A trip to Hong Kong and Shen Zhen, China
Well.. well.. I think the main reason you're getting this site from me is that you're my close friend. Whether or not you know that I've been to Hong Kong doesn't matter because I'm already back, anyway. And I've scanned some of the photos and put them here because I'm afraid that I might burst your mailbox with large files. if you're ready.. let's go.....
Our flight from KLIA to HKIA was at 8.55 a.m. but we were there at the airport at about 7.00 a.m. We did take some photos of KLIA before checking in as well as in HKIA, when we arrive, but then again, both international airports are about the same. That is why you don't see any pictures here! (=
Our first stop was Wong Tai Sin Temple. The Hongkies claim that the fortune tellers in the temple are very accurate, but we didn't have our fortune read, though. They were many people at the temple, some were praying and some ( like us ) were busy snapping photos.
After that, we went to Ladies Market. The Ladies Market in Hong Hong is equivalent to Petaling Street in Kuala Market. A lot of stuff were on sale, from handbags to t-shirts to toys to g-strings. You name it, they have it!!
As you know, Hong Kong is a very busy city. Students, clad in school uniform, executive in ties and coats flood the street and the MTR ( train ) station. [ note the traffic jam ]
After dinner, we went "view-watching". We first stopped at Victoria Harbour. We took quite a lot of photos, but unfortunately, the photos did not turn out well (as expected!!!) Then, we boarded an open roof-top bus to the base of Victoria Hill where the tram station is located.
We then boarded a tram to the peak. The journey upwards was a little like Penang Hill, the differences was that this tram was much faster, more comfortable and that the slope was very much steeper too!
The next morning, we went to Victoria half-peak to take more photos because the view at half-peak is more real compared to the view at the peak. ( I guess that make sense to us, huh?? By the way, do you watch "Threshold of An Era II"? Don't you think the scenes in that drama and the background here looked the same??
From there, we headed to Repulse Bay. It was already drizzling when we reached.
After that, we went to a junk food factory where we were supposed to buy some local product at a very low price. We didn't buy much because according to Mum, most of the products are already available in Malaysia!
Next stop... Ocean Park!! YAHOO!! Ocean park is divided into two parts; the front and the back. To go from front to the back, we took the cable car. ( Yes.. like the ones we have in Genting, but this is slightly smaller-- maximum 6 adults ) There were many attractions at the Ocean park, ranging from wild skill-game booths to exciting roller-coaster to the breath-taking space shot!
We spent some time exploring the whole of ocean Park before taking the longest escalator ride in the world. The "escalator" was divided into four sections, and the base is the last section was another tourist attraction, known as Middle Kingdom. Middle Kingdom houses miniature ancient Chinese palace, pagoda, ships...
Then, we took a train from Hung Hom station in Hong Kong to Lo Wu is Shen Zhen. The journey took 42 minutes. We had dinner in a posh restaurant before checking in to Gold Hotel ( 5-star ). We didn't do much for the rest of the night, just sight-seeing.
The Next morning, we went to Shen Zhen Xing Yu Mineral Museum and we were introduced to many crystals, jade.. Our next stop was Window Of The World. Window Of The World houses the most popular landmarks around the world. Some buildings, monuments were built at the ration 1:1, some others are of course, shrunk accordingly. There were Eiffel Tower ( shrunk 3 times ), Statue Of Liberty, Niagara Falls...
Then, we went to Splendid China, a place where miniature landmarks of China were built, such as Nine Dragon Wall, the ever popular Stone Forest, The Forbidden City, Terracotta Warrior ( 1:1 ), and of course, Great Wall Of China! After dinner, we went window-shopping along the streets near our hotel ( for fear of being lost ) and the next morning, we boarded the train back to Hong Kong.
In Hong Kong, we were also free to explore whatever we wanted after checking in at Nikko Hotel ( 5-star ). We took shuttle bus service provided by the hotel to shopping centers, the Hong Kong Space Museum, as well as Hong Kong Art Museum. Basically, we spent the day hunting for souvenirs, and we tried not to get lost in the busy city! * and yeah.. our lunch during the day cost us HKD 110-- where my Yong-Chow fried rice cost me HKD 45!! *
We went back to HKIA the next morning at 11.30 am. Our flight back to KLIA was scheduled at 3.20 p.m. We reached home at about 9.30p.m. Generally speaking, it was a fun tour and most importantly, it was worth it!!