I really need to slap myself this time haha, because one year later, I'm back in the land of Dim Sum. I was there for a week somemore! It was really a last minute decision, mainly to visit old friends, and to give myself the chance to re-explore the city again. It definitely helped that Hong Kong was still transitioning from winter, so the weather was cooling. Air-con weather.
My mom wanted to tag along as she wanted to check out Lantau Island and the Tian Tan Buddha. She was quite adamant about visiting Ocean Park, so I decided to head to Hong Kong for two days myself, to do all the things I want to do (read Clubbing) and know that she wouldn't want to, before she join me for the next five days.
In a way, I guess I can count this as my first solo trip abroad. Considering I just left my job, and I was traveling to Vietnam in the same month, I knew that I had to budget my trip carefully. Initially I was hoping that I could crash at Ivan's or Glady's for the two days. However, both of them lived at the Mongkok side, and most of the things I wanted to do was at the Hong Kong Island side. Furthermore, I know I would have imposed on them since Hong Kong apartments are tiny! I did my research on apartments - scrolling through Airbnb listings and reading up reviews on hostels, and finally decided to go with a shared room through Airbnb. I rented a 'Sofa-bed' from two lovely female hosts. Their reviews are pretty legit, so I wasn't worried about my safety.
Their apartment is located at Sai Ying Pun, Hong Kong Island, and it's super convenient as it's literally just a stone throw away from the MTR, and only a 10-min walk to LKF. The apartment is quaint and has everything a solo traveler needs - a comfy sofa-bed (I slept like a dead log on both nights), towel, hot shower, wifi, toiletries, you can cook too if you want... In fact, both of my hosts are working, and are only back at night, so you can have the apartment to yourself in the afternoon. The only downside is that their apartment is on the fourth floor, so if you're lugging a hugeeee luggage (like I did), it will be hard on you. BUT THEN AGAIN, since I've survived it, I'd say its doable. (;
If you're looking to be in the heart of Hong Kong Island and experience the local life, I'd recommend booking your stay with Crystal and Theresa. Crystal is from Hong Kong (I think, she kinda evaded my question hahaha) and Theresa is from Germany. Both of them were easy-going, and super fun to be with! They respected my privacy, answered all my questions, and even took me out to LKF on my second night when they found out that Ivan (that bitch) didn't want to take me to a straight club. And you know what's the best part? I paid SGD$64 for the two nights.
WAZZAH?! Cheap right?
Anyway, here's the link to their listing! (;
That's Theresa on the left and Crystal on the right. We hopped three bar/clubs that night and what I found really interesting was that we could actually bring our own drinks to the places?! Anyway, please believe me when I say, I'm actually the oldest of the lot. One's 19 and another's 24!
DOUBLE WAZZAH?!
周記點心 Chau Kee Shop H1, G/F, Tung Lee Mansion, Water Street, Sai Ying Pun, Western District (HKU MTR Exit B1)
阿元來了 Yuan Is Here
G/F, 73 Third Street, Sai Ying Pun,Western District
Here's a breakdown of what I did:
Day One
- HAD KAU KEE
- Explored PMQ and the Seung Wan area
- Met up with Ivan for dinner
I purposely arranged my travel schedule to fit Ivan's flight schedule, so that I can spend more time with him. Met up with my favourite man bitch for dinner on my first day and he took me to this restaurant that serves hot & spicy noodles soup. We can choose the spice level and the ingredients we want. We had a bowl of the noodles each and ordered an additional portion of their spicy sliced pork with garlic.
Day Two
- Hiked Dragon's Back alone in the morning (;
- Visited Chau Kee
- Went to Ocean Park with Ivan
- Dinner and Clubbing with my Airbnb hosts
We called it a night early since we both had to wake up early the next morning. On days that Ivan is not flying, he works part time at this Yoga studio, and has to wake up at like 6am? Yes, mad crazy.
Due to the tight schedule, I had to squeeze Dragon's Back and Ocean Park on the same day. Estimating that I will need about 4 to 5 hours in total to finish the entire hike, and meet Ivan in the afternoon at 1pm, I started day two of Hong Kong really reaaaaaaaally early. Woke up at like 5am and was out of the house in 30 minutes. Getting to Dragon's Back was relatively simple. I took the MTR to Shau Kei Wan Station, along the same Hong Kong Island line, and took bus number 9 to To Tei Wan. The entrance to the hike is on Shek O road, near To Tei Wan village. There's a sign to indicate the entrance, so it's important to keep a look out for it! I'm guessing if you head to Dragon's Back in the later morning or afternoon, there'll be people alighting at the stop too.
I kept true to my words about hiking Dragon's Back alone. I read online that it is a relatively easy mountain to hike and that it's pretty safe. I figured that hiking alone in the morning is better than in the evening, so that too, kept me going. Luckily for me, three Korean Ajusshi decided to do their morning hike on the same day too, so I had some company - till I spent way too much time taking photos and lost track of them hahaha.
The hike up to Dragon's Back was alright! I'd liken this hike to the hike up the Tree Top Walk. At some point, there will be some up slopes, but other than that, it's a smooth walk. All in all, from the start of the hike to the mid-point of the hike, it took me about 1.5 hours. I would've need another hour to walk all the way down to the Shek O Beach, but because I didn't want to risk being late for Ocean park, I called it a day and bussed down.
The next time (if the opportunity ever arises) then!
Ivan and I spent the rest of our afternoon at Ocean Park, taking all the scary rides and spending all our money on carnival games.
We called it a night early since we both had to wake up early the next morning. On days that Ivan is not flying, he works part time at this Yoga studio, and has to wake up at like 6am? Yes, mad crazy.
Due to the tight schedule, I had to squeeze Dragon's Back and Ocean Park on the same day. Estimating that I will need about 4 to 5 hours in total to finish the entire hike, and meet Ivan in the afternoon at 1pm, I started day two of Hong Kong really reaaaaaaaally early. Woke up at like 5am and was out of the house in 30 minutes. Getting to Dragon's Back was relatively simple. I took the MTR to Shau Kei Wan Station, along the same Hong Kong Island line, and took bus number 9 to To Tei Wan. The entrance to the hike is on Shek O road, near To Tei Wan village. There's a sign to indicate the entrance, so it's important to keep a look out for it! I'm guessing if you head to Dragon's Back in the later morning or afternoon, there'll be people alighting at the stop too.
I kept true to my words about hiking Dragon's Back alone. I read online that it is a relatively easy mountain to hike and that it's pretty safe. I figured that hiking alone in the morning is better than in the evening, so that too, kept me going. Luckily for me, three Korean Ajusshi decided to do their morning hike on the same day too, so I had some company - till I spent way too much time taking photos and lost track of them hahaha.
The hike up to Dragon's Back was alright! I'd liken this hike to the hike up the Tree Top Walk. At some point, there will be some up slopes, but other than that, it's a smooth walk. All in all, from the start of the hike to the mid-point of the hike, it took me about 1.5 hours. I would've need another hour to walk all the way down to the Shek O Beach, but because I didn't want to risk being late for Ocean park, I called it a day and bussed down.
The next time (if the opportunity ever arises) then!
Ivan and I spent the rest of our afternoon at Ocean Park, taking all the scary rides and spending all our money on carnival games.
We had to take a cable car to where all the amusement rides were and we were so fucking scared cos the cable car was running on a single cable line. It's terrifying OK, cos it was shaky and right below us is the ocean/mountain. For reference, the one back home runs on two line! Ivan had to suay mouth ask what will happen if the cable car stops mid-way. And you know it... IT PAUSED MID-WAY. We were gripping on to the cabin so tight, it's so funny haha.
And this 'You better buy from me' pose HAHAHA
We took a whole load of Boomerang videos too:
The initial plan was for Ivan to bring me to LKF, but because we both woke up early, we were so drained by the end of the day. Our breaking point was when we both almost fell asleep on the vikings ride. Haha. Ivan didn't want to hit the straight clubs too la, so we agreed that we will head back home to nap first before deciding again. Turns out, my housemates were planning to hit LKF and were more than happy to bring me out, sooooooooo I went ahead with them instead! :D
And that folks, was day one and day two of my Hong Kong trip.
Wew, that actually took longer than I thought! Can't believe I procrastinated till now!
Alright, in my next post, I'll share more visuals of the five other days spent in Hong Kong with my mom and the video I edited. It's still a work in progress, cos the current travelogue is 6 minutes long... Trying to think of another more fitting song and cut it shorter.
Till the next time! (;
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