SAR, China - Hong Kong - 4 Days 3 Nights (Part 1 - Itinerary)

I was very excited for this trip as it’s been a while since I took the plane since my ear trauma in November. During flight, my ear can’t seem to equalize the pressure and it was quite a painful where I suffered in between a sore throat and toothache. I recovered as soon as the plane landed and I was quite apprehensive of the return flight. Thankfully, this scenario didn’t really manifest on return flight. Though the ear still felt a little uncomfortable but due to my constant clearing of pressure in the ear its still manageable.

This trip is supposed to be chillax and we take public transport (MTR) and walked on foot most of the time. I set up a map on google (unfortunately no offline map available for HK) and identified the key places to visit. Places to visit is determine the day itself or day prior.

For convenience, we purchase the airport express travel pass HKD 350 with 2 return trips inclusive of 3 days unlimited rides on MTR. We are quite surprised that the pass last us till the end of day 4. Probably because our first MTR trip was clocked at night on Day 1 as during the day a friend brought us around on a taxi. Do obtain a HKD50 refund from the airport on return trip.

I have be trying to pick up a bit of Cantonese since last year and I must say I failed miserably when trying to use it for communication. But at times where waiters or taxi drivers fail to understand you, it does quite come in handy despite sounding very broken.

Shopping purchases are mainly food related like 好到底 noodles, 出前一丁 instant noodles, maxim almond biscuits and Jenny biscuits. Also, to remember this trip we purchase a turning musical Buddha at Ngong Ping and my favourite buy this trip is a painting we chanced upon at Kowloon Station Sze Yue Gallery, 思雨画轩。

 

There are several wifi hotspots at MTR stations and the local telecom also provides 30 mins free wifi per day. For places like sky100 and international airport wifi is free for access. This is for the budget conscious travelers who are pondering whether to get a local data plan while in HK.  

With effect from April 2015, there is a 50cents levy on any plastic bags that retailer offer to customers. While, Hubs friend did highlight this tip to us and to remind us to bring our own bags. The full realisation hit us when we are making purchases and we had to pay for the bags almost everywhere. Fortunately, we got a free recycling bag on first day and that totally came in handy. 

 

Travel dates: 4 August 2016 to 10 August 2016. 

Top tips: 
Bring your own bags (BYOB) when shopping.
Free wifi is available, just be aware.

My itinerary:

Day 1: 

• Arrive at Hong Kong at 10 am by Cathay Pacific
• Breakfast on flight, Lunch at Little Bao, Dinner at One Dim Sum 一点心
• PMQ 元创方
• Novotel Hong Kong Century

 Day 2: 

• Ngong Ping Cable Car, Lantau Island and Tai-O, Hong Kong Pulse 3D lightshow @ Hong Kong Cultural Centre
• Breakfast at Yee Shun Milk Company港澳義順牛奶公司, Lunch at Tai-O Lookout, Street food at Tai-O, Dinner at Mak Noodle 麥奀雲吞麵世家 , Dessert at Australia Diary Company 澳洲牛奶公司熱燉奶

Day 3: 

•  Fa Yuen Street Market and Cooked Food Centre 花園街市政大廈, The peak lookout at Lion Pavillion/ Peak Galleria 山頂廣厂
• Breakfast at Kim Wah Cafe金華冰廳, Lunch at Sing Hueng Yen 勝香園 , Dinner at Tsui Wah Restaurant 翠華餐廳, Whiskey at Gecko

Day 4: 

• Sky100, Citysuper@Harbour City, Threesixty@Elements
• Breakfast at Honolulu café 檀島咖啡餅店, Lunch at Kam's Roast Goose 甘牌燒鵝, Dinner at Chips Republic Cafe