My Travel Diary.....Sharing With You Where I Had Been: May 2011

Sunday, May 08, 2011

2011 April Hong Kong (Day 5)

25 April 2011 Monday

Today we leave the polluted Hong Kong (hardly see any blue sky during our trip)

It was a mad rush trying to pack everything and check out by 10.30am. We took a taxi from the hotel to the Kowloon Airport Express Train station. Because we used all our HKD to pay the hotel stay, we were left with just nice to take a take and buy train tickets. The taxi ride is about 38HKD (the driver wanted us to take the ride all the way to the airport but we told him we don't have enough cash).

Surprisingly the one way train ticket cost lesser than I thought, so after returning our Octopus card to purchase the train tickets, we are still left some with extra cash (woohoo!)

Hong Kong airport is huge and there's many shops to look at , so make sure you give yourself plenty of time if you want to do some last minute shopping.

Home sweet home.

2011 April Hong Kong (Day 4)

24 April 2011 Easter Sunday

This morning we headed off to the History Museum. It is within walking distance from the hotel, about 15-20mins walk. There is free an English guided tour that starts at 10.30am on Sat and Sunday. I would highly recommend the tour (we had a very good guide) to anyone unless you prefer to take your own time. There is so much to see and we cover 2 floors of exhibit in 1.5hrs. The museum covers from dinosaurs years to cavemen years to the Hong Kong today. We also have free entry to the 1911 revolution exhibit. No photography allowed in most parts of the exhibits (I forgot to charge my camera batteries anyway.......)

Today is our last day in hong kong so we just want to take it really easy. Craig had his last pancake from the famous shop.

We wonder back to the hotel and spend the rest of the afternoon in the hotel, enjoying it's pool and jacuzzi pool. The pool overlooks the harbor and it's always maintained at a warm 28degrees temperature (so I was informed)

Later that evening, we are surprise to see a lovely gesture from the hotel.

Yummy Easter Eggs!

2011 April Hong Kong (Day 3)

23 April 2011 Saturday

This morning there is a slight drizzle in the air. I took advantage of the free yoga lesson provided by the hotel. It was great as I'm the only person for the class so I got personalise lesson. The lesson lasted for 1hr. Went to have a look at the pool and it look so good, overlooking the waters.I need to get Craig to move his arse to the pool.

We are running out of money today so we had to look for money changes. Note that the money changes in TST doesn't give good rates. If you move further away to Yau Ma Tei you will get better rates. We decided to return to one of the restaurant that didn't offered Dim Sum last night. 3Floor in Carnarvon Plaza. Once you step out of the lift, you will see the restaurant entrance.

Since it is recommended by many on the internet, I would expect it to be quite nice. We've ordered the usual and here's our verdict (http://palatereview.blogspot.com/2011/05/tao-heung-tsim-sha-tsui-hong-kong.html)

Next we headed for a foot massage. 50mins for $108HKD. It cost more than most of the places(like $38, $58 or $88) but at least this place you can see from the street and it's definitely a clean one. There are mostly males doing the massage. Being scared by the experience in Macau, Craig wanted me to find out if we have to give tips and the manager said it's up to us. We told her our experience in Macau and she said she didn't have a good experience in the restaurant in Macau as well. They couldn't be bothered to serve her and told her she can leave if she want. She explained there are too many tourist in Macau and losing one person's business is not a big deal to them.

Typical Hong Kong housing

Next couple of hours are just roaming the shopping streets and markets and looking at (interesting) things.

Street Markets in Hong Kong

We haven't been eating proper meals at proper times these few days in hong kong. Craig's dinner tonight is 2 scoops of ice-cream at Galare (I had some of cos) and his favourite waffle egg. There's always a queue here at night and you need to get a token when you ordered. The staff will yell out your number to collect. It's freshly made on the spot and it taste absolutely fantastic. I went for the fish ball noodle soup again. It is so tasty(especially after adding some white pepper to the soup/broth). Good they have take away containers and it was a yummy late meal for me again. Muffin top becoming bigger in no time.

2011 April Hong Kong (Day 2)

22 April 2011 Good Friday

There is a Taiji class today that starts at 6.30am in the hotel, which Craig will never wake up at this time for such activity. There is another class conducted by the Hong Kong tourism board by the water at 8am and Craig can't be bothered for this as well. We missed the opportunity to make it in time for the Ngong Ping 360 tour that starts at 11.30am but ticketing has to be done by 10.45am. Because today is Good Friday, the queue for the cable car is extremely long. It took us nearly 40mins to get our cable car tickets. Those people who had purchase their tickets in advance gets the express lane to the cable car. We decided to get the standard tickets which is $115HKD return per adult. The cable car ride took about 25mins to reach Ngong Ping village.

Very long queue for the cable car ride

and the queue continues at the ticketing area

and continue again at the cable car boarding area

Ngong Ping Cable car

view of the Giant Buddha from cable car ride

Tingy enjoying his cable car ride

First and only stop to the Giant Buddha. I think this is my 3rd visit to the Giant Buddha. We didn't hang around too long as we are hungry for our vegetarian meal. We've got the general meal, which cost $60. More waiting at the restaurant but the food came out very quickly. The food is really tasty and I think they should give lesser rice unless more is requested. There's still a lot left after we both had 2 bowls of rice each. Craig thinks they reused the remaining rice. I doubt it.

At the foot of the Giant Buddha

Tingy did the climb too!

Long queue again for a seat in the vegetarian

Our 2 pax meals. Yummy!!

Because we left the place pretty early there isn't a long queue for the cable car ride back.

Nice view on the return cable car ride

There's still a massive queue for the cable car!!

Citygate is next to the MTR station and it's well advertised as a shopping discount outlet mall. The retail shops at Citygate isn't that cheap as everyone claims. Note that is only one money changer on the basement level 2 and his rates are very bad.

Next stop, we headed to Central and caught a ride on the tram. I always find the "Ding Ding" very interesting and there's so many sights to see while on the tram. There are many lines that go to different places and it's a flat fee of $2HKD anywhere. We just jump on the 1st one that came and it brought us to Happy Valley. We took the tram back to Central again and hop on the Bus 15 to the peak. The driver is either rushing for time or busting for a pee. He was driving like a nut case. There is a lady in the front row of us and she is terrified during the journey up to the Peak. Again, because it's public holiday, there's just crowds everywhere. The queue for the tram was really long and because it's only a single way up and down, it takes a long time. It was just about to get dark so we caught the non-lighted and lighted version of the city. Craig didn't want to queue up for the tram so we caught the bus back to Central again.

View of the Financial district and harbor from the Peak

For the next hour, we are on a wild goose chase for Dim Sum to have for dinner. Note to all, we had been to 3 restaurants that was recommended in food blogs and despite the information that Dim Sum is provided till late, it is NOT. These restaurants stop serving Dim Sum after around 3pm. We end up back at TST, at Tsui Wah for dinner. Craig had the club sandwich which he said it isn't too bad and I had their famous fish ball noodles soup, which I think it's really good and cheap too ($28HKD)!! Being a glutton, I've also ordered their shrimp wanton soup, which i don't think it's very nice. I actually suspect there's MSG used in this dish.

2011 April Hong Kong (Day 1)

21 April 2011 Thursday

I'm really excited today as we are heading to HongKong. We left Macau and catch the First Ferry to Kowloon Hong Kong. Bad move. It's a slow bumpy ride. Should have gone with Turbojet instead because they are much quicker. The ferry ride made me giddy and sick. I'm so glad to get off after 1hr and about 15mins.

Waiting Hall for First Ferry

Inside First Ferry.

Getting off!!

Taxi ride to the beautiful Intercontinental cost $25HKD. The check in experience is the 1st I had. The staff brought us up to the room to check in and showed us all the features in the room. It was really personal yet bizarre. I wonder if they only do this when it's quiet.
I discovered the room has no kettle or coffee and tea. You have to asked for a kettle and instant coffee if you want any. They do brew you (well, just stick a teabag in a pot of hot water) a choice of 5 different teas(Jasmine, Oolong, Green Tea, Peppermint and Chamomile). Problem is each time you wanted some tea, you got to ring Instant Service and request for it. Free mineral water is provided each day which is really handy as you are not advised to drink water from the tap in Hong Kong.

Hallway and seriously large bathroom

Big spacious bed!

Great desk but i find it rather crampy

Sofa is very comfortable

After settling down, we headed out to look for lunch. There are just so many Indians hassling you to make a suit, buy fake watches and bags up and down Nathan Road. First we get harassed by mainland Chinese, now Indians. We had lunch at this franchise cafe called Spaghetti Place on Peking Road. Service wasn't that great, Craig ordered a chocolate milk shake which was left out of the order, then it takes another 15mins to arrive after Craig pointed out it was missed out. Food isn't that great either. Think it's an overkill for a so claim fresh Italian place.

We decided to head to Temple Street Market since it's the nearest one to us but we are too early for it (at 5pm stalls are still being setup). Halfway through, Craig went for a haircut. it cost $57 HKD (7AUD) for a men's cut, which is really cheap. The nice barber even offered a hair wash without extra charges.

One stretch of Shanghai street has many stalls that sells sex toys. It's kinda odd the government would allow sex toys to be sold so openly in public. I would thought because it's an Asian country they would be more discrete about it but nope, sellers are both man and woman, young and old.

Having SOGO so near the hotel is an advantage, they have some cheap bread for sale after a certain time that is out breakfast for tomorrow morning.

2011 April Guangzhou, Macau (Day 2)

20 April 2011 Wednesday

Breakfast buffet at the Cafe Deco was really disappointing. The food has quite poor quality and most of them just doesn't taste nice. I would expect more from the Venetian even though this is a mass production food service.

Next we walk to the City of dreams to have a look at their Casino. Hard rock shop is truly small and disappointing. I usually will get a t-shirt but I didn't get anything this time.

We then catch a shuttle bus and to Sands and walk to the holiday inn Macau. On the way, Craig spotted a massage place which is rather cheap. MOP 110 for 1hr (but it says on the board 1h=45mins) and 100MOP thereafter.

Holiday Inn Macau is tiny and sad after coming from the Venetian but it's in a good location. We took a bus (No 32) that only cost us MOP 3.20 to the Macau Tower, which is rather plain and simple compare to the towers I had been to (not as bad as the Kyoto tower though). Entrance fee is 120MOP. Bus 32 from the same bus stop we alight at earlier will bring us to the Red Market. From there you can walk to the 3 Lamps, which is really nothing but a lamp in a roundabout circle. From there you can catch bus No 5 to the St Paul Ruins, which is always busy with tourist. We took a short hike up to see the old canons guns left behind. you get a good view of the city as well.

Craig in public bus

inside the Macau Tower

Sendo Sq

This is a flat pancake shop and there's a line queuing for it. We bought some to try as well, when it's cool down, it taste like biscuits. The old man in the picture handmade every flat pancake using charcoals.

Tourist Street signs

The famous St Paul's Ruins

Remaining guns at the Fortress

Tingy's been to the Ruins and a photo with the famous Hotel Lisboa

We decided to walk back to the holiday inn, which is not that far away, probably about 15-20mins walk. The Tree Spa in the hotel has very expensive rates and the area recommended by the concierge seems rather far away. So we decide to go to the massage place Craig spotted this morning. It's has a purple signboard and its called something like "Sincere massage". It's "clean" and the boss claims they do not provided "happy ending" . We wanted 2hr of body massage but I think the boss did not inform her staff and neither we or the masseur bothered to clarify the duration as well. They placed us together in a small room. The lady who did me was smaller but she has massive strength. There is a pole where they hand on to on the ceiling when they stepped on our backs. I had to asked her to go lighter several times. After 1hr, they realise we wanted longer and the 2nd hour was just get over and done with kind of service. I've asked for a foot massage instead but i still get charged the same price(Foot massage is 80MOP). The fat lady who did Craig was whining and whinging about how big he is and how she need to exert a lot of force. She made his whole arm red and sore in the end. I think we should just stick to one hour.

At the end of the 2hrs, I was caught off guard by the lady who did Craig, she was standing by the door and demanding for tips. She said hurry up, the other girl is coming (the one who massage me). She demanded for 100MOP which I don't have enough at that time. I explained to her I will be short to pay the bill if I gave her 100MOP. I offered her 20MOP instead and at this time the other lady came in with warm water. I explained to her and she just took the money with a grumpy face. The other fat lady was bitching and going on and on about she wanted 100MOP. it's starting to annoy me a lot and i actually had to give her the 20MOP tip. We paid and ran out of that dodgy place.

Craig didn't have a good experience in Macau. I think the attitude and mentality of the people puts him off.

Coffee/Tea and mugs hanging off the wall.

Bathroom is very small

Room size is small as well

Saturday, May 07, 2011

2011 April Guangzhou, Macau (Day 1)

19 April 2011 Tuesday

After breakfast at McDonald (yeah....we needed something quick and there are everywhere!), we headed off to Landmark hotel to catch a bus to Macau Gong Bei Port Customs. They are 2 bus companies at the hotel and we took CTS (because that's the one the hotel portal boy pointed us to). The bus fare cost 70RMB and it departs every 30mins. They don't take reservations and the assigned seat doesn't mean anything. People just take whatever seat they want on the bus(if you are quick and 1st of cos). Aircon bus and there's 2 TV screen (where they just played some HongKong movies), one at the front and the other in the middle. I guess for 70RMB you can't really expect a luxury bus. The journey is about 2.5hrs. After Landmark hotel, the bus makes another stop at another hotel and it's highway to Macau. No toilets on the bus so it will be wise to visit the bathroom in Landmark hotel before departure.

It was really bad luck that my Canon EOS camera is stolen right between my feet during the journey. The professional thief/thieves had managed to take the camera and it's twin zoom lens out of the camera bag while it's still being sandwiched between my legs. They had cleverly put in 3 bottles of water so that the weight is the same. I only realise this when I wanted to take some pictures during the journey, about 15mins before we reach the bus station. In the end we had to spend 2 hours in the police station making a statement, which they never give it to me. I only received a report that says I have logged a report. We rang the travel insurance company right away to check if this is sufficient to make a claim. Accordingly to the customer service, so long as we have the receipt and the report, it should be sufficient. Let's hope so as it's bloody expensive camera!

By the time we reach the Venetian, it's already after 6pm. The entire hotel and shopping mall stinks of cigarette smoke, even the rooms hallway and lifts there are guest smoking. There's a huge flood of mainland china tourist everywhere as well. I was told it's close to labour week holiday. Most of the eating places are expensive, unless you happy to settle for McDonald. We tried Fat Burgers (Grill burgers, onion rings and chocolate milkshake). Craig said the milkshakes is yummy. We didn't had much time to walk around as the ZAIA show start at 8pm.

I'm quite impressed with the whole ZAIA setup, music and songs. However most of the performance isn't the best we had seen. Still it's a good performance and definitely worth the time.

The venetian room is huge with 2 TV and a big bathroom! The check in customer service was very nice, the entire place is huge however, unless they improve the air quality I'm not sure if i would return.

Thank goodness I took a spare camera with me so I am still able to take continue taking pictures for the rest of our trip. Definitely a good lesson learnt and I will continue to bring 2 cameras for future holidays now.

Venetian on the outside