I went to Hong Kong last May to attend my sis in law's wedding, it's kinda a holiday too for us. I wanna share some tips and story that might be useful if you want to plan to go there. I was there for about a week but because of family's thing, I only have free time for 3 days there so I just make it in 1 post.
Going There...
I and my hubby went there from Bali and we met there at Hong Kong after. We used Jet Star at midnight and arrived in Singapore to transit, we slept at the airport until morning and then walking around the airport until 10AM to continue our flight to Hong Kong (Ticket price is IDR 1.800.000/person). It's the longest time I've ever experienced for transit but no worry, Changi Airport Singapore is the best airport in the world, I can stay there for days alone. They have so many stores and restaurants (3 terminals connected by train and still building new terminals), some of them open for 24 hours and the others start to open at 6AM.
The airport has a beautiful butterfly park and we went there to kill time.
A bit of tips: Do shopping at Changi Airport especially for the electronics, and cosmetics because it's much cheaper there ~ free from GST (usually 7%). Ehm.. shopping is better when you get back to your country because you can carry it with you (saves baggage limit).
Jet Star vs Tiger Airways vs Air Asia???
Many people confused about this and I'll let you know what I know based on my experience.
Air Asia: it's the cheapest one actually but their stop over is in Kuala Lumpur and never in Singapore.
Jet Star: this is budget airline under Qantas Australia. The price is similar with Tiger but they automatically connect our baggage without additional charge. We don't have to take the baggage after first flight, bring it along and check in again. It's exhausting, you know. Their stop over is always Singapore.
Tiger Airways: this one is under SQ Singapore. Sometimes Tiger can bites too when it comes to Tiger Connecting Flight. If your transit time is under 8 hours, they will automatically add this 'Tiger Connects' to your ticket. It's not cheap, more than IDR 200.000, but it won't bite if you don't have any baggage.
Arrived in Hong Kong
Hong Kong airport is located far away from the city. It's on another island although the transportation is easy. There are 2 ways you can use: airport MTR, and bus. Airport MTR will cost you like A LOT! While bus is cheaper. I always used bus when I was there then continue with MTR. There's also a bus that's direct to Tsim Sha Tsui, popular tourist area. Check your bus direction first, which number to take. It's so hard talking the people there. They don't even understand English nor Chinese for some people.
After a long day, finally we arrived, so tired... Straight looking to find a meal, spotted McD at the first time and we went there. I tried the white burger, yes, it's white. We don't have it in Indonesia because it's not Halal. It has bacon in it. Uniquely it also has mash potato inside. Anyway, I like it..
We bought the Octopus card at the airport, near McD. It can be used for transport, and some retail stores like 7 11. Paid the first time for $150 ($50 deposit, $100 value). The deposit can be refunded if being used for less than 90 days (minus $9 fee). Older people age 65 has cheaper rate, so if you bring an elder, show them the passport before buying.
Day 1: Settling at Tuen Mun
We went straight to the apartment to the most far area MTR can reach, we stayed at Tuen Mun because we have family there. It's very very quiet but nice because they have market and mall nearby. Love the street food at the market there. Even though we couldn't talk, not many of them understand English. The lychee was also very very delicious, big, sweet and juicy.
To reach Tuen Mun, we use bus from airport then MTR then bus again. It's complicated and I didn't really remember because we're in a rush and I just followed my soon to be sis-in-law's husband. But the easiest way I prefer is using MTR to Tuen Mun (purple line, last stop) then using light rail train to Siu Hei because we live at Yuet Wu Villa Apartment. It's near the sea, but no beach and sand. The sea was quiet and different from Bali. Looks more like a lake 😂.
Food!!!! Finally ate a proper food that night. The soon to be sis in law's husband took us to the nearest mall, Ocean Walk. Just a few steps from the apartment. It's ok to live far far away as long as there's mall nearby. Lol. I forgot the restaurant's name but it served Vietnamese food and it was soooo good!! I love it. Miss it now. The pho.was awesome. We could choose the noodle type and the topping. I didn't remember the name of the other food but it was yummy. The wonton, spring roll, etc was delicious. Or I was getting too hungry back then ;p.
Food!!!! Finally ate a proper food that night. The soon to be sis in law's husband took us to the nearest mall, Ocean Walk. Just a few steps from the apartment. It's ok to live far far away as long as there's mall nearby. Lol. I forgot the restaurant's name but it served Vietnamese food and it was soooo good!! I love it. Miss it now. The pho.was awesome. We could choose the noodle type and the topping. I didn't remember the name of the other food but it was yummy. The wonton, spring roll, etc was delicious. Or I was getting too hungry back then ;p.
Day 2: Tsim Sha Tsui and Mong Kok
We picked up my sister at Huang Hom station, because she'll be arrived from Guang Zhou using train. It's easy to reach Hung Hom from Tuen Mun because it's the same color line, no need to change. Because the Hung Hom station was under renovation at that time, we had a hard time finding it. People there were really hard to understand English, wasting my time because of it but finally we reached it before she came.
After she came, we'd like to go to the guest house or inn called Homy Inn Mars, located at Kimberly street, Tsim Sha Tsui. We could reach it by train and walking there, but I decided to use green bus (mini bus for selected area). By using google map, trusted it with the bus number, turned out we took the wrong bus. The driver didn't understand English nor Chinese. He dropped us at another street to go with other bus. Not ended yet. The second driver didn't understand the street's name in English. Until some gentleman helped us and stopped at the same stop. The bus stop isn't as nice and clear as in Singapore. It's really hard to use bus in Hong Kong especially when you couldn't ask the driver as he/she won't understand you. Luckily we didn't bring any luggage, next time, just use subway or taxi.
We arrived at Homy Inn Mars, checked in and resting for a bit. It was super hot back then. After a while, we had a late lunch, went to dim sum place not far from the inn. My sister said it was famous. We ordered a few items, not much (it's expensive, you know). It was yummy...!! Everything was really good. Dim sum, noodles, pao.. Hong Kong is the best.
We didn't have much in our itin, just walking around TST (Tsim Sha Tsui) area, walking into malls and such. It was huge and filled with so many people. We bought Disney tickets at Golden Crown Hostel because we couldn't get it at the previous promotion place we were told (sold out). It was cheaper with the lunch promotion from the Disneyland HK web for Indonesian people at that time but I didn't get it there, my fault. I tried to buy it but the server recognized that I wasn't in Indonesia. Food is super expensive in Disneyland, so if you see lunch included promotion just take it, it'll save you a lot.
In the afternoon, we were tired and wanted something cold, we got into the famous mango dessert place. It was expensive too -__- but okay la.. Tried it once. It was yummy but not so heavenly-melt in my mouth kind of thing. Then we went back to the inn, took shower, slept a bit.
Our night plan was getting to the Avenue of the stars, watching the light show and going to Mong Kok area (2 stops away from TST) to see the ladies market and getting some food.
We arrived at Homy Inn Mars, checked in and resting for a bit. It was super hot back then. After a while, we had a late lunch, went to dim sum place not far from the inn. My sister said it was famous. We ordered a few items, not much (it's expensive, you know). It was yummy...!! Everything was really good. Dim sum, noodles, pao.. Hong Kong is the best.
We didn't have much in our itin, just walking around TST (Tsim Sha Tsui) area, walking into malls and such. It was huge and filled with so many people. We bought Disney tickets at Golden Crown Hostel because we couldn't get it at the previous promotion place we were told (sold out). It was cheaper with the lunch promotion from the Disneyland HK web for Indonesian people at that time but I didn't get it there, my fault. I tried to buy it but the server recognized that I wasn't in Indonesia. Food is super expensive in Disneyland, so if you see lunch included promotion just take it, it'll save you a lot.
In the afternoon, we were tired and wanted something cold, we got into the famous mango dessert place. It was expensive too -__- but okay la.. Tried it once. It was yummy but not so heavenly-melt in my mouth kind of thing. Then we went back to the inn, took shower, slept a bit.
Our night plan was getting to the Avenue of the stars, watching the light show and going to Mong Kok area (2 stops away from TST) to see the ladies market and getting some food.
It was a long walk reaching this Avenue of the stars, with hot weather like that, it was tiring. Finally we reached it not long before the show started. It was a beautiful view of the City Light playing with the melody. After taking some photos, we went straight to Mong Kok.
Mong Kok was really a crowded area. It wasn't as nice as the TST. It's smaller and crowded, filled with shops everywhere but not big malls. There were some malls but we didn't manage to go there. We went to Ladies Market and a bit disappointed because there's nothing good there unless you would like to buy some fake clothes, etc.
We got hungry and would like to eat but didn't know where to eat so we looked around and finally saw an interesting place, people lining up to eat!!! That place has No English menu, the waiters couldn't speak English as well, and they were really rude -_-. My sister asked in Chinese with the chef, what do you sell, what is that, etc, and they got angry and told us (more like scream) to line up and talk after getting seated in I'm not sure in Chinese or Cantonese. After getting seated, we didn't know what to eat, we just picked by hand other's people food and told him what we wanted. But.... The order came out wrong, luckily he understand for the second time with limited English. My sister said better speaking English than Chinese in HK because HK people don't like China Mainland people and value English tourists more.
After a long hard time to get food, phew... Luckily it was yummy! One of the best food I ate there with affordable price of course, rather than restaurant, but as long as you can handle the tension. I'm not sure if I can do that if I'm alone. That's why there's no Caucasian tourists over there, it's more like local place. Western people prefer to stay at HK island (the southern part of HK) where expats live and many high end places there.
Mong Kok was really a crowded area. It wasn't as nice as the TST. It's smaller and crowded, filled with shops everywhere but not big malls. There were some malls but we didn't manage to go there. We went to Ladies Market and a bit disappointed because there's nothing good there unless you would like to buy some fake clothes, etc.
We got hungry and would like to eat but didn't know where to eat so we looked around and finally saw an interesting place, people lining up to eat!!! That place has No English menu, the waiters couldn't speak English as well, and they were really rude -_-. My sister asked in Chinese with the chef, what do you sell, what is that, etc, and they got angry and told us (more like scream) to line up and talk after getting seated in I'm not sure in Chinese or Cantonese. After getting seated, we didn't know what to eat, we just picked by hand other's people food and told him what we wanted. But.... The order came out wrong, luckily he understand for the second time with limited English. My sister said better speaking English than Chinese in HK because HK people don't like China Mainland people and value English tourists more.
After a long hard time to get food, phew... Luckily it was yummy! One of the best food I ate there with affordable price of course, rather than restaurant, but as long as you can handle the tension. I'm not sure if I can do that if I'm alone. That's why there's no Caucasian tourists over there, it's more like local place. Western people prefer to stay at HK island (the southern part of HK) where expats live and many high end places there.
Day 3: Disney land
Finally! Disney land time. My childhood dream was finally came true. We got breakfast first from 7 11 before going there and bought some milk, didn't buy snacks because it wasn't allowed at Disneyland. We went straight to the MTR to go to Disneyland. I will post the details on other post. (CLICK HERE)
- Skipped to Day 4-
Day 4: Star Ferry, Ding Ding Tram - Causeway bay, HK Island
Our plan was getting to the Hong Kong island. Shopping time! ~didn't buy high end branded items, just a normal one~
We did the trip in traditional way as I wanted to experience those things. We used the Star Ferry to go to Central, ifc mall. Went straight and crossed the street to reach the Ding Ding Tram to gp to Causeway Bay. It was a traditional slow light train, no AC, and has 2 level. It was so crowded and the tram was so slim. So.. A bit hussling and juggling 😂. It was the cheapest one. I think around $2 HKD.
Causeway Bay was so busy that day. Omg. Never seen so many people at the same time in my live.
We went to SOGO. It had a SALE going on and people went super crazy shopping. Pheww.. We also went to Forever 21 accross the street.
Getting tired and had a hard time finding affordable food, we chose McD instead. Got black burger! After white, it's time for black. I prefer the white one though. It was a bit dry. It has beef inside with black pepper sauce I think. Doesn't really remember.
We got back to Hung Hom using MTR, my sister went back to Guangzhou and we also went back to Tuen Mun to get a rest.
Day 5: The Wedding Day
Congratz sis in law. The ceremony was held at and later we went to the hotel for reception. It was held in modern Western style, so does the food. Love the food so much! It has so many choices, high quality food, and really enjoyed it.
We met a family there too and they brought us to met other family at Tsing Yi the next day.
Day 6: Yam Cha at Tsing Yi Island
Yam cha time... Finally another dim sum! Dim sum was really good at Hong Kong but it was so expensive at restaurant. We ate some at the market but the taste was so so.
We went to Tsing Yi island using MTR. The Hong Kong MTR was awesome because they managed it to pass island by island. Wondering if we have it and can pass from Bali to Java that easy. Lol.
Day 7: Getting To Airport using Ferry from Tuen Mun
"Time to go home!" Not home yet actually because we extended the trip to Singapore for 2 days. Using hotel voucher from Hotel Quickly app, I used my IDR 3million credit to get a hotel at L Lavender and paid for only IDR 500.000 for 2 nights. (You can search my blog about how to use and experience using Hotel Quickly). Redeem code JLIAN9 to get IDR 130.000 free credit when you download the app.
Back to 'getting airport' thing. It was different than the first time because the family who lives there told us that we could go to the airport using Ferry. We just 1 stop away from the pier so we walked in the morning at 6AM to Tuen Mun Ferry Pier and waited until it was open. We rode the ferry to Lantau island (where the airport is). I forgot how much but it's definitely cheaper than using MTR and faster. After we arrived, we rose a bus to the airport. It's picking up people around to the airport. Then... See ya.. Cao..
Some useful tips:
- HK in May is hot because it's early summer but not as hot as July (high season and high heat, no good).
- Use light clothes and sunglasses, don't forget sunblock and waterproof make up
- Use sneakers, sandals mean not appropriate in HK and it will hurt your feet by walking too much
- Bring cantonese dictionary or find someone young and executive one if you want to ask something in English. Drivers, waitress, some of them don't speak English.
- Use MTR, saves time and money
- 7 11 sells easy fast food but doesn't taste good
- Halal food is hard to find, so prepare your where to eat itinerary if you want to eat Halal food
- Chungking and midori mansion has so many guest houses but I don't really recommend it because it's scary and dangerous, so many immigrants selling black market phones at the first level and very crowded, hard to get into the elevator.
- Buy cheaper attratction tickets at some guest houses
- Branded items are cheaper because there's no tax, even Mainland people go shopping in HK
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