Asia’s World City 2009
Travel Location: Asia
26th – 29th November 2009
We decided to spend sometime in Hong Kong over the Hari Raya Holidays. Never mind that both of us had travelled to the former British Territory on separate occasions. Never mind that Hong Kong was never my ideal destination as it reminded too much of home. There were always certain redeeming attractions such as the Hong Kong Tramways, the Star Ferry and the Victoria Peak that made us wanting to go back to the city again. Never mind that at the end of our 4 day stay, we didn’t had a chance to ride on the Tramways nor combed the glimmering malls of Causeway Bay.
We managed to booked our air tickets on the overcrowded C***** P****** flight this morning. The airline was notorious for using age-old planes which had seen better days. As horror upon horror greeted us from the Airline of the Year, I was wondering how she managed to clinch the prestigious award in the first place. Flight delays aside, there were limited in-flight entertainment choices, overcrowding at the lavatories, unappetising meals, delays in checking-in at the airport etc. The list continued for the wrong reasons.
What greeted us during our trip was a visit to the town of Stanley for a different perspective of Hong Kong Island. This was followed by visits to the Madam Tussauds at the Victoria Peak and riding on the Ngong Ping 360 Cable Car in Lantau Island. These activities somehow slipped off from our itineraries during our previous trips. Oh yes, the Cantonese cuisine from the man of the street left a deep impression on our palate.
If there was something such as “cheap and good” existed, it had to be our hotel at the Prince Edward neighbourhood. We paid a miserly SGD45 per person a night for a comfortable room which guaranteed a peaceful stay in the city. Never mind that the mainlanders were making quite a bit of noise at the hotel lobby. We never saw them again after our first day. Thank goodness!
If there was something Hong Kongkers should be proud of, it must be their ability to converse effortlessly in Cantonese, Mandarin and English. Cantonese is one language which I failed to master all these while. It was a blessing that there were Chinese subtitles while watching the TVB hit 宫心计 on Saturday.
While we managed to enjoy ourselves during the trip, it was time to pull our brakes and put a stop for future trips to the territory. Afterall, there was just so much an average visitor could do in this city.
