590. China & HK
Had to visit a customer in China, so took the opportunity to see a bit of China & HK. Shenzhen was an eye opener. Stayed in Miraton Hotel which was very nice and relatively cheap. The food was really good and the massages equally good. The food and massages alone has made up for all my bad experiences there. Managed to get a new phone & a bluetooth headset. It was remarkably cheap @ RM400.
Miraton Hotel; Phone & Bluetooth headsetMy arrival to HK was plagued by hotels being fully booked (becoz it's fashion week) & also my friend's schedule not being confirmed. Good thing roaming around HK wasn't difficult at all thanks to the MTR service (I think Penang would benefit from such infrastructure). After checking with a few hotels, decided to check into Ramada Inn. Nothing to shout about except the price (RM600 a nite, and that only if i stayed 3 nites or more). A bed and a bathroom (which smells) is all I got. A far cry from the "suite" I have in Shenzhen which was a fraction of the cost! After settling in, it's time to decide what to do & where to go. Had to scrap Disneyland & Ocean Park due to time constraints. So decided on Avenue of Stars, Temple Street Market, Victoria Peak, HK Island, Harbour City, Nathan Road and some computer & camera shops in Mongkok area. It was nice to see Ming & Angel after a good 2 years or so. Also found that electronic gadgets isn't as cheap as I was told. Price diff is only about RM50. For that amount, I'd rather get them back home. Probably it's because there's no sales at the moment.
HK - Daytime
HK @ Nite
Bank of China (Taken with my new phone's cam); Apparently I arrived in HK during Fashion Week, nice ;)
I found a 7-Eleven store dat's actually closed @ nite
View of HK Island from Avenue of Stars
Symphony of Lights
Bruce Lee; Clock tower @ Avenue of Stars
During the day @ Avenue of Stars
Going up to Victoria Peak; View from The Peak
While waiting for the tram
The Tram; The Tsing Ma bridge
Waiting for them to unload the baggage of a missing passenger
Leaving HK; the gloves left behind by the inspector of my luggage
This is what happens when you buy an el cheapo watchThe stay in HK was fun, but it's time to pack up and head to the airport. Everything went smoothly & I was a good 2 hrs early. Check in went without a hitch and soon afterwards I am at the shopping arcade. About an hour before my flight, I decide to head to the gate. It seems there's a long que to pass thru airport security. No worries, I still have an hour right? WRONG! by the time they got to me, I had 15mins to get to the departure gate. I can still make it...........but security decided to check my luggage! I explained to her I was a bit late, she looked at my ticket and said don't worry, they'll inform the gate to wait for me. So after checking my bag & sending it through the X-Ray again, she said I'm clear. She then told me to run as the gate is closing. So I had run with my roller bag and all. After reaching the gate, the lady hurried me onto the plane. Phew! In the nick of time. After finding my seat, I heard the captain over the speaker announcing they have to wait for security to remove the baggage of a missing passenger from the plane. He went on to explain how it's a safety precaution and all. I'm thinking to myself, I hope they're not removing my bags! Anyway, my bags were the least of my worries, I'm just glad I got on the plane. I took a glance at my watch to congratulate myself on making the run in such a short time. Then i realised the lining around the choronographs has delaminated! Bloody hell! Did they sell me a counterfeit? I'll give them a piece of my mind when I get back to Penang. The flight back was uneventful. Touchdown Penang! Sigh, back to the kandang.
