HK Dec 09 – Day 1 & 2

I am really playing catch up with this blogging business. The wonders of a new blogskin and free time before work starts! 😦

I finally finished my Japan posts in some sort of a mad dash, so now it is onward to the posts on HK last Dec! I visited HK with Dad and Gran from 30 Nov to 4 Dec last year, my first trip in 4 years. It was also my first trip on a budget carrier (I am really not atas at all when choosing carriers! Or I choose to think..) and I am sorry to say, the experience sucked! Give me a full-fare paying carrier for any trip beyond 3 hours anytime! Will blog more about that later.

Day 1. We boarded the 3 plus pm Jetstar flight to HK from Terminal 1, and I had my virgin experience with Popeyes Chicken for lunch! Cheap thrill! We arrived in HK at around 7pm to meet my 2 uncles, William and Gor Zai, who were there to pick us up.

We reached a Chinese restaurant near their home and met with other relatives whom I have not seen for many years/before. This was the obligatory “big” typical Chinese meal to welcome you to their country. The welcome meal consisted of at least 10 courses, complete with sharks fins, fresh crabs and all other delicacies one can think of. No pictures because it just seemed awkward to take pictures of photos in front of the other relatives. By the time dinner finished at around 11pm, I was practically bursting at my seams! Sign of the things to come for the next 4 days on the food front.. Oh boy!

Day 2 was visibly more relaxed. We spent the night in the vacant apartment owned by William and her sister, Ah Qi. It was on a high floor and had a sea view, which made the apartment quite chilly especially in the morning because of the sea breeze.

Met William for dim sum breakfast!! One of my must-do items in HK!

The dish on the bottom left hand corner is beef balls, which was very delicious! I don’t think you can get it in Singapore. The rest are the usual suspects – char siew pau, chicken feet and prawn dumplings.

Not forgetting my all-time favourite – siew mai!

After lunch, we made our way to H&M! Yay! My first trip after 3 years! We went to the Central outlet and I had a good time browsing the store! Ended up with 2 tops, a cardigan, a dress and a coat for mum. Also got some Hello Kitty stuff for L.

Didn’t expect to get to H&M so quickly, not exactly a bad thing but I ended up lugging the big bag along for the whole day.. Paiseh to get William to carry for me too. 😦

Next up, we took the train to Tung Chung Station where we would take the Ngo Ping Cable Car to Lantau Island.

That’s me posing outside the station. I love my outfit, complete with the sweater/boots/shades ensemble! Note the big H&M paper bag.

The cable car. Looks impressive.

Some shots taken from the cable car. The usual skyscrapers we are familar with.

First peek at the Buddha statue. As the cable car asecended, the weather got colder and the winds stronger. Very shiok!

After a approximate 10-minute ride, we have reached the foot of the mountain.

This is taken from one of the newer tourist-village like developments. This is the first time I have been here; the place was still relatively undeveloped the last time I visited. Lots of the usual souvenir shops and eating places for people to browse around.

Shot of the Buddha from below.

Lunch was next. We ate at the vegetarian restaurant at the monastery. Everyone got the standard fare. The number of dishes varied according to the number of patrons.

This was our spread. The food was superb and it changed my perspective of vegetarian food being bland and boring at that instance!

After lunch, Gran and I took up the challenge to walk up the flight of stairs to the Buddha statue. I was counting the number of stairs on my way up but I have totally forgotten the final number! 😦

Mission accomplished! View from the top.

On our way back, we met a group of youg students who were going around conversing in Mandarin with passer-bys. The group was a diverse mix of children from different nationalities so it seemed they were in a Mandarin class on a Mandarin-speaking assignment. Interesting!

We took the train to Tai O next. This place is a sleepy fishing town. The famous product is prawn paste. The place was popularised by a HK drama serial more than 10 years, which featured the lives of families living in Tai O. My maiden visit to the place.

Some pictures of the place. This reflects the stark contrast of urban vs rural HK.

I found this juxtaposition rather amusing. How “village-y” can the place get? Fish monger right in front of a HSBC branch in Tai O!!

Teatime snack. Picture of the hawker selling these egg-cakes. Looking at his picture now, he reminds me of the late HK villian actor, Shek Kin.

Dinner! We were back to HK island for steamboat! Another of the must-dos in HK! You could choose 2 soup bases, and we opted for the satay and chicken broth options.

Our spread. The dumplings were good. I had quite a number.

Dad, William and I finished 3 full plates of beef just among the 3 of us! Totally ridiculous but the food was incredible! The beef was fresh and so thinly sliced that it literally melted in your mouth! Salivating now at the thought of it!

Sums up first 2 days of HK. Day 3 at Macau next!