Hong Kong 2007 July

The "Central"- totally colonised by Filipino maids on a Sunday!


The world's longest escalator, at central. It brings you to mid levels, and to the Tai Cheong bakery for yummy egg tarts... and loads of other good food!
This building looks really interesting, and I wonder if it is a mafia den. Hahaha too imaginative.
Apparently, the wan tan mee store next to it is really really good. Photo taken to remind myself to try the Wan tan mee. With such an eye catching neighbour, it is impossible to miss when you take the mid levels escalator.
The skyline....
Hui Lau Shan- the place for mango desserts, and bird nest too!

Hong Kong- Got the rooms!

I also got the HK hotel rooms booked. I actually booked YMCA through Expedia! It comes up to £34 per night, which is really cheap! The trick of hunting cheap accomodation is try a few websites! yeah, it is hard work, but you could save load. For example, my sister found Standford at 63 USD at www.hoteltravel.com. That is about 30% off the prices of other websites which asks for USD 90+ to even USD 110+!!! However, YMCA is much cheaper in Expedia compared to this website, which asks for USD 77! That is about USD 10 more expensive per night. Asiarooms, my fav for BKK rooms is even much more hopelessly expensive!

Hopefully I can get another 5% cashback through Quidco, and that makes it even a better deal. All travel bugs/shopping queens based in UK should really consider registering at www.quidco.com to get % money back off their shopping and travel expenses.

Haha. This is the first time I try YMCA. I hope that it is as good as the reviews say about it. If not, die!This is the first time I bring my parents on a holiday and I put them up in YMCA- feel like a bum already. Was really tempted to do Nathan/Prudential or even Holiday Inn. However , after calculating and see that the sum differs by 400-500 SGD easily, sis & I decided that the money will be better spent eating, since we will be only sleeping in the rooms. Besides, doing 2 trans Atlantic flights, & 2 flights back to Sg within 2 months means my credit card is beeping & turning AMBER. At the rate I am going, I will hit the max this month! My boss better give me back my conference fee money soon!

HK trip preparation-hotel

Good news- special fireworks display on 1st July to celebrate handover. Woo hoo!!! What a great co-incidence.

Bad news. The hotel of our choice-Stanford Hotel is fully booked! %^&^+?
Got to find another hotel that is:

• -within our budget
• -where you can pop down anytime at night to have supper
• -you get nice "cha chan teng"s at your door step- which serves superb congee & chue cheong fun & yaw char kuay for breakfast!
• -You get another cha chan teng with yummy nai cha & wan tan mee.
• -When you walk down the street in teh mornings, you nose will lead you to bakery which produce yummy luncheon meat "bo lo pau"
• - you walk pass 2 "hui Lau shan" on your way to the MTR!!!!
• - you can shop at the "Ladies market", and bring your things back to hotel; then think you have not bought enough, and return to get more- all within 30 minutes. :)
• If you are hungry or just itchy, just pop down for some "yue dan"(fishball) & stinky tofu!
  

Stanford's size is crap, and life is hell on weekends if they allocate you to a smoking floor. The hotel is populated with weekend visitors from mainland-they are SCARY. Despite all these Stanford probably has the best location. And the price- less than SGD 95 per night leaves you with $$ to eat and shop. Sigh......... Suddenly Stanford seems so good.

If I got $$$$$, i would stay at LMO. Nvm that is can be not so "clean". The service is superb!!! Just remember not to accept a hot drink when you ask for hot water (No kettle in room! They don't expect the guests to lift fingers to put the kettle on! Probably their typical guest wouldn't know how to switch on a kettle). Hot drink, with cookies thrown in cost about SGD 90! That is the most expensive cup of hot chocolate & cookies I had for supper in my life.

What other hotels can fit the bill & replace Stanford??

Flying on a prayer to HK

Tickets booked. Q****Airways- the airways that my friend told me dun pray pray, insider news say safety is heck. I thought hard hard hard, and decided what the heck! It it takes me to HK on less than 400 quid, and the savings from taking QA to HK, and then take budget airlines to Sg makes this HK stopover arrangement even cheaper than direct flights to Sg. That means, I will get to "do" HK again. woah hahahaa.

Things i must eat
*******Egg Tarts*******
Roasted Goose
Hui Lau Shan --- all those bird nest, mango, steam milk etc etc. This time I must plan such that I eat once during day time, eat again for supper hiak hiak hiak.
Won Ton Mee
Congee + yau cha kuay + soya bean milk breakfast
Nai cha
Lau po peng


ok , back to work. Yes, work! I cannot believe how busy I am this month, that I look forward to June!