Hong Kong pt. 2
- Tara Larkai
- Jan 2, 2014
- 5 min read
We woke up super early; we were dressed and out of our hotel at 7 am. The plan was to go see Victoria peak. We read a blog that said it is much more worth it to take the tram up to the peak. We asked the hotel attendant to tell our taxi driver to take us to the tram station but instead he took us to tsim sui promenade. It was ghost town out there. There was no one out, it was too early. Unsure of how to get to the tram, we went to a nearby starbucks to use their wifi and research how to get to the tram. After 30 minutes of free wifi, we decided to walk up the promenade which is also their avenue of stars and take pictures. The promenade was located on the other side of Victoria harbor. It is the best place to see Hong Kong skyline and the nightly light show. It is an amazing view!
People were starting to come out for the day. You can only imagine the stares we were getting from people. Most of the people were Asians but not all of them were Hong Kong natives it seemed. One couple was in complete shock when they saw us. Remember that scene from “coming to America” when Eddie Murphy was at the bathroom and was stopped by someone from his country? Remember how the person greeted him and bowed to him because he was a prince? Well that is kind of how this couple was acting towards us. The female stopped me and gave her husband her camera and said something to me in mandarin. Obviously I did not understand what she said but I immediately figured it out as soon as she started posing with me and signaled her husband to take the picture. Chloe and Lindy were over the whole” omg black people in Asia thing” but I was feeling like a star so I smiled and took pictures. Lol During our stroll, we saw an English speaking couple who advised us to take a ferry to the other side to get to tram station. We found our way to the ferry and got on it. At the final destination, we still could not find our way to the tram so we asked a man who appeared American on our Ferry. He told us we got on the wrong ferry. He instead advised us to take a taxi to the tram station. So we did. We arrived there 10 minutes later. There was nobody in line (Yes!). First of all, the customer service at the tram station was horrifying! The attendant did not greet us nor did she acknowledge us. She clearly saw that we were tourist and were struggling to figure out which package to purchase but she didn’t help. Instead she pointed us to the sign when we asked her question. (How rude?) After picking a package to purchase, we were ready to purchase with a card. She then said, “Cash only”. WTF? There was no sign that said “cash only”. So we asked if they took “USD”, she said “no”. We did not have any HKD. So we asked her if she could direct us to the nearest money exchange. Of course she could not help. She was useless! An hour after asking around and walking around the city, we were able to locate one. When we made our way back to the tram station, a huge line had formed. We did not want to stand in line for hours so we decided to take a taxi up the peak. After 20 minutes of tiny and windy roads we were at the top. What a view!
It was the most amazing thing we had ever seen! This is a must do in Hong Kong. There were many angles of the peak and view of Hong Kong. We explored all angles. Check out the pictures. We had an interesting Asian breakfast at the top overlooking Hong Kong. There is a mall at the top as well. After a couple of hours of exploring, we were exhausted and our phones were dead. As we were resting and getting some battery juice, 2 Malaysian girls asked if they could take a picture with us. Before we could respond, one of the girls forced herself to sit between us. We looked at each other like, “seriously”? They had no sense of personal space or social cues whatsoever! Roundtrip to and from the peak was cheaper than the tram. If you want to save on money then I would advise the taxi instead of the tram. You get to see the same view anyway.
Our next adventure was the ladies market. Ladies market is located in Mongkok. It is a half a mile long stretch of over 100 stalls selling souvenirs, fake goods such as purses, clothes, leather items etc. They had all kinds “fake” designers such as gucci, LV, Hermes, Celine etc. Some of these fake goods are very hard to tell apart from the real deal. You can bargain on almost anything you purchase from these stalls. That is where we purchased all our souvenirs for friends and family.
Our next plan was to see the light show at tsim sui promenade but we lost track of time at the ladies market and could not make it in time for the show. We then decided to check out Hong Kong night life. We settled on Sugar bar. Sugar is a rooftop bar located on the 32nd floor of the business hotel, East. The décor of the bar can be described as modern, stylish and classy. There is an inside and outside seating area. When we arrived, we were asked if we were members of their club. The bar is only open to members however you can sign up to be a member onsite which we did. The inside was empty; everyone was outside on the deck so we also ended up on the deck. The deck provides breath -taking panoramic views of Hong Kong and Victoria harbor. The atmosphere was casual and laid back. The music was not that great, typical old school music. We ordered cocktails and appetizers and were hoping to mingle with locals but the guests were not friendly as they kept to themselves. After a couple hours on the deck and soaking in the night view of Hong Kong, we were ready to leave. Before we left, we had to see the bathroom. The bathroom was just as nice as the rest of the bar. The bathroom walls/windows were all made of see -through glass that provided sweeping views of the city. The view from the bathroom was as spectacular as the view from the bar deck. I would recommend this bar to anyone in Hong Kong looking for a classy spot to unwind. What an eventful day! Next is our Macau adventure.
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