Hong Kong Day 5 + Hollywood Road Antiques & Times Square Hong Kong - A Review

Our time in Hong Kong quickly came to an end with our fifth day. After contemplating about his "antique"-lookalike vase, the BF finally decided to get it already. Haha. We actually went to Hollywood Road the previous day but because of the weekend, and also the time we arrived, most of the shops were already closed.

Oh and the reason I did not take any photos from Hollywood Road are mainly because I was grumpy over walking there in the heat and the steep inclining roads did nothing to better my mood (That was after a whole day of walking around other attractions then). Add some grumpy shopkeepers who tried to rip us off by claiming a higher price for what are good imitations just brought be into a grumpier mood. :P I think we left no corners unturned in that area. In case you are interested, we covered EVERY single small alleys and streets that are in the vicinity. The official Hollywood Road is located between Central and Sheung Wan, with Wyndham Street, Arbuthnot Road, Ladder Street, Upper Lascar Row, and Old Bailey Street surrounding it. However, there are a lot of interesting shops on all those other streets as well so we ended up checking out most of them.

Prices are very much negotiable, and be prepared to survey a few shops before buying your final purchase. The shopkeepers all will probably claim theirs are the only 2 or 5 near-original imitations. Oh and everyone will claim their work are from Jingdezhen, a place in China where similar techniques were used to produce the porcelain like in ancient China. In my opinion, those are overrated. The most important thing to me when purchasing an imitation is their aesthetic value only and since most of us couldn't identify an original from a fake, why bother right? This is easily discernible to me because usually I just randomly pick the most pleasing pieces I see and they are usually priced higher than most others, probably because the quality of the handiwork are more evident to the normal eyes.

And the only thing I have to say about this myriad of street mazes are that they provide good cardio. After 2-3 hours of wandering around, I was ready to call it a night. :S

See all the steps even in the map? ;)

And when we revisited the road today, it was in a pretty rushed schedule as the BF just wanted to get the vase he set his eyes on the other day. Blerk! And then we were supposed to head to Times Square Hong Kong for some shopping! This is definitely my more anticipated part of the day. Located in the Causeway Bay area, this area is full of luxury brands and upscale stores. It is also great for people watching and window shopping. Heh.

Check out the cool Batman car

And I got my prezzie here too! Yay! Thanks Sayang! ;) ;)

Tadaaaaa! I had a few photos with the shopping bags but I wonder where are they now? :(

After that we are off to the airport again. Holidays went by so fast. Why does a work day seemed endless? *dramatic wail*

Sadly taking the last few shots

At the airport, we decided to try this packed cafe selling meat (roasted and steam) and it is NYUM! Except that they are priced pretty steeply for a plate of chopped roasted chicken/duck.

Chen Fu Ji (陳福記) are available at two different locations in the airport with different opening hours.

Terminal 1
Food Junction, Departures West Hall, Level 6
Restricted Area
07:00 - 23:30

AND

Terminal 2
Level 6
Non-restricted Area
11:00 - 22:00

Do note their opening hours are different even though they are the same franchise.

And then we are back in Malaysia around midnight...Hungry and so a quick trip to Pacific Coffee for their light meals before going back home to snooze. :P

Oh, they are closed down already by the way as this post is a year late. Hm, never understood why they were not popular. I love their sandwiches and croissants.

Hong Kong Itinery Part 3 + Ocean Park Hong Kong, A Review

As this was one of my most looked-forward attractions, after Disneyland of course, we spent the whole day there. After waking up really early to make good time, we first stopped at this fancy looking HK-cafe for breakfast. We weren't really awake yet as you can see from my sleepy face below, nevertheless, most shops were already bustling with activities. Today was a respite from dimsum since for the past few days we were having dimsums nearly everyday... :S

I like the lights. Don't you?

Breakfast was pretty alright as far as these HK's asian with a western twist breakfasts came. I like my big meal set below better than the instant noodles with beef that the BF had. Hahaha!

As usual, a day wouldn't be complete without the HK's stocking milk tea. I have always wondered why they called them that way. I would assume it is because of the strainer they use look like a stocking?

Adorable cup!

With an even more adorable ME! :D

I really wanted to share the cafe and its name but think as I might, I couldn't recall it. And I think I forgot to take pictures of the shop's name. Sigh. Anyone?

And then it's on to Ocean Park! Yeahhhhh!!!! And I come prepared with leggings! LOL

As the Ocean Park is divided into two different locations  i.e. The Summit (Headland) and The Waterfront (Lowland), separated by the sea on top of two mountains, the cable car is one of method to go from one side to another. The funicular railway system is also available. I would advise planning your trip and your shows before going on the cable car mainly to save time and to make sure you enjoy all the shows they have, or at least the ones you really wanted to. Anyway, I feel that both rides warrant at least a try and I enjoyed both of them. Needless to say, the cable car ride offers one of the best view of the mountainous terrain of Hong Kong and one of its...lagoon? I do not have any photos of the funicular railway as it was really packed and I was too engrossed in the light shows inside. For the cable car, usually they allow one car per group so it's great!

When I was there, I was pretty torn because there were so many things to do and so little time. Planning the itinery needed quick decisions as we had to decide where to start our adventure. We very quickly decided The Summit is more our type of place, even though The Waterfront would probably be more family-friendly.
Oh! On a footnote, or maybe mid-note in this case, the mascots here are not as cute as the ones in Disneyland so I would probably go on to their attractions instead of queuing for photos. Unless you happened to chance upon a no-queue mascot. Heh!

The Summary of what you shouldn't miss is in BOLD. However these are actually up to individuals and for me, these are my preferences. And we managed to go on a few rides too! Hmm, thinking of them, if I recall correctly, we practically cover everything in the official Ocean Park pamphlets but if you are afraid you might not have enough time, give priorities to the ones you really like.

The feeding at Polar Adventure was really nice. We were early so we get to take photos around the auditorium and even choose really good seats!

And since we were right next to the North and South Pole area, we ticked that off our to-do list as well. Don't you just love penguins? Those adorable waddle and their cuddly sizes...not that I have cuddled any before...:P

The Ocean Wonders is probably the MAIN attraction of Ocean Park and should not be missed for anything!!! No visit is complete without watching this.

The quiet pool (right before the show)

He's off for rollercoaster ride

And I'm just off for snacks :P

The freshly made cuttlefish! Special right?

Some random shots

Small revolving tower for a view of the Ocean Park

As we walked around, we decided that the souvenirs are not worth getting as the prices were quite steep and quality + aesthetics were only alright. Disney's would be better. Then I found this cute area where they have all the sealions and seals. PHOTO TIME!!!

After a whole day of animals, rides and shows, we closed off with an amazing water + light shows (Symbio) right at the main entrance. Good day indeed!

And the entrance fee was about HKD 345 per pax and HKD 173, but I think it was money well spent as the amount of sights and things to do inside more than made up for the price.

Museum of Arts, Hong Kong

It's another sunny day in Hong Kong and today we get to go to my fave place, the museum! Yeah, I know. Geeky but it was really interesting and not all dusty corners with only old caretakers like what we have come to associate when it comes to museum.

Plenty of photo-taking opportunities outside the museum itself so we spent quite a while taking selfies or rather, wefies before going in. And not forgetting shots of yours truly!

Then finally, we are ready to go inside! The unassuming building has three full floors of various displays which changes seasonally. The main displays range from calligraphy, paintings to sculptures and some old artifacts/antiques. It is quite impressive although I still think the Taiwan's National Museum is even better!~ However, this might be unfair because technically this is not really a full national museum but rather a museum of arts.

I like this whole wall of inscription. Looks really "Da Vinci Code" right?

We did not take much photos inside mainly because we are trying to cover the whole museum in under 3 hours and photos did not do the arts and antiques real justice. Only by viewing them yourself would probably allow you to take them in their full glory!

Despite what I said, we did take a few with various funny poses along the way as evidenced below. LOL
And they have a pretty cafe all decked up also for photoshoots...

Before leaving we managed to just get a few more different shots with different backgrounds around the museum. Oh and in case you are interested, we got out in under 4 hours. Still pretty good time considering how much the museum has to offer and its size...:)

Address:
10 Salisbury Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon

How to get here?
East Tsim Sha Tsui Station Exit L6 or Tsim Sha Tsui Station Exit E. You can also take the Star Ferry from Central or Wan Chai to Tsim Sha Tsui and walk to the museum. It's about 10 mins.

Do view the rest of my activities in Hong Kong:
Hong Kong Day 1
Hong Kong Day 2