Hong Kong Live it. Love it. - Public Transport

Having gone the cheaper way, we had to take a ferry from Macau to Hong Kong. Thank God for the free transport from the hotel to the ferry terminal, we had it easier when departing, as we do not have to worry much about crossing the Taipa-Macau City bridge (above). It was a bridge built with slopes, up and down. When I saw, I was pretty amazed at how the bus driver could stop on the slope and kept moving as it was a manual bus. I guess I could do that as well, but still, it's just amazing.

At the ferry terminal, be sure that the right ticket is bought, as there are 2 destinations that you could possibly go, either Hong Kong Island or Kowloon, which are totally different places. The ferry takes about 45 mins to an hour to Hong Kong, departing every 30 mins, which is really convenient. The ferry was alright, much better than the ones that we take from Singapore to Bintan, afterall, it's catered to tired gamblers in general.

Having arrived in Hong Kong, everything else is simpler as well, as we are all chinese afterall and we understood each other.

Getting a cab to our hotel was not difficult at all, where we stayed was at the mid-level in Central, which was really convenient for us, wherever we will want to go after. The hotel was called Bishop Lei, a small boutique hotel, which cost us $65 per night, really cheap. However, do not expect anything better, when we arrived, me and Vanessa burst out into laughter as the room was really very very small. But of course, it was good enough for us to sleep and rest at night after our day activities.

After checking in and leaving our luggages in the room, it was time for us to link up with Joy and Michelle at H&M in Central. H&M is like the Topshop in Singapore, but I find that they have more varieties and the fashion is nicer and more forward looking as compared to Singapore. Because it is beginning of sale season, the stuffs are quite cheap as well.

After H&M, I kind of burst my budget for the trip, but it's ok, we went on shopping at the other shops. Joy and Michelle were unwell, hence, they decided to head back to the hotel to rest, whilst Vanessa and I headed off to Causeway Bay to take a look.

Public transport in Hong Kong is similar to what we have in Singapore, except that it's alot bigger and alot more platforms, just had to be careful to keep track of the line and direction that you are supposed to travel on. In Hong Kong, they are actually very systematic in lining up to get on the train, especially during peak hour, we were actually pretty amazed that people queuing up for the train, unlike Singapore, where everyone just stationed in front of the door. Photo below shows the evidence of people queuing.

We found this local shop where we settled in for some food as we hadn't had lunch. The sticky rice roll is simply delicious. They have pork floss and some salted vegetable and you tiao rolled in the rice roll and that is a meal by itself.

Arriving at Causeway Bay, where Time square is, further which, SOGO is located as well, we decided to drop by Uniqlo to take a look, as we do not have to squeeze with the crowd and queue up to go into the shop at Tampines Mall. I must say that it is over-rated in terms of variety, but I'm certain that the materials are much better than Giordano and that the clothes are cheaper in comparison. After all the roaming, it was time to go back to the hotel to link up with the gals for dinner.

Vanessa and I found a bus that stops outside the hotel and we decided to try it out. My very first experience on a double-decker bus in Hong Kong, gave me great respect for the bus drivers there. The narrow road that they have to drive through and the sharp corners that they have to turn around, it's simply amazing, you have to experience it yourself.

Day 1 conclusion - Hong Kong is indeed a shopping paradise, especially during summer sale, it is alot cheaper than in Singapore. I will share more about the shopping experience in the next few posts. Stay tune as well for Day 1 dinner.