Day 1 : 11 Oct 2023
Decided to go on a short trip to Hong Kong with my mum and elder sis. Since mum is able to speak cantonese, we have no issues at all.
I could understand cantonese and speak a little, from watching Hong Kong drama and learning from my Malaysian colleagues who spoke cantonese.
Elder sis couldn't speak or understand cantonese so me and mum have to be the translator for her.
Took the flight to Hong Kong via Cathay Pacific which departs from Changi Airport Terminal 4.
We took a midnight flight so that we could reach Hong Kong in the morning to spend more time to explore the city.
It is my first time taking a flight via Cathay Pacific and the fact that they have pillow and blanket provided for the passenger was considerate enough since the aircon maybe a bit too cold for some.
I sat at the window seat and my elder sis sat in the middle and my mum sat at the aisle. Gave mum the aisle seat as she needed to go toilet frequently due to her age. I love window seat as I would have space to lean again the wall to sleep and to also look out of the window.
Our meals were served shortly after the plane reached the altitude in the skies. I fell asleep not long after finishing my meal and woke up to the plane reaching Hong Kong. The sky was still dark as we have landed into Hong Kong island abit over 5am.
Since it was still early hours, we decided to stay in the airport area to get some quick breakfast before heading down to the hotel to do registration and deposit our luggages.
We managed to check that one restaurant was about to open for morning business and waited before heading for a quick meal.
While waiting for our food orders, my sis has managed to book a car ride to the hotel.
Chosen the standard western breakfast and shared some of the food portion with mum since we didn't want to have a full meal / set on our own.
We then made our way to the pickup point as the driver has texted my sister that he will come early to wait for us.
The view on the way to the hotel was nice and pretty with the mountains and the clear blue sky. Fortunately the weather was great.
Did the check-in at the hotel only to realise that the manager was my colleague who has previously worked at the Singapore property but moved back to Hong Kong with his wife after their marriage.
He saw my profile that I was located at the particular hotel and asked if I knew the 2 colleagues he named and they happened to be my then colleague.
He made sure my room was ready at the soonest as I was travelling with my mum.
Stroll around the hotel area to explore and see what they have there. The popular office building that appears in most of the Hong Kong dramas that I watched.
Mum kept wanting to take photo with everything she sees. Even plants. 😂 We happened to walked into a park and come across the turtle pond.
We walked around the park for a short while before making our way to the nearest tram station - Admiralty MTR station, to get to our breakfast location called 華星冰室.
As I wasn't feeling well and under the weather, I ordered their hot lemon tea which came out to be bitter. We then took the train back to the hotel after we are done with our breakfast.
Got my culture shock from the staff as their tone was fierce though they looked friendly. But eventually got used to it.
Our hotel booked is located next to their high court. As the hotel is located on a hill area, therefore, the rooms are located on high floor numbers.
We have booked the Deluxe room based on 3 adults and they setup the Murphy bed in the room which was a little small for me as my feet was a little hanging off the bed but I slept well.
We rested awhile (took a small nap) before going out for dinner at a restaurant located in Central (中環).
We ordered quite a number of their dishes to try out and I love their sweet and sour prawn that I had the urge to order a 2nd plate.
We ordered their specialty wanton noodle. My mum and sis ordered the yam cake (芋头糕). We ordered siew mai (燒賣) and har kau (蝦餃). For dessert, we ordered their Red Bean Sweet Soup with Lotus Seed and their Sweet Papaya with White Fungus.
After dinner, we went down to Jordan area to see their 女人街.
Ordered their 雞蛋仔 as a dessert to end the day. Did some small purchase before returning to the hotel to end the day.
Day 2 : 12 Oct 2023
Woke up early the next morning to head out to have breakfast at another 茶餐廳. But I've forgotten the name of the restaurant as it was a place that my sister has planned. The staff here is friendlier.
And I got to say that their toast is so nice and we ended up getting another round to share.
The chef was from Guangzhou and found a job at the hotel as the Japanese food chef. He communicated with my mum in cantonese (which I understood but could not reply everything).
We then meet up with my elder sis and went to the Madame Tussauds Hong Kong. We took the tram up the mountain to get to the museum.
The tram ride up and down was steep and was crowded on our way up but we managed to get a seat but seated separately.
Just a few sneak peak of the museum.
Though the outside of the museum looked like it was a small place but when we got down to the main museum area, it was rather big. The museum consist of some Indian, Western, Chinese, Kpop and political people.
The view up here is amazing and pretty. There are some photo worthy area which are being queue up for chances to take the photo. We then saw a guy who has his area setup which we eventually found out that he is the photographer from the photoshop in the building.
We then come across the Monopoly Dream museum and it was fun though the place was small. They have timslot for the museum which you have to follow as they will have a guide to bring you into the place before you are giving the opportunity to explore the place at your own pace within your timeslot booked.
The entry area looks so cool and made to look like a theatre. You will then be brought into the area to take the "lift" to get to the museum area.
We get to see the different Monopoly board and games pieces. So cool and interesting.
After passing by the area above, we then come to their main area for the fun and games. Parents with young kids could spend time here and it is very interesting to do.
And before you end your time at the Monopoly Dream museum, you get to print out the cards with your name printed on it, as a memory from the museum.
The steep downhill tram ride requires you to keep your balance. I chose the seat where I can view the outside area of the hill.
Book our ride to get 甘牌燒鵝 to eat for our dinner. We had initially wanted dine-in at the restaurant however the waiting time is long which we eventually decided to takeaway and eat in the comfort of our hotel room.
Took the train back to our hotel and bought some juices and cut fruits along the way.
Day 3 : 14 Oct 2023
Woke up early the next day and went down to the hotel buffet restaurant for breakfast before we head out to explore the other area.
After breakfast, we went back to prepare and head out to Tsim Sha Tsui. Wanted to see the area and we found a museum nearby while trying to spend some time since we are still full from breakfast.
View from within the museum was pretty to look out to the bay.
We came at a time where there were tour groups from tourist and tour groups from school excursion.
We headed towards to Tsim Sha Tsui pier area to take some photos and see the area. Spotted a helicopter that just took off from the rooftop of a building.
Went to the IFC mall to have Crystal Jade for early dinner. Since we were really full from the early dinner, we ended up not getting anymore food to end the day.
A 5plus-6 o'clock Hong Kong MTR station can get really crowded. The only part that i noticed is that some people will only take out their wallet when they are at the gantry then slowly taking out the Octopus card to tap.
Ended the night early as we planned to wake up early the next day to fully enjoy our last night in Hong Kong.
Day 4 : 15 Oct 2023
Breakfast is at the DimSum Library restaurant which is located beneath our hotel.
Headed to Central Hong Kong to walk and shop around the area. The scenic view of the area just brings in the Hong Kong dramas into my mind.
Chance upon their open top tour bus and decided to book and take one to explore the area. The bus had the different language for the tour by simply plug in the earpiece into the small device that is behind the seats.
The earpiece are provided when you board the bus. The explanation of the different spot on the tour are explained in English, Chinese, Cantonese.
The bus is hope on and hope off type and you can choose to take the bus from the beginning till the end without getting off.
By the time the ferry reached the port of the other side of the bay, the sun starts to set and I really love the view from the off loading area to the ground.
We then took a bus to the Mong Kok area for dinner. For the first 3 days that we've been in Hong Kong, we didn't get the chance to try out their ice cream from the ice cream truck.
We continued to walk and shop around the surrounding area before making our way to Langham Place for dinner at a Japanese restaurant.
Dinner was delicious with the spread of Japanese food, raw (fresh) and cooked (BBQ style).
After dinner, we then made our way back to the hotel to rest and pack our luggage for check-out the next day.
Not to forget that since we aren't sure when we will be back to Hong Kong again, we returned the Octopus card to get refund for the balance amount left in the card as we will not be taking the public transport.
The cake at the hotel looks so tempting that we decided to get some to eat before we didn't get to chance to.
Slept early as we need to wake up early the next day to catch our flight back to Singapore.
Day 5 : 15 Oct 2023
Checked out from the hotel in the morning for our mid-afternoon flight back to Singapore.
Didn't notice the hotel bears at their lobby area when we checked in on Day 1.
Booked Uber to the airport and our driver is a Indian driver who moved his family to Hong Kong for work purpose and decided to continue staying in Hong Kong, so he could converse in Cantonese pretty well with my mum.
Decided to have quick brunch before our flight as mum got a little hungry and couldn't wait till we get our in-flight food.
Slowly made our way to our gate and saw a few firefighters in their workout shirt. on the trip to Singapore for some cross training exercise with the Singapore local government department.
Boarding started shortly after we reached the gate area and were fortunately able to board first as we were traveling with my elderly mother.
One last look at the Hong Kong view before our flight depart back to Singapore.
That's it for the trip. I hope to be back to Hong Kong for another trip soon. 😊
