Trying to blog about something that's more than 2 weeks old can be pretty hard! Nonetheless, I've got 2 more days to blog about and since there wasn't much on Day 5, I've decided to squeeze everything into one post.
DAY 4
Day 4 morning started out pretty great, today's agenda was to visit Lantau, a place Babe wanted to go but I wasn't sure what we could see there. After doing a bit of digging the night before, we came up with an itinerary and decided that we could spend quite a bit of time there.
So before heading off, breakfast was in order, and this time, fried noodles, congee, and dough fritters wrapped in rice flour sheets!
Something about HK breakfast items that makes you wanna have breakfast. I really do enjoy eating in the morning here than I do back home, maybe it's just cause we're overseas.
It wasn't long though before we made our way over to Tung Chung Station where we took the cable car ride up to Ngong Ping!
I was quite surprise not many people wanted to book the cystal car ride, why not? For the price, just got for it, and the queue was a lot shorter though the cabins were less frequent, I think 1 every 3 regular cabins, but still!
For a guy who has a fear of height, I was very calm throughout the ride! I think it was cause there wasn't any wind in my face which made things a lot more scary. It kinda reminded me when I use to streetluge - when the visor is down, the fear goes away but when the visor is up and the wind is hitting you dead on, it's quite an adrenaline rush.
It was interesting seeing people hike up the mountain to Ngong Ping, I would have loved to do it but maybe another time.
Over here, the air is so much fresher than back in HK, I'm not a big fan of the rural places but hey, this one is pretty cool =) Admittedly it's quite modern now though, with Starbucks, Subway, and a number of shops set up around the area, you can say it's rather touristy already.
I was looking forward to finding a good place for a couple shot, but frankly didn't manage to get a good one, we got another fellow photographer to help us with this photo but I guess it's not how I would've taken it. Still it's a decent shot so no real complaints.
We had three places to visit here. The Big Buddha, the Wisdom Path, and the Po Lin Monastary, all were within reach by foot. Since the Big Buddha was the most visible among the three, it was the first location to hit.
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| Photosphere Link HERE |
Up close, the statue is quite a sight to see. It towers over you making you feel like an ant. It's not as popular as the statue of Jesus overlooking Rio, but hey, still awesome =)
Our next stop was the Wisdom Path. Initially from the map, we thought it was accessible via the back of the Giant Buddha, but after looking behind, all we saw was a car park and toilet. So we had to walk down again and follow a forested path instead which led us to a small deserted looking town.
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| Photosphere Link HERE |
We initially thought we were lost. There were no one else following us until we bumped into some tourists making their way back from one of the roads, which we then followed that finally led us out of the area.
Needless to say, the location is pretty awesome. The Wisdom Path was to our left, and a trail that led to the peak was straight ahead.
The weather was fantastic and I would've taken a stab at climbing to the peak had we been more prepared for it.
Still, getting to finally see the Wisdom Path was good enough for me, and after a few snaps and taking in the scenery, we headed back down to the Po Lin Monastery.
Midway through though, back at the deserted town, we spotted two cows grazing by the grass patch across from us. Wow! I mean, I've seen cows, but up close and unattended, photo op!
I think I should have been afraid when taking photos of the bull, which kept coming closer towards my direction where I was taking his shot, but I was awfully calm, and kept snapping away. He didn't seem to see me as a threat (I'm so small, he's so huge) and hence wasn't alarmed by my presence. By the time I was done taking my photos, he was standing about a foot away from where I stood, time to bail before he got any closer!
Our next stop, the Po Lin Monastery, was still undergoing renovation, and hence we didn't get to explore much of the area. We did hung around the outside for a bit, and later found a place to eat.
My Chinese is terrible, but I understand from Babe that the words on the board do not match the English text at the bottom.
Food wise, the items were cheap and they tasted good, vegetarian Chinese mock dishes are generally heavily sauced and full of oil cause unlike meat, they don't have any flavours of their own and need a lot of help from gravies to give it taste.
After we were done, it was back in the cable car on our way towards Citygate. Since it was the second last day, it was shopping time. I didn't take much photos here, and spent most of my time walking around the mall to kill time.
By the time we got back home, it was evening, so a quick rest and wash up, we headed out for dinner, this time to another spot recommended by Hannee for its affordable price.
Taste wise, I thought the steaks were pretty good, tender juicy cuts that pack a lot of taste which each bite. I'm still a big fan of USDA above other types of beef, of course, then there's Kobe and Wagyu which is another level altogether. For the price we paid, I had included lobster bisque into my set, which also came with a slice of foie gras.
Babe wasn't feeling too good that evening and so after our dinner, she called it a night while I continued walking around HK for a bit before heading back to the hotel myself.
The biggest highlight for Day 4 was Lantau, and apart from that, the rest of the day was ok, still it was a day well spent =)
DAY 5
The next morning started slightly late. Babe needed more rest so I went for an early run until it started to drizzle.
Our first stop was breakfast, this time eggs, luncheon meat, toast, and a bowl of hot milk pudding. =)
Day 5 was reserved for shopping or any last minute agendas. Our first top was to look for Jenny Bakery, which wasn't hard to find though I was expecting more of an actual bakery like we do with Bread Talk rather than a store front carrying lots of boxes of the cookies.
Laduree was the next stop which Babe got for Hwee since she was the only one among the three of the ladies who hasn't sunk her teeth into them.
We stopped for a quick bite, and after a few days of Asian foods, we went for something more fast-food-ish.
I thought we'd do more in the day but by noon we were pretty much done with getting the stuff we needed to buy for our friends. Since Yuen Kee was nearby rather than Kau Kee, we popped in for our Beef Noodle fix.
Apparently we should have ordered the flat noodles instead of the yellow noodles, cause the soup tasted of kee and I was a bit nauseas biting into it. The beef parts were pretty interesting and I think Babe for the most part enjoyed every piece in the bowl.
Though not known for its massages to Singaporeans, we figured one was in order since we had been walking around the whole day. There weren't much details on Google but we did look up one near the restaurant where we ate.
Personally? Nothing special, compared to the ones back in Singapore, I'd say the ones back home were a lot stronger than what we received here in HK, and price wise it's about the same, you could probably get better deals in JB.
Before we knew it, it was time to pack our bags and head for the Airport. Our last stop before heading off was to Saboten, a favorite spot while waiting for our flight, one which Alron too have found due to its cheap pricing for a good Tonkatsu meal.
We had little time left before our flight and so didn't spend much time shopping around...who would have thought that when we reached our gate, we were later informed that the flight was delayed. =\
I think the biggest problem was the lack of communication between the flight crew and airport staff. No one came to assure the passengers of their flight, and everyone was left sitting near the flight schedule board waiting to see if there were any changes.
We finally managed to get a flight back home, which came 3 hours pass the initial departure time. Most likely it was the weather that grounded the plane, which kinda sucks but I always felt better safe than sorry, especially when you're up in the air.
Hong Kong was fantastic, it was a bit rush but hey, I think we managed to pull it off pretty good. Babe had fun, and so did I, we also enjoyed the company of good friends and got to eat quite a lot of good food.
Thanks for the memories! =)
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