solo traveller Archives - Page 2 of 2

HKG day 2.3 – flower crazy

December 12, 2004 By Suanie Leave a Comment

I alighted at the Prince Edward station and began a half-hearted search for the Flower Market. Walked to where the map said the market was located and 15 mins later the map laughed at my face, ‘HAHA GOTCHA!’

Fountain near the Prince Edward MTR station in Kowloon

At this point I was a bit tired from the earlier walking and trying to figure out where everything was. So I bought the most expensive ionised water I would ever buy in my life (HKG$10 for 500ml) and sat down at a fountain to catch my breath, basically just people-watching. There were a lot of tourists from mainland China, you could tell from their accents. I saw a man holding a bird cage with a pretty little singing thing inside; not surprising since the Bird Market was (supposedly) just around the corner. Hotel Concourse was around the fountain area, one of the hotels I had thought of staying when my chosen hotels were all fully booked.

I called G, poor thing was slaving away in his office on Hong Kong Island on a Sunday. So we made plans to meet for lunch. I told him I’d meet him at a certain exit from the Prince Edward station. While waiting for G, I walked around a bit more, saw more shops with more winter clothing and encountered some Chinese nationals who had hoped that I could guide them to certain places. No such luck, “Ngo mm hai Hong Kong yan” was what I told them, but would you like to look at my huge map instead? No it’s ok, said s/he, I’ll ask some more people.

Half an hour later I saw G, was so excited that I ran-jumped towards him, did a little skip to give him a massive hug. Bet he was momentarily stunned. I related to him the cruel trick my map played on me. He told me that just minutes ago he saw this obviously tourist lady asking a local guy for directions to the Flower Market and the guy did not know what she was on about. So G approached the lady and gave her proper directions. Based on any Mongkok/ Kowloon map the Flower Market was located on the right side of Nathan Road. But once you exit the Prince Edward station you would have to turn left instead of crossing the road to go to the right side. I mean it is all very odd; Hong Kong people drive on the left side of the road, the map says the market is on the right side, but it turned out to be the left. Some sort of unimportant mystery that needs enlightening? Fuck me if I know but good luck to you.

Flower Market, Kowloon

We reached the Flower Market. I had initially thought that it would be something like Malaysia’s night markets, where everything is sprawled on the streets. Instead they were tiny little shops, though some of them had buckets of flowers on the road outside their premises. Basically you get all sorts of flowers imaginable and some rather odd specimens. Definitely very lovely, to say the least.

I have no idea what these flowers are

Picturesque

The red ones are huge in Hong Kong, apparently

Day 1 : To Hong Kong
Day 2.1 : In Search of Tin Hau
Day 2.2 : The Octopus Strikes Back
Day 2.3 : Flower Crazy
Day 2.4 : Central; A Different World
Day 2.5 : Night Time, Light Time
Day 3.1 : The Buddha Beckons
Day 3.2 : To The Peak and Back
Day 3.3 : This Girl Needs a Beer
Day 4 : Leaving Hong Kong
Some thoughts on Hong Kong

Leave a Comment Filed Under: Travel + Trips Tagged With: flower market, hong kong, kowloon, solo traveller, travelling alone

HKG day 2.2 – the Octopus strikes back

December 12, 2004 By Suanie Leave a Comment

I definitely thought about transport before I came to Hong Kong. It all depended on my arrival time on whether or not to buy an Airport Express Tourist Card. I had read about the Citiflyer airbus a couple hours before I departed and decided to take that instead of the Airport Express, that is if I manage to arrive before their last departing bus from the airport (around midnight). For one it goes along Nathan Road and would make it easier for me to locate my hotel. The Airport Express on the other hand stops at 3 locations – Tsing Yi, Kowloon and Sheung Wan/ Central on Hong Kong Island. The Kowloon stop would be apt but then I would have to either walk or take a taxi to my hotel. It would be late at night when I arrive in Hong Kong, I am a single young female lugging a heavy bag, it was my first time abroad, the infamous char siew pau story didn’t exactly made me feel better.

But anyway the HKG$220 Airport Express Tourist card gives you :

a single journey on the Airport Express
3-days unlimited rides on the MTR, beginning on the first day you swipe the card on any MTR
HKG$20 to use for whatever you want
HKG$50 refundable deposit

The HKG$300 gives you all the above and an additional single journey on the Airport Express.

The normal adult fare for the Airport Express is HKG$90 if you alight at Kowloon and HKG$100 if you alight at Hong Kong Island. So minus that and HKG$50 refundable + HKG$20 useable from HKG$220 and you get HKG$60 worth of MTR rides. Unlimited for 3 days of course. If the HKG$20 for other stuff isn’t enough you could always top it up.

Which was very nice. But in my case I had just 2 days to walk around Hong Kong, since I arrived late at night and would leave early Tuesday morning. Having walked to and fro Tin Hau Temple I was convinced that you don’t really need the MTR that much, for example the fare from the Yau Ma Tei station to the Prince Edward station costs HKG$3.20. How many times do you want to get on the MTR? Of course it is very convenient but wouldn’t you want to walk around a bit? Besides I didn’t want to commit to the single Airport Express ride since I would have to reach the airport by 0715 on Tuesday.

The normal Octopus card on the other hand gives you the freedom to use it for everything and anything, for the normal prices of course. Having used it and calculated everything I think it was much better for me instead of the Octopus tourist card. I bought the HKG$150 Octopus card and used it for the MTR, ferries and buses. When I returned the card I got back around HKG$77, including the HKG$50 deposit. So in total I had used HKG$73.

This sum included HKG$33 for a return bus ride from Mui Wo to the Po Lin Monastery. I also used the card for a ferry ride from Hong Kong Island to Tsim Tsa Tsui, as well as a bus ride from The Peak to the pier. So overall I would think that the unlimited 3-day MTR ride is just a gimmick – the card would be more useful for other means of transport and they do not go by the name of MTR.

Of course it depends on your itinerary. If everything involves the MTR then by all means get the tourist card.

For me I was glad that I didn’t. OK it is all very small money, more or less this or that and maybe some people would prefer the convenience of the unlimited rides. But I just have this annoying habit of wanting to find out different ways to arrive at various solution.

Then proving I was right.
The feeling is just…
Sublime.

Leave a Comment Filed Under: Travel + Trips Tagged With: airport express tourist, hong kong, public transport for tourist, solo traveller, transportation, travelling alone

HKG day 2.1 – in search of Tin Hau

December 12, 2004 By Suanie Leave a Comment

I set the alarm at 9 a.m. but woke up around 10+, was rather tired as I didn’t get much sleep the past couple days. The view from my window overlooking King’s Park was rather nice, sort of green on one side and high rise buildings on the other. Didn’t bother to take a photo though, since the window was a bit dusty and it was locked, so I couldn’t open it. Pity.

Got ready and walked out around 11 a.m. in search of food and Tin Hau temple, which was supposed to be nearby my hotel, approx 340m. I read about it on Discover Hong Kong, it was a temple dedicated to the deity Tin Hau who overlooks the well-being of seafarers, fishermen etc. It was originally right beside the sea but since land was reclaimed it now sits in the middle of today’s Yau Ma Tei. Good that they kept it though.

So I walked along Nathan Road, saw lots of shops selling winter clothing with discounts everywhere, definitely lots of tourists especially from China but I suppose Tsim Tsa Tsui would be even busier. And naturally I could not locate the Tin Hau temple, rather frustrating because it was supposed to be so near! Not that the walk was not nice, I passed by a ‘public square’ on the way in search of the temple but I do want to get on with my day. Didn’t really feel like taking out my huge map and look the perplexed tourist so I walked on for what was definitely more than 340m.

I did ask a couple of people for directions but to no avail. Fine, maybe they are Christians. I reached maybe 750m when I decided to turn into one of the streets behind Nathan Road. You see, Nathan Road is one long straight road that begins from Mongkok and ends in Tsim Tsa Tsui. On both sides of the road there would be even smaller roads and everything is in nice squares, very orderly and good town planning. This part of town at least. The first street behind Nathan Road was much quieter and a lot of shops were closed because it was a Sunday. I asked a parking place attendant for directions and he gave me some really good pointing, literally. So, walked a bit more and turned into the third street where Hongkies lead their everyday lives.

There was a small restaurant on the opposite side of the road and they had plastic tables and stools outside their shop, not unlike our mamak stalls. One of the two tables outside was occupied by two men. As I walked on I heard a commotion behind me, so I turned around and looked. A third man had approached one of the two men, I had no idea what it was about but the man sitting down was yelling at him, “zhao la, zhao la” meaning “go away”. The third man backed a little but kept looking at the man who kept yelling at him. Suddenly the man stood up and grabbed his stool to threaten the third man, then gave him a loud and painful hit at his head with his stool. A couple other people pulled the third guy aside and he eventually went away. The first man then went back to his table, mumbling to his friend. Now, this is not something you would read on Discover Hong Kong.

Anyway I walked a bit more and found the temple. Guess what? It was actually just behind the ‘public square’ I had passed by earlier, which was just a 200m walk from my hotel! But it was ok, I wouldn’t miss the squabble for anything.

I had thought that the temple would be gigantic in size, seeing the prominence given by a few tourist books and maps. The Tin Hau temple turned out to be quite a normal temple but I suppose it would interest people who do not grow up in Chinese communities. My grandmother and my mom used to take me to temples after temples after temples as they offer fruits and flowers to appease the gods and pray for good fortune, I guess I have grown rather accustomed to seeing big bright red temples with assorted deities’ figurines.

Tin Hau temple faces the Yau Ma Tei community park where there were a lot of old people just sitting down or playing Chinese chess. It was rather smoky though there weren’t a lot of people – after all I was there around 11+. A Caucasian was video taping the temple while his female partner looked on in fascination at a couple of devotees kneeling down praying rather ferociously. A mother and his early teen daughter were seated at the fortune telling table, where a really old Chinese man was preparing to ply his trade and reveal heaven’s secrets. I did not take any photographs; I thought it would be disrespectful in my own made-up self-superstition thingy. Not that those who took photographs would die an early death, no I am not saying that. But that is how I feel and to each his/her own, so back to the original point; I did not snap a single photograph.

I didn’t take any of the Yau Ma Tei community park either, though I would have loved to take one of an old lady sitting on a bench talking to herself. But nah, I don’t really fancy being cursed or beaten.

And you can really get your fortune told anywhere. Just beside the temple and the park was a makeshift roadside altar with a table and a woman ready to tell your fortune for a price. How exorbitant, I didn’t ask. I walked on.

Leave a Comment Filed Under: Travel + Trips Tagged With: hong kong, kowloon, solo traveller, tin hau, travelling alone, yau ma tei

From Malaysia to Hong Kong

December 11, 2004 By Suanie 2 Comments

My first solo trip overseas!

1830 – Jaime drove me to KLIA. It was raining heavily, quite a number of cars on the Sungai Besi highway exiting Kuala Lumpur. I worried that I might miss the flight, but Jaime got us to the airport on time. After checking in, I had some time to chat with Jaime. She gave me some advice, after all it was my first time flying solo! Jaime was so lovely, she waited with me until the very last minute. How I wished I could bring her with me!

1910 – 5272 miles above ground, temperature outside was -4 degree Celsius, flying at 702 kph.

2120 – 1 hour and 40 mins to destination. Ate on-board; fish and some measly looking noodles, had a glass of red. Just went past Ho Chi Minh. Am going to take a nap.

2230– Arrived at Hong Kong International Airport on Lantau Island. At the immigration lane, there was a guy who looked like David Schwimmer! He flashed a smile, it was David Schwimmer’s smile! Then his mother called him by name, ‘David’.

Nah it was not the real David Schwimmer. But it was fun pretending that he was.

Grabbed some brochures at the arrival hall then decided to forgo the Airport Express in favour of the airbus (read about it from the Lonely Planet). HKG$33 onboard the double-decker A21 from the airport to Hung Hom, passing through Mongkok, Yau Ma Tei and Tsim Tsa Tsui. Saw lots of high rise apartments and flats on the way. The airbus brochure was most informative, they have a list of hotels and which bus you could take to reach the hotel and even where to stop. I alighted at stop number 9 along Nathan Road, walked a very short distance to my hotel Caritas Bianchi Lodge which I had booked earlier from Asia Hotels.

Checked in and paid HKG$1800 for 3 nights inclusive of some refundable deposit upon check-out. A nice guy by the name of Chuen took my bag and showed me to my room on the highest level; 17th floor. Supposed to have a lovely nice view of King’s Park which I couldn’t see because it was after all, at night and rather dark. Tipped him HKG$20 because he was so nice and chatty, a mix of his broken English and my broken Cantonese.

The room had 2 single beds, clean but rather dark. Showered, watched Star World on telly then planned my excursions for the next day.