Now that the moment of silence is over, let's talk Hong Kong. My stay was fairly short, but eventful nonetheless. We stayed at the Kings De Nathan hotel, just a small hotel alongside Nathan Road, situated nice and snug between two currency exchanger kiosks, which are rivals, I'm sure. The one on the right side of the hotel, with the old man minding the kiosk, yes, always choose that one. The lady in the kiosk to the left tried to charge me HK$50 to break my HK$1000 into hundreds, goddamnit. If you're reading this, and you're about to book a trip to HK, let me tell you this; NEVER trust the photos while you're booking a hotel room. Since this is my second time in HK, I can honestly tell you that all the hotel rooms in HK are small. If you want a room 'roomy' enough, be prepared to pay up to RM1,500 per night.
One thing we loved about the hotel was that it was just a 3-minute walk away from the nearest MRT station (MRT is like our very own LRT/KTM, but much better), and a sushi take-out shop. The sushi was incredibly affordable that if it wasn't for the reputation of the halal food that we just *had* to try out, we would've devoured it every day, and night.
What I can say about Hong Kong collectively is that it's a city of redundant-ness. Like, seriously, while walking alongside Nathan Road alone, you can find at least six Body Shop outlets, yes, you read that right, *at least* six, and if you're lucky, two outlets could be opposite each other. And I'm not even kidding. We kind of made our own conclusion that it's a marketing strategy for them, meaning that, they're bound to catch customers, one outlet or the other. No idea on how well it's working for them, but for the fact that they could maintain six outlets along one street alone, I've got to hand it to them.
Travelling or commuting from one part of the city to another is incredibly easy and convenient. The MRT and Subway train stations are totally user friendly. I can't stress enough on how easy (and cheap) it was to get from point A to point B. Almost everything on the map was accessible by train, bus and foot. I didn't get on a cab, not even once, while I was travelling in HK. Except for the time that we were heading to the airport on the last day, well, that doesn't count.
Let's not forget about how safe I felt throughout my stay in HK. I really love the I-don't-give-a-shit-about-you kind of attitude that the locals have. Well, they weren't the friendliest of people, not friendly at all in fact, but I liked how they didn't judge. Why am I so afraid about being judged, you wonder? Well, having travelled other countries where the majority of the population looks down and gives dirty looks to you as you pass by, isn't exactly the most pleasant of feelings. A beer bottle was once thrown directly to me and my sister while we were in New Zealand, and damn, that scarred us for life. It also felt really refreshing for me to be able to walk in a crowd of people and still feel completely secure. I can't even walk around KL without having the fear of someone randomly snatching my bag. Being able to not worry about that for once was just amazing. So, I guess girls specifically would definitely love having that sense of security and freedom at the same time.
Another thing about the locals is that they're very civilised. Despite being a third world country, you don't see footprints on the walls of the train stations, the condition of their trains are pristine, you don't see vandalism anywhere, and there are actually no bills posted when the sign reads "Post No Bills". No offence, but kalau in Malaysia, pantang ada dinding putih mesti ada tapak kasut or iklan pajak gadai.
One thing though, the "A Symphony of Lights" show at the Victoria Harbour was plain disappointing. We waited for freaking 50 minutes, standing up, mind you, to make sure we had a clear view of the harbour throughout the show. But what I can honestly say was that, the show wasn't worth the wait. The view of the harbour though, was *definitely* worth the distance walked. My camera lens *did not* do the spectacular breathtaking view any justice at all.
Hmmm, what else? Oh my God, Hong Kong Disneyland. This is where my 5-year-old self takes over. I can honestly go on and on and on about Hong Kong Disneyland, but I think that needs (and deserves) a post on its own. So, let's look forward to that.
On another note, if you want chocolates, (local, or even imported), don't bother getting them at the airport. One, it's because it's freaking pricey, yeah, your "buy 3 free 1" offers no longer impress me, KLIA, and two, it just adds weight to your carry-ons! Why do that when you can just get chocolate and store them in your checked luggage, right? So, the place you need to head down to is a store called _________ 360. I honestly can't remember the first word before the 360, but it's a shop along Nathan Road and you won't miss it. Like honestly, who the hell sells a maxi pack of Maltesers for RM17, right?! They cost almost RM40 in KLIA! Don't even get me started on how cheap other chocolates were... So, lets just say I went bonkers in this store.
I loved my time in Hong Kong, and would definitely love to go there again. (With friends, preferably.) Don't get me wrong, I'd love to go again with my parents, it's just that, the place requires *a lot* of walking, so I guess HK wouldn't be the first place to take the parentals. So, if anyone's up for it, do hit me up.
Hong Kong isn't exactly a country that's on my "Places To Live" list, but I know that it would never fail to impress me. From the efficient-ness of their public transportations, to their Octopus card system, (It's their very own version of our Touch N' Go, but a gazillion times better. I could go on about this, but that would take forever, and I'm not even kidding. It's *that* good. ) to their ever so civilised locals. Hong Kong was incredibly nice to me, and I hope to visit again soon.
Hong Kong isn't exactly a country that's on my "Places To Live" list, but I know that it would never fail to impress me. From the efficient-ness of their public transportations, to their Octopus card system, (It's their very own version of our Touch N' Go, but a gazillion times better. I could go on about this, but that would take forever, and I'm not even kidding. It's *that* good. ) to their ever so civilised locals. Hong Kong was incredibly nice to me, and I hope to visit again soon.