I love the vibe of HK. It seems to me a city that never sleeps and is always full of activity.
This was my second time at HK and we did less tourist-y things. This trip we spent more time walking around the streets and of course, shopping.
Tsim Tsa Tsui is an ideal place to look for a hotel and stay. It is near the metro and just the center of everything. Most of the restaurants at the area are still open if you are going to have really late dinner. There are shops everywhere for any last-minute shopping. And it just seems to be the center of most activities.
The first agenda was to satisfy our (by this time) really hungry stomachs. There are a variety of restaurants at TST. Mostly offer Chinese cuisine but I also saw some resto offering Thai and Vietnamese food. Restaurants there have menus outside which you can check. Some are in Chinese characters so you can just look at the picture and see if you like them or not. Most look scrumptious anyway.
Eee Lai Cha (or hot milk tea)
After stuffing ourselves, we just walked around the area. Then we chanced upon this store – where my friends probably spent at least 2 hours shopping.
After which, we went to The Peak, probably one of the highest peak in HK. The tram going the peak is an adventure itself especially for someone like me who is afraid of heights. The tram goes up at probably 45 degrees angle, now ain’t that scary? It was March when we visited and the weather was really cold. Here you can see me with my mittens on. Yes, the cold and the wind bring a deadly combination.
Our second day was spent at Macau but that deserve a whole different post.
On our third day, we went to the HK Flower festival. I knew that it’ll be huge but I didn’t imagine that it will be THAT huge. The event was held at Victoria Park. It was really a treat to the eyes to the see colorful and amazing flowers in bloom. There were various children who seem to be in art class and were painting and drawing the flowers.
One also can’t get near the flowers because photography enthusiasts are just all over the place. As I told my friend, if you can’t take pictures of the flowers, just take pictures of the photographers.
When my friend and I got tired of watching the flowers, we went round Central and then chanced upon Ikea.
Ikea is just heaven especially for someone like me who is planning to buy a house soon. The place is just full of things for the house that I want to bring home (well, of course, I cannot do that with the luggage limit). I managed to buy a few bed linens though.
The rest of the afternoon was spent around Central, Wan Chai and back to TST.
The fourth day was spent to one of the farthest station in the MTR, Tung Chung. This is the point that leads to Ngong Ping where the Big Buddha is seated. As we are scaredy-cats, we initially planned to do this but backed down on the last minute. We then spent the day shopping (again) at the Tung Chung mall where most stores are on sale (Adidas, Puma, Nike, Bossini, Giordano, ettc.) and branded stores like Coach, Kate Spade etc.
But beyond shopping, I really enjoy the train ride from Tung Chung back to Central where we pass by the ocean and the fishing villages. I feel serene just looking at the view from the train.
On our last night, we ate and shared comfort food at restaurant with a very unique concept – The Charlie Brown café – where as the name puts it, everything is dedicated to the much loved character – Charlie Brown. There were images of Snoopy and his friends everywhere.
Sipping peppermint chocolate while talking to friends is just comforting.
I am missing the busy streets of HK, the food, the shopping and the adventures. I’m crossing my fingers that I get to visit next year. I will definitely muster up the courage to take that cable car rode at Ngong Ping.
I am also missing the tong lai cha (iced milk tea). :)
