Hong Kong & Macau Travel

Hong Kong is an energetic city, where everything is fast: people eat and walk fast, the elevator and train is fast. I think it can understand why Hong Kong is such a developed and competitive city, and the people really work hard for it.

On the other site, Hong Kong is not such a nice place to travel, not really friendly. People tends to be very moody (perhaps to tense up), and get angry very fast even at customer. I mean, you can’t browse the shop for too long if you didn’t plan to buy, or try the cloth and end up not buying, or eat for too long at the coffee shop or food stall. People will actually scold you or chase you away, and that is not really good hospitality or friendliness. You could actually feel the pressure when moving around the city, definitely not a place for enjoyment or retirement.

The Busy Street at Mong Kok

I notice a lot of people actually have their dinner after 10 PM, some even at midnight while I was having my supper. The food is quite expensive, but slightly cheaper if you order the set meal. They city is pack with people walking around all the time, thus there can be more than 10 coffee shop on the same street. A lot of luxury shopping complex (like Pavilion or Lot 10), and even more normal shopping complex (like Sungei Wang). Public transportation is very convenient (if you want to take the train, prepare to walk a lot), but sometimes street sign is not abundant. I would say Singapore is more systematic, but Hong Kong had bigger crowd. Hong Kong has Victoria Harbor and its ferry, the beautiful skyline, some village island for weekend vacation.

Meetup with Christine (aka Dream Girl), Terrence and Joanne (met 3 years back during our KK trip). Chit chat around Mong Kok area to catch up a bit about the past, about Hong Kong, and a little bit about everyone.

Madam Tussauds Wax Musuem with Yao Ming (give me the ball!)

Hong Kong night skyline, too bad it's hazzy

The Beautiful Lanma Island

Macau is a more relaxed city than Hong Kong, with less crowd and awful lots of Casino. The food is not as nice as Hong Kong, except for the small eateries and street food. Filled with museum, churches and Casino (Wynn, Sands, Venetian, etc). Sands is large, but I think Wynn is nicer and more comfortable.

Macau

I think I still prefer a non-City tour, something more village-like or nearer to nature :)

Hong Kong & Macau Travel Itenary

Day 1
Landed in Macau, take ferry to HK, check into Alisan Guest House (HKD450 per nite for 2 person) in Causeway Bay. It's a nice area with a good combination of Street Food, Coffee Shop, Restaurant, Dim Sum and Shopping Complex. Take the Train to Central, walk to the Tram Station and go up The Peak and visited the Madam Tussauds wax Musuem. Can't get a nice view of Hong Kong from the hill top due to the heavy mist.

Day 2
Went to Kowloon (start from Prince Edward) by ferry and train, visiting the Yuen Po Street Bird Garden, Flower Market, Goldfish Market (Tung Choi Street), Fa Yen Street. Went to Jordan to take a rest at the Kowloon Park, visit Knutsford Terrace (western food around HKD 300 per person) and went straight to Star Ferry Terminal for the 8PM light show. I don't think it's spectacular, but it's a must do for tourist like me.

Day 3
Had Dim Dum at Chao Inn / Chiu Lau, pretty good with nice discount on weekdays morning. Take a ferry to Lanma Island, landed at Yung Shue Wan. It's a nice little village with a lot of nice place to stay and eateries. Cycling around here should be nice. We take a 90 minutes walk to Sok Kwn Wan, passing hills and beaches. The air is good, sceneary is nice. Go for seafood lunch for HKD 700 for 4 person. Took a ferry to Kowloon to visit the Temple Street and went back to Causeway Bay.

Day 4
Had dim sum at traditional chinese restaurant (Bak Sin Lau), not as good as the previous day one. Checkout and travel to Macau by TurboJet, and Check in at Holiday Inn for HKD 600 per room. The location is convient, room and bed is large and comfy. Went to Leal Senado Square, Ruins of St. Pauls. Lots of biscuit and street food. Wanted to visit A Lorcha for a protugese dinner, but it was closed on Tuesday. End up at another Portugese restaurant (few shop away) which is expensive with poor service. Went to Wynn Casino at night, plenty of free mineral water and a very nice ambience.

Day 5
Visit Fisherman Wharf in the monring (should visit this place at night), with replica of Romans, Alladin and Tang Structure, and a full row of dining shops. Visit Sands casino which is just the apposite. Take a flight back to Malaysia.

Links: Mei Ru's Multiply Hong Kong Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Macau Day 4 & 5