(Avenue of Stars, East Tsim Sha Tsui)
(Flea Market, Sham Shui Po)
(The Peak Tower, The Peak)
(South Pole Spectacular, Ocean Park)
(Whirly Bird, Ocean Park)
Hong Kong has been a place mommy wanted to revisit for a long long time. Her last trip was about almost 20 years back. Since we've already traveled to Taiwan during mid-2013, I thought Hong Kong would then be a good choice for this year-end vacation.
I've heard so much about how good the food, the night lights and the tourist attractions are, so I planned my own itinerary with a bit of copy & paste from the ones I took from my friends. With high hopes to get better dim sum than what I took in Singapore, and higher hopes of seeing the magnificent night lights better than the ones in Marina Bay Sands, there we embarked on our 5 days 4 nights journey.
The hotel we stayed in was rather convenient with shuttle bus service from 0800 - 2300, shuttling between Mongkok (where the hotel is located) to Tsim Sha Tsui & Kowloon on an hourly basis (I mean I would seriously recommend this 4-star hotel if anyone's interested).
I strongly recommend street food becus they are a lot nicer than the ones you find in the restaurant. Mommy & I found this absolutely thumbs-up porridge store a few steps from our hotel & had it for dinner & breakfast for 2 consecutive days! Other than that... maybe I would say their dim sum's still not that bad after all (but definitely not as "wow" as what has been published along on every other platform).
When it comes to shopping, we visited quite a number of malls! Habour City, Langham Place and Olympian City has everything you find in places like Takashimaya, but the BEST shopping location would be the few malls attached to Kwai Fong MTR station. Being wholesale malls, they sell everything you need and fashionable clothings, shoes and bags at wholesale prices! Definitely worth the visit! Ladies' Market, Temple Street, Fa Yuen Street and all the other famous streets, I would say - go for the experience, not for the products. Every other things are "inspired" products sold at "non-inspired" prices. You definitely wouldn't wanna be some stupid tourist (unless you really like them a lot, please go ahead). Oh ya, Sham Shui Po might just be another whole sale market you wouldn't wanna miss. You might wanna give the oh-so-famous Nathan Road Shopping Paradise a skip in your itinerary not because there is nothing to shop, but its so obvious that you wouldn't miss it even if its not in your itinerary.
Do not expect too much from the Avenue of Stars as well as the symphony of lights or you'll end up disappointed like a lot of our tourists (including us). Most of us left before the approx. 15mins show ended. How sad. When it comes to tourists attraction, Ocean Park is a must go! With the themepark located on the mountains, you get to take cable car rides without paying extra and seeing all the cute ocean creatures as well as the Giant Pandas! Themepark rides are all up for grabs if you dare! We also went up to The Peak (a must-go for the breath-taking view of Hong Kong Island) via the Peak Tram, a superb experience! Visited the Madame Tussands Wax Musuem.
Anyway, I think it's because of the culture, 80% of the hongkies are hot-tempered and unfriendly. Be prepared to get nasty comments or replies if you ask for directions or seek help from the locals there! Also, get a pair of comfortable shoes because you'll be walking and walking all day long!
