HK & Macau Day IV - Superb Ocean Park

First thing in the morning was breakfast in 茶餐廳. This time I tried the famous 豬排車仔麵. The 豬排 was really yummy...the hot soup was best for cold days....great breakfast!


After the breakfast we caught the MTR to the Admiralty station. We only realized the crowd heading to Ocean Park at the sales office of Ocean Park. We were stuck in the Q for almost 30 minutes. The tickets were not that cheap if compared to those theme parks in Malaysia.

The we board bus 629 bound for Tai Shue Wan Ocean Park entrance. The bus journey to Aberdeen took us approximately 20 minutes. We were lucky to get the upper deck seat or else we may ended up standing throughout the journey.

at the Ocean Park entrance

We were so excited the moment the got down from the bus...the entrance was so welcoming with the sea lion icon on their logo. We grabbed our map and started off our play time in Ocean Park...first we took the super long Tai Shue Wan escalator uphill. We passed the Ragging River but decided to get do it as we would not want to get our feet wet on the ride...It was too cold for that at this early of the day.

We stopped midway for the most thrilling game of the day. It was the Mine Train. It looked very ordinary and less excitement but when we were on it, we were impressed with the speed that it has...it will be superb if it comes with 1 or 2 more 360 turning and less waiting time. Anyway this ride was enough to scare everyone off...looking at those shots taking by their system were very funny....I was smiling off and both my hands swinging in the air while some eyes closed and hands holding tight to the bar....hahaha

look at the long roller coaster platform

Then we continued on our Tai Shue Wan escalator ride and arrived at Pacific Pier. The pier offers a great view to the entire Headland and southern Hong Kong Island. Besides that we got to see the see lions here... they were such a great swimmers...graceful movement!

at pacific pier

see how sea lion can swim and stand in water

From the pier, we walked to the Ocean Park Tower. Here we got on the revolving platform of the tower while enjoying the panoramic view of the surrounding. The Q was long, but moving fast as the ride was short. This was suitable for family with children and elderly.

on the revolving Ocean Park Tower

Bird's eye view of Pacific Pier

After the slow ride, I went for the highlight game of Ocean Park, The Dragon alone. They dared not take up the challenge...:-( but for me after riding the roller coaster I felt ok...heartbeat at the higher normal range and blood pressure normal too....neither drowsy nor dizzy....not as scary as I thought it would be...slightly more exciting that the ones in Genting Theme Park but with better view as it was situated on top of the hill and at the edge was the wide open ocean...it offered better view than foggy Genting ride....this was surely the must ride in Ocean Park!

yes...my favourite...the Abyss and The Dragon

Then I went back to meet up with Siew Hoon, Jessie and Lay Fang. They were still in the Q for Flying Swing. I was waiting for them while having my Ebi Burger from McD....yummy prawn burger....how great it was if I could have it back in Malaysia...Back to the Flying Swing...the one in Genting was much better....Genting provides more seats and with wider diameter, it gives higher torque. Higher torque = more fun!

Flying Swing

Initially we thought of going for the Sea Dream show at the Ocean Theater at 3pm but learned that it was fully occupied 15 minutes before. Hence Jessie and Lay Fang went for their 1st roller coaster ride while I was riding the Dragon for the 2nd time...yahoo!

After the ride, we quickly moved to the Abyss, space shot. This shot was better than what we have in Genting. It moved up and down at a higher speed and shorter interval between the ups and downs...giving a better free fall feel. This was the best game of the day!

the abyss from the Ocean Theater....really very high

looking at those in fear

We finally managed to catch the Sea Dream show at 5.00pm. The sea lions and dolphins were so lively. They are indeed wise and talented performer. I enjoyed looking at the way the dolphins swam. It was so graceful. With little movement at the back of them enables them to move swiftly in the water. This was a must watched show in Ocean Park.

look at the dolphin... somersault in the air

After that we proceed with the Crazy Galleon or commonly known as pirates' ship. The ship was small. Looking at it assured us that it was nothing...nothing was so exciting about it but we was wrong. The swing was powerful....bringing us up to close to 90 degree off the ground and at the back seat....it felt like we are falling down especially with a loose safety bar on our thighs.

ferries wheel on the background...only want to take photo...not bothered to Q for a round on it

Then we continued to the Eagle...a fun ride for the young and less adventurous ones...then we visited the Atoll Reef. This aquatic exhibition center house hundreds type of marine life ranging from the tame clown fish to the deadly shark and the protected turtles.

really big shark jaw

the cable car...provide good view under the bright sunlight

When the sun set, we took the cable car to the Lowland. We managed to visit the Madagascar 2 Live Exhibition...lots of beautiful photos with Alex, Gloria, Melman and Marty.

me with Alex and Marty

with Gloria and Melman

We visited the sky fair and passed by the Hong Kong Jockey Club Giant Panda Habitat. It was really a waste for we were unable to watch Ying Ying and Le Le live...It was really hard to meet them for their are open for visitor for 3 hours per day only.... :-(

house of Ying Ying and Le Le

We left the park at 8.00pm via the Ocean Park Main Entrance. We took a bus transit to Admiralty then caught the MTR to Mong Kok Station. Here I bought a pair of training shoes for my sis and tried one of the local favourite snack, 大腸...but sorry that I didn't like it. I just couldn't get used of eating inner parts.

As a whole...this was an exciting day filled with thrill and fun...It would be much better if we could skip all the long Q.

they are smart...

HK & Macau Day III - Duk Ling Ride, HK Peak and Madame Tussauds

We had an interesting day today.

We started our day with fulfilling breakfast in ....茶餐廳. The environment was superb. The restaurant owner has preserved the restaurant setting as in 80s. With the steel frame windows and high back seat. It was exactly as in old Canto movie scene. I loved the 奶茶 and the 棑骨烤飯. The rice was fried with egg till golden in colour then baked with rich cheese, tomato sauce and with spare ribs....the aroma was irresistible....

look at the environment...really so 茶餐廳 feel

the creamy tomato baked rice

We walked pass the Temple street or more known as 廟街 (Miu Kai)...there they sold lots of wild animal meat and it included snakes and lizards. We visited the 天后廟 where I 求籤...got a 中上籤...very good indeed...Hope that this coming year would be a great year for me!

the Duk Ling crew...observing the sail under the hot sun

Then we traveled on the MTR from Yau Ma Tei station to the Tsim Sha Tsui station where we caught our Duk Ling. We were sailing along Victoria Harbour....moving from Tsim Sha Tsui passing Victoria Harbour to Yue Mun Fishing Village and finished at Queen's Pier in Central. It was such an interesting ride and definitely worth the time and money. For panoramic view of Hong Kong, this ride is a must but it may be rough at times....so get ready with motion sickness pills if necessary.

at the end of the junk

at the front of the junk...no Titanic scene allowed here

After the ride, we continued walking into the IFC towers and boarded our couch to the Peak...that was the Peak of our today's activities....the bus ride was so bumpy....it was worse than the Duk Ling ride for it was a long journey to the peak passing the 半山區. The edge of the bus was inches away from the slopes. The bus was stuck at 1 turning as it was too long and unable to make the turn with few other cars occupying the opposite road...dizzy ride but worth it for the scene on the both side of the road.

the Peak Tower, Victoria Peak

the Peak Tram

We arrived at the Victoria Peak before the sunset. First we enjoyed the view from the concourse then we entered the Madame Tussauds(香港杜莎夫人蠟像館). It was a long queue and the place was very crowded. It was a very interesting wax museum which houses nearly 100 wax figures of internationally-known personalities...and the characters that I loved most was Leon Lai's 甜蜜蜜 and Harrison Ford's Indiana Jones.

with 帥哥 Brat Pitt and 美女 Angelina Jolie

my favourite comedian...Eddie Murphy

me too can play a song that touches his heart

After the long photographing session, we got to the 360 viewing terrace of the iconic building of Canto drama....the peak tower has always appeared in their drama...branded as an excellent and fine dining for the rich. Anyway I was not there for the fine dine but more for the excellent view. Night view of Hong Kong was really impressive. All the sky scrappers and the excellent architecture and urban planning. Oh yes...my friends bumped into our PG CM Mr Lim Guan Eng. I wondered if his visit here impressed him enough to get him start working on the similar plan in Penang as he mentioned to the foreign media as he sees Penang as the past of Hong Kong...hope to see Penang in this same manner in a decade to come.

Victoria Harbour before sunset

Victoria Harbour after dark

We left the peak on the peak tram....again we had to Q for very long. I just didn't understand why the locals kept coming up at this cold weather and odd hours...A steamboat here would be marvelous....back to the tram....it was very similar to what we have in Penang but their was much better maintained and faster.

Upon arriving at the lower station of the peak tram, we walked to the central MTR station as the Q was again unbearable....we walked for almost 15 minutes....We took the MTR to the Mong Kok station. We were hungry and cold. However we settled with the Hong Kong famous dessert stall 許流山...the cold mango dessert was superb...thumbs up...the mango pudding was qiu qiu...with the mango ice cream and thick mango puree, it was a perfect combination...even in a cold day...this was still 'D' dessert for me....checkout the menu at http://www.hkhls.com

my mango puding with the rich mango puree

After the yummy dessert, we walked separately....I headed along the Sai Yeung Choi Street looking for leans for my big bro's Canon G10....the price was as expected, lower than Malaysia but even then I was still reluctant to spend so much of money only in the 3rd day of my trip...As I was strolling south, I smelt something...something that didn't smell good but could not describe that as bad either. So I headed to the shop and finally learned that it was the 臭豆腐...I tried the 臭豆腐 and 咖喱魚旦....the toufu has crunch texture and with the garlic and sweet sauce, it tasted excellent....and the fishball has been cooked until it absorbed all the great flavouring of the curry gravy...There were many shops selling these same delicacies but the one at the junction of Sai Yeung Choi Street and Dundas Street was the best.

It was a great day with all exciting activities and great food!

...more photos taken in Madame Tussauds to come....

HK & Macau Day II - Countdown to Xmas at Tsim Sha Tsui

Did not have a comfortable sleep at the airport on the previous night. I was very tired and exhausted.

We left the airport on a coach to Hung Hom Station on bus A21 at 6am. This bus was 10x better than the airport coach we have back in Malaysia....

We arrived at Tai Wan Hotel at 7am. The condition of the hostel was alright but the environment of the walkway was a little scary as there were lots of Africans and Indians around...trying to sell their hostels and hotels to us...And at the reception counter, it was worse. They claimed to have 24-hours check in service but when we arrived, the counter was closed. We was so hungry and tired. All we wanted was hot shower and warm bed.

After waiting for sometime, finally the unhelpful Assistant Manager appeared. Puzzled with why we were there at such an hour. We asked for the room but was told that the earliest check in time was 12.00pm. Damn it...worse when the Asst. manager asked us to pay the full amount inclusive of the other 3 nights at Li's Hostel. We were reluctant to make the payment as we thought of surveying around first before we finalized with that hostel...as we still have 4 days to go before checking in into that hostel. The damn asst manager threaten us that saying that it was peak season in HK, we will not be able to get any room in HK and moreover he has my friend's credit card detail. Even if we did not check in into his hostel, he will still charge it on her credit card....darn!

Leaving us with no choice, we made the payment and left our luggage at the hotel and headed for hot and filling breakfast at McD. McD here provided more variety but taste the same as in Malaysia at a higher price.

over a hundred years of history...this is Star Ferry of Hong Kong...

After the meal, we started to explore the city. We started walking down South along Nathan Road towards the Tsim Sha Tsui Pier. For the first time, we saw the Hong Kong Island, the Central and Wan Chai across the sea. We spent a lot of time in front of Harbour City taking photo and window shopping.

in front of Harbour City Hong Kong

it was so Christmas feel here...Santa Claus is coming to town

Then we walked into the Hong Kong tourist center in Tsim Sha Tsui ferry terminal to grab more brochures and made reservation for Duk Ling on the coming Thursday...
Then we walked around the terminal, passing the Former KCR (Kowloon Canton Railway) Clock Tower. :-( no photos here as it was under maintainace. Next to the tower was the Hong Kong Cultural Center. We continued walking along the seaside and arrived at the Hong Kong Museum of Art. Free admission fees for it was Wednesday. The collection was marvellous and my favourite was 'Looking For Antonia Mak'.

We then continued on to the Hong Kong Space Museum. I found that HongKis love museum and they really have quality time with family members. Many parents brought their children to museum and museums here were so visitor friendly....so much of interaction and activities for visitors.

that was Wan Chai on the background

the iconic trophy...the symbol of fame and success

what are they busy with...I don't seem to see any actors or actresses around

at Avenue of Star

Then we walked to the Avenue of Stars, 星光大道...seaching for my favourites and idols...It was so exciting to see both Jackie's handprint there....Jet Li and of course Andy Lau's print there. We have also came across other senior celebrities' prints there...Josephine Siao, Patrick Tse, Sam Hui, Michael and Sam Hui and many more which were too senior for me to know....haha...There was Bruce Lee's too but without his handprint. Anyway, it was indeed a great spot to enjoy the great scene of Hong Kong Island...sky scrappers everywhere and the seagull mimic of Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center.

with Patrick Tse print

my favourite....And Lau...arrrrr

半只马 with Jet Li...actually I was too tired for any other post....

yes...that's Jackie Chan

the heroic icon of Cantonese File Industry....Mr Bruce Lee

Lay Fang and got back to the hostel at about 3pm. After a cold shower, we took a nap till 6pm when we were awakened by the noisy crowd downstairs. Everyone seem to flood Nathan Road, waiting for the countdown. Nathan Road along Tsim Sha Tsui was closed from traffice in waiting for the countdown to Christmas.

We were back on our feet at 7pm. First we walked along the Peking Street and got out first stick of 魚旦 and 燒賣. Then we had a superb dinner...our first time in 茶餐廳. The fried spagetthi was delicious with the tender meet....yummy! And the milk tea was so smooth and great aroma. The egg tart's crust was crispy with the just right sweetness level filling.

After one great meal, we continued walking and shopping in Tsim Sha Tsui. Though there was not much clothing suitable for Malaysian weather, I still managed to get 3 very nice T-shirt from Bossini. There were extremely cheap however limited choices available...visited Espirit outlet, Adidas and Nike shop too...and Sasa, Mannings, Watson and 7-eleven were everywhere...almost at every 1 or 2 streets away....

see...there were thousands of people along Nathan Road....so happening here

By 10.30pm, we was walking towards the pier. Many police officers were deployed to maintained the traffic and crowd. Roads were blocked and divided...all pedestrians were moving in 1 same direction. We walked along Salisbury Road, passing many nicely lid building....

That was Duk Ling...the ancient trade symbol of Hong Kong

Mr Bruce Lee looks so macho under the light of stars

We finally stopped at Avenue of Star in hope to be able to catch the countdown and firework show on the island but left with regrets as there was no firework performance for Christmas eve on the HK island. I just could not understand why the locals were packing up the whole of Tsim Sha Tsui just to have a very dry and plain countdown. If we were aware of this we would op to countdown at some other more interesting places may be Lan Kwai Fong or SOHO...
Anyway it was great to be able to witness such a lively and nice city of Hong Kong.
Merry Christmas!

at Avenue of Stars...looking at Wan Chai Hong Kong

HK & Macau Day I - A night to remember

After long waiting and hassle that we: Siew Hoon, Jessie, Lay Fang and me have got due to cancellation of our accommodation, our dream vacation plan came true.

Back(L-R) : Jessie, Siew Hoon
Front (L-R) : Lay Fang, me

We finally flew off from Penang International Airport on Air Asia's AK6315 flight. We departed and arrived on time at LCCT. Upon arriving at LCCT, we quickly grabbed our luggage and hopped on the badly maintained Airport transit couch to KLIA Main Terminal. It was really ashamed for we have such a poor bus at our front line greeting our guests and tourists.

syok sendiri at KLIA

As we have ample of time after checking in our luggage, we went round KLIA for photographing time...trying to prove my skill with those artistic shots....haha....

:-( ...my photo not that artistic aft all...cant hold the camera for myself

Then McD time before we flew off. There was no crowd at KLIA. It seemed so deadly...LCCT was much more happening compared to KLIA Main Terminal. Custome clearing was very fast and we arrived at our departure gate C26 much more earlier that we thought it would be....I even have some time to blog....haha.

On our flight to HK, MH74 ...I have a great time resting and watching The Mummy: Tomb Of The Dragon Emperor, starring by Brandon Fraser, Michelle Yeoh and Jet Li. With the white wine taking effect, the movie seem good and exciting. And I really appreciate the comfortable seat on MAS...3 and a half hour on that seat was great.

We arrived at Chek Lap Kok International Airport Hong Kong at 10.15pm...15 minutes earlier than our scheduled arrival. Anyway with the long Q at the airport custome clearance, we only managed to get to the arrival hall at 11pm. I found Chek Lap Kok airport much more better that KLIA as it was well lid and more crowded. More crafts here...the schedule has long list of arriving and departing planes. Really one of the busiest airport.

this was only partial of the departing list...see how many plane leaving between 8 to 9 am

still there are people checking at 11.43pm

airport worker busy at work...transporting luggage into plane

Then we strolled around and took some nice photographs of the airport while huntung for best sleeping spot....yes, we put up a night in the Chek Lap Kok International Airport. The weather was very cold and windy. I could only managed few minutes of sleep from time to time even with the eye shead on....:-( Siew Hoon, Jessie and Lay Fang had a sleepless night. While for me this was not such a bad experience for it wasn't my first night ever in an airport. My previous night in Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport in Bombay India was worse...solo traveller and first time abroad and first time travelling to South Asia...scary!

nice deco at Chek Lap Kok International Airport

Anyway as a whole this was still a great and smooth day...all our flights were on time and Chek Lap Kok Airport condition was much better than expected minus the cold breeze. And bravo to this airport...nicely lid and super clean! You can easily find anti-bacterial hand sanitizer everywhere.

clean our hands to avoid H5N1

self portrait in the clean toilet

outside of the terminal 1