Hong Kong Part 3

From Wan Chai, we took bus 6X (HKD 8.40) straight to Stanley. My mum used to bring our guests and relatives here for shopping. I didn't think it was much fun 18 years back. But things have changed. The whole area has changed tremendously. It is such a beautiful place. We didn't do anything much but just enjoyed the wonderful scenery and weather....and Akmar did some shopping too (Bought a jumpsuit for Alyssa at HKD10, an oil painting for HKD90). The trip on the bus was wonderful as well. Along the way are some high end apartments and condominiums. In less than 30 minutes I saw more than 10 luxury cars (4 Bentlys, 2 Aston Martins, countless Ferrarris and Porches). I wonder how rich these people are. A parking lot in Hong Kong can cost as much as HKD 4 million!

Stanley Bay

Nice weather, nice view

The high end apartments from the bus

From the southern side of Hong Kong, we head straight to the Mainland. We arrived just in time for the Symphony of Lights at The Avenue of Stars. (Bus no. 6 to Admiralty Station, then MTR to Tsim Tsa Tsui). The Symphony of Lights is certified by Guinness World Records as the world's largest permanent light and sound show in the world. It starts daily at 8pm and the best vantage point is from The Avenue of Stars. It IS the biggest but entertaining it is NOT. We can barely see where the lights are coming from and it wasn't synchronous with the soundtrack. Basically, its what we Malays say "Indah khabar dari rupa". But the view of the Hong Kong Skyline is not to be missed.

The beautiful skyline

Jackie Chan's star

A Bruce Lee wannabe

Next, we went to Mong Kok. THE place for shopping and bargaining, the Ladies' Market. This place is massive, filled to the brim with people. The rule of thumb here is DON'T BE FOOLED BY THE PRICE. A typical bargain will be like this:

Me:         How much is this?
Ah Moi:  This is HKD300. But I give you best price...HKD150
Me:         Cheaper can?
Ah Moi:  I give you best price already!
Me:         Ok, I go
Ah Moi:  Mister, mister. How much you want? (shows you a calculator)
Me:        (I write HKD 75)
Ah Moi:  Too much. Cannot sell
Me:        (I walk off)
Ah Moi:  Ok, ok mister. I give you HKD 80, I give you free key chain.

I bought the bloody thing for HKD 80. The next day we went to The Peak and saw the same thing for HKD 50, fixed price! The moral of the story is, these people are scumbags. If you enjoy bargaining and have skills, this is a place for you.

Despite my grudge against the sellers, we returned to our room with close to HKD 1000 of stuff. Tipping the scales of our luggage by 5kg (departed with 20kg luggage, returned home with 20kg).