Wednesday, March 26, 2008

A short stop-over in Hong Hong

I'm unable to write long this time. These are just my personal notes for my future travel to Hong Kong City.

How to go to Hong Kong city from Chek Lap Kok Airport:
1. After exiting arrival hall, head for "Airbus" (with bus logo) sign-board. You can ask tourist information desk after exiting custom check. There're lots of guides and maps there, just take anything you want. I was a little confused when followed the bus sign as there's also "Hotel shuttle bus" heading to "Terminal 2", but don't go for that if you want a cheaper method going to the city.
2. At the airport exit (if you follow the "Airbus" sign), you can see many double-decker bus in-front of you, and there's ticket/information counter on your left.
3. I booked a hostel at Mirador Mansion which is located at Tsim Sha Shui, so buy a ticket route A21 at CitiFlyer counter (left counter). Wait for the bus at A21 waiting area. You can check the location at the information board in front of the bus station. ALWAYS REMEMBER TO BUY RETURN JOURNEY TICKET INSTEAD OF SINGLE JOURNEY TICKET as you'll get discount for the second journey. Single journey ticket would cost HKD35, while return journey ticket would cost HKD55.
4. CityFlyer airport buses are red and yellow colored, just for a note. Make sure to be in front at the queue as you can get better seat in the bus. I would prefer front seat of the second floor of the double-decker bus. When entering the bus, show ticket to the bus driver and put it into the coin box. You can pay directly pay at the box if you don't have ticket (However, I'm not sure how you can get return journey if you do this way). Put your luggage at the luggage area (CCTV monitored), and go get a good seat.
5. Enjoy your journey, as it may take around 40-50 minutes to Hong Kong city (Mong Kok or Tsim Sha Shui area). Tsim Sha Shui is at the 13th stop (number and location name is shown in Cantonese and English at the LED panel inside the bus for each stop). Better get ready to get-off the bus before the bus actually stop at your desired location. I saw a girl shouting "Wai, wait, hold on!!!" to the driver in my journey.
6. Stay cool when your get out of the bus. There'll be so many pedestrians around you. Some girls (may I say "makcik") will come to you and offer body massage, face massage, foot massage, etc... some Indians/ Pakistani will come to you and give your their restaurants pamphlets, etc. At Tshim Sha Shui (Nathan Street), you'll see many European, Indian/Pakistani, Philippine, Indonesia/Malaysia, Japanese and Korean faces around you, not only Chinese. Walk through the Nathan Street following the bus direction. You'll find Maridor Mansion at the 58th. If you go straight to the front, you'll find Holiday Inn (one block further), then the Chung-King Mansion. Head into Maridor Mansion entrance, lift is to your right after passing 3-4 shops at the entrance. For my hostel, I've to go to the 13th floor where the hostel counter is (just in-front of the lift). The "nyonya" there is quite "baik la jugak", explaining me simple things not only about my room, but also about the building itself (the lift you used to enter the building just now is unusable from 8PM to 6AM, you've to use another lift at the back which is equipped with CCTV camera for security).
7. Be happy with your room, as that's the cheapest you can get at the BEST located area in Hong Kong!!! Instead keeping yourself in the room, go outside and watch & feel Hong Kong city. Go walking along Nathan Street for cheap bargains, or Kings Street for good meals!
8. I took subway from Tsim Sha Shui station (subway entrance is joust around the Mirador Mansion) to Mong Kok. At first, I'm not sure which exit should I go for, but after strolling around, I think exit heading to Girls Street (not sure/remember the name in English though) is the best one. I' not sure whether they really sell girls for pleasure, but you'll see stalls selling everything (from HK t-shirts to lingerie) just along the street! I bought Hong Kong 100% cotton t-shirt for my friend in Japan and for myself just for HKD25 dollar each here. They'll put HKD35-40 per piece, but its your time to bargain. Normally, you can get nearly half the advertised price. There're also many shops selling home electronics, computers, and cellphones around.
9. To go back to the airport, take A21 CitiFlyer airport bus at the bus stop just at the opposite side of the Mirador Mansion. The bus would take 40-50 minutes to the airport, so plan your time properly. For my case, I take bus at Mirador Mansion at 1PM for my flight at 4:30PM, and the timing is just nice. I waited for nearly 40 minutes for Cathay Pacific flight check-in at counter C (economy class ticket). Immigration clearance didn't take long time though.

The flight journey from Hong Kong to Nagoya was very nice. I got a cute Japanese girl travelling alone from Australia just next to my seat. We just chat along the journey until the plane landed in Nagoya Centrair International Airport. How come the stewardess misunderstood us as couple along the journey... hmmm, I won't elaborate on that though... <^-^>

No comments: