Hongkong: The Tourists Day 1
It feels like a dream the first time I stepped on Hong Kong International Airport. Sleepy eyes due to lack of sleep on board didn't backstop my excitement. Yeah, I had not had a proper sleep because I kept thinking whether it was real or not. OMG! I was really going to Hong Kong.
I was alone blending in airport's crowd. My friend came an hour later and we both could not keep our excitement. We screamed for the joy and happiness. :p Unfortunately, it did not last long. The moment we changed our number into HK number was the moment when we knew we did not start it well.
We prepared our journey well. Err.. not really. But we listed the things we wanted to see and we searched for the prices also. Especially for the HK sim card which was not that cheap. Actually, it was our mistake for not hearing what the shopkeeper said earlier about the price. We heard it HKD69. But, turned out the time we paid was actually HKD96. Haha...ha......ha...... *faded laughter*. Since we were already in HK and did not want to drop down our happiness, we let it slide and promised our self to hear everything very clearly or asked again for clarity in the near future. :p
So, we bought the octopus card first before heading out airport. Octopus card helped us bleeping our way through MTR turnstiles and supermarket checkout counters. We used it most for public transport (buses and MTR especially) as well as purchasing goods in convenience stores (to buy drinking water). You can find the prices here.
So, our first journey that day was........ HK Museum of Art, HK Space Museum, Avenue of Stars, Clock Tower, and Victoria Harbour. Was not it too much in a day when you just arrived? Nope. Not really. The lists of places to visit were clear. They were all located in one area, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, along the Salisbury Road. We thought that it would be efficient if we visit as much as we could without wasting so much time.
Well, the unfortunate events kept following us that day. As I stated earlier, we've browsed every places to make sure that we could visit in the mean time. Guess, we're still human after all. The HK Museum of Art was closed that day. Yep, it was closed every Thursday and we didn't see the notice on the web. Poor us. That was why we could not enjoy what lies inside. :'( Again, we didn't want to miss the excitement. So, we just took photo around and headed to HK Space Museum. For God sake it was closed also as it opened half day.
You know, walked around places with your 7kg things you need during your stay in HK on your back was not easy. That big backpack we brought along the way we visited places with HK shiny sun was not a great combination. We were (not deadly) tired. We decided to take a rest in Victoria Harbour.
In Victoria Harbour, we felt grateful for the clouds covering shiny sun for a moment. We chilled out for a bit. Loosen up our back and feet, drank much of water, glanced around HK sky-scrapper from HK Island and felt the cold wind touching our faces. Oh yeah, the summer breeze was coming. Our spirit was back and we're ready to.......have lunch. in Mc Donalds. Why McD? Because that was the easiest, cheapest, and nearest place we could think of. We hoped that was halal too. :D
We went along Nathan Road. My eyes was captivated by the busy streets in Hong Kong. There were many people on the street. The traffic was good. I think it was because most of HK people use public transportation (buses and MTR) or walk to reach their destination. Wah, I wish Jakartans would do the same in order to decreasing the traffic. We took MTR to go to Jordan and walked out to Temple Street.
Temple Street reminds me of Blok M in the past. It's where the seller open up a stand and show people their goods. We scan the products first, go in the stand, and ask the price if you are interested with it. The most important skill you have to use here is BARGAINING SKILLS. Yep. You have to bargain. If you think the price is reasonable with its quality then you can just buy it without wasting much time bargaining. If you think it's not, then bargain (with reasonable price also). Don't under-price the products, otherwise the seller will go mad at you. Trust me, the first time I stated my price (which was half price), he was mad and said good luck finding products with the price I wanted. Hahaha..So, learned from my experiences will you? ;)
Walked around for almost 3 hours in total took us a lot of energy. We decided to checked in our Airbnb apartment in Jordan and take a rest for a while. Having siesta and taking a shower were helpful to recharge our energy. We decided to go back to Victoria Harbour in the evening because of its Symphony of Lights and Star Ferry Ride.
Symphony of Lights is the night multimedia show which involves more than 40 buildings on both sides of the harbour. Guinnes World Records named it as the 'World's Largest Permanent Light and Sound Show'. Of course because you can see coloured lights, laser beams and searchlights perform from the buildings synchronized to music and narration that celebrates the energy, spirit and diversity of Hong Kong. I didn't even know this existed until I saw it online and promised myself not to missed it when I'm in HK.
On top of it, I ended up the day by riding Star Ferry to HK Island. Enjoying the city of HK in coloured lights together with the sea-wind. Could not be happier!
The day was rough as the unfortunate events kept showing. Yet, the night was beautiful as we kept seeing amazing things. Life is balancing itself, yes? :)
I was alone blending in airport's crowd. My friend came an hour later and we both could not keep our excitement. We screamed for the joy and happiness. :p Unfortunately, it did not last long. The moment we changed our number into HK number was the moment when we knew we did not start it well.
We prepared our journey well. Err.. not really. But we listed the things we wanted to see and we searched for the prices also. Especially for the HK sim card which was not that cheap. Actually, it was our mistake for not hearing what the shopkeeper said earlier about the price. We heard it HKD69. But, turned out the time we paid was actually HKD96. Haha...ha......ha...... *faded laughter*. Since we were already in HK and did not want to drop down our happiness, we let it slide and promised our self to hear everything very clearly or asked again for clarity in the near future. :p
So, we bought the octopus card first before heading out airport. Octopus card helped us bleeping our way through MTR turnstiles and supermarket checkout counters. We used it most for public transport (buses and MTR especially) as well as purchasing goods in convenience stores (to buy drinking water). You can find the prices here.
So, our first journey that day was........ HK Museum of Art, HK Space Museum, Avenue of Stars, Clock Tower, and Victoria Harbour. Was not it too much in a day when you just arrived? Nope. Not really. The lists of places to visit were clear. They were all located in one area, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, along the Salisbury Road. We thought that it would be efficient if we visit as much as we could without wasting so much time.
Well, the unfortunate events kept following us that day. As I stated earlier, we've browsed every places to make sure that we could visit in the mean time. Guess, we're still human after all. The HK Museum of Art was closed that day. Yep, it was closed every Thursday and we didn't see the notice on the web. Poor us. That was why we could not enjoy what lies inside. :'( Again, we didn't want to miss the excitement. So, we just took photo around and headed to HK Space Museum. For God sake it was closed also as it opened half day.
You know, walked around places with your 7kg things you need during your stay in HK on your back was not easy. That big backpack we brought along the way we visited places with HK shiny sun was not a great combination. We were (not deadly) tired. We decided to take a rest in Victoria Harbour.
In Victoria Harbour, we felt grateful for the clouds covering shiny sun for a moment. We chilled out for a bit. Loosen up our back and feet, drank much of water, glanced around HK sky-scrapper from HK Island and felt the cold wind touching our faces. Oh yeah, the summer breeze was coming. Our spirit was back and we're ready to.......have lunch. in Mc Donalds. Why McD? Because that was the easiest, cheapest, and nearest place we could think of. We hoped that was halal too. :D
We went along Nathan Road. My eyes was captivated by the busy streets in Hong Kong. There were many people on the street. The traffic was good. I think it was because most of HK people use public transportation (buses and MTR) or walk to reach their destination. Wah, I wish Jakartans would do the same in order to decreasing the traffic. We took MTR to go to Jordan and walked out to Temple Street.
Temple Street reminds me of Blok M in the past. It's where the seller open up a stand and show people their goods. We scan the products first, go in the stand, and ask the price if you are interested with it. The most important skill you have to use here is BARGAINING SKILLS. Yep. You have to bargain. If you think the price is reasonable with its quality then you can just buy it without wasting much time bargaining. If you think it's not, then bargain (with reasonable price also). Don't under-price the products, otherwise the seller will go mad at you. Trust me, the first time I stated my price (which was half price), he was mad and said good luck finding products with the price I wanted. Hahaha..So, learned from my experiences will you? ;)
Walked around for almost 3 hours in total took us a lot of energy. We decided to checked in our Airbnb apartment in Jordan and take a rest for a while. Having siesta and taking a shower were helpful to recharge our energy. We decided to go back to Victoria Harbour in the evening because of its Symphony of Lights and Star Ferry Ride.
Symphony of Lights is the night multimedia show which involves more than 40 buildings on both sides of the harbour. Guinnes World Records named it as the 'World's Largest Permanent Light and Sound Show'. Of course because you can see coloured lights, laser beams and searchlights perform from the buildings synchronized to music and narration that celebrates the energy, spirit and diversity of Hong Kong. I didn't even know this existed until I saw it online and promised myself not to missed it when I'm in HK.
On top of it, I ended up the day by riding Star Ferry to HK Island. Enjoying the city of HK in coloured lights together with the sea-wind. Could not be happier!
The day was rough as the unfortunate events kept showing. Yet, the night was beautiful as we kept seeing amazing things. Life is balancing itself, yes? :)
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