Okay, I feel so guilty for updating so late. But hey, better late than never right? :) From my previous post, I said I was in Hong Kong / Shenzhen. Well, I took heaps of pictures! And as always it's tedious to have to filter them all and edit them before posting up here, but I finally did it! *fist pump*
So anyway, this was my first time stepping into my ancestor's country (my grandparents were from China) and it being a republican country I found it very....uptight, at first. Judging by how strict and prim the airport was. And it was also my first time experiencing winter! Practically froze my ass off while I was there.
My first view of China!
Upon reaching the hotel. We simply could not resist mirrors :/
Teh hotel room. The cold was kinda awesome though, we didn't have to turn on the air-conditioning because it was already so cold! Went to bed immediately cuz we were exhausted from all the walking during our transit and whatnot.
Walked to Dong Men (东门) from our hotel and spent the rest of the next day there. Pretty huge place with malls and loads and loads of shops. I would've taken a better picture, but it was so crowded there I just couldn't be bothered to take my camera out most of the time. Shopped and bargained there like mad that we had to make a few trips back and forth to our hotel just to drop off our hauls so we could buy and carry more stuff!
Told you we totally can't resist mirrors ohmygod
And you know when I travel, the most irrelevant things catch my attention. Like the fact that the Mackers in China and Hong Kong (and prolly most of the world) have Mc Cafes! Selling coffee and ice cream and slices of cakes like Starbucks or Coffeebean. Yeah, I was sakai as ever lol. We should totally have that here! I'm pretty sure it'd be a whole lot more affordable than Starbucks....
Also, saw people making bubbles in the streets. Super pretty! I wonder if they get paid to do this everyday...
Ate at Ajisen Ramen at Dong Men that night after all the shopping. Nice hot soupy food was gooooooood.
Cute pic of cousin eating ramen and looking totally asian (not that she isn't one...)
Next day we took a really long train ride to the border. So convenient for these people, being able to travel between Shenzhen and Hong Kong via train anytime. So convenient that the chinese citizens literally FLOODED the immigration clearance hall.
NO KIDDING.
Can you imagine hundreds, maybe even thousands, of people crammed into a narrow hall? Even sardines have more personal space than this! I swear we had to push like hell (and be pushed wtf) through the crowd in order to avoid getting stuck at the back or trampled to death. Thank god we were foreign tourists instead of chinese citizens so our queue wasn't that long or else we'd have to queue for hours.
"Battle scars" to prove how horrible it was lol. All the pushing tore a ladder all the way up my tights :(
Walked out of the station and got directions to our hotel from this dude, in exchange for his expensive [read:not very sweet] sweet potatoes.
Upon reaching Metropark Hotel in Kowloon.
Went to put our luggages in our rooms and went for lunch after that. One thing that I must emphasize on about the food in Hong Kong is that the meat they serve, e.g. pork, goose, duck meat, ARE DELICIOUS!!! Marinated and cooked to the most perfect taste and texture.
SO YUMMY I wish I could have some right now :(
Walked further down the street and found a shop selling ice cream and froyo. GENUINE FROYO. Like, they blend the fruits you choose and mix it in the yogurt for you to see. So yummy also. Though I almost couldn't feel my fingers afterwards because it was already so cold and we decided to make it worse by eating frozen yogurt.
Yums ♥
Met up with my relative's friends afterwards and they brought us to Stanley Plaza / Beach..
These high-end seaside condominiums are where most of the Hong Kong stars live, apparently.
And we met these SUPER CUTE DOGGIES SO FLUFFY YOU'RE GONNA DIE ♥ ♥ ♥
The street lined with picturesque cafes and shops. (if that's how you use the word)
Now I want you to look closely at this picture. See anything unusual about it?
No??
Look again.
This emo doggie just stands there alllllll day, watching the people on the streets below. I really wonder what morose thoughts are going through it's mind...
We look like a honeymooning couple! ♥
Super tall poodle asdfgh
The dogs here are really pretty and pampered, I tell you. I even saw someone bringing their poodle on a walk. In a pram. Complete with a thin veil in front. Purpose of walk lost -.-
Super romantic place for lovebirds to sit and watch the sunset, as you can see.
After dinner, which I didn't bother to take pictures of because we were ravished, we went to have a look at Times Square, Wan Chai before going back to the hotel and knocking out right after.
Super crowded, like any other place in HK.
The next day, we went to Mongkok Street. "Mongkok" meaning crowded corner, yeah it pretty much lived up to it's name.
After exploring Mongkok Street for a bit, we went to Nv Ren Jie (女人街, Ladies' Market) which was just within walking distance.
And shopped mercilessly, again.
Saw some people doing a live news telecast in front of some building that got badly burnt the week before.
Had lunch at yet another crowded restaurant with good food. The tables were all super narrow as you can see.
But who cares about space when you have such YUMMY food to eat?? So so so yummy.
Took this pic from a tram that we were riding to the star ferry jetty.
On the star ferry!!!
Me looking all chubby and bundled up because I'm so vulnerable to the cold T__T
Reached the other side of HK. Saw the recently opened Apple store full of people playing with apple products.
And the Loius Vuitton here has it's own BUILDING. Unlike the little LV shoplots in KL or Singapore lol.
Super crowded street which I know not of it's name. Took it from inside a double decker. I'm pretty sure we rode ALL the vehicles available here, train, tram, bus, taxi, you name it.
And even after nightfall the streets all over HK are still crowded even more so than in the day time.
And the only thing else that I could recall of that night was having awesome steamboat dinner. Perfect for the cold wintery night ♥ Went back to Shenzhen the next day. Luckily the flow from HK back to Shenzhen on Mondays are pretty minimal, so yay.
After dropping our belongings at the hotel, shopped MORE at the Luo Hu Port. Took us a while to get out of the mall there that night because every corner and shop looked the same and we kept getting lost wtf
Bought strawberries to eat on the plane ride back home the next day. Yums. What is it about foreign food that always make them SO yummy huh?!
To sum it up, I guess this trip was more of a shopping trip more than it was a sight-seeing one. Like most of my trips with mum. All she wants to do is shop like mad. I've been to Singapore twice and I've never even seen the Merlion once *sob* But hey, at least I'm blessed enough to ever get the chance to travel outside the country. Gotta count my blessings everyday and be thankful for everything :) Hopefully I can afford to travel this much when I grow up and have my own family aye x__x
Till next time! :D
