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Leisure trip at a glance
Country / Region: People's Republic of China (Hong Kong Special Administrative Region)
Period: 26 Feb to 01 Mar 2010
Flight timings:
26 Feb: SQ 866, SIN–HKG, ETD 1330 ETA 1715
01 Mar: SQ 863, HKG–SIN, ETD 1330 ETA 1720
Air tickets: Return tickets at SGD 398 (inclusive of airport taxes)
Accommodation: Dorsett Seaview Hotel (3 nights)
Currency exchange rate: HKD 100 = SGD 18.25 (Feb '10 period)
Day One
Initially wanted to take public transport to the airport but realized my luggage was rather heavy and it would be very tedious to bring it up and down from the bus. Thus I took a cab to Terminal 3.
Changi Airport Terminal 3
Reached the airport at about 11.30 am which was just perfect to check-in my luggage and get my boarding pass. Since it was during the Chinese New Year period, decorations of the festival could be seen at every corner of the terminal hall (photos below).
Took a lift down to basement 2 of the terminal for my lunch and managed to find this food court: Kopi Tiam (left photo below). Initially was having a hard time finding what to eat till I saw a queue at one of the stalls, where most of the customers were either stewardesses or CAAS workers. Thus I thought the food must be good, so ordered a bowl of Bak Chor Mee at SGD 4 (right photo below). Disappointedly the food was nothing fantastic which was typical of any food court.
Always wanted to visit the Butterfly Garden inside the Departure Hall but often my flights departing from Terminal 3 were in night. At last I was able to visit this park that day. Though rather small in size (left photo below), it is equally impressive compared to those inside Sentosa or Zoo, and the amount of butterflies definitely abundant to surround every corner of the enclosure. There was an educational corner which showcased the developmental stages of the butterfly from a pupa to full adult (right photo below). Of course the main attractions in this garden were obviously the colorful butterflies and flowers (bottom photos).
Singapore Airlines Flight Meal
Snacks and beverages (left photo below) were provided just before the main course. For the main meal, I selected the stir fried pork with rice (right photo below). What impressed me were the 'Fa Cai Yu Sheng' (bottom left photo) as appetizer and the pineapple tart as snack. This was something new and definitely could bring out the festive mood of Chinese New Year. According to the description on the meal menu distributed, the 'Yu Sheng' (鱼生) was a New Year salad with salmon to usher the Year of the Tiger. Thumbs up to the creativity of the meal-planning crew! How can a meal be completed without desserts? A pack of vanilla flavored ice-cream cubes coated with chocolates (bottom right photo) was given just after I've finished my meal.
Dorsett Seaview Hotel
Booked the Dorsett Seaview hotel via internet at SGD 211.56 for 3 nights per standard room, which I felt that it was rather reasonable for a 3-star hotel in Kowloon area. This hotel had recently renovated its room and corridor (left photo below). The room is now equipped with a LCD television (right photo below), and wall mirrors are fitted to brighten the room (bottom left photo). Innovative furniture was also installed to make full use of the limited room space (bottom right photo).
Bathroom was also redesigned to give a modern and bright feeling (photos below). Of course not all items are changed; bed sheets and towels were still the same in design when I last checked-in two years ago.
Toy shops at Mongkok Area
Many toy shops are located at Mongkok Area and mostly within walking distances of less than 10 minutes. The CTMA centre (left photo below) has a ToyMart at one of its level where the popular retail shop of Hottoys is located there. Sino Centre (right photo below) has many small shops owned by young entrepreneurs selling trendy collections. It used to have shops selling pirated videos / CDs but now they are no longer present due to the frequent raid by police. In's point (bottom left photo) has a good collection of 12-inch figures and its accessories, while UML hobby (bottom right photo) sells a varieties of miniatures from brands like Rement or Mimo.
Hui Lau Shan (许留山) Dessert Shop
Decided to head back to the hotel after the toy hunting trip. Just before stepping into the hotel, I changed my mind and walked towards Hui Lau Shan Dessert shop opposite the hotel. Whenever I visit Hong Kong, mango dessert in this shop is definitely a must for me. Ordered a 'Coconut Noodle with extra mango' (left photo below) at HKD 32. Taste remained the same, however realized that price had increased HKD 1 or HKD 2 (right photo below) depending on the types of dessert.
Day Two
Sweet Dynasty (糖朝)
This Sweet Dynasty (left photo below) is one of my favorite places for breakfast whenever I'm in Hong Kong. It is located at 100 Canton Road, Tsim Sha Tsui. I was surprised to find out that its latest addition was the inclusion of level 2, with the same 'antique-classic' look (right photo below) as the ground floor. Interestingly I observed that many Japanese tourists patronized this restaurant, and without fail would order their desserts, even though it was breakfast time. Probably the expansion would illustrate how good their business is.
Decided to have something different from my previous visit, thus ordered a beef-brisket noodles (牛腩捞面) at HKD 45 (left photo below). Added some chilli from the decorative flavoring containers to the dry noodles which tasted much better (right photo below).
Also ordered some bean-curd skin vegetarian roll (罗汉腐皮卷) at HKD 23 (left photo below) and almond bean-curd (花杏) at HKD 23 (right photo below). Total price was HKD 102, which included service charge of 10%. Taste of the beef brisket was good and I even drank the whole bowl of soup. The vegetarian rolls were hot from the frying pan and scorched my tongue initially. Almond bean-curd was smooth in texture but would be perfect if it was served cold.
After my breakfast, I took the MTR to Victoria Park at Hong Kong Island to collect my Hong Kong Marathon race pack. Probably I was early, the whole collection process took less than a minute. After which, I then shopped at the Causeway Bay area, which is opposite the Victoria Park, including HMV, Toys"R"Us and Sogo.
Ocean Empire (海皇粥店)
Had my lunch at one of the outlets of Ocean Empire (left photo below) in Wanchai, where I ordered a preserved-egg porridge (皮蛋粥) for HKD 17, fried donut (油条) for HKD 7 and a cup of ice-tea (奶茶) for HKD 7. With the inclusion of tax, the total cost for this meal was HKD 37 (right photo below). As this outlet was located in a centralized location, most of the time seats were fully occupied. Therefore I had to share the table with other strangers.
City Gate Mall
Proceeded to the City Gate Mall (left photo below) after my lunch because I wanted to get some warm clothing for my next trip. Located besides Tung Chung MTR station, many famous sports brands were located in this mall, including Adidas, Nike, Espirit, Timberland, Puma (right photo below) etc. However was rather disappointed because I didn't get anything I wanted, except an Adidas windbreaker.
Bakery at Tung Kun Street
There was this bakery (left photo below) called "Xiao Ruan Zi" (小阮子) behind my hotel which sells very nice egg tarts (right photo below). Sadly the price had increased from HKD 2.50 to HKD 3 per piece since I last visited two years ago. Seems like most of the food items in Hong Kong had increased their price in the last two years. From my experience this bakery closed rather early, therefore do visit this bakery either in late morning or late afternoon.
Special Exhibition:
Legends of Luxury and Elegance: Lifestyles of the Han Nobility (雍雅华章：汉代贵族生活)
Saw the news of this exhibition from local Singapore newspaper and already decided that I must visit it during this trip. The exhibition was located in the Hong Kong Museum of History (left photo below) and admission was only HKD 10, which inclusive of the entrance fee to the permanent exhibition. The whole exhibition period was rather short, from 10 Feb to 3 May 2010 (right photo below) and it was jointly presented by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department of Hong Kong and the Hunan Provincial Museum.
This exhibition consisted some of the actual relics unearthed from the Han tombs at Mawangdui (马王堆汉墓), which the find was claimed to be the most important archaeological discoveries made in the 20th century. One of the burial tombs contained the remains of a lady in her late fifties whose body is so well preserved that there is elasticity on her skin. Researchers even did an autopsy on her body and found some undigested honeydew melon seeds in her stomach.
One of the more important relics excavated from the tomb are the lacquer vessels. Because these vessels were made of wood and painted with lacquer, most would have rotten by the time of discovery. However these vessels unearthed at Mawangdui remain almost the same when they were first made. Due to their vulnerability, there is a rule that actual relics of these lacquer vessels cannot be exhibited outside China. Therefore I was very fortunate to be able to see these National Treasures in Hong Kong during my visit. Now modern Chinese no longer use these lacquer wares as their daily utensils, however one country still loved these red / black wares. You'll find them if you walked into Daiso, except that they are now made in plastic.
Its rather educational that in one of the exhibits, visitors were allowed to learn and play on how to display foods using different types of lacquer wares (left photo below) to simulate how ancient people had their food. Besides the lacquer wares, there were some amazing relics that illustrated the intelligence of ancient Chinese such as records on various types of comets (with its different tailing) and their luxurious life such as the two tier cosmetic box (right photo below) of some two thousands years ago.
Hong Kong Museum of History (香港历史博物馆)
The Hong Kong Museum of History can be reached by alighting from Exit B2 of Tsim Sha Tsui MTR Station and walked along Cameron Road, then along Chatham Road South, which took less than 10-mins to reach.
Since the admission ticket that I had bought included the entrance to their permanent exhibition 'The Hong Kong Story', so I just took the opportunity to visit this exhibition again. Similar to my previous visit, I find that the display on the 60s / 70s Hong Kong very nostalgic because it was the same era in Singapore; such as the Chinese Opera stage (left photo below), typical bedroom of small family (right photo below), herbal tea shop (bottom left photo) and tools used in barber shop (bottom right photo). Because this museum closed at 1800 hrs, I didn't have time to further explore other exhibits.
Special Exhibition:
Biodiversity of China – an exhibition on China's Wildlife specimen (神州生态 - 中国野生动植物标本展)
Happened to know this exhibition only when I was there, so decided to visit since I've some interests in China's wildlife. Admission cost to this exhibition was HKD 35 inclusive to the permanent exhibition of Hong Kong Science Museum. The exhibition period was from 18 Dec '09 till 31 Aug '10 (left photo below).
The animal specimens exhibited were categorized according to their zoological classifications (e.g. reptiles, birds) and habitat (e.g. mountains, low-lands) with huge back-drops to illustrate the environment these animals were in (photos below).
The most famous animals in China probably are the Red Panda (left photo below) and Giant Panda (right photo below). Other popular animals are the tiger and leopard (bottom left photo) which are well-liked by young children. Besides the vertebrates, there was also a good collection of insects and butterflies (bottom right photo).
Hong Kong Science Museum (香港科学馆)
Hong Kong Science Museum is located just opposite the Hong Kong Museum of History. Since the admission to special exhibition includes the admission to the permanent exhibition, I then took the chance to explore it. This museum is big (left photo below) with over 500 displays, and most of them are participatory. Remarkably a display on Flight Data Recorder (also known as Black-box) had corrected many of my misconception, for example the color of "black-box" is not black and able to fire-proof up to 1100 °C for at least 30-mins (right photo below). The displays were definitely informative and educational, even for an adult like me.
There was even a special exhibition dedicated to Chinese Traditional Medicines that illustrated its importance in Hong Kong. Information on the benefits of various type of food (left photo below) were displayed and a figurine to illustrate the various acupuncture spots on the body (right photo below).
This museum definitely suitable for the whole family to spend half a day.
Restaurants along Cameron Road
Spotted this Charlie Brown restaurant (left photo below) along Cameron Road. Probably the place was crowded, also I was also hungry and don't want to wait, therefore I didn't patronize this restaurant. Nevertheless from the atmosphere outside the restaurant, it seems to be a good choice for a decent meal.
Instead I patronized Yoshinoya, which is located along Cameron Road. Ordered a 'Double–meat Beef and Pork rice set' (牛鸡双拼饭餐) with Miso soup (right photo below) at HKD 36.50. Food tasted the same as the rest of its outlets in Singapore and China, so not much of specialty of its own.
Symphony of Lights
Claimed to be the world's 'Largest Permanent Light and Sound Show', it is in fact a spectacular light and laser show on the buildings of Hong Kong island and synchronized to music. This is a permanent show occuring every night at 2000 hours and the best view would be at Tsim Sha Tsui waterfront. Personally feel it is nothing that fantastic but can be a good show for first-timers. The photos below were taken without any tripod to support, thus the images were slightly shaky.
Tsim Sha Tsui Waterfront
As it was during the period of Chinese New Year, festive decorations in the form of lighted lanterns (photos below) were put-up along Tsim Sha Tsui waterfront.
Dolls dressed in Tiger clothing (photos below) could be seen outside Harbor City Mall because it is the Year of the Tiger. These definitely make good photographic spots for both locals and tourists.
Names of MTR train stations
Here're the various train station names I've visited during the day. Looking at the traditional Chinese Characters used in Hong Kong, I couldn't help to think that besides the 'One Country, Two Policies', there's also "One Country, Two Characters" (一国两"字").
Day Three
Hong Kong Standard Chartered Marathon
Woke up early in the morning to participate in my 21-km of HK Standard Chartered Marathon, which flagged off from Tsim Sha Tsui and ended at Victoria Park of Hong Kong Island (left photo below). Weather seemed to be rather warm at 27°C during the run but overall the race was well-organized especially with the baggage deposit service (right photo below). So there was no complain from me on the run.
Pizza Hut at Wanchai
Took the MTR back after the race at about 8.30 am and rested till noon in the hotel. Initially wanted to go to Ocean Park but was rather tired so this plan was dropped. Thus went to Wanchai for my collection hunting and had my lunch at Pizza Hut. Ordered a Carbonara Spaghetti at HKD 51 (left photo below) and a Cream of mushroom soup at HKD 27 (right photo below), which including tax, the total cost was HKD 85.80. Taste wasn't that bad afterall, or probably I was too hungry after the run.
Tai Yuen street, Wanchai
Tai Yuen street (left photo below) is just across the street from Wanchai MTR station exit A3. Lots of toys and daily household items can be found in the shops along this street (right photo below). Personally find the items sold in this street were much cheaper compared to those in Ladies Street or Temple Street, as it is less touristy.
Shopping along Nathan Road and Mong Kok area
After the toy hunting trip at Wanchai, I then took MRT back to Tsim Sha Tsui and walked along Nathan road and Mong Kok area to look for some working shirts / pants and more of toy hunting. Had my dinner at KFC because there was this promotion of super combo meal that consisted of 2-piece chicken, 2-piece fried chicken wings, 1 egg-tart, mushroom rice and a glass of coke at HKD 36.80 (left photo below). My next food destination was Hui Lau Shan at Mong Kok area, where I had my final dessert before departure, that is a Sago Mango at HKD 29 (right photo below).
Probably still feeling hungry, I got myself a fried oyster omelette at HKD 20 (left photo below) and had it inside the hotel room. In addition bought a beef flavored bowl noodles (right photo below) from a convenient shop besides the hotel for HKD 17.70.
Day Four
As it was raining in the morning, I then stayed in the hotel and had my 'instant noodles' breakfast. At the same time performed my final round of luggage packing.
Hong Kong International Airport
Checked-out the hotel at about 11 am and took the MTR followed by Airport Express to the Airport (left photo below). The flight timing wasn't that perfect as it departed at 1330 hours, so I had to take lunch at the airport. After a hard search, I finally decided to have Popeyes Chicken again (same as my last trip). Took this 2-piece Chicken Combo at HKD 52 (right photo below).
Singapore Airlines Flight Meals
Never took Boeing 777-300 series of Singapore Airlines before, thus found that the inflight entertainment was rather 'advanced' with a 10.6-inch LED screen and a different layout compared to other flight series in this SQ Economy-Seat (left photo below). Even the menu control was so 'dummy-proof' and incorporated with nice graphics (right photo below).
Had my inflight meal of fried rice with pork (left photo below) and Haagen Dazs ice-cream (right photo below). Taste of the fried rice was acceptable but the ice-cream was rather hard probably due to some deep-freezing in the freezer.
Souvenirs
Realized that the shops in the airport had been relocated, where shops selling food are now located on the upper level while other items such as clothing, luggage are located on the lower level. It's a let down that the famous bakery Kee Wah outlet is no longer inside the airport transit hall.
Here're what I got from the airport and the cost breakdown in HKD (left photo below):
- Wing Wah wife's biscuit Honey-Green tea flavor 6-pcs (蜂蜜绿茶老婆饼) - HKD 46
- Wing Wah wife's biscuit Red Bean with vanilla flavor 6 pcs (香草味豆沙老婆饼) -HKD 46
- Wing Wah almond cookies (杏仁饼) - HKD 50
- Wing Wah metal case mooncake (伍仁月饼) - HKD 76
Major bookstores were having 15% discount when I was there and I managed to buy two travel guides published in Hong Kong (right photo below). The Tokyo guide cost only HKD 76.50 (original price HKD 90) while the Macau guide cost HKD 55.25 (original price HKD 65) after discount.
