Hong Kong Photowalk Part 1
This year, I was really fortunate to be able to visit Hong Kong. In spite of living 2-hour flight away from Philippines, my family just decided to always go farther away instead of heading to HK. Now that I've finally visited this popular shopping destination, I can't help but say that I absolutely love HK. The last time I was here was when I was 4, because I was a little flower girl for my aunt's wedding.
What can I say? There's always so much going on in HK - whether that be the sheer amount of people or the busy subway stations or the multitude of merchandise being sold in streets and in the malls. Every night I would go home with sore legs and feet. I've always walked fast - but HK takes it to a whole new level. Everyone makes you walk fast. Even the moving walkway is faster than what we have here in Vancouver (imagine what I felt when I walked on to the moving walkway at the Vancouver Airport).
So here's just some photos of my explorations in HK. Visited some tourist destinations, ate some street food, shopped at the many street vendors, ran to every single connecting MTR train.... AH. FUN :)
Location: Hong Kong
One thing I absolutely love about HK is the double decker buses. Why can't we have them here??? So much fun riding on the second floor. You see so much more. I can't help but enjoy the thrill of the crazy traffic. I always feel like the bus is going to hit something.
I'll be quite honest. Some of the roads in HK reminded me of Vancouver! In fact, there are a lot of roads and areas that have the same name in HK and in Vancouver. They also have a Stanley Park, an Aberdeen area, and more. It's largely due to the British influences that we've had.
This was the bus we took from Hung Hom to Tsim Sha Tsui, the famous waterfront area in Kowloon. I just love the perspective of being on the double decker buses!
It's funny because you don't see a lot of people here right now in my pictures, but most of the time, there's a gazillion people walking fast along the streets. Then, when you go underground to the MTR (their subway), you'll find the same amount of people rushing to get on the train. I seriously wonder how HK women manage to keep their legs thin and not bulky from all the walking!
First stop - McDonalds. Haha! Nothing beats McDonalds for breakfast. I mean, really. There's something about visiting McDonalds in different parts of the world, too. They tend to offer different products! :)
We had the ham and cheese sandwich - C's absolute favorite.
Walking along Victoria Harbour, of course you'd see the famous Star Ferry. I felt very nationalistic when I remember in Jose Rizal (Philippines' National Hero) writing about his travels to HK.
Speaking of the Philippines, I also noticed a couple getting their pre-nup photos taken in this area. The craziest part was, when we came back at night... they were still there! Now that's crazy for a full day shoot!
Notice those silly statues? Aren't they familiar? Well because we have our very own here in Vancouver. This guy must be popular!
At TST (Tsim Sha Tsui), you can't help but notice the overwhelmingly huge luxury brand stores. It's crazy how there's even a line up just to go inside. Even on my recent trip to the Philippines, I'm surprised at how a lot of the malls had the big luxury brands in the malls. In contrast, we rarely have them here in Vancouver!
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C and I posing for a quick photo outside the Burberry Store. I was lugging my camera around in my Kelly Moore Mimi Bag. Looks like a purse, but it's actually a fully functional camera bag with padding! I'm so glad that it had a shoulder strap because frankly, with the heavy camera and the lens, I wasn't up for hurting my hands or my back carrying it.
One thing that always amazes me about Asia is their abundance in good quality buffet places. Why don't we get good ones here? AYCE places tend to have terrible service and less than acceptable food quality. Why! haha. We went to Intercontinental Hotel for lunch!
I hope you didn't salivate all over the keyboard or your tablet looking at those photos. C absolutely enjoyed the Napoleon. We haven't found any good ones here yet!! If any of you have found a really good Napoleon here in Vancouver (not from the Chinese bakeries), let me know!
On a normal day though, C would just prefer to head to Cafe de Coral (they're everywhere!!) for lunch!
Or something like this for breakfast!
And guess what you can find randomly outside hotels in HK. A MacLaren MP4-12C. It was a wedding car.
Since I've never been up the peak, we decided to go over to the Island side and get on the Peak Tram.
HK can tend to be smoggy, so I'm happy to get such a beautiful view of HK :) Ahh.
Time to head back to Kowloon side!
Especially around Mongkok, you can't help but notice all the street food vendors! And the bubble waffles always smell so good from far away!
And along the streets of Mongkok, you can't help but notice all the entertainers especially during the weekend.
It seriously feels like carnival all year round!
And I'll end the post like this, because there's too much to share! Seriously, HK is such an exciting city and I can't wait to share more. Until next time :)