Cosmopolitan Hong Kong

Like I previously mentioned, the last time I've been to Hong Kong was way back in 2003. During that first trip to HK, we spent most of our time on the Kowloon side. Since we were staying at a friend's place in Causeway Bay this time, we got to spend more time on the Hong Kong island side.

I travelled with my friend Chinggay and we took the airport express to Central (HKD80 per way) - a really fast and convenient way to get to the city proper in at least half the time as compared to traveling on the road.

 

Chinggay and JP

My friend's place was right smack in Causeway Bay, literally a stone's throw away from the MTR station exit.

Get an Octopus card (HKD150) - you can use it on the MTR, bus or star ferry. Plus, you can get back the HKD50 deposit (and any excess money) upon surrendering the card.

 

If in Singapore we stay on the left, in HK they stay on the right :-)

 

We went to Wan Chai to eat some pinoy food haha... (I LOVE my Olympus Pen EP3! The art filters can really do wonders!)

 

After lunch, we saw this huge Apple store at the IFC mall on the way to the star ferry terminal...

 

Trying to be artsy with my shots haha...

 

We went to the Intercon in Kowloon for high tea...

 

Super yummy pastries and mini-sandwiches which unfortunately we weren't able to finish...

After high tea, we went back to HK island and strolled around IFC mall... I am in LOVE with City Super grocery hahaha... Like I've mentioned before, I always make it a point to visit local groceries when I travel...

Haha this was too cute...

 

At first glance, these girls looked like mannequins but actually they were live mannequins!

 

Yey to Jollibee in Central! hehehe

 

My cousin Aileen recommended this restaurant "Yung Kee" in Central (they are one of the top restaurants in Asia according to the Miele guide) but we were on a budget so I just took some photos hahaha...

 

Vanity shot at the World Trade Centre the next day :-P

 

I went to Pacific Place mall in Admiralty on my own as my friends did their own thing... I found this grocery called "Great Food Hall" and of course fell in love all over again hahaha..

Love these fresh fruit juices in sleek packaging...

 

I ate lunch at this canadian fast food joint called"Triple O"... found it interesting that the pickle was on top of my roast beef sandwich... can canadians out there explain why? Is this for some people who don't like pickles inside their sandwiches? Or is it meant to be an appetizer? :-)

 

I wish we had this in SG groceries...

 

Took this shot on the way to the mid-levels... look at the pink sky!!!

SOHO was definitely a highlight for me during this trip... there was an abundance of pretty and quaint shops plus hole-in-the-wall restos... I will definitely spend more time in this area during my next trip to HK...

 

We had dinner near Hollywood road in this mexican place called "Tequila"...

 

Super yummy (and huge) burrito! It was almost like an enchilada actually because of the sauce on top plus the crispy exterior...

If you're into clubs and bars, you definitely have to drop by Lan Kwai Fong...

We had drinks at the Azure Bar on the 29th floor of the LKF hotel to cap off the night...

 

It was still cold during the first 2 days of our trip and it was pretty much foggy during the evening...

 

Next day, I went on my own to the IFC mall since my friends had to settle some business at the Japanese embassy... I was happy I found this rooftop garden where I could eat my takeaway food as the mall mostly had expensive restos haha...

 

My lunchtime view...

 

I had smoked salmon wrap, baked eggplant and fresh kiwi juice... Yum! :-P

 

I went back to the Apple store and learned you could enrol for personal training sessions to learn more about your apple product... cool...

 

And of course I had to go back to City Super haha... found these miniature coke bottles from France... too bad we didn't have check-in luggage (it was a budget trip hahaha)...

 

Next day, we went to Victoria Peak and yes it was still foggy...

Had early dinner and drinks at Bubba Gump...

 

It got even more foggy deeper into the night and the view from the peak was literally zero... too bad we didn't get to see the city lights and skyline... Oh well...

 

Look at that fog!

 

From the peak, we travelled all the way to Kowloon to check out the Ozone Bar in ICC building...

 

Ozone bar is on the 118th floor!! Nauseating!!!

The next day was time to go home. I was really impressed they had a city airline-check-in facility at the Central station... as in you could check-in and collect your boarding pass as if you were at the airport. Impressive! That really works if you're running late as you could take the airport express train right after checking-in and reach the airport in like half an hour.

All in all it was a fun yet short 4-day trip. Again, thanks to my friend JP for accomodating us. What I loved about HK was the weather of course, plus SOHO. I'm always amazed with HK's skyline plus the vibrant and cosmopolitan vibe of the city.

Sidenote: I might be able to squeeze a quick trip to Cambodia in April or May hahaha. Then I'm definitely looking forward to our family trip in Germany (and probably France & Switzerland) in Sept. My parents already booked their flights plus our hotel (http://heidel-home.de/en.heidel-home/Apartment_3.html), they always tend to get too excited haha plus Cathay Pacific was on sale. We will be based in Heidelberg, which is an hour train ride away from Frankfurt. :-)