Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Hong Kong and Macau (22 - 27 Oct 2014)

Preparations:

This is my most ill-prepared trip ever...
1) Never do cost comparison for flight
2) Last min pack bag
3) Last min change money
4) No proper planning for iternary

At least I've:
a) Done eRegistration with MFA
b) Bought HK+Macau SIM card
c) Downloaded all the Apps
d) Prepared little gifts for exchange

---------------------------------------------------------
Flight details:

Flight DetailsBooking Date: 10 Sep 2014
DateFlight NumberDepartingArriving
Wed 22 Oct 20143K697
Airbus A320
Flight Duration:  4hr 0min
Singapore
Wed 22 Oct 2014
1015 hr / 10:15 am
Changi Airport - Terminal 1
Hong Kong
Wed 22 Oct 2014
1415 hr / 2:15 pm
Hong Kong International Airport Terminal 2
Mon 27 Oct 20143K698
Airbus A320
Flight Duration:  3hr 55min
Hong Kong
Mon 27 Oct 2014
1420 hr / 2:20 pm
Hong Kong International Airport Terminal 2
Singapore
Mon 27 Oct 2014
1815 hr / 6:15 pm
Changi Airport - Terminal 1
$435.00 SGD
---------------------------------------------------------


Last minute packing


Purchased the Hongkong + Macau SIM card for SGD$22 in Singapore. Too expensive.


Simple gifts


First aid kit

---------------------------------------------------------

22 Oct 2014


Ready for boarding


Taking off




Touched down


Hongkong International Airport


Octopus card for $150 with an initial value of HK$100.


Onboard bus A21 that goes to Tsim Sha Tsui for only $33 compared to Airport Express that will cost up to $90.


Tsing Ma Bridge


Rainbow Lodge HK: HK$180 for weekdays, HK$220 for weekends. Small 8-beds dorm, but comfortable enough with shared toilet with other rooms.


Grilled squid at Avenue of Stars. Expensive and doesn't taste fantastic.


梅艷芳- Mei Yan Fang (Anita Mui)


Tsim Sha Tsui Promenade






李小龍 - Bruce Lee




Chinese Junk


Star Ferry: HK$160


Star Ferry tour has different package that you can take to tour around the Victoria Harbour including the Symphony of Lights.


Goldfish market




Meow at petshops


Mongkok protest area


Raining


Shrimp wonton noodle at 章記香港仔魚蛋王 + vegetable + milk tea: $54




Rain affecting the night market's business


香港漫畫星光大道 Hong Kong Avenue of Comic Stars


Not enough place to hang stuffs, so MacGyver spirit! Use a rope, tie a bowline and round-turn-2-half-hitches.

---------------------------------------------------------

23 Oct 2014


Woke up about 8am, most people are still sleeping


Common area


On the way to Tung Chung Station for the Cable car to Ngong Ping


Macdonald's breakfast: Coffee, hashbrown and macaroni with egg for $28.80


昂坪360纜車 Ngong Ping 360 Cable Car ticket $150 for standard return trip


The long queue took me 50minutes to board the cable car. The queue area was out of sight from the ticketing booth. If I were to see such a long queue, I might have decided not to even purchase the ticket.


On the way via the cable car


Tian Tan Buddha


Tea house




Tian Tan Buddha - climb the stairs and have a rewarding view of the area from the top.






Po Ling Monastery


Bus #21 to Tai O. It's important to take note of the fixed bus timings to and from Tai O to plan the journey. You wouldn't want to miss the bus, especially the last bus.




Tai O panorama


Tai O showroom






Dried seafood


Seafood






stilt houses


Dried shark


Meow




Market


大澳肥妹燒烤小食 combo for $195. Totally awesome set to feast on.


cuttlefish


Cable car back...








Mongkok


Police on standby




Roasted Goose rice at HongFa: $49


Admiralty - where there are more protesters




More crowd






Lan Kwai Fong


Mid-level


Gorkha beer: $72


PLAY Club: $280 for cover charge and addition $50 for bag storage


Google map is useful even to find midnight buses

---------------------------------------------------------

24 Oct 2014


Breakfast at 啊四快餐




Boarding the ferry: 1hr ride to Macau


Outer Harbour Ferry Terminal


澳門漁人碼頭 Macau Fisherman's Wharf






Roasted duck noodle $29


觀音像及佛教文化中心 Kun Iam Ecumenical Center. Take note that is closed on Fridays.


12 Zodiac signs on the ceiling


Dragon show — at 永利酒店 Wynn Macau


St. Dominic's Church


Ruins of St. Paul's




Macau Tower


HKD$3021 (S$497.47) for Bungee and skywalk (excluding another HKD$799 for photos and videos). Black t-shirt for Bungee Jump and an orange t-shirt for the Skywalk.


Jump-off 233m !


It is actually better to do the jump during daytime so that the photos will turn out better


GoPro


Skywalk


Night bungy




Grand Lisboa


The Venetian Macao


The Venice style shopping arcade is actually on level 3





---------------------------------------------------------

25 Oct 2014


Market place rubbish


Golden Bauhinia Square


Daily flag rising by Hongkong Police at 8am


Breakfast at 翠華 for $34


Repulse Bay is just a bus ride away




Tin Hau and Kwun Yum Statues


姻緣石




Kayakers recovering from the small beach


Cemetery


St. John's Cathedral


Butchery at Central


Silk-stocking milk tea 絲襪奶茶 at Lan Fong Yuen 蘭芳園




Tai Po Hui Market and Cooked Food Centre 大埔墟街市及熟食中心


There are fish stalls, meat stalls, vegetable stalls, dry food stalls and cooked food stalls


Fish monger


Live chicken




Tai Po Waterfront Park 大埔海濱公園


大埔回歸紀念塔 - This park is quite a distance from Tai Po Market Station, taking a bus might be a better option than walking.


View from the top




Bird nest in coconut for $68 at 同記糖水。甜品專門店 TUNG KEE DESSERT


Filming in progress


Promoter for ESCAPE Hongkong at Sai Yeung Choi St S




Buskers


Road block at Mongkok



---------------------------------------------------------

26 Oct 2014


Dimsum breakfast at Super Star Seafood Restaurant for $207.90


Tuen Mun Station - went there in search for the abandoned Siu Lam Hospital 小欖醫院, but couldn't find it.


The MTR Light Rail at Tuen Mun District in the Northwestern New Territories. The stations have no ticketing gates and payment is based on honour system.




Inside the LTR


Siu Hong Station. The LTR network can be quite complex, but luckily, there's Google Maps that made navigation simple


屏山洪聖宮




Walled City: 上璋圍 Sheung Cheung Wai


社壇


Tsui Sing Lau Pagoda 聚星樓


全港首創B仔涼粉


4 mixed fruits sago dessert $34, Watermelon, Mango, Dragon fruit & Honey Melon.


Marine life stickers


Yuen Long Station


Abandoned


中國木結構建築藝術館 at Nan Lian Garden


What a waste: 圓滿閣 Pavilion of Absolute Perfection under maintenance


石館及盆景園


志蓮淨苑 Chi Lin Nunnery


Sik Sik Yuen Wong Tai Sin Temple






Take note it closes relatively early at about 5.30pm?


Char siew noodle set $35


Yan On building


Cafe Hikari $200 for noodle, chicken wings, drink and instax

---------------------------------------------------------

27 Oct 2014


Breakfast










Note: After the checked-in area, there is no stores to buy anything you want. You will need to buy everything you need/want before check-in




Jetstar in-flight meal for SGD$14.00

---------------------------------------------------------

Key takeaways
- Check the queue line before purchase ticket
- Bus may be cheap, but beware of long detour, number of stops, jams and travel time
- No standing in minibus, check vacancy before boarding
- Make use of land, water body to navigate. good to have magnetic compass
- Metro interchange may not be linked
- Total cost of Octopus card usage: HKD$350


Even with heavy usage, my total Data usage was 873MB; so technically, having unlimited data is "overkill".

More pictures: Hong Kong and Macau (22 - 27 Oct 2014)