Hong Kong and Macau Trip 22-27 March 2010 - Part IV

Day 5 - Hong Kong Island

All this while, we have been spending most of the time in Kowloon or TST (Tsim Tsa Tsui) area. So today is to venture out to the Hong Kong Island.

First stop - Mid Level Escalator.


There's a huge population living along the lereng bukit on the Island. This area is called the Mid Level. Accessible by the tram, by foot (murder me) and the famous 800 meters escalator. Before 10 am, the escalator will be going down, taking the throngs of people to work. It takes about 20 minutes to get to Central area from the top of the hill. From 10am onwards, it will be going upwards. So how to get down after you reach the top? Berguling la kau ke bawah. Read more about it here

Right, so we went on searching for it after getting out in Central area. Finally made it there. Picture time. Posing jangan tak posing. Did we get to the top of the hill? HELL TO THE NO. After going up a maze of ramps and escalator, we just realized that we haven't even start on the actual 800 meter escalator. It's dreading the steep walk down that made us stop. Not even looking at the 80 year old grandpa slowly shuffling himself along the walkway gave us any motivation what so ever.

The mid level will cut across SoHo area. SoHo is known for it's antique shops and eclactic bars. Most of the shops are on the hill slope. McDonalds pun 3 tingkat, nak order kena panjat level lain and eating place is like in the basement. Kalau kat Malaysia memang dah tak laku la. Below was one of the market on Hong Kong Island. It was selling an assortment of costume party items. Fun stuff. Tapi, memang nak semput climbing up and down. Note to anyone who plan to go to Hong Kong - you better be fit and bring a good trainer. Kalau tak, balik bersiap sedia pergi reflexology kaki.


Next stop was the shopping malls. There's a lot of malls in Hong Kong. Tak larat nak cover semua. And believe or not there's so many branded stores all over Hong Kong. You could stand in a corner of a street and take a 360 degree turn around and see that there's Burberry and Gucci stores at every direction. I kid you not.

Anyway, we made it a point to check out Harvey Nichols (untuk cuci mata sahaja) at The Landmark. Landmark is this super posh mall housing everything from Harvey Nicks, to Dior to Marc Jacob. Super posh that most of the cars that were dropping people off were Bentleys (tak main la BMW) and they had a string quartet playing Beethoven on the concourse to entertain people during lunch. Also super posh that we can't find the toilet there. Bloody hell!


After that we went to Time Square. You have to stop at Causeway Bay and take exit A1, I think. Goodness it was a long walk. We took some pictures from the 15th floor of the building..boy that was scary. I can't imagine what the folks staying on the 50 stories high rise must have felt.

There's this store called Lane Crawford. My sis was going to town with Laura Mercier items. There a tad cheaper than Malaysia. And I ended up with a DVF beach tote bag. When is it that am I going to go to the beach, and bring this tote bag.. is beyond me. In my defense.. it was colorful and prettyyyyy.

From there we made way to the Islamic Center for Dim Sum. It's about a 10 minute walk from Times Square. I got directions from a friend who had stayed in Hong Kong before. It was quite easy. But unfortunately the kitchen had closed and dim sums were only served in the morning. We decided to come again the next day. Will share the pictures in a different post.


It was a great day out. The Hong Kong Sevens were on when we were there. There were loads of folks miling about in costumes to watch the match. I suppose it was a tradition there. The TV ads can't say enough about it. There's a group practicularly dressed as the Village People. Hahahhaa. We sort of regret it that we did not make our way to the stadium. But according to the news, the tickets were sold out months ago. Also, I'm still wondering how to get on the trams. I wish I had taken a ride. Orang kata boleh tahan and hop on aje. Hehehe next time perhaps.

Lee Wins!

Yeay! My weapon of choice is numbero uno! To be fair it was a tough choice though. I like both Lee and Crystal. I read somewhere that Lee would win because people will vote him as he has the higher tendency to cry. They love when people cry on Idol. Hahaha.



Oh yes, farewell Simon. My favorite comment from him I think was "It's like on a racetrack, everyone is a racehorse...and you're a donkey". Hahahah

Looking back at season 9, my favorite performance from Lee was 'You're Still The One' and 'Simple Life'. I know everyone loved him singing Hallelujah, but I find it too 'berlakon'. Keep it real, dog.



How about Crystal? I thought Black Velvet during the finals was great. And of course, Give Me One Reason is something else. But, my absolute fav is Midnight To Georgia



I stayed in tonight so that I could catch the Idol finale. To be honest, I find the final show rather lame and bosan. Sungguh banyak faktor-faktor yang membuat saya ganguan perasaan. I can't really point my fingers to which one is more distrubing

1. I can't understand what Christy A was singing
2. Christy A ass is as big as mine
3. J Jackson sounds like M Jackson
4. The slew of kuda tuas that was thrown on stage
5. The ammount of prozac and horse tranquilizer that allows Pola Bedul to face the audience and talk.
6. No ammount of flesh baring or boob shaking could make the show any less interesting.

There were some glimpse of hope for a "moment". Like the begining of Casey singing Poison's Every Rose Has It's Thorn, then everything went thorny (if that's even a word). And of course you got to love Alanis Morissette. And yes, the girl on the guitar during the opening performance, Orianthi (what a cool name) was superb!

And why oh why, did Lee not perform any of Kings of Leon's songs? He would sounded yummy just like in this video that I ripped off from youtube. We sure could Use Somebody like you :)

Hong Kong & Macau Trip 22- 27 March 2010 - Part III

Day 4 – Macau

Since Macau is just a ferry ride away, we decided that we should check out Macau as well. Actually it’s more to check out HRC Macau. So rise and shine, we went out searching for the ferry terminal. According to the map it’s nearby our hotel. Well, about 15 mins walk nearby.

We walked along Harbour City shopping mall and followed the Ferry signage. However, after 15 mins walk, we lost the plot all together. Aik, mana pulak ni. We can see the docks from where we are walking.. but how do we get there? By now, we are already walking more than 30 mins. Oh oo... kegagalan creeping in. We pass a MTR station, prince edward ke. Baik naik MTR tadi. Anyhoo.. it seems that we are walking further away from the docks. Dah la sejuk yang amat. So we double back. Lo and behold, we missed the entrance of the ferry terminal as it’s actually in a building that looks like a shopping mall.

The departure gate is on the 2nd floor. You may purchase the ticket from any of the counters. We didn’t really did any research which ferry to take, so we just grab the one that will be departure soon. Since Macau is a different place all together, you will need to go thru customs in order to cross. After getting our passport stamped, we find our way to the departure gate. Macam naik kapal terbang, just that, now you are at sea.

Lo and behold, of all the days that we wanted to go, we picked up a day that was windy and raining. I mean WINDY and RAINING. We thought how bad can it be. It was rather unsettling when we saw that the plank connecting the platform to the ferry was swaying furiously.

The ferry is a big ass ferry. Fully air-conditioned. There’s 4 columns of seats, separated by a wide aisle. There’s about 15-20 seats per row. I think the ferry had an upper deck as well. The whole ferry could fit 300 people easily. There were sort of steward and stewardess around, sorting people’s seat, taking order etc. Nice. Off we go.

About 10 minutes into the journey, we hit the open sea. I finally understand the meaning of choppy waters. The sea was in full swing kung foo fighting mode against the big ass ferry. Every time the wave hits it, it will get splashed all over the window and sometimes hitting the upper deck. And we are sitting on the lower deck. Armageddon is upon us. In old school malay novel, sometimes there will be reference of ombak badai menghempas ke pantai. Ha ni ferry menghempas ke laut. The wave would throw us in the air and hits the water again – hard. I could feel my stomach try to squeeze itself thru my throat, only to have gravity pull it down again. Arghhh... somehow the one thing that goes thru my mind was.. how could babies enjoy the buai enjut tu. Pening kepala sial.

Thru out the super laut bergelora (bot-bot kecil dilarang keluar) phase 1) kakak aku boleh tidur nyenyak 2) a group of bukit clan sebaris dengan aku boleh order Maggiein a cup and makan dengan tenang . Damn it! I need a stronger drug.

After about 1 hour of torment, land a-hoy! Fuhhh made it without losing my stomach content. However I discovered another tormenting thing – the queue at the immigration. Arghhhhhhhh kena berebut pulak dengan bukit clan yang tak reti beratur. Muka selamba sial bila aku maki depa cut the line infront of us. There’s a about 20 lanes open, you have to picked the one I’m on, to cut in kan. Haiya. Please give us strength. As usual out of 500 people that just landed, we were the last two to get thru the gates. Pencelakaan.

Right, first order of business. HRC. Across the terminal, there’s a lot of shuttle service taking people to the respective casinos. We hop on the one going to the Hard Rock Hotel. Sampai sana, it’s still windy and drizzling. Nasib baik gemuk, if not dah terpelanting ditiup angin. Terus mendaftar diri di Hard Rock shoppe. Beli t-shirt lagi sekodi. Unfortunately size takde pulak. Size besar banyak. Beli jugak sebab they are special edition.

After that we strolled into one of the casinos, saje je nak tengok orang main. The casinos provided free mineral water. The bottle is kind of cool. It looks like a small liquor bottle that is available in the hotel room bar. Sebab free, kitaorang load of bags with it. Tapi tu la... it got confiscated at the airport. I shall save this story to the end.

There’s a lot of different characters in the casinos. Some looked paranoid everything they flip open the card, fearing that someone would take a peak. Some are just bewildered, not knowing what’s going on. Simply placing bet. Akak suci murni, so tidak la main, not even the slot machines (sebenarnya tak tau kat mana nak tukar chip).

We got bored at Hard Rock, we took a shuttle there going to Venetian. This place was something else. They paint the whole place and turn it into a fake Venice. Complete with the water canal and gondolas. You can take a ride around the place. It is really big. We stumbled upon this huge food court which had a Malaysia, Singapore, Thai and other South East Asia fare. Unfortunately the Malaysia shop, sold pork, so tak nak la makan situ. We ended up eating vegetarian pizza.

My sister insisted that we should check out the local tid bits shop there. Most of them selling some sort of peanut or kuih bepang. Tah apa la ingredientnya, tapi kitaorg belasah egg tart. Tah pakai minyak apa buat agaknya. At one shop, the shop assistance offered us a cookie. Aku tak berminat la. My sis almost eat the thing but freaked out when I read the ingredients listed – pork floss. Hmmm sedappp.



If you should ask, no we did not visit any portugese settlement, graveyard church and whatnot. After posing here and there in ‘Venice’, we decided to call it a day. After one more’ OMG-nak mati-dunia nak terbalik-hell’ of a ferry ride, we are back in Hong Kong. Nak balik cepat sebab 1) my sis would like to shop in huge H&M that she saw opposite of Harbour City and 2) because I wanted to stop by the Addidas warehouse sale that I saw earlier. By the night fall, I now own a pair of addidas trainer and a Chelsea jersey. Score!

Champs again - 2009/10 season

Hong Kong & Macau Trip 22-27 March 2010 - Part II

Day 3 - Disneyland.

Let the pictures do the talking

The train to Disneyland

Rides at Tomorrowland. Astro Blaster is da Bomb!

Fantasyland Rides

Adventureland Rides

Mickey and Friends

The Parade

Main Street and Shopping Galore!

We did not stay for the fireworks because dah bosan and tak tahan nak pergi shopping. So off we went around 6pm. We ended up in Ladies Market pulak. Same ol same ol. But we saw something interesting. There's a shop that makes Longch*mp bags as per order. You may choose the color and they will make it right in front of you. What a laugh!

Hong Kong & Macau Trip, March 22- 27 2010

..Tinggalkan semua....
Jalan-jalan ke Paris, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Las Vegas,
Jangan sampai tua... sebelum waktunya ..
-Sheila Majid-

Taking an advice from Sheila, we decided that this year's number one contribution to our credit card bills, would be a trip to Hong Kong and Macau. Tak tau la bila pulak nak sampai Tokyo, Las Vegas or Paris tu :P. The moment we made the decision, we saw the signs everywhere (terbalik pulak, org nampak sign dulu). Posters of Visit Macau, people wearing 'I'm Lost in Hong Kong' t-shirt and hell yes, Air A had a promotion. So after a week of sleepless night, surfing and running spreadsheet (yes, nothing excites me more than the thrill of finding cheap flights and hotel)....only have to reschedule all over becasue of another trip. Never mind that, 6D5N, Hong Kong.. here we come!

Day 1 - The flight

It's about a 4 hours flight from KL to HK. By the time we reach HK, we were cranky and tired. Our gate was at the end of the earth. A long walk afterwards, we got our luggage and get out of the terminal. First order of business, is to get the travel card. It has unlimited free ride for tourist for 3 days, plus 2 way trip on the airport express. Nice.

Right. Next, where is the said halal Popeye outlet? There's a lot of airport guide so to speak all over the airport, you could just walk up to them and ask. Pretty cool. So, she pointed us that the outlet is on the departure hall. Finally found it. Lo and behold. Bloody expensive. A set of burger and fries is about HK50 ke HK60. Nak tak nak tapau jugak la. Kang la kebulur pulak.

Now to search for the airport express. We were to board it and get down at Kow Loon station and take a bus shuttle that will stop near our hotel. We booked ourselves into Imperial Hotel. Next to the imfamous Chungking Mansion. Ever wonder what Chungking Mansion looks like. Nah ambik kau.

Full of sleazy characters. I suppose it's cheap, tapi macam menakutkan aje. Our room has the view of what the Mansion's backyard looks. The hotel is in a very nice location. Near Tsim Tsa Tshui MRT, walking distance to a few shopping malls and very near the famous Peninsula Hotel (if you are ever up for hi tea). It's also near some other attraction like a musuem or something (of course haram tak melawat) as well as the Avenue of Star... which was the first place we visit that night.

Konon nak catch the light show sampai sudah asyik miss aje. But we had fun walking up and down the Avenue of Star... looking down at our feet to see which star we just trampled. From here we get a great view across the harbour and catch the HK skyline.


Next we thought, let's venture to one of the night market. So we took the MRT and ended up at Temple Street Market, without the customary getting lost first of course. The market is exactly like Petaling Street down right to the fake handbags, t-shirts, trinket and rude sales people. It's great to feel home :) When the kaki tempang sympthom starts to creep in we decided to call it a night.

Day 2 - Let the assualt begin

Today we shall exorcist the ghost of shopping. Maka kena la membuat bannyakkk peace offering. We choose to go this well-known outlet mall City Gate . It's near the airport. So we took the MRT all the way to the end.

City Gate is also near the cable car. The cable that is suppose to link like 3 mountain tops or was it Island. There's also the 360 Buddha. Kakakku yang bertuah try to phsycho me on going on a ride... but oh no. It was too high up. Even looking it from ground level starts to make me wanna puke. Apatah lagi if naik. Mau kena cardiac arrest.

The outlet has a lot of shops. From Coach to Crocs to Ralph Lauren. Tapi takde la murah sangat. Almost bought a Coach wool scarf. Mana tau kot-kot snow would fall in Malaysia. Hahahah. The best was the Nike Outlet. It has the latest collection but sizes might be a bit difficult. Pun begitu I got one in yellow. Akak like uols. Goodness, tersangat la laparnya bila duit dah habis. Energy depleting, energy depleting. What else but McD. McD kat sini best jugak. They serve Hot Chocolate with their meal set. There's no tax charges as well. Then it also have like a high end cafe where they serve lattes and sandwiches. Tak cukup fillet o fish, blasah tuna sandwich pulak. Baru la dunia ni rasa kembali aman. Sighhhh..

Petang tu pulak, we decided to check out the Peak. This is on hong Kong Island. We took the MRT to Landmark. One of the exclusive mall in Hong Kong. From there we venture out on foot thru Battery Path, towards the tram low level station. Bapak la penat. It's an uphill climb ok. Finally made it to the station, alive.

Dah beli ticket segala, berebut-rebut pulak nak naik tram and nak duduk seat yang best. It's always good to get the seat on the right side of the car sebab boleh tengok view ke bawah. Dang! It's really steep, but pretty cool. The tram go thru the Mid Levels and pass high rise apartments. Below the hills we can see that the cityscape getting smaller and smaller.



Many many poser shots afterwards, we reached the top of the hill. We got sometime before nightfall so we made a quick tour around Madamme Tussaud. Berebut-rebut dengan geng bukit nak bergambar dengan Andy Lau and Aaron Kwok. My fav was Encik J. Depp. Wuhooo. They don't look real at all. Mcm made in China je. Tak kisah la, just for the thrill of it.

After that we went searching for the HRC store. Percaya tak HRC Hong Kong ada kat the Peak ni aje. After HRC, we stumbled upon Bubba Gump plak. The t-shirts were on sale.. so apa lagi.

We also bought the tickets to Disneyland here. Every purchase of the tickets gets a free gift. We got picture frame and an umbrella. Masa nak queue tu it was a bit havoc sbb ada group of people.. tah bangsa apa tengah kecoh2 nak membeli jugak. The guy manning the queue earned my full kudos sebab dia telah apologies bila tengok aku dah start rolling my eyes towards the holigans in front of us. He even spend time explaning everything on the brochure and patiently wait by us till we reach the front of the line. Takut kot2 org depan ni trampled kitaorg, or kitaorg yg akan trampled depa. Hahahahah... Seriously, on the entire island (or islands) with population of millions, mamat ni la manusia paling polite yang aku jumpa kat sini. Semoga dia dapat naik pangkat cepat.

By the time nightfall, we are in total 'gagal state'. If we could hurled ourselves down from the peak, we would. Tapi digagahi jugak sebab nak ambik night shots from the peak.

Then it was time to go back. Only to discover everyone else had the same thought. Ya rabbi... panjangnya la queue. Sampai keluar kena beratur. You think Survivor is tough? Wait till you get in a queue with an entire population of human being who doesn't have manners! Semua nak cut queue lepas tu muka toye gila macam takde apa2 berlaku. Aku dah memang openly cakap melayu maki hamun. Tapi nak maki lelebih pun dah tak larat. Beratur aje la. Akhirnya.. sampai la tram tu. Macam nampak apa. Nak masuk pun nak kena jadi barbaric bertolak-tolak. Either that or tak balik la kau.

After the tiring queue, we recached the low level station. Skang macam mana mau balik? The MRT station is another good 15 minutes walk. Though downhill, kaki aku sudah merayu agar tidak melakukan perkara-perkara yang boleh mengakibatkan kecacatan yang kekal. So either we take a cab or ... waittt there's an open top bus. Just our luck, we had to queue with the holigans from the Disneyland booth. Tapi tak kisah la. Tolak-tolak... dua barisan dua barisan.. macam naik bas mini zaman2 dulu. We managed to squeeze ourselves and get to sit on the open deck. The ride down was winding yet exhilarating. Weeeeeeeeeeeeeee..... too bad camera aku dah nak habis batery.

We got down at the last stop which was a ferry terminal. So shall we take a ferry across? Hell No! Dah penat and malas nak figure out where's where and what's what. Kang sesat ada pulak aku tido tepi jalan ni. So we took a cab. It went thru the tunnel to cross the harbour from Hong Kong island to Kowloon. Expensive la sket, but no complains.. sebab memang penat yang amat.

Straight to bed because tomorrow, Disneyland is waiting....