, pay phones, cinemas and leisure facilities. Just buy a Sold Octopus and look for the Octopus sign, and you can enjoy the convenience of "touch and go" payment during your stay in Hong Kong."

-- Image and text adapted from http://www.octopuscards.com/consumer/help/tourists/en/index.jsp

Almost everyone in HK owns an Octopus card. The serial number printed behind the card is an identification code. Some schools even rely on the card to monitor attendance. How smart! Anyway, I got one for HK$150 (a value of HK$100 and HK$50 for deposit). There is also a Refund Handling Fee of HK$7 if you return within 3 months from the date of issue.

I took the express bus to Tsim Sha Tsui, where my hostel is located. With a decent bus fare of HKD 33, I was offered an approximately 45-minute bus ride in a comfy air-conditioned bus. I'm so glad to be back to Asia! I had to walk pass a few blocks of buildings before I found my hostel. It was quite a challenge because of my heavy suitcase. Anyway, the "best" has yet to come. As I was going to check-in my dorm room which I've reserved awhile go, I was told that there was no lockers available!! What? No locker in the room, where am I going to place my valuables? "There is a single room available, it comes with attached bathroom, phone, internet access, TV, air-conditioner. You can have the room all to yourself, and it's only HKD350 (CAD 46) a night," said the lady at the reception. The HKD 350 offer was given after I explained that I'm a student on a budget trip and can't afford to spend too much on accommodation. That was more than double of what I expected to pay for my dorm room!! Oh well, I didn't want to lose any of my valuables by leaving them out while I explore the city, I reluctantly accepted the offer. I'll have to keep in mind that not all hostels offer lockers!

Here is the building which I'm at, even though I tried to avoid staying in this building because of its "not so peaceful" reputation acknowledged by the locals. It turned out that this hostel owner runs a few hostels at various locations, and the single room happens to be in this building......

The Chung King Mansions on Nathan Road.

My lovely room. Attached bathroom with hot shower, desk, TV, phone, and power outlet which doesn't require a converter, amazing...(oh well, I use the converter for my battery charger to prove that a converter comes in handy, lol). I'm exhausted and can smile no more...

Busy traffic on Nathan Road, with Jackie Chan on the huge poster. This building reminds me of the Empire State Building in NYC (or perhaps I'm imagining?)

Despite my tiredness, I was so pumped that I wanted to explore the city as soon as possible! I walked to the Avenue of Stars for the spectacular "A Symphony of Lights". The Avenue of Stars offers Hong Kong's famous scenes of Victoria Harbour. This is a hot spot for film shooting, which we often see it on drama series or movies: a loving couple holding hands in a breezy night, overlooking the harbour (just as I did, so romantic...)

A stunning "Symphony of Lights" performance at 8 p.m. every evening.

A cute vendor stall with "Avenue of Stars" on it, Beijing Olympics posters along the harbour, and guess what I found? Andy Lau's handprint!

Okie, I'm on a tight budget now, after having to pay so much for accommodation. What should I have for supper? Chinese bakeries sound wonderful, I haven't had them for ages... As I was strolling along Nathan Road, I found a Chinese bakery store and got myself a Mexican bun, a polo bun, and a cocktail bun (a.k.a. gei mei bao in cantonese), yumm... *Sniff sniff* something smells delicious as I continued walking along the road. There is a line up in front of a stall, what's that all about? Ohh... the little chicken egg waffles (a.k.a. gei dan zai in cantonese)! I've heard so much about it but never gotten a chance to try it. Here is my chance :)

Hong Kong is a city that never sleeps. Karaoke bars, pubs, and clubs are luring the passersby with their unique, striking neon signs. It was close to midnight and stores were still open for business, including a luggage store that's besides my building. Night shopping, or rather, midnight shopping, how neat!

The night life in Hong Kong.

Anyway, I was extremely exhausted by the end of the day and can't wait getting to the bed after a nice shower...