Traveller's Update 6/20/09

Couldn't quite wait to update Hong Kong travels together, so here's the next installment.

Woke up really early today, it's going to be a tiring day today, a lot of walking, shopping, exploring in the big business district of Hong Kong.

After a quick breakfast of congee and milk tea, we went off to see the sights, and buy what is needed to be bought. :) Hong Kong's transportation system is magic, it's very organized, extremely well placed, and very convenient to get around the large metropolis. The key to the magic? The Octopus Card. This card comes with 150 HK dollars on it, and can be used for almost any type of transportation short of private taxis found in the city. I believe even some grocery stores will take the Octopus card for quick and easy transactions. Unfortunately for me, the parents did not believe that it was worth the money as we were only in Hong Kong for a day (their mistake, believe me). It is so much easier to just swipe a card and move on, instead of looking for a ticket booth to buy single-journey tickets everywhere. Whatever, their problem, I just get to stand around and wait for them while they get frustrated by the automated ticket machines.

At any rate, we ride the subway into the center of the city, and even at 7 in the morning, this place is bustling already. The smaller street stores have not opened yet, but the bigger department stores are all ready for action. First stop for Hong Kong? The Great Peak and the Sky Terrace. We ride a tram up the mountain and get to see the magnificent sight that is Hong Kong. There was probably about 20 stores up here, but we didn't get anything as it was the sights we went to go see.

So coming down from the Great Peak, we went to Victoria Park, where I saw a group of young men playing soccer...they weren't very good. Eh, didn't have time to go play them, so whatever. We dive into the bigger shopping districts, and there are so many shops, with like 10+ floors in every "mall." One of the bigger ones we went to was called Times Square...aptly named. This place was huge...the only thing missing was the crystal ball.

One of more well-known stores is Chow Tai Fook, or (Zhou Da Fu), a gold and jade jewelry store. My mom got a buddha, and my sister got a little double heart pendant. It's the same chain of stores that I got my Guanyin bodhisattiva from.

Later, we came upon the Ladies' Market...before you say anything, this is the largest street vendor booth set up that I've EVER seen. It sells everything from polo shirts to purses to soccer jerseys. Speaking of soccer jerseys...they're all fakes. The saleslady was trying to convince me that Michael Ballack, an idol of mine, played on a team that I KNOW he didn't play on. There's no point in trying to sell a fake soccer jersey to a guy who actually follows soccer. So after some shits and giggles from that venture, we kept going...after my mom got a purse, a wallet, some shoes, my sister got sunglasses, and my dad got 2 fake Polo shirts...the whole thing cost maybe...300-350 HK dollars...lol

Next stop? The Avenue of Stars...yes, it's exactly what it sounds like. It's a parkway along the side of the Hong Kong bay, and has all handprints and names of many famous Hong Kong movies stars and directors. Too bad for me, I didn't really know too many of them. Although, a few famous names did come up: Cecelia Cheung, John Woo, Bruce Li, Jet Li, Jackie Chan, Andy Lau, Stephen Chow. I compared hand sizes with Jackie Chan, Jet Li and Andy Lau. Jet's hands are smaller than mine, Jackie's are about my size, and Andy's hands are puny, which surprised me indeed.

We finished the day of exploring Hong Kong by eating at a restaurant that specialized in xiao long bao. I think I was extremely hungry or something, because I ate until I fell half into a food coma. Man, I think I have a weakness for those little things. Still, no complaints about food around here.

Right on schedule, pictures!
Octopus Card: http://www.wired.com/images_blogs/photos/uncategorized/2007/10/15/hongkong_octopuscard.jpg
Chow Tai Fook: http://img1.gootrip.com/attachments/326167/1216870083/12168704151716106206.jpg
Avenue of Stars (No I did not actually get to see him, but I did see where he left his mark): http://www.jackiechankids.com/images/JC_Ave_Stars_2.jpg