My First Hong Kong/ Macao Trip - Day 1

It was a pleasant and adventurous trip to the Honkey island...I spent 4D3N to eat, walk and shop in HK and Macao with a few friends during 10/5 - 14/5/2008. We snapped a lot of pictures...and we walked a lot a lot. The weather during that period of time was extremely lovely....a lil bit windy and it was only drizzling sometimes...I have done my homework beforehand =) this is my Day 1 itinerary:

It was a Saturday morning (0600) while we took airasia flight from LCCT to the Macao International Airport. The Macao international airport is located in Taipa island, it took about 15 minutes by car to get to the Macao mainland, and we spent MOP$57 on the cab. Cab was easily get outside the airport lobby, alternatively, you can join the bus queue =)

When we reached the Macao Ferry Terminal, we were rushing for the 11am FIRST FERRY (don't buy the wrong ticket, check your destination, Kowloon or HK island, it makes a diff)...the one way ticket cost HK$155...while the ferry was riding the ocean waves we rested in our comfortable seat and waited eagerly to explore the food and fun in the city of Kowloon...

The ferry took a lil longer because of bad weather conditions....we reached Tsim Sha Tsui Ferry Terminal around 12:30pm. The hotel was only a 20 minutes taxi ride away, we reached Newton Place Hotel - 觀塘麗東酒店 before 1pm. The hotel receptionist is hospitable, the check in process is efficient, i got my hotel room access card in 15 minutes and the room is located at 14th floor. We were overwhelmed with the room's conditions: clean, fresh and newly renovated...and they only charged HK$830 per person (for the whole 3 nights of stay!!!).

After taken shower and a lil rest in hotel, we walked to a nearby restaurant to have our first meal in HK. The food menu looks familiar, normal stuff like 干炒牛河, 出前一丁面, 猪扒包 are served. I ordered fried udon mee with shredded pork, and a cup of 西冷红茶 (tea). Overall, the food is "so so" only.

The schedule was hectic in the afternoon, we planned to visit Wong Tai Sin, Temple St, Fa Yuen St. and all the nearby streetsss around Apliu streets...but first of all, we need to walk about 5 minutes to the nearest MTR station - Ngou Tou Kok (牛头角). From there, we travelled to Wong Tai Sin station.

Walking towards the MTR station

The Hong Kong MTR is regarded as one of the world's leading railways for safety, reliability, customer service and cost efficiency. The Octopus Cards are so user-friendly, we can just simply swipe the Octopus Card over the Fare Deducting Processor as we pass through the ticket gates and enter the MTR system. Moreover, the locals used it to pay bills in restaurant, 7/11 and even supermarkets...just incredibly versatile....

We are taking the Guan Tang Line - 观唐线

The MTR station was crowded with busy exceutive, students and visitors....clear signboard displayed everywhere, trust me that u hardly get lost here...3 stations away, we went down at the Wong Tai Sin station, and this is where the well-known 啬色园黄大仙祠 is located. The Wong Tai Sin temple is extremely popular among local residents. Built in 1921, it is worshiped by those trying to pray for happiness, wealth or a smooth life.

After the temple visit, we went to Temple street, Fa Yuen street, Apliu street... we just felt that they all looks like Petaling Street...nothing impressive =)

Walk outside the G Exit of Tsim Sha Tsui underground station and through pedestrian tunnel to the J Exit of Jiandong underground station, we followed the road signs to the Avenue of Stars. Strolling on Avenue of Star, we can view leisurely Hong Kong's famous scenes of Victoria Harbor, featured architectures along Hong Kong Island as well as the brand-new multimedia performance," A Symphony of Lights" (at 8pm, and last for ~15 minutes). Located at the Tsim Sha Tsui Promenade, Avenue of Star stretches from the Hong Kong Arts Hall to the New World Centre with a length of 440 meters. The area around is clustered with numerous featured restaurants but we had made our choice of dinner: Mc. Donalds =)

Eating is one of our biggest interest, travelled back to Temple Street, we had some light food there...mainly "claypot rice" and "lo pak gou"...

Remembered that my sister has strongly recommended "Xiu Liu San" (许留山) mango dessert before i depart to Hong Kong, on the way back to the hotel, we have tried out a few types of mango dessert, it is unbelievably DELICIOUS!!!! Highly recommended...must try dessert in Hong Kong!! (You won't miss it, it is everywhere in the city of Hong Kong)

It was only 10:30pm when we reached the hotel room...