Work and Play in Hong Kong!

3 April 2012

You really do get some beautiful aerial views flying over Sabah! =)

After wanting to visit Hong Kong since about 2 years ago, this month I finally had the chance to not only see the sights, but work on an event there! =)Did you know that Hong Kong International Airport is also known as Chek Lap Kok Airport, and is built on the Chek Lap Kok Island by land reclamation? Hence the view while landing!

Having worked with Moezik before, I knew this was going to be a fun work trip. I knew all the crew (Moe, Sham, Alvin and Rain), and knew we clicked together just fine, so when I arrived on the 12th of March, shivering because it was only 12 degrees might I add, I was very happy to see everybody!Thanks Rain for lending me your new jacket, I would've froze to death without it..!! ;p

This event is one of my favourite events to do, as everything is always hectic, but you can see each other really enjoying their work. You also meet new friends from all over the Asia Pacific, like
Hiroto from Japan, orAnantdeep from India,
or four pretty ladies from Hong Kong! ;p

Not to mention an entire team of amazing people you get to work with! The whole team from Singapore and Hong Kong! =)

So after a good four full days of work, it was time for me to explore Hong Kong.. Alone! I had requested to stay a couple of extra days, but no one could come with me.. It wasnt too bad, though I'm sure I would've had more fun with a friend! ;p

I had booked a room at the Island Pacific Hotel via agoda.com, and it is definitely recommended.
A business hotel located on Hong Kong Island West, a lot better than the alternative shoebox hostels!

They have a free shuttle bus to places like the piers and IFC Mall, which is in Central. It's also just opposite the Hong Kong MTR station, and the airport express train station is actually in the mall.
From there you can walk over the overhead bridge to the piers, to The Landmark, and down to the different streets such as:
The infamous Lan Kwai Fong.
Nothing much happening in the day, but at night? It's the most popular hangout for clubbing and drinking.
It's also where the Hard Rock Cafe is, and where I got my latest pin! =D

The Hong Kong Fringe Club on Wyndham Street.
Hollywood Road, which is also known as Antiques Street. You can find the old police station here,
and Man Mo Temple, which was built in 1848.

You can literally walk/take the MTR anywhere in Hong Kong.. It looks like 2 islands, Hong Kong Island and Kowloon (these being the main islands, n the only 2 I visited, other than the airport ;p), but you can either choose to take the Star Ferry across (which I did, and definitely recommend), or you can just stick to the MTR, as it connects the 2 islands too! =) Thing is, I found it exhausting walking around HK island.. There are so many steep slopes and staircases, omg, so much so that there is an escalator system that covers over 800 metres in distance and elevates over 135 metres from bottom to top, called the Central-Mid Levels escalators. It is the longest covered escalator system in the world. Unfortunately, I only found these when I was nearly done for the day. *raise eyes to the sky and ask "WHY??"*
One of the steep slopes I was walking up and down on.
One steep staircase was actually part of the Sun Yat Sen Memorial Walk.
Flights and flights of covered escalators to take you up, up, up! But unfortunately there isnt a "down" escalator, except for 6 - 10am.

So after an utterly exhausting day, and having had nothing to eat since breakfast other than these yummy things,
Eggettes, or "gai dan zai" (鸡蛋仔) are one of Hong Kong's most popular street snacks, and rightfully so! I loved them! They are usually sold in street stalls who also sell snacks like curried fish balls and waffles. 

I decided to go in search of Hong Kong's most famous Chinese restaurant for dinner:
I read about Yung Kee somewhere online, but I didnt do full research on it, so I wasnt aware that I had to make reservations.. I actually couldnt find it at first.. SoHo is a popular area near Lan Kwai Fong, full of restaurants, cafes and cocktail bars.. But, like LKF, it consists of a few streets, and those streets dont particularly say "SoHo". So I was walking around for a while, and met a bunch of girls, who were also a bit lost.. Since we couldnt help each other, we said good luck and continued our separate ways.. Further down I met another girl, Irene, who was nice enough to not only take me almost to the exact street, but to call the restaurant to see whether I'd have to wait for long. They said 20 minutes, which she said was way better than the norm.

So I made my way there after thanking her for her help, and was taken up to the first floor, where I was given a number and taken to the waiting area.
Approximately 15 minutes later, ta-daaa..!!
Yung Kee is famous for its roast goose, which I had with cha siu (BBQ pork). Yum!

It is a little pricey, but then most food is in Hong Kong.. This one dish plus a pot of Chinese tea cost me nearly HKD80! I'd definitely recommend trying it though, if you have the chance.. I really liked it, and I'm not even a duck/cha siu person! =) For future reference, Yung Kee is located on Wellington Street.

After dinner I was so tired, I just made my way back to the hotel. I didnt feel like visiting LKF alone anyway, and although Irene had invited me for a drink with her and her friends, I didnt think I'd have enough energy to be interesting enough.. Lol.. I had been up since 7am, and had been working the past week, so all the exploring had REALLY taken up all my energy.

I had a full day ahead of me anyway, which will be my next post - a full day in Kowloon! =)

Til then peeps!
xxxxx

11 comments

  1. YOUR JOB IS AWESOME CALISTA, AWESOME! i envy youuu, envyyy is say!! haha XD

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  2. Haha.. Meitzeu! I didnt get to go to many places.. =( Would love to go back again for a proper holiday! ;p

    LWM, dont envy me.. I'm sure you're gonna get to travel to loads of places soon!! =D

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  3. Love the first shot from the plane, I think I remember going up those stairs in December 1977 so you have helped out an old man with his memory/memories. A.B.

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  4. A.B., I love aerial shots! And did you have as hard a time as I did climbing up n down those stairs? ;p

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  5. I was a skinny pimply active 16 year old at the time so it was just the steepness that impressed me. My late father bought me a 28mm Makinon lens for my Praktica LTL camera so that tended to overshadow most events as I excitedly experimented with it.

    We went on to England to see the family and came back via America in late January 1978, round the world.

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  6. I cant wait to be able to travel around the world.. Haha.. Do you still have those old photos?

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  7. Yes most of them are slides, I also have some super 8 movies of the trip. It was more of a start at Melbourne end at Melbourne thing, Hong Kong for a few days, England until January and then to Canada to stay in Toronto with mum's older brother and his wife, and then back to do my final year at school.

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  8. May the fleas of a thousand camels invade the crotch of the person that ruins your day. And may their arms be to short too scratch Cheap Flights to Hong Kong

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  9. hi, Calista, this is my first time viewing ur blog, probably will be ur reader after this, I have added ur blog in my bloglist. http://ksh2772.blogspot.com/ feel free to drop by comment yea. BTW, u r really someone who is dare to travel oversea alone.

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  10. Hi Maple, I have just followed your blog, hope you followed mine too! =)

    As for travelling alone, well, I just feel like we shouldnt give up on an adventure just because no one can do it with us! Try it - just take the usual safety precautions! =)

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