Today, we take the Star Ferry, from the Kowloon side (the terminal is beside Ocean Terminal) to the Hong Kong island side. From our hotel at East Tsim Sha Tsui, we walked all the way to the Star Ferry Terminal. A very easy walk using the air-conditioned underpass. Just follow the signs as you can see in the following videos.
Walking to Star Ferry pier.
Star Ferry - Kowloon to Hong Kong
In this video, follow us on our journey on the Star Ferry across Victoria Harbour. The Star Ferry has a long history and has been serving passengers like us for decades. We use our Octopus cards for this journey. On the ferry, the views are wonderful. It was a bright, sunny and very warm day.
Public Bus to Victoria Peak, Hong Kong
Once we reached the Hong Kong side, we looked for the public bus that would bring us to Victoria peak. The bus is number 15. This is the cheapest way to go up to the peak and the ride would take between 40 min to 1 hour, depending on traffic. Price was HK$9.80 per adult and half price for kids. Turns out that the ride can get windy and passengers may get a bit giddy.
I made two videos to commemorate the bus ride up. Video 1
This is the second video, as we start the ascent. This is where the road gets windy.
We walked around a bit at the peak, didn't do too much. Saw some views, went to McDonalds at the Peak Galleria for a drink, and then found our way back to Hong Kong using Bus 15 again.
To be continued....
Showing posts with label Hong Kong. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hong Kong. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 15, 2015
Saturday, September 12, 2015
Hotel Panorama by Rhombus Hong Kong East Tsim Sha Tsui
We stayed at Hotel Panorama by Rhombus, East Tsim Sha Tsui, during a trip to Hong Kong in September 2015. From HK Airport, we took the Citybus A21 to Stop number 16. From the bus stop, it is about a 5 minute walk.
Here is a video clip of the hotel room as well as the breakfast we had. Our room was on the 16th floor. It had two double beds and could sleep our family of four.
Sky Garden - 40th floor
There is a Sky Garden on the 40th floor that is opened to hotel guests only. You need to use your key card for the lift to get to your room, as well as the Sky Garden. Here is some video footage of the Sky Garden that I took, in day and at night. We tried to check out the Victoria Harbour Light Show from here at night, but we couldn't see very much. Still better to go to the Avenue of the Stars to watch the light show.
Toilet
The toilet. I think all of their toilets are designed in this way, with good views. However, some of the views would be blocked, depending on whether there is a tall building blocking your view of the Victoria Harbour. In our case, the view was still decent. In this instance, I even managed to get footage of a Star Cruise ship, the Superstar Virgo, sailing by!
The hotel stay was pleasant, comfortable, and not too expensive. It is also easy to get to the hotel from the Airport, and easy to get to the MTR. In fact, we could even walk all the way to the Ocean Terminal from the hotel, using the underground passages, and take the Star Ferry over to the Hong Kong island side. Pretty neat!
Area outside the Hotel at night
This video clip gives you a glimpse of what the area outside the hotel looks like. There is a McDonalds nearby and we went there to buy some food for the kids, who were still kids.
Thanks for reading.
Back to Hong Kong and Macau Landing Page
Here is a video clip of the hotel room as well as the breakfast we had. Our room was on the 16th floor. It had two double beds and could sleep our family of four.
Sky Garden - 40th floor
There is a Sky Garden on the 40th floor that is opened to hotel guests only. You need to use your key card for the lift to get to your room, as well as the Sky Garden. Here is some video footage of the Sky Garden that I took, in day and at night. We tried to check out the Victoria Harbour Light Show from here at night, but we couldn't see very much. Still better to go to the Avenue of the Stars to watch the light show.
Toilet
The toilet. I think all of their toilets are designed in this way, with good views. However, some of the views would be blocked, depending on whether there is a tall building blocking your view of the Victoria Harbour. In our case, the view was still decent. In this instance, I even managed to get footage of a Star Cruise ship, the Superstar Virgo, sailing by!
The hotel stay was pleasant, comfortable, and not too expensive. It is also easy to get to the hotel from the Airport, and easy to get to the MTR. In fact, we could even walk all the way to the Ocean Terminal from the hotel, using the underground passages, and take the Star Ferry over to the Hong Kong island side. Pretty neat!
Area outside the Hotel at night
This video clip gives you a glimpse of what the area outside the hotel looks like. There is a McDonalds nearby and we went there to buy some food for the kids, who were still kids.
Thanks for reading.
Back to Hong Kong and Macau Landing Page
Friday, September 11, 2015
Jenny Bakery Jenny Cookies Tsim Sha Tsui Hong Kong Long Queues!
One of the most interesting things we did for our recent Hong Kong trip was to join the queue at Jenny Bakery (Tsim Sha Tsui) branch, for the famous cookies.
We stayed at a nearby hotel (Hotel Panorama), so the bakery was about a 5 minute walk away. After checking in at our hotel, we went out for a walk. Made our way to the bakery and we were confronted with this line.
Seeing is believing. And the weather was really hot! They were standing in the sun. Since our hotel was nearby, we decided not to queue in the sun (not with the kids in tow). So we went to walk around and would go back later in the evening.
We returned to the place around 6:30pm that same evening and this time we joined the queue. Fortunately the queue was much shorter and I don't think we had to wait for more than 20 minutes. Here is a video showing our experience.
Overall, the experience was very interesting indeed. I was amazed at the length of the queues during the day. There was a constant stream of purchasers. Already, inside the store, the workers cleared the lines as fast as possible, rushing you along. You can see many customers buying as many boxes as they can carry. On that day we were there, they restricted each person to buy only 2 small boxes, however, large boxes had no limit.
Were the cookies good? Yes they were. Something different. Our kids loved it. We loved it and we gave away the small tins to some friends and they also loved it. So it does make for a very nice snack and good gift, just watch the queues!
Here I am, back in Singapore, enjoying some cookies for afternoon tea.
Thanks for reading!
We stayed at a nearby hotel (Hotel Panorama), so the bakery was about a 5 minute walk away. After checking in at our hotel, we went out for a walk. Made our way to the bakery and we were confronted with this line.
Seeing is believing. And the weather was really hot! They were standing in the sun. Since our hotel was nearby, we decided not to queue in the sun (not with the kids in tow). So we went to walk around and would go back later in the evening.
We returned to the place around 6:30pm that same evening and this time we joined the queue. Fortunately the queue was much shorter and I don't think we had to wait for more than 20 minutes. Here is a video showing our experience.
Overall, the experience was very interesting indeed. I was amazed at the length of the queues during the day. There was a constant stream of purchasers. Already, inside the store, the workers cleared the lines as fast as possible, rushing you along. You can see many customers buying as many boxes as they can carry. On that day we were there, they restricted each person to buy only 2 small boxes, however, large boxes had no limit.
Were the cookies good? Yes they were. Something different. Our kids loved it. We loved it and we gave away the small tins to some friends and they also loved it. So it does make for a very nice snack and good gift, just watch the queues!
Here I am, back in Singapore, enjoying some cookies for afternoon tea.
Thanks for reading!
Tiger Airways Singapore to Hong Kong Flight Review, Tsui Wah Breakfast plus HKIA #Tigerair
We flew to Hong Kong and back recently on Tiger Airways, budget carrier owned by Singapore Airlines. Based in Singapore, TigerAir operates a fleet of 25 aircraft (Airbus A320) to almost 40 destinations.
This is the first time we are flying with Tigerair.
Overall, the flight for 4 pax (2 adults and 2 kids) cost us SGD $530 in total including taxes, return. This is about USD 375 or US93.75 per person. The flight from SIN to HKG takes almost 4 hours and the return leg about 3.5 hours.
Our departure was early morning, 0605hrs.
In this video, I show you snippets of Singapore Changi Airport that morning.
Check-in counter at Terminal 2, Singapore Changi Airport. Common check-in for all Tiger Air flights.
This is in the restricted area, after immigration. The time was around 5am. Many stores were still closed, though most of the eateries were opened. This is Singapore Changi Terminal 2. Well, we don't have a 24 by 7 airport, unlike Dubai.
Beautiful floral display at Singapore Changi. Early morning, but still many tourists taking photos.
In the line to board the plane. This was taken while waiting in line on the aerobridge.
On board the aircraft, at my seat which was an aisle seat. Aircraft was a single aisle Airbus A320. This is a Budget carrier.
Cockpit door was not yet closed. Passengers were still boarding. I could see the cockpit crew doing preparatory work for this flight.
This video shows you the flight itself. Pretty smooth. We ate breakfast before boarding the aircraft, so we did not purchase any food while on board. We ate some breakfast before the flight. After landing at HKIA, we also we had some food before making our way into town.
This video shows you some footage post arrival at HK International. We were at a satellite terminal and we had to take an airport bus to the main terminal. It was a very bright and sunny day. HK was going to be hot!
Some pictures of airplanes upon arrival at HKIA. This was the Airbus A320 that flew us to Hong Kong. The livery is neat.
HKexpress.com. I've not tried this Airline before.
Before taking the airport bus A21 to Tsim Sha Tsui, we had breakfast at an eatery called Tsui Wah, at the public departure area of Terminal 1 HKIA.
They do breakfast sets. Easy to order, easy to eat. The kids loved it.
Hot milk tea in Hong Kong is a standard drink.
Here is a video of the walk to Tsui Wah and what we had for breakfast, after landing at HKIA.
This was taken from the Airport bus at the satellite terminal. Yes, we had to take an airport bus from the satellite terminal to the main terminal. Check out my video for the bus ride.
After arrival at HKG, we had some food at an airport eatery called Tsui Wah. Once our stomachs were filled, it was time to head into Hong Kong. We took Citybus A21 to Tsim Sha Tsui area, where our hotel would be.
Back to Hong Kong & Macau Landing Page.
This is the first time we are flying with Tigerair.
Overall, the flight for 4 pax (2 adults and 2 kids) cost us SGD $530 in total including taxes, return. This is about USD 375 or US93.75 per person. The flight from SIN to HKG takes almost 4 hours and the return leg about 3.5 hours.
Our departure was early morning, 0605hrs.
In this video, I show you snippets of Singapore Changi Airport that morning.
Check-in counter at Terminal 2, Singapore Changi Airport. Common check-in for all Tiger Air flights.
This is in the restricted area, after immigration. The time was around 5am. Many stores were still closed, though most of the eateries were opened. This is Singapore Changi Terminal 2. Well, we don't have a 24 by 7 airport, unlike Dubai.
Beautiful floral display at Singapore Changi. Early morning, but still many tourists taking photos.
In the line to board the plane. This was taken while waiting in line on the aerobridge.
On board the aircraft, at my seat which was an aisle seat. Aircraft was a single aisle Airbus A320. This is a Budget carrier.
Cockpit door was not yet closed. Passengers were still boarding. I could see the cockpit crew doing preparatory work for this flight.
This video shows you the flight itself. Pretty smooth. We ate breakfast before boarding the aircraft, so we did not purchase any food while on board. We ate some breakfast before the flight. After landing at HKIA, we also we had some food before making our way into town.
This video shows you some footage post arrival at HK International. We were at a satellite terminal and we had to take an airport bus to the main terminal. It was a very bright and sunny day. HK was going to be hot!
Some pictures of airplanes upon arrival at HKIA. This was the Airbus A320 that flew us to Hong Kong. The livery is neat.
HKexpress.com. I've not tried this Airline before.
Before taking the airport bus A21 to Tsim Sha Tsui, we had breakfast at an eatery called Tsui Wah, at the public departure area of Terminal 1 HKIA.
They do breakfast sets. Easy to order, easy to eat. The kids loved it.
Hot milk tea in Hong Kong is a standard drink.
Here is a video of the walk to Tsui Wah and what we had for breakfast, after landing at HKIA.
This was taken from the Airport bus at the satellite terminal. Yes, we had to take an airport bus from the satellite terminal to the main terminal. Check out my video for the bus ride.
After arrival at HKG, we had some food at an airport eatery called Tsui Wah. Once our stomachs were filled, it was time to head into Hong Kong. We took Citybus A21 to Tsim Sha Tsui area, where our hotel would be.
Back to Hong Kong & Macau Landing Page.
Sunday, April 12, 2015
FlyScoot Hong Kong to Singapore TZ 221 Boeing 787-9, Regal Airport Hotel, HK International, Citygate Outlets
Now, for the flight back from Hong Kong to Singapore. This flight was most eventful because of the 8 hour delay. But first, let me tell you the plan.
TZ 221 (HK to Singapore) was scheduled for 0705hrs. Since we did not want to rush to the airport early in the morning, we decided to stay for one night at the Hong Kong Regal Airport hotel. It helped that there was a Citygate Outlet Mall quite near by and the Regal Airport hotel provided a convenient complimentary shuttle service. Or we could just take a taxi. So we decided to stay at the airport hotel. Earlier that morning, we were in Macau. So we would take a ferry from Macau to Hong Kong and then take a CityBus to the Airport.
We had arrived at the Regal Airport Hotel the day before the flight, checked into the hotel, and took the free shuttle from the Airport Hotel to the nearby CityGate outlets.
Here is a video of the hotel room as well as how you walk to the hotel from Hong Kong Airport Terminal 1. A very easy walk indeed.
Citygate outlets is a fairly large outlet mall located at Tung Chung MTR station, which is currently the western most station on the MTR network. We have been here before, on previous trips. We had planned to do some outlet shopping, so this visit was fruitful. I managed to get a heavily discounted pair of Timberland walking shoes.
Citygate has a good number of eateries. However, we chose to walk over to a smaller local mall called Fu Tung Plaza. It is directly connected via a pedestrian food bridge.
We had a light dinner at Cafe de Coral, a local eatery. I had the pork chop bun, which came with a red bean type of drink as well as a corn on a cob. Here is a short video of what we ate, as well as the menus.
Later in the evening, feeling hungry, I had another round of food at the Cafe de Coral in Hong Kong airport Terminal 1. Being the airport, the prices were more expensive, however, they had roasted goose which I wanted to try. Prices were still not too bad, given the size of the serving and quality of food. In this video, I show you the Cafe de Coral at Hong Kong international airport, the food and the overall surroundings.
Now onward to the delay. The flight was scheduled for 0705hrs. The plan was to wake up early, check out of the hotel and check in for the Scoot flight. All this changed when we received this SMS. Very bad delay!!
Was this for real? The flight was delayed to 1440hrs? Everything about this SMS looked real and the email came about 30 minutes later. Still, we didn't want to risk it and called the Singapore Scoot call center. Their staff confirmed that the delay was indeed genuine.
This episode reinforced the need to check your mobile/email in case there were changes to the flights that you were on. I would have been very unhappy to turn up at the Scoot check-in counter at 5am, only to be told that the flight was now delayed to 1440hrs!
So, we could sleep a bit later that morning. At around 9am, we went to the check-in counter at Terminal 1, to be greeted by 3 staff who were looking most tired. Anyway, they could check us in, give us our boarding passes, as well as four breakfast vouchers. As the vouchers were for breakfast only, we had to consume them by 11am, which was fine with us.
With check-in complete, we headed off to look at the various eateries where we could use the vouchers and settled with Tsui Wah. We ordered some breakfast and we liked such food. Here was the video I made of the breakfast experience.
We checked out of the hotel at 1pm. I asked for a delay in the check-out timing from noon to 1pm and the hotel kindly agreed, which was nice. We cleared immigration (the lines were quite long!) and headed off to the restricted area. It would be a long stroll to Gate 44, for our gate. We were early at the Gate. There were already many passengers there, some sleeping. Anyway, since I had nothing to do, I did some plane watching from the gate and made this video.
By 1430hrs, the plane hadn't arrived and the flight was supposed to depart at 1440hrs. The staff at the gate said that the plane was on the way and should be arriving soon.
Well, the passengers were all very patient. Maybe we were all too tired! Fortunately, the plane did arrive, close to 1500hrs. I made a video of the plane landing and taxi-ing to Gate 44, Hong Kong International. When we flew to Hong Kong, the plane was called 'Dream Start' This time round, the plane was named 'Barry'.
Flight back
Passengers on the plane had to disembark before we could get on! Regardless, a long line quickly formed even though boarding hadn't commenced. By this time, we all wanted to get on board and make our way back to Singapore. We were now onboard. I took this photo of the window. Yes, this is the B787 - windows were bigger than usual.
Boarding started quite soon and we got to our seats quickly. I made this flight review video of the trip back. In the video, I look at the window (which could block out a lot of light). I also look at the light and call buttons on the seat. The buttons are put in a position where many there are many accidental calls. Watch the video to see why.
This feature of the Scoot inflight magazine had a neat set of infographics called Scoot Secrets. I enjoyed reading.
1. Scoot has passed the 4 million pax milestone
2. Cabin crew are called Scootees, pilots are called Scooters.
3. Scoot has acquired 20 B-787 Aircraft.
4. 117 pilots from 26 countries
5. By 2018, Scoot will be the first low-cost carrier to have an all B-787 fleet.
6. Rolls Royce Trent 1,000 engines power Scoot planes, the engines are made in Singapore!
7. Scoot has 900,000 fans on Facebook.
8. 582 Scootees hail from 32 different countries
We made it back to Singapore safely The landing at Singapore Changi by Captain Jesper was very smooth and gentle. Glad to be home. Thanks for reading!
TZ 221 (HK to Singapore) was scheduled for 0705hrs. Since we did not want to rush to the airport early in the morning, we decided to stay for one night at the Hong Kong Regal Airport hotel. It helped that there was a Citygate Outlet Mall quite near by and the Regal Airport hotel provided a convenient complimentary shuttle service. Or we could just take a taxi. So we decided to stay at the airport hotel. Earlier that morning, we were in Macau. So we would take a ferry from Macau to Hong Kong and then take a CityBus to the Airport.
We had arrived at the Regal Airport Hotel the day before the flight, checked into the hotel, and took the free shuttle from the Airport Hotel to the nearby CityGate outlets.
Here is a video of the hotel room as well as how you walk to the hotel from Hong Kong Airport Terminal 1. A very easy walk indeed.
Citygate outlets is a fairly large outlet mall located at Tung Chung MTR station, which is currently the western most station on the MTR network. We have been here before, on previous trips. We had planned to do some outlet shopping, so this visit was fruitful. I managed to get a heavily discounted pair of Timberland walking shoes.
Citygate has a good number of eateries. However, we chose to walk over to a smaller local mall called Fu Tung Plaza. It is directly connected via a pedestrian food bridge.
We had a light dinner at Cafe de Coral, a local eatery. I had the pork chop bun, which came with a red bean type of drink as well as a corn on a cob. Here is a short video of what we ate, as well as the menus.
Later in the evening, feeling hungry, I had another round of food at the Cafe de Coral in Hong Kong airport Terminal 1. Being the airport, the prices were more expensive, however, they had roasted goose which I wanted to try. Prices were still not too bad, given the size of the serving and quality of food. In this video, I show you the Cafe de Coral at Hong Kong international airport, the food and the overall surroundings.
Now onward to the delay. The flight was scheduled for 0705hrs. The plan was to wake up early, check out of the hotel and check in for the Scoot flight. All this changed when we received this SMS. Very bad delay!!
Was this for real? The flight was delayed to 1440hrs? Everything about this SMS looked real and the email came about 30 minutes later. Still, we didn't want to risk it and called the Singapore Scoot call center. Their staff confirmed that the delay was indeed genuine.
This episode reinforced the need to check your mobile/email in case there were changes to the flights that you were on. I would have been very unhappy to turn up at the Scoot check-in counter at 5am, only to be told that the flight was now delayed to 1440hrs!
So, we could sleep a bit later that morning. At around 9am, we went to the check-in counter at Terminal 1, to be greeted by 3 staff who were looking most tired. Anyway, they could check us in, give us our boarding passes, as well as four breakfast vouchers. As the vouchers were for breakfast only, we had to consume them by 11am, which was fine with us.
With check-in complete, we headed off to look at the various eateries where we could use the vouchers and settled with Tsui Wah. We ordered some breakfast and we liked such food. Here was the video I made of the breakfast experience.
We checked out of the hotel at 1pm. I asked for a delay in the check-out timing from noon to 1pm and the hotel kindly agreed, which was nice. We cleared immigration (the lines were quite long!) and headed off to the restricted area. It would be a long stroll to Gate 44, for our gate. We were early at the Gate. There were already many passengers there, some sleeping. Anyway, since I had nothing to do, I did some plane watching from the gate and made this video.
By 1430hrs, the plane hadn't arrived and the flight was supposed to depart at 1440hrs. The staff at the gate said that the plane was on the way and should be arriving soon.
Well, the passengers were all very patient. Maybe we were all too tired! Fortunately, the plane did arrive, close to 1500hrs. I made a video of the plane landing and taxi-ing to Gate 44, Hong Kong International. When we flew to Hong Kong, the plane was called 'Dream Start' This time round, the plane was named 'Barry'.
Flight back
Passengers on the plane had to disembark before we could get on! Regardless, a long line quickly formed even though boarding hadn't commenced. By this time, we all wanted to get on board and make our way back to Singapore. We were now onboard. I took this photo of the window. Yes, this is the B787 - windows were bigger than usual.
Boarding started quite soon and we got to our seats quickly. I made this flight review video of the trip back. In the video, I look at the window (which could block out a lot of light). I also look at the light and call buttons on the seat. The buttons are put in a position where many there are many accidental calls. Watch the video to see why.
This feature of the Scoot inflight magazine had a neat set of infographics called Scoot Secrets. I enjoyed reading.
1. Scoot has passed the 4 million pax milestone
2. Cabin crew are called Scootees, pilots are called Scooters.
3. Scoot has acquired 20 B-787 Aircraft.
4. 117 pilots from 26 countries
5. By 2018, Scoot will be the first low-cost carrier to have an all B-787 fleet.
6. Rolls Royce Trent 1,000 engines power Scoot planes, the engines are made in Singapore!
7. Scoot has 900,000 fans on Facebook.
8. 582 Scootees hail from 32 different countries
We made it back to Singapore safely The landing at Singapore Changi by Captain Jesper was very smooth and gentle. Glad to be home. Thanks for reading!
Sunday, April 5, 2015
Ocean Park, Hong Kong, Part 4 - Pandas Le Le and Ying Ying
Continued from Part 3
Before we could see the pandas, we had to get ourselves back down to the entrance area. The Panda Exhibit was located just beside the Cable Car station, at the Entrance area and not the Summit.
Since the cable car queues were not too long, we decided to take the cable car back down. While the Ocean Express (People Mover) would be faster, the views from the cable car were unbeatable. The following video shows you why.
We headed for the Panda Exhibit as this was the highlight. The two pandas were called Le Le and Ying Ying. Thankfully, we managed to catch a glimpse of one panda as you can see in this video. The rest of the time, the pandas were hiding. The exhibit was pretty cool.
They had a Panda Cafe, selling food to go, but we didn't buy anything to eat.
After the Panda exhibit, we were pretty tired already as it had been a long day. But we still found energy to take a walk around the Emerald Trail (supposed to see birds, but didn't see much), a kiddy area as well as a very large aquarium. The large aquarium was pretty neat, with a lot to see (huge fish tanks), but by now we had seen so many aquariums that it wasn't that special anymore.
Some snippets from the large aquarium, which was the last attraction we visited before we left the park.
So, after a long day, it was time to head back to Hong Kong and get some food. We got to Ocean Park slightly after 10am. We left at around 5pm. We took the CityBus and found our way to Central, to have a well deserved meal of Tim Ho Wan!
Thanks for reading.
Before we could see the pandas, we had to get ourselves back down to the entrance area. The Panda Exhibit was located just beside the Cable Car station, at the Entrance area and not the Summit.
Since the cable car queues were not too long, we decided to take the cable car back down. While the Ocean Express (People Mover) would be faster, the views from the cable car were unbeatable. The following video shows you why.
We headed for the Panda Exhibit as this was the highlight. The two pandas were called Le Le and Ying Ying. Thankfully, we managed to catch a glimpse of one panda as you can see in this video. The rest of the time, the pandas were hiding. The exhibit was pretty cool.
They had a Panda Cafe, selling food to go, but we didn't buy anything to eat.
After the Panda exhibit, we were pretty tired already as it had been a long day. But we still found energy to take a walk around the Emerald Trail (supposed to see birds, but didn't see much), a kiddy area as well as a very large aquarium. The large aquarium was pretty neat, with a lot to see (huge fish tanks), but by now we had seen so many aquariums that it wasn't that special anymore.
Some snippets from the large aquarium, which was the last attraction we visited before we left the park.
So, after a long day, it was time to head back to Hong Kong and get some food. We got to Ocean Park slightly after 10am. We left at around 5pm. We took the CityBus and found our way to Central, to have a well deserved meal of Tim Ho Wan!
Thanks for reading.
Ocean Park Hong Kong Part 3 - Dolphin Show, Shark Exhibit
Continued from Part 2.
After the Mine Train ride, we took the many escalators back up to where we came from. Passed a place called Pacific Pier, which I didn't really know what this was about.
Near this Pacific Pier sign, I spotted a Hong Kong style take-away eatery. Here is a photo of the prices, if you are interested. You can get BBQ Pork Buns for HK$32.
We made our way to the Ocean Theatre for the 3pm show. It was easy to find. When we got there, it was rather full, but we still managed to get seats that were sheltered, though a bit far away. Suited us fine.
This is the video I made of the Ocean Theatre show. Worth watching. The show lasted about 30 minutes. The Dolphin jumps were fun to watch.
After the show, we visited some Shark exhibit as well as a Sturgeon Fish exhibit. All of them were pretty near the Ocean theatre. The Shark exhibit was definitely worth visiting. A huge indoor exhibit with many sharks in a huge fish tank. Good stuff. Check out this video for a short clip.
This was taken outside the Chinese Sturgeon Aquarium. I remember seeing very huge sturgeons. Interesting.
Move on to Part 4 - see the Pandas!
After the Mine Train ride, we took the many escalators back up to where we came from. Passed a place called Pacific Pier, which I didn't really know what this was about.
Near this Pacific Pier sign, I spotted a Hong Kong style take-away eatery. Here is a photo of the prices, if you are interested. You can get BBQ Pork Buns for HK$32.
We made our way to the Ocean Theatre for the 3pm show. It was easy to find. When we got there, it was rather full, but we still managed to get seats that were sheltered, though a bit far away. Suited us fine.
This is the video I made of the Ocean Theatre show. Worth watching. The show lasted about 30 minutes. The Dolphin jumps were fun to watch.
After the show, we visited some Shark exhibit as well as a Sturgeon Fish exhibit. All of them were pretty near the Ocean theatre. The Shark exhibit was definitely worth visiting. A huge indoor exhibit with many sharks in a huge fish tank. Good stuff. Check out this video for a short clip.
This was taken outside the Chinese Sturgeon Aquarium. I remember seeing very huge sturgeons. Interesting.
Move on to Part 4 - see the Pandas!
Ocean Park Hong Kong Part 2 - Penguins, Walruses, Lunch, Roller Coaster
We continue from Part 1.
After the amusement rides, we headed into the South Pole Spectacular. I wasn't entirely sure what we would be seeing, but the exhibit looked large from the outside.
There were no lines and we headed straight in. This was to be an Antartica exhibit. The air-conditioning was a welcome change to the hot weather outside.
Pretty neat. The penguins were all very playful, much to the appreciation of the human visitors.
This exhibit was well worth a visit. In fact, it was one of the highlights of our visit to Ocean Park. We got to see Penguins, pretty up close. What else did we see? These huge creatures in the video below, I think they were Walruses! Better still, the Walruses were putting up a performance for us to watch. I think they must be very playful creatures. And looking at their enormous size, they must be very well fed!
After the cool respite, it was time to move on. Before we had lunch, we tried the Ocean Express. It looked like a ride but it turned out to be a people-mover with two stops, one at the Summit and the other at the Entrance. We sat the Ocean Express to the Entrance and then took it back up to the Summit against. If the cable cars are full, you should consider using the People Mover. Much faster.
Here is a video from the cabin. Almost empty.
Lunch
It was time for some food. We headed to the Bayview Cafe, which was next to the Cable Car station at the Summit. The food prices here were rather expensive, but we needed some food for the kids. We ended up getting two kids' combos. See the video.
Thankfully, we went to the restaurant early. It quickly filled up. Given the cost of the meals, I didn't feel like eating! (Seriously). We had some buns with us (brought them in with plain water) so the adults ate those instead. Anyway, the plan was to head to Central for a Dim Sum dinner at Tim Ho Wan, so we could go without food for a while.
After lunch, our next ride was to take this Ocean Park Tower. This is a safe, easy-to-do, very comfortable ride that brought you high up into the sky and you could get very good views of the Park, in air-conditioned comfort. Check out the video, which also shows us taking a long flight of escalators down to another part of the theme park, where there was some roller coaster which my kids took.
Along the way to the escalators, we found a Boardwalk cafe. The food looked a bit cheaper compared to the Bayview Cafe. Example, Roasted Pork with rice combo was HK $108. However, the place was not air-conditioned, so it could get rather warm. We saw many school kids eating there, probably as part of a school excursion.
The roller coaster in the video above was called Mine Train. The kids enjoyed it but the adults refrained.
The day was turning out to be rather busy, with many things to see and do. This review continues in Part 3, follow me!
After the amusement rides, we headed into the South Pole Spectacular. I wasn't entirely sure what we would be seeing, but the exhibit looked large from the outside.
There were no lines and we headed straight in. This was to be an Antartica exhibit. The air-conditioning was a welcome change to the hot weather outside.
Pretty neat. The penguins were all very playful, much to the appreciation of the human visitors.
This exhibit was well worth a visit. In fact, it was one of the highlights of our visit to Ocean Park. We got to see Penguins, pretty up close. What else did we see? These huge creatures in the video below, I think they were Walruses! Better still, the Walruses were putting up a performance for us to watch. I think they must be very playful creatures. And looking at their enormous size, they must be very well fed!
After the cool respite, it was time to move on. Before we had lunch, we tried the Ocean Express. It looked like a ride but it turned out to be a people-mover with two stops, one at the Summit and the other at the Entrance. We sat the Ocean Express to the Entrance and then took it back up to the Summit against. If the cable cars are full, you should consider using the People Mover. Much faster.
Here is a video from the cabin. Almost empty.
Lunch
It was time for some food. We headed to the Bayview Cafe, which was next to the Cable Car station at the Summit. The food prices here were rather expensive, but we needed some food for the kids. We ended up getting two kids' combos. See the video.
Thankfully, we went to the restaurant early. It quickly filled up. Given the cost of the meals, I didn't feel like eating! (Seriously). We had some buns with us (brought them in with plain water) so the adults ate those instead. Anyway, the plan was to head to Central for a Dim Sum dinner at Tim Ho Wan, so we could go without food for a while.
After lunch, our next ride was to take this Ocean Park Tower. This is a safe, easy-to-do, very comfortable ride that brought you high up into the sky and you could get very good views of the Park, in air-conditioned comfort. Check out the video, which also shows us taking a long flight of escalators down to another part of the theme park, where there was some roller coaster which my kids took.
Along the way to the escalators, we found a Boardwalk cafe. The food looked a bit cheaper compared to the Bayview Cafe. Example, Roasted Pork with rice combo was HK $108. However, the place was not air-conditioned, so it could get rather warm. We saw many school kids eating there, probably as part of a school excursion.
The roller coaster in the video above was called Mine Train. The kids enjoyed it but the adults refrained.
The day was turning out to be rather busy, with many things to see and do. This review continues in Part 3, follow me!
Ocean Park, Hong Kong - Part 1 - Travel to Ocean Park, Cable Car Ride, Whirly Bird, Bumper Car
Our day out to Ocean Park, Hong Kong. Ocean Park is a famous amusement park cum conservation park in Hong Kong. Opened in 1977, the site is built on two sides of a mountain.
This is a 4 part blog post. Here are links to Part 2, Part 3 and Part 4 (See the pandas).
We decided to take the MTR and Citybus to Ocean Park. This seemed to be the most common way. From Eaton Hotel, we walked to Jordan MTR and took the Tsuen Wan line to Admiralty, just two stops. At Admiralty MTR, there were clear signposts (Exit B). The fare was $10.6 per adult and half price for kids under 12. Check out the following video for the journey.
Video - Citybus 629 from Admiralty MTR to Ocean Park Entrance
The bus journey was very smooth, 25 minutes. Once we entered Ocean Park, which didn't look too crowded, the plan was to take the cable car to the Summit. So, we decided to look for the cable car station, which was not difficult to find. The queues for the cable car were not long, which was great. The cable car system wasn't very new (built in 1977, I think), and there was some noticeable vibrations. Thank God everything was safe. Check out the next video for our cable car ride up to the summit.
When we reached the Summit, we did not know where to go. There were many signs to different segments of the park. We had a park map, however, the descriptions on the map weren't great. So we decided to work our way downwards, i.e. go to the top most part of the park first. This brought us to this set of escalators which said Thrill Mountain. So we went up.
We took a couple of rides (the not so scary ones). The most exciting ride we took was Whirly Bird. The Whirly Bird ride looked like this. Looks safe? Yeah, let's try. The kids could take it too. Minimum height was 122cm.
It turns out that the ride was very whirly indeed. My kids sat together and I sat with my wife. The ride brought us rather high up, with wonderful views. But I got a bit giddy after that. Thankfully, I had my breakfast some hours ago. Here is a video of our Whirly Bird experience.
After finding our feet, we managed a couple more 'safe' rides. One of them was the bumper car, which was very safe indeed. There was a line but the wait wasn't too long. Not more than 10 minutes. We were fortunate today that the park didn't seem very crowded. The crowds at Ocean Park are supposedly legendary.
Here is a video of the bumper car ride. They squeezed many bumper cars in a small space and they tried to make it 'One Way Only'. Also, the electricity for the bumper cars came from the floor and not overhead cables. This meant that when the ride started, the entire floor would have strong electric currents flowing through. STAY IN YOUR CAR until the ride is over.
Next, we took this blue roller coaster, that was directly opposite the entrance to the South Pole Spectacular. This ride was suitable for kids. Worth taking, even if you do not like roller coasters too much.
After this ride, we would head over to the South Pole Spectacular. Go on to Part 2 of this review.
This is a 4 part blog post. Here are links to Part 2, Part 3 and Part 4 (See the pandas).
We decided to take the MTR and Citybus to Ocean Park. This seemed to be the most common way. From Eaton Hotel, we walked to Jordan MTR and took the Tsuen Wan line to Admiralty, just two stops. At Admiralty MTR, there were clear signposts (Exit B). The fare was $10.6 per adult and half price for kids under 12. Check out the following video for the journey.
Video - Citybus 629 from Admiralty MTR to Ocean Park Entrance
The bus journey was very smooth, 25 minutes. Once we entered Ocean Park, which didn't look too crowded, the plan was to take the cable car to the Summit. So, we decided to look for the cable car station, which was not difficult to find. The queues for the cable car were not long, which was great. The cable car system wasn't very new (built in 1977, I think), and there was some noticeable vibrations. Thank God everything was safe. Check out the next video for our cable car ride up to the summit.
When we reached the Summit, we did not know where to go. There were many signs to different segments of the park. We had a park map, however, the descriptions on the map weren't great. So we decided to work our way downwards, i.e. go to the top most part of the park first. This brought us to this set of escalators which said Thrill Mountain. So we went up.
We took a couple of rides (the not so scary ones). The most exciting ride we took was Whirly Bird. The Whirly Bird ride looked like this. Looks safe? Yeah, let's try. The kids could take it too. Minimum height was 122cm.
It turns out that the ride was very whirly indeed. My kids sat together and I sat with my wife. The ride brought us rather high up, with wonderful views. But I got a bit giddy after that. Thankfully, I had my breakfast some hours ago. Here is a video of our Whirly Bird experience.
After finding our feet, we managed a couple more 'safe' rides. One of them was the bumper car, which was very safe indeed. There was a line but the wait wasn't too long. Not more than 10 minutes. We were fortunate today that the park didn't seem very crowded. The crowds at Ocean Park are supposedly legendary.
Here is a video of the bumper car ride. They squeezed many bumper cars in a small space and they tried to make it 'One Way Only'. Also, the electricity for the bumper cars came from the floor and not overhead cables. This meant that when the ride started, the entire floor would have strong electric currents flowing through. STAY IN YOUR CAR until the ride is over.
Next, we took this blue roller coaster, that was directly opposite the entrance to the South Pole Spectacular. This ride was suitable for kids. Worth taking, even if you do not like roller coasters too much.
After this ride, we would head over to the South Pole Spectacular. Go on to Part 2 of this review.
Thursday, March 26, 2015
Australia Dairy Company - Hong Kong (Kowloon)
Australia Dairy Company - Kowloon
This place is famous for a few reasons. First, it is famous for rude service. Second, it is famous for very good breakfast food, especially the scrambled eggs. We decided to give this place a try, since it was within a 10 minute walk of our hotel, Eaton Hotel, 380 Nathan Road.
This is the video I made showing you the queue and the food.
The address is 47-49 Parkes Street. I used my phone GPS to get here. I think the place opens at 7am and closes at 11pm.
The set menus feature prominently on the wall.
Thanks for reading!
This place is famous for a few reasons. First, it is famous for rude service. Second, it is famous for very good breakfast food, especially the scrambled eggs. We decided to give this place a try, since it was within a 10 minute walk of our hotel, Eaton Hotel, 380 Nathan Road.
This is the video I made showing you the queue and the food.
The address is 47-49 Parkes Street. I used my phone GPS to get here. I think the place opens at 7am and closes at 11pm.
The set menus feature prominently on the wall.
Thanks for reading!
Tuesday, October 14, 2014
Affair Alert Low Chek Kian with Hong Kong model
Affair alert.
Mr Low was allegedly seen with a Hong Kong model, behaving intimately in Hong Kong.
Here is Mr Low's profile, from the NTU website, where he is a member of the Board of Trustees. Mr Low is a very established private sector guy in the finance and investment industry, having been Senior Vice President of Merill Lynch as well as it's Chairman for Asia-PAC region
Here is the model/actress.
Here are the incriminating photos. Taking a walk, shopping, but clearly they look like some couple. He is married, he has a child.
Some more incriminating photos. Check out their kissing. I don't think he can explain that away.
Here is Mr Low and his legal wife, on the same night in HK!
Juicy stuff indeed.
Website link - http://redwiretimes.com/singapore-in-brief/affair-alert-former-ida-wda-director-low-check-kian-caught-redhanded-hong-kong-model/
Thanks for reading.
Mr Low was allegedly seen with a Hong Kong model, behaving intimately in Hong Kong.
Here is Mr Low's profile, from the NTU website, where he is a member of the Board of Trustees. Mr Low is a very established private sector guy in the finance and investment industry, having been Senior Vice President of Merill Lynch as well as it's Chairman for Asia-PAC region
Here is the model/actress.
Here are the incriminating photos. Taking a walk, shopping, but clearly they look like some couple. He is married, he has a child.
Some more incriminating photos. Check out their kissing. I don't think he can explain that away.
Here is Mr Low and his legal wife, on the same night in HK!
Juicy stuff indeed.
Website link - http://redwiretimes.com/singapore-in-brief/affair-alert-former-ida-wda-director-low-check-kian-caught-redhanded-hong-kong-model/
Thanks for reading.
Thursday, October 3, 2013
DragonAir Shanghai to Hong Kong June 2012 上海 香港
上海A good flight from Shanghai to Singapore.
This time, this leg was operated by DragonAir, a wholly owned CX subsidiary.
Shanghai Pudong Airport - a huge place.
A Lufthansa 747.
They had a small kiddy playground, good for young children.
A sprawling terminal indeed!
American Airlines - One World Livery.
See the DragonAir plane behind? That would be our ride to Hong Kong.
The DragonAir plane.
Turning into the gate. A Continental Plane at another gate.
On board - the Dragonair Story. They are a subsidiary of CX. Honestly, I had never heard of them, but they turn out to be rather good!
This was an Airbus A330.
Menu for the meal service. It came in a card. How interesting! They even had Haagen-Dazs Ice Cream on such a short flight. The main course of Sauteed Diced Beef with Black Pepper Sauce and Steamed Rice was supposedly from some famous restaurant.
The opposite side, in mandarin.
This was the child's meal - impressive! They even bothered to make a bear bun,
Another shot.
Loved that bun. So cute, but soon to be eaten up by my kid.
Food for the children. It was quite tasty too.
Nice cup.
Another shot of the same cup.
Oh dear... oh dear....only the head left..... (kid had to show me, for effect)
Cold prawns. (from kid's meal)
Dessert! (from kid's meal)
Adult's meal. If you noticed, the kid's meal had more stuff, plus a fancy bear bun.
This was the highlighted dish in the menu. Tasted was pretty good. Had a glass of red wine to go along.
Upon arrival at Hong Kong, we had a 2 hour layover for our flight back to Singapore. Some pictures of the airport.
On board the CX B777-300ER back to Singapore.
Adult's meal.
The food on the DragonAir flight tasted better!
For the kids.
Safe travels!
More reviews:
1) Check out the Big Yella Fella at FlyScoot (Sydney to Singapore)
2) Care for the Austrian Arrow? (Helsinki to Vienna)
3) Evergreen Shanghai to Hong Kong on Cathay Pacific.
This time, this leg was operated by DragonAir, a wholly owned CX subsidiary.
Shanghai Pudong Airport - a huge place.
They had a small kiddy playground, good for young children.
A sprawling terminal indeed!
American Airlines - One World Livery.
See the DragonAir plane behind? That would be our ride to Hong Kong.
Turning into the gate. A Continental Plane at another gate.
On board - the Dragonair Story. They are a subsidiary of CX. Honestly, I had never heard of them, but they turn out to be rather good!
This was an Airbus A330.
Menu for the meal service. It came in a card. How interesting! They even had Haagen-Dazs Ice Cream on such a short flight. The main course of Sauteed Diced Beef with Black Pepper Sauce and Steamed Rice was supposedly from some famous restaurant.
The opposite side, in mandarin.
This was the child's meal - impressive! They even bothered to make a bear bun,
Another shot.
Loved that bun. So cute, but soon to be eaten up by my kid.
Food for the children. It was quite tasty too.
Nice cup.
Another shot of the same cup.
Oh dear... oh dear....only the head left..... (kid had to show me, for effect)
Cold prawns. (from kid's meal)
Dessert! (from kid's meal)
Adult's meal. If you noticed, the kid's meal had more stuff, plus a fancy bear bun.
This was the highlighted dish in the menu. Tasted was pretty good. Had a glass of red wine to go along.
Upon arrival at Hong Kong, we had a 2 hour layover for our flight back to Singapore. Some pictures of the airport.
On board the CX B777-300ER back to Singapore.
Adult's meal.
The food on the DragonAir flight tasted better!
For the kids.
Safe travels!
More reviews:
1) Check out the Big Yella Fella at FlyScoot (Sydney to Singapore)
2) Care for the Austrian Arrow? (Helsinki to Vienna)
3) Evergreen Shanghai to Hong Kong on Cathay Pacific.
4) Awesome Air Asia (Singapore to Bangkok).
5) Swiss Flight Links
5) Swiss Flight Links
a) Singapore to Rome (via Zurich) Economy Class, Nov 2013
b) Rome to Singapore (via Zurich) Economy Class, Dec 2013
7) Celebrity Silhouette Mediterranean & Adriatic Seas Cruise in Nov 2013
Subscribe to:
Comments
(
Atom
)