Earlier I posted my escapade to Macau (refer to my post dated Jan 8th) which was fun and eye-opening. After Macau, our next stop was Hong Kong,another SAR of China.
Again, we tried something new this time, that was taking the much talked about ferry service from Macau to HK. There are 2 stops in HK for ferries from Macau, and we took the one docking at the China Ferry Terminal on Canton Road, Tsim Sha Tsui in Kowloon, Hong Kong. Fares start at HK$133 and the trip took about 60 minutes,unlike 90 mins as reported on Wiki. The ferry operator is New World First Ferries. We managed to get the fare at HK$135 per person.
The Ferry ticket
But some of us have to pay more because of the luggage size,particularly the bigger ones. The extra charge for big luggage is HK$20 per piece.
So, the left one is without extra charge while the standard one at right cost another HK$20
This is the Ferry....
Crew welcoming us though not so friendly....:((
The cabin is surprisingly spacious and clean...
The arrival point in HK
Upon reaching HK, we went straight to our hotel in Tai Kok Tsui in Kowloon. To get there, we took the MTR from Tsim Sha Shui to Mongkok station.MTR,the rapid transit railway system in Hong Kong, is very similar to Singapore’s MRT, an efficient and well connected railway system in the city state. Since we were there for 3 days in HK, we bought the ticket @ HK$150 with face value HK$100 and refundable deposit HK50. Pls dont think that 100 is too much for HK as the fares is rather high too…just within 2-3 stations especially to HK island is already HK10+….
The well connected MTR network in HK
The hotel we stayed in is one of the famous budget hotel chains, aptly called the Bridal Tea house. They have altogether 8 outlets located strategically in Hong Kong island & Kowloon. Strategic is because some of them are situated relatively near to the tourists spots like the street markets. Ours is just a walking distance to Ladies market.
The Bridal Tea House budget hotel
The hotel lobby-clean but pretty narrow
ANd the room...also very small BUT clean and air-conditioned
After checked in and settled the luggage to the room, we went out for lunch. We wanted to try the typical cha chaan teng （茶餐厅） , the Chinese tea restaurant commonly found in Hong Kong, known for its eclectic and affordable menus which include many dishes from Hong Kong cuisine and Hong Kong-style Western cuisine.
Well, this was the cha chaan teng we tried then.
Sun Fat Restaurant
They serves a wide range of food, from steak to wonton noodles to curry to sandwiches. Both fast food and à-la-carte dishes are available.
The restaurant is packed with customers during lunch time
And the ordering process
The famous yuanyang (鴛鴦)
THis is barbecue pork with white rice
Goose meat, if i m not wrong...
beef noodle
beef cooked with celery,served with white rice
soup noodle with mushrooms & fish balls
Fried Koew Tiaw with beef...my order and favourite dish
Pineapple bun (菠蘿油),a steaming hot sweet bun with a flavored top crust stuffed with a thick slice of butter.
Egg tart
This lunch was reasonably good especially experiencing the cha chann teng environment. After lunch, we started to tour Kowloon area:
The attractions in kowloon area
First of all, we set off to Wong Tai Sin Temple (黃大仙祠). What’s so grand about this temple, you may ask? It is one of the most famous shrines in Hong Kong. It is dedicated to Wong Tai Sin, or the Great Immortal Wong. The 18,000-m² Taoist temple is famed for the many prayers answered: “What you request is what you get” (有求必應). Hence, this was the reason we wanted to visit this temple,especially for RG.
The entrance to the temple
RG was one of us offering prayers
So was Levis
One of the Prayer halls
The main altar
Lotsa people were there too...
The Garden at the back but the nice scenery was spoilt by the high rise building at the background
The Nine Dragon Wall
under construction??
The long stretch of soothsayer booths
Most of the visitors come here in search for a spiritual answer via a practice called Kau Cim.
this girl is seen practicing "kau cim"
They light incense sticks, kneel before the main altar, make a wish, and shake a bamboo cylinder containing fortune sticks until a stick falls out. This stick is exchanged for a piece of paper bearing the same number, and then the soothsayer will interpret the fortune on the paper for the worshiper. Often the same piece of fortune is taken to multiple booths for verification purposes. Some booths offer palm reading service.
this amulet is bearing Wong Tai Sin image
This was the soothsayer RG consulted on....
RG was paying 101% attention to this master when she was telling him his future
The VIPs were there too
Well, after this temple, we went to the street markets started with FIsh market:
The FIsh market
the fishes/grasses are packed into individual plastic bags and hung to the grille
After Fish market, we adjourned to Fah Yuen street:
all kinds of sport shoes can be found here
Next was ladies market (女人街) but photographing was not allowed in there…..
And this is the Ladies market
Virtually, you can find anything here…Ladies Market has many products for sale and haggling is allowed with the shop keeper. Not only are products for sale for women, but many men’s and children’s products are available as well, such as: Soft toys, clothes, bags, jeans, and watches.
The first day was again a fun one……..to be continued….
