hk day 2

image taken with my handphone

ok..let us go back to hk...
so what time did i wake up huh?? i have forgotten...but it was early...8 plus i think. again, we took the tram out to central. i was getting used to the idea of travelling on the tram around the island.
first stop, central...in cantonese: chung wan. it was a chillier day and cloudy. i was wearing a short babydoll sort denim dress (i love the dress which i got from isetan during the sale in march) with my patrick cox black ankle boots (got them donkey years ago in selfridges, london). so the bare legs felt chilly. then we decided to 'visit' the toilet in mandarin oriental hotel which is just right next to central mtr station so i can put on a pair of leggings which i had chucked into my bag before leaving the hotel just in case i felt cold. hehe....finally got to wear my pair of leggings which i bought last year with jia en in kl. the toilet in mandarin oriental isn't as posh as the one in peninsula but they do have someone to hand paper towel to you.

this is the bar council building square, opposite central mtr station on one side and all the big banks buildings on the other side. this is where a lot of foreign maids congregate every weekend on their day off.

china bank and hsbc building. we went into the hsbc building to exchange yee's australian dollars. you can actully get better rate in the banks. regent has an account at hsbc, so we din have to pay the $100 service charge. the building is really environmentally friendly. a lot of natural lights could get in and it is really beautiful inside. too bad, i could not take any photo.

the next stop: the peak. and of course you have to go up on the tram. buses ply this road too. we used our octopus card instead of joining the long queue to buy the ticket. many tour groups were here as well. so you see lots of foreigners. no local i think...except for regent. the tram is such an attraction to everyone.

and this leads me to think of the one we have in penang hill. do you know that they are going to stop it?? what a stupid move. some ppl will actually go there just to experience the furnicular train ride. it is an attraction in itself. it is like killing the goose that lays the golden egg.

and yes, you can shop at the peak too. they have an entertainment centre there....more like a gaming zone actually. lots and lots of video games.
and now they charge you to go out on the terrace which they have renamed sky terrace. it is $20 for the ticket. i remember going on the terrace with chinching (a lower terrace) and we did a wax hand there. the new sky terrace is a higher one and smaller. and it was while we were outside that it started raining. what a day....a full rainy day albeit no thunderstorm. it was not cats and dogs but it was still rain.

then it was more walking around central and we started looking for lunch.

this was where we had lunch, at one of the more famous cafe restaurants. but the food was only so so. there were so many ppl there. we ordered the crispy noodles beijing/szechuan style, fishball noodles, swiss chicken (soy chicken lah) and my glass of lemon tea. all these are recommended. the fishball noodles was ok, but i hate my crispy noodles. it is soo hard and dry because they are so stingy with the gravy. i could only eat some of those noodles which was soften by gravy. the rest...leftover. the chicken is nothing special. so i think this restaurant is over-rated.

then we went walking around soho. yes, they have one in hk too. when you reach all the slopes, you know you are there. there are pubs and cafes along the steps. to go up, you have elevators, but coming down, be careful and watch your steps on the slopes. most of those eating in the eateries are all gwailou.

and yippee....regent bought me egg tart...the famous one which is a favourite of hk's last governor. chris pattern i think. the cake was soft but not special. and the egg tart? the egg was really soft. i dun like the pastry so much but the egg was good. yee gave hers to me and i had two. she does not take egg tart. my lucky day. see i told you, it was an eating trip for me. and thank god, i din put on weight. hahha...i know because i went on the digital scale yesterday.

i savoured the egg tarts while sitting at the terrace outside ifc mall.

this is ifc mall, just in front of hk harbour. this photo is taken from the covered walkway to the harbour. and the photo on the right, the fitting room in lane crawford. all the designer labels that you need are here. just how much money do you have.

we took the star ferry to kowloon. i have to make sure that yee goes on all the public transport here. superstar aquarius is docking at the harbour too.

then we walked walked walked around, waiting for the night show...the light symphony i think it is called. every night at 8p.m. where the buildings will play with their lightings accompanied by music blaring from speakers.

ok...lousy camera cannot really get catch the lights clearly. but hk island is really a sigh to behold at night. so how much light pollution is it causing? hehehe...

this was my pathetic dinner. japanese ramen. waaaa.....we din have enuf time for a proper one...so we had to be satisfied with this. well, at least i was getting something into my tummy. must eat!!! we only had 15 mins for the meal before the light show started.

the clock tower where we watched the show from and the crowd. not as crowded as the last time i was there. maybe because of the drizzle and the light show was not that impressive anymore. i felt not as many buildings are taking part now. a patch in the middle had non-moving lights. just keep your eyes on the right.

just walk down the clock tower and you will get to avenue of star. nothing much really. some handprints here and there on the pavement. we spent quite some time here, trying shots after shots to take good photos with the hk island as background. so we kinda drenched in the drizzle and brrr....it was cold and windy. luckily we bought a sport jacket each in a discount sports store earlier, so we were kept warm.

and we called it a night after exploring some streets in kowloon. phew...what a long day.

enuf for today.

to be continued.....