Hong Kong Museum Tour 2013 Summer

Hong Kong Museum Tour - August 28, 2013

Today I have a day off.  In fact I pick Wednesday because all Hong Kong museums are free, except special exhibitions.  I walk through three museums in Tsimshatsui.  Here's a summary of my tours.

Hong Kong Science Museum
There are big crowds of people, as students are still on summer holiday.  And we are like-minded people - go to musuems on Wednesday for free.  In fact at this museum, I walk through one show only and it really make my day.  I HIGHLY RECOMMEND this exhibition - WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR.  It is a special exhibition, but I don't know why they let me in FOC.  It is rare chance that we can see so many valuable and beautiful wildlife photos.  It really worth your time.

In fact I also watched a movie about cutlefishes, as I arrive just at the right time.  It's free but it's really valuable.  You'll appreciate the wonderful content and the underwater filming.  How they film the cutlefishes hunting, mating and their life span.  Howevere watching movies (free or not free) in Hong Kong, you would have to put up with a few things:  crying and talking kids, people talking on mobile phone, people turning on their ipad and other lightening devices, eating and drinking.  Athough all these were said to be forbidden, well, it's Hong Kong! 

 

Hong Kong Museum of History

Just opposite to the Science Museum.  There is another special exhibition which is FOC - The Hong Kong Observatory.  I arrived at a good time, no queueing, so I had a chance to take this scientific photo with Typhoon Vicente which visited us in July 2012.

 

As a Hong Konger, this show recap a lot of the miserable memories about the natural disasters. 

The three most distructive typhoons after war:  Wanda (1962), Rose (1971) and Ellen (1983).  Although I was very young in the 60s and 70s, Ellen hit me with unforgettable memories.  I was stucked in Macau, away from home and had to struggle with typhoon alone.  Drought in 1963, although I was a little girl, I still had clear memory how we survive through 4 hours of water supply every four days. Heavy rain in 1966 and 1972, costing enormous human life and disasters...

 

The regular show Hong Kong Story is always free.  Very resourceful, telling the history of Hong Kong from prehistoric to 1997 when China regain the power in Hong Kong.  Short movies are available.  At the old Hong Kong street, I took a few photos.

 

Typewritter

Gen Y may not have a chance to see how a typewritter look like. 

 

 

Telephone

There are several of them, but these two looks good.  I seem to have seen them when I was a little girl.

 

Fan

A typical air conditioning equipment for the general public in the 60s.

 

Radio

Yes, it's a radio, though at the size of a microwave.  During the 60s it was quite a luxury at home.  So people usually decorate/protect it with kind of beautiful curtain.

 

The Art Museum

After the two museums, I took bus to the nearby Art Museum.  But I shouldn't come, because I forgot I came here two months ago.  Didn't find anything new, just walked briefly through some of the galleries.

 

Breakfast At Island Shangri-La

Before my museum tour, I started my day with a 5-star breakfast.  Unfortunately it's 5-star in terms of money, 2-star in terms of food.  I couldn't even find someone to fry eggs.  Fortunately after a thorough search, I found someone who can cook an omelette for me.  There were very little food choices along with many empty trays.

 

 

There were actually nothing worth taking a photo.  However these two were ok.  As they were cooked to order, they were very hot.  But look, at the congee counter, I couldn't even find green onions.  Everyone in Hong Kong eat congee with green onion, I'm not sure whether it was used up without refill or there were actually none.  I ended up add some dry garlic which is never a congee mate.

 

 

The bill is really big - HK$308+10% service fee, total HK$338.8

 

I must say if it is part of your room package, go for it.  If you need to pay HK$338.8 for such a below par buffet, forget it.  With such money, you can eat a high quality fresh seafood dinner in Hong Kong.

 

 

Ocean Park 2013

Ocean Park Birthday Tour 2013

Yesterday was my birthday, I've taken the advantage of going to Ocean Park for free.  In fact, I did the same last year.  There were something quite different for this year.

Giant Panda - there are two pairs of giant pandas in the Park.  I remember I made this comment last year - giant pandas are always sleeping and red pandas are active.  But this year is exactly in reverse.
I had never imagined to see a a panda in motion, and especially eating bamboo leaves.  Wonderful!  Everyone were so excited.  On the other side, the red pandas were sleeping.  Oh well, I learn a lession from pandas - the world is forever changing!

The Penguin Encounter is new.  Last year it was not open yet.  Be prepared, as it is only 8-10 degrees inside.  There are many species of penguins here.  The large ones are 2-3 feet tall while the small ones are just about a foot. 

I would say I saw more penguins here than in Philip Island Australia.  I like seeing them swimming, diving or jumping up to the shore.  Lovely creatures.

 

Grand Acuqarium

 

Sea Jelly Spectacular

 

At the Main Entrance

As the Ocean Park is one of the world most popular theme parks, there are lots of tourists, both from local and around the world.  The Park is full of people everyday.  But on my birthday, I had a little privilege.  I didn't have to queue to buy a ticket, there is a special counter for birthday guests and it is free.  Although the Park is always full of people, you can still take a good photo if you have patience.  See my photo at the main entrance.

Couple of Things To Note

1. No personal food is allowed.  You have to buy from the expensive F&B outlets inside the Park.
2. Every point of interest has photo service.  They are expensive, minimum charge HK$288, inclusive photo, frame and key chain. You are free to take the photos, but you don't have to buy if you don't like the photo.

Transportation

1. From Wanchai - take bus 90 or 97 (east bound), get off immediately after the tunnel.  HK$4.7.  A few minutes walk to the Park.
2. From Admiralty - take bus 629 to the main entrance.  HK$10.9
3. From elsewhere - take MTR to Admiralty and change to bus 629

Standard Admission Fee

Adult - HK$280
Children (3-11) - HK$140

Hong Kong Travel Blog - Ocean Park

Hong Kong: Big vistas and even bigger ambitions

The region has long been a thriving hub, but it's still looking to the future, says Tom Peck

When Batman flew by helicopter over Hong Kong harbour five years ago, he made minor movie history. Film aficionados will know that the scene from The Dark Knight was the first in a major feature film to be shot with an IMAX camera. The director, Christopher Nolan, chose it for one reason – the pictures it captures are simply enormous.

It was a wise decision. A single glance doesn't really do Hong Kong's iconic panorama justice, but by taking to the skies, the Caped Crusader was being a bit of a wimp. In 1881, a Scottish railwayman called Alexander Findlay Smith became convinced of the possibility of building a funicular railway up the impossibly steep Victoria Peak, the island's highest mountain. Now, his engineering is Hong Kong's most popular attraction.

The Peak Tram, as it has become known, has its Lower Terminus on Garden Road (00 852 2522 0922; thepeak.com.hk/en; return HK$40/£3.50). It takes around five minutes to travel the 1,400 metres to the top, gaining more than 400 metres in height as it does so. Suddenly, the entire city spreads out before you like a tablecloth thrown over the earth.

Rows of gleaming metal towers shoot from beside the calm waters of the harbour up to the rolling forested hills – indeed it's the kind of vista that does demand an IMAX lens to take it in.
After experiencing this overview, take the tram back down and from the terminus in Central – Hong Kong's glistening business district – head up Garden Road until you reach the Bank of China Tower whose triangular glass panels make it stand out from the crowd. This is Downtown – the belly of the beast, but its historical centre too. Turn left on to Queens Road Central, left again on to D'Aguilar Street, and then take your first right on to Stanley Street. The sound of greedy slurping indicates your arrival in one of the last vestiges of Hong Kong's once thriving street food scene. Not so long ago, you'd find hundreds of dai pai dong in Hong Kong, but today only 28 official open-air food stalls remain.

The words translate as "big licence"; after the Second World War, special street food licences – with larger badges than usual – were given out in haste to the struggling families of deceased soldiers or civil servants so that they could earn a living. But almost all have since fallen victim to air-conditioned progress. However, several stalls serve authentic dim sum, which roughly means "a little bit from the heart". Sing Kee, at Nos 9 & 10 is the busiest, and with good reason. The service is a little brisk, but the food is authentic. Cuttlefish is popular, as are fish-skin dumplings. There's also eggs with shrimp for the less adventurous.

Carry on west to where Stanley Street crosses Cochrane Street and take the Mid-Levels Escalator up to Hollywood Road, right at the top. These 800-metre-long, covered escalators, opened in 1993, are now an important commuter route which tackles Hong Kong's hilly terrain and bustling traffic. From 6am to 10am, they run downhill, after which point they are switched in the other direction.

Head west along Hollywood Road as it, and the surrounding streets, transform into a long stretch of stalls and antique shops, some cheap and cheerful, many eye-wateringly expensive. A few hundred metres further on, you'll find the largest of Hong Kong's Man Mo Taoist Temples that honour two of the many hundreds of gods: War and Literature. Here the two figures sit side by side, one brandishing a pen, the other a sword. Behind the red and gold doors, the air is alive with incense smoke. As recently as 100 years ago, it is maintained that when disputes could not be solved by British law, they would be settled here using a curious game of chance involving chicken's blood and pieces of yellow paper.

A little further along Hollywood Road, turn right and take the stairs down to Queens Road Central. Turn left on to the escalators down to Connaught Road and then turn right to Hong Kong Central Station. This might seem an unusual location for a bite to eat, but it contains the third and newest branch of a Hong Kong institution, Tim Ho Wan (Hong Kong Station Podium Level 1, IFC Mall; 00 852 2332 3078; timhowan.com). The original (in nearby Kowloon) is the world's cheapest Michelin-starred restaurant. A di m sum meal, including the signature barbecue pork buns, can be bought for around £5.

Come out of the other end of Hong Kong Central Station and walk along the harbour front at Lung Wo Road to Hong Kong's Exhibition Centre, a little low-rise blob framed by the skyscrapers that surround it. From 23-26 May it will be hosting, for the first time, Art Basel. More than 250 galleries from 35 countries will be exhibiting at the contemporary art show, and leading artists will be involved in panel discussions.
Where the world's riches go, high-end art follows, and China is now the world's second-largest market. Hong Kong might just be embarking on the most exciting chapter in its history.

Fresh cuts
Art Basel is at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, 1 Expo Drive (00 852 2824 2381; artbasel.com) from 23-26 May. Other galleries throughout the city are also taking part. Tickets HK$250 (£21).
Rula Bula (58-62 D'Aguilar Street; 00 852 2179 5225; rulabula.com.hk) deals in "molecular cocktails" and DJs of world renown. An abbreviation from the Irish expression "Ri Ra agus Rúla Búla", meaning "uproar and commotion", it is the latest in a long line of offerings to the Hong Kong social scene from expatriate Irishman Cathal Kiely.
Enomod (1-5 Elgin Street; 00 852 2555 6065; facebook.com/enomod) is a new Mediterranean "social dining experience". Cheeses, cold cuts, delicate tapas-style fish dishes and wine by the carafe set among seven different areas – including charcuterie counter, lounge area, communal dining tables and draught wine corner.

Travel essentials

Getting there
Virgin Atlantic (0844 209 2770; virgin-atlantic.com) flies daily from Heathrow to Hong Kong. Returns start at £659. Cathay Pacific (020-8834 8888; cathaypacific.com) and British Airways (0844 493 0787) also fly Heathrow-Hong Kong. Many connecting flights are available.

Staying there
The Marco Polo Hotel, 13 Canton Road, Harbour City, Kowloon (00 852 2113 0088; marcopolohotels.com). Double rooms, with spectacular views over Hong Kong harbour, start at HK$1,700 (£144), without breakfast.

More information
Hong Kong Tourist Board: discoverhongkong.com

Article source:  Independent

Hong Kong Tops Asia’s Shopping Destinations

Hong Kong’s Tourism Board has long called the city a shopper’s paradise. Now, it can point to a study that hails the former British colony as Asia’s top shopping destination.

Global Blue, a Switzerland-based company that helps foreign shoppers to obtain tax refunds, teamed up with the Economist Intelligence Unit to rank 25 cities in Asia-Pacific on their shopping offerings for visitors. The researchers made their rankings based on five categories: Shops, affordability, convenience, hotel and transport, and culture and climate.

In the resulting study, titled the “Globe Shopper Index Asia-Pacific,” Hong Kong came out on top, scoring 68.5 out of 100 thanks to its convenience and wide selection of shops. The city was also praised for factors such as its long sales periods (the city’s stores marked down items for 22 weeks last year) and its shops’ multilingual staff.

Hong Kong’s one weakness was in the affordability category. Owing to its popularity as a tourist destination, especially among mainland Chinese, the city’s hotels are often full, which in turn pushes up room prices. Taxis are also relatively expensive compared to other Asian cities. On the other hand, the cities that performed well on the affordability ranking – Ho Chi Minh City and Dhaka were the top two – often ranked low in other categories, such as convenience and variety of shops and brands.

Last year, 41.9 million tourists flocked to Hong Kong, up 16% from 2010, and spent 253 billion Hong Kong dollars ($32.6 billion), according to the city’s tourism board. Sixty-seven percent, or 28.1 million, of the city’s visitors came from mainland China.

The study put Kuala Lumpur in second place with a score of 65.1, while Shanghai and Beijing scored 63.1 and 60.7, respectively. Singapore came in fifth, followed by Sydney, Bangkok and Tokyo.

While Kuala Lumpur doesn’t have Hong Kong’s international reputation as a shopping haven, the researchers pointed out that the city’s goods are cheap, the hotels are plentiful, and the metropolis has several gigantic malls, including three of the world’s top 10 shopping centers by size. Air-conditioned malls also help to make up for the Malaysian capital’s biggest weakness: The city ranked third to bottom in the study’s climate category.

Global Blue, which tracks world-wide movements of tourist shopping dollars, projects that the rapid rise of travelling shoppers from mainland China will continue despite the economic uncertainty in the country.

“We don’t see a slowdown at all,” said Per Setterberg, the company’s president. He added that while Hong Kong is a top shopping destination in Asia, many Asian shoppers still see the European capitals as their favorite places to shop in the world. “Those cities are the home to the large brands, and they want to go for the experience of shopping there.”

The company’s first “Globe Shopper Index” study, released last year, focused on Europe. London ranked as Europe’s top shopping destination, followed by Barcelona, Madrid, Paris and Rome.

Source:  WSJ

Soho Restaurants in Hong Kong

How many Soho restaurants are there in Hong Kong? And what is special about them. These mini to medium size restaurants in Central Hong Kong are mainly situated around Elgin Street, Staunton Street, Shelly Street, all easily accessible via the Central escalator. One thing special about these restaurants is that they are all very cosy, stylish and with wide range of international foods.

My office is nearby this area. Today I make use of my lunch hour to explore the Soho restaurants and here is a summary.

Pampas - Argentinian Steak House

G/F, 32B-C Staunton Street, SoHo, Central, Telephone: 2868 6959

They claim to offer fresh organic prime beef cuts flown in direct from Argentina

 

 

Enoteca

G/F, 47 Elgin Street, SoHo, Central, Telephone: 2525 9944

60-seat Mediterranean tapas and wine bar

 

Olive

G/F, 32 Elgin Street, SoHo, Central, Telephone: 2521 1608

Contemporary Greek and Middle Eastern cuisine with an Australian flavor

F.A.B French American Bistro
G/F, 30 Hollywood Road, SOHO, Central
Telephone: 2810 1600

Quite a cozy Italian restaurant.  There are many Italian restaurants lining up at Soho.

 

El Taco Loco, 9 Lower Staunton Street,
(Off Central Escalator) Central, Hong Kong, Tel: 2522 1239
Mexican Cuisine - Signature dishes include Frijolesy, Carne Asada as well as Tacos, Burritos, Quesadillas and Nachos. Margaritas and Mexican beers are a specialty.

 

Marouche Lebanese Cuisine

G/F, 46-48 Cochrane Street, SoHo, Central

Telephone: 2541 8282

The meat is mainly sourced from the US and New Zealand, but the spices and ingredients used are imported directly from Lebanon, and even the chef is Lebanese.

Nepal

G/F, 14 Staunton Street, SoHo, Central, Telephone: 2869 6212
Evolving from the Royal Nepalese cuisine, into an assortment of contemporary dishes

I’m curious about Nepal food, so I took a photo of their menu.  Main course is BBQ/curry, your choice of meat/vegetables.  Starter is Bhenta Tareko (fried eggplant with Nepali herbs); Samosa (stuffed deep fried cone pastries with light spices) or soup of your choice (pumpkin, tomato, lamb, mixed beans), coffee and tea.  HK$98+10% service fee.

If you want to spend reasonable money and enjoy unique food in unique stylish comfortable restaurants, you may want to spend a month to do your lunches in this area.

The set lunches for most restaurants are set around HK$98+10% service fee.  This may be the way shop owners keep themselves competitive.  Please prepare to pay a little more if you choose to go a la carte.   

There are places lining up with Italian restaurants, Vietnamese, Thai, Chinese, Japanese, British…you name it and you’ll find it.  If you want to explore more about Soho restaurants, click here.

Hong Kong Travel Blog - Soho Restaurants

Ocean Park Hong Kong

I went to the Ocean Park this Monday (25/6) on my birthday, free of charge (hey, local residents only).  In the same period Ocean Park is celebrating it's 35th anniversary.  Being one of the world's most visited theme parks, Ocean Park has a completely new look after its recent rennovation in 2011.

Many come to the Park to see the giant pandas.  Let me tell you, they are always sleeping.  Don't expect to see them in motion as in promotion videos.  Of course, if you are lucky enough, you'll see a sleeping panda, or you'll simply see an empty cage.  In order not to let you down, you must have to see the Red Panda.  This active lovely creature is far more worth seeing.

Must See
The Grand Aquarium
Goldfish Treasures
Sea Jelly Spectacular

Must Do
Cable Car (long waiting line)
Ocean Express (minimum waiting, 5 min ride connecting low and highland of the Park)

Shows (approximately 20 minutes)
Whiskers Harbour (Seals)
Ocean Theatre (Dolphins)
Birds Theare





Getting There
Take bus 629 from Admiralty MTR

Admission
Adult: HK$280
Children: HK$140
Birthday (local resident only): FOC, half price for accompanying partner

Time Table
Open daily 10am. Opening hours and show time has seasonally changes. Make sure to pick up a guide map at the entrance.

City Hall and Sir Robert Black

March 2012 is the 50th anniversary of the Hong Kong City Hall. There are series of celebrations including exhibitions and free dancing shows.

Last Saturday I went to see the exhibition of the history of City Hall and found something interesting.  As we all know, Hong Kong became a British colony since 1842.  Since then English became the official language here.  Today we seldom have chances to read some really formally written English or Chinese.  I just found one at the exhibition and have decided to share with you here.  Mind you, the name of the then governor of Hong Kong was three lines long.  Here you go:

On the occasion of the formal opening of the City Hall on 2nd March 1962 His Excellency Sir Robert Black Knight Grand Cross of the Most Distinguished Order of St. Michael & St. George, Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, Governor & Commander in Chief of the Colony of Hong Kong, presented this scroll to the Urban Council upon whom the management of the City Hall had been vested by Ordinance on Wednesday, 29th March 1961.  It was received on behalf of the Urban Council by the Chairman the Honourable Kenneth Strathmore Kinghorn, Justice of the Peace.

際茲大會堂揭幕之日

香港總督暨三軍司令御賜聖米迦勒及聖喬治最高勲位大十字武士勲章暨英帝國最高勲位職官柏立基爵士以此卷軸頒賜市政局盖大會堂之管理權根據一九六一年三月廿九日所訂之法例授予市政局者
    卷軸由市政局主席太平紳士景韓司憲拜命領存此日會堂敞設人文爭星月之輝館院宏開學術薈中西之萃懿歟盛哉永誌斯舉

You may notice that there are no punctuation marks in the Chinese version.  Yes the original was written that way.  In fact, ancient formal Chinese was written without punctuations.  The use of punctuation marks were only introduced in the recent 100 years or so.

The Higher Block of The Hong Kong City Hall and it's garden.  The building next to it was the Mandarin Oriental which was also built in the 60's.  Thought the building built at that period were similarly tall.  City Hall used to be a giant building at the waterfront of Central when it was built.  Nowadays it becomes a tiny little building surrounded by skyscrapers in Central.

There were several venues in the City Hall presenting various kinds of dances which recaps a short history of all the cultural performances being held here in the past half a century.

Hong Kong Travel Blog - City Hall 50th Anniversary