Back from Hong Kong

Gosh, is it over so soon?

Sometimes u wish things could last a whole lot longer than it should, but then before you know it, *poof*, u're back in sch studying a new module which is draining the life outta u.

Anyway Hong Kong was really fun, and it was great having to meet up with the yoyo guys from Here We Yo who were extremely hospitable ppl that brought me around HK for 2 separate days. =)

TUESDAY
So I had packed my bags and did some checking to make sure I had everything....I had to, afterall, I only had 12KG worth of stuff to bring over, and my luggage was half full, I had so much space it made me uneasy, with that feeling at the back of my head that I might have forgotten sth.
The Airplane ride to HK was pretty smooth and breakfast served was pretty decent...I mean, it's airplane food, it can't be THAT good...but when you're hungry and faced with a steaming hot microwaved plastic plate of omelet, u really dun give a crap how bad it tastes. =)
Before u know it, it was 10 plus in the morning at HK airport =)
Our hotel *ahem*hostel*ahem* was located somewhere at TST, I can't remember the name in chinese, please dun ask me to find out.
So anyway we took the airport express there, which really brought up old memories of my previous trip to HK with the guy from Duncan Crew Singapore

Oh, did I mention how badass our hotel rooms were?
The place was so damn ghetto, I loved it!!!!!
We later went down to see the girls off as they headed for Macau while Galvin and I stayed in HK to check out the sights.
I think their MTR was pretty cool, pretty much like Singapore's MRT...only a lil more complicated and rather stinko at certain stops.
I seriously like Hong Kong, it's like a mixture of so many different things rolled into one place where u can see all sorts of weird stuff come together in the same district, from hobby shops sellin RC cars and Model guns, to flea markets, shops selling fighting fishes and lots of branded shops at major road lanes as well.

At night we got to meet up with the guys from Here We Yo who took us to a coffeeshop for dinner and then to a street store for dessert...I totally enjoy their local food, so fusion, so...er...original I guess =)


WEDNESDAY

We had breakfast at a wet market which was freakin awesome!

I'm not much of a breakfast person, but hey there's always a first time for everything right? besides, it's hong kong, so might as well try what locals eat every morning
We later headed down to Timesquare where I went to the supermarket to get me some instant noodles home to eat =D
I think I've mentioned these before, and I was damn glad they had it over at the supermarket, though slightly more expensive than the one in Taiwan.
We later met up with Simpson for lunch since he worked near by and he brought us to this lil place where they served rather plain noodles, but apparently they were pretty popular among the locals and so we gave it a try.
After he left though, we wandered around and came bought ourselves some local 7-11 microwavable snacks.

Personally I think this one is awesome, like "kong ba bao" only with a twist =)
I went down to the habor as well to the convention centre to check out the place and relive some old memories
I guess the place brought back memories of the time we were there under DCS and the crowd for the anime festival during 2004 was AWESOME
We later had dinner at some local mini cafe that had porridge and curry rice flat noodles which were pretty good although pretty compact.
After a short visit to Kowloon's Elements shopping mall, we headed back near the hostel to have supper at a nearby cafe as well where they served a pretty mean toasted bun with condensed milk and pretty good drinks as well.I think I like their description for chicken rice the best...lol

THURSDAY

We went to the elevator that morning only to be greeted by this sign on one of the lifts
So we walked round the building to use the other lift, and headed for the ferry terminal where we had breakfast at a nearby cafe.
We had purchased tickets to Macau and decided to head down to pay the guys from sch a visit =)
The hour plus long ride was REALLY bad, and for a guy who couldn't stand motion sickness, it was pretty brutal.

But before u know it, we reached the place and headed down to the Venetian to find the guys.
I have to admit, they really know how to create a good setting, the place was pretty impressive, good color, great theme, interesting atmosphere....=)
We later headed with the girls to the Holiday Inn where they checked in for a night, then on to the Wynn Casino for dinner, which was really good, especially their traditional peking duck which was a tad different from the crepe wraps some of us are more familiar with.
After dinner, we went over to the fountain to check out their 15 min interval music and water show, I love their Wynn bill board, it seriously stands out in the middle of the shallow pool, and made for great photo-taking opportunity. lol
We headed out for awhile to walk around and me, well, being me....walked into a supermarket to have a look at what they had to offer...lol.
After the girls had gone back up to their room, Galvin and I went out somemore to check out the place, and went into this old apartment area which looked even more ghetto than our hostel back in Hong Kong. It felt like any moment we could have been robbed or sth...haha! But I think it was pretty cool to check out the places locals live in.

FRIDAY

We headed back for Hong Kong and went around a few shopping malls, like the Elements at Kowloon which was full of high end stuff that didn't really interest me to begin with.
We did meet up with a friend from the HK trip to HK Poly who brought us around MK to visit a few places where the girls could shop
I as usual, checked out the food although I did managed to get some good jeans for myself =)

That evening though, Renata went out to meet pops for dinner, so Kelly, Chestine and I went around looking for a place to eat and stumbled upon a hong kong cafe which seemed to have pretty decent food
We later walked around sneaker street, but I didn't get anything though, it was either adidas or nike, both brands I don't wear...I'd rather a pair of thick padded skate shoes, but there weren't any, guess I'll try my luck in KL when I have the time to head up.
We also checked out some flea markets and even stumbled across a busker named Andrew as well. Heard from the HWY guys though that he isn't a very nice person to talk to.
We later had dessert at some franchise dessert palor and then called it a day

SATURDAY

I abandoned the guys again and headed out during noon to meet up with the ppl at HWY, who had a yoyo performance at a mall that day and a yoyo meet later at a park.
We had dinner back at the place we went the first day, they called it "Hells Kitchen" for some reason. lol.

I had this 12 yr old kid help me out with my order at a stall his dad was operating. The guy's a genius! and a swell personality too.
Do take a close look at the picture above though, u see the greenish stuff at the top right of the bowl? guess what that is? =)
So much for hardcore food huh? lol! Good thing though, the kid changed my bowl ASAP and was really apologetic, I felt sorry for the lil guy, and gave away my green Metal FHZ(around $60) to him cause he played as well and had a miserable Auldey Saber Raider ripoff which didnt do him much good.

We later hung out as some park where all sorts of ppl congregate. From young punks to old ppl to school children.
I guess it was a Saturday well spent, and before u know it, I was back in the hotel getting ready to ZZZZZZ

SUNDAY

Renata's mom had been a great host for the past 2 days. I didn't manage to make it for dinner on Saturday cause I was out with the guys from HWY, but she had planned a Sunday Branch as well at the Marriot where all of us attended. =)
Tatz and Kelly had to leave that evening as they had scheduled their flight earlier cause they didn't want to rush things back home before school reopened, so we were on a tight schedule that day. After our meals, we headed to the peak to check out the sights. I just wanted good clean air. =)
I even managed to stumble upon a shop selling fake Difeyos...well not exactly difeyos, just plastic incarnations, which only cost like...SGD$3.50? Compared to the original going at $139, I had to buy it for Hans and Colin figuring they might like it. lol.
We then had time to check out the wax museum, which was sorta freaky, yet sorta cool. =) Galvin and Deb even made a hand wax mould to bring home for keeps =)
Time was running late, so after the peak, we rushed back to the hotel, got Kel's and Tatz's stuff, and headed down to the airport to see them off, then headed down to temple street to check out the place for awhile, after which we pretty much called it a day.

MONDAY
So we had been missing out on at least 2 days of breakfast, and decided to head down to a near by coffeeshop to have some typical HK morning brew =)
Since it was the last day and we didn't have much time to do many things, we headed down to Citygate to do a lil last min shopping. I didn't buy much though, just a rep polo T, and I only got it cause I hadn't bought much clothes during the trip, just one other shirt.
I got bored after awhile though, and headed across the bridge to check out an air-conditioned wet market just to look see look see.
A few hours later, we found ourselves back at the airport once more, this time round, it was our turn to fly. I grabbed myself some Popeyes before my flight was ready for take off.
I almost missed my flight cause apparently my boarding area wasn't exactly in the same terminal I thought I was in, and had to take a train across. But then later it turned into a 2.5 hour delay, which basically got us sitting in the plane waiting for sth to happen.
But I guess after awhile, we took off and I reached singapore at 1:50, and home by 3am. Overall Hong Kong was an incredible trip, and hopefully I'd get a chance to go there again. =)

I'll upload pictures on facebook ASAP, I'm slowly taking my time with it though.

Anyway you guys have a pleasant week. Takecare ppl, cheers!

Andrew
:)