a b e - s t e r i a

The long awaited post - my Hong Kong trip entry.

I had the best time of my life in Hong Kong and I really do wish to go back there again some day. It's a really beautiful place and well, interesting. It was my first time travelling abroad (ie. apart from Singapore and Thailand). Least to say, I had a blast there and the experience was simply simply marvellous.

Thursday, 22nd December

Seb and I departed from KLIA around 6.45PM and arrived in Hong Kong International Airport at 10.05PM. Seriously guys, MAS is very efficient and their service is really good albeit, some rude and grumpy flight attendants. Overall, it was a good smooth flight. They even served beer! Woohoo! Their service really made the flight a pleasant one.

Upon arrival in HKIA, we made our way through the customs and my, what a long queue it was. After getting our passport and relevant documents checked, we made our way to hitch a cab to get to Mong Kok, where our hotel was. Before stepping out of the airport, a GIANT Louis Vuitton bag caught my attention! It was freaking huge!


The LV mothership has landed

After much awe and gawking at it, we headed to the cab stand. Boy, I didn't expect the weaher to be so chilly. But hell, it was a great feeling walking around in that weather. Very very comfy.

One thing I noticed about HK was that, everything there was sooo freaking expensive! Everything was basically double the price of what I'd pay back here in Malaysia. For example, our cab fare from HKIA to the hotel was approximately HK$220+! That's equivalent to RM110. Back here, a cab ride from KLIA to Kelana Jaya was only RM80! Talk about a major difference.

Anyways, we got to our hotel safely and I savoured the sights of Hong Kong at night for the first time while on the way to our destination. Very beautiful.

Got ourselves checked in and we went off to meet some of Seb's Hongkee friends (Yolene - from Indonesia, Maggie, Eric and Ah Mo) around the area for supper. Man, it was really different there. The buildings were small and compact as opposed to Malaysia's vast spaces. Their coffee shops were air-conditioned and smoker friendly. One thing that posed a problem to me was the language. As many of you may know, I have VERY limited command of Cantonese and conversing with the locals would soon be an obstacle. It also didn't help that the locals don't really speak English. To make matters worse, the Cantonese in HK are somewhat different from Malaysians. Thankfully, I had Seb with me as my translator - for reading AND speaking. So, YAY!

We had our supper and we headed back to our hotel for a night's rest to prepare for the sight seeing the next day.

Friday, 23rd December 2005

Woke up pretty early due to the fact I was such an eager beaver to go sight seeing and whatnot. The weather was pretty cold and I was trying to keep myself warm with the little jacket I had on. Not much of a help, really. I decided to buy a thicker jacket after our breakfast at a "yum char" (ie. Dim Sum) coffee shop in Tsim Sha Tsui.

We moved around using their public transportation - the MTR. It's very much like our LRT but definitely more efficient albeit, a little complicated getting to the tracks we're supposed to be on. Walked for a bit and finally arrived at the designated brunch spot and waited for Yolene to meet us. I was famished. Finally, we took our places in the restaurant and was eager for a gastronomical adventure! This was my first time tasting authentic Hong Kong dim sum with the same assortments we get back here but served differently and obviously, tasted different as well.


Steamed Prawn Dumplings


Corn Pau


Char Siew Pau


Fried Wan Ton


HK Chee Cheong Fun


Lo Mai Kai

It was a hearty brunch, needless to say. I even tried the original infamous (famous in Malaysia, that is) Hong Kong Chee Cheong Fun. It tasted nothing like our local ones back here. It was 5 times better than ours. Totally rad, I must say. Ah Mo arrived to have his brunch shortly after we were done.

After much eating, we made our "tour" around Tsim Sha Tsui with our supposed official tour guide, Ah Mo. Now, since we do not have a car, we do much of our travelling via on foot or public transportation. Walking wasn't so bad as the weather was very pleasant and besides, walking is a norm in HK. Plus, since the cost of living is so high in HK, it'd make more sense to be economical and just use your feet. Honestly, I've never seen so many people walking around a city before. It's just so different. It's nothing compared to Malaysia. Back here, everyone would rather drive than walk. Can't blame them, the weather here is way too hot to be basking in the sun.

I took in every single sight and sound of the bustling city. From the people, right up to the architecture of buildings. It was definitely a different experience. People of all walks of life throng the streets of Tsim Sha Tsui to get to various destinations. Everywhere nook and cranny, there was something to see and buy. Magazine stands from one corner to the other, 7-11's at EVERY corner and of course, coffee-shops. One thing that fascinated me was that these magazine stands sell pornographic magazines in the open. Now, that's something you will never see back here. They even sold gay porn magazines. Pretty neat. I almost bought a few but was kinda embarassed to do so.

We walked over to the HK's National Science Museum and the Museum of Natural History. I was very disappointed with the National Science Museum. For one thing, it was so expensive and there wasn't anything you could do! It was extemely boring and the exhibitions there were basically for educating children on conserving energy. We left and headed to the Museum of Natural History. Now, this was more exciting and it was a lot cheaper! There were more things to see and learn. Nothing like the National Science Museum.

After much tiring walks, we made our way to have something to eat in one of the nearby coffee shops before heading to Causeway Bay (the Harbour) to meet up with Maggie for more touring.


Wan Ton Noodles


Wan Ton Soup


French Toast with Butter and Honey

Least to say, I was extremely pooped out from all the walking but it was definitely worth it. The scenics were definitely breath-taking! Hong Kong at its best. When night falls, the lights lit up and voila, you get a different view of Hong Kong.

Note: I'm going to break up the post as it will be too long to read. Besides, I need a break too ;)