Hong Kong Part 1

I Am Lost in Hong Kong T-shirt

Hong Kong. A wonderful city. Despite having a souvenir T shirt of 'I AM LOST IN HONG KONG', I was NEVER lost in Hong Kong. Not 17 years ago, and not on this visit.
17 years back. I was just a little boy. A chubby one too. Between Primary (standard) 3 to Primary 6, I went to school in Hong Kong. A few months in Delia School of Canada, then Quarry Bay School. I was there with my parents. My dad was working at the Immigration Department of The Malaysian Embassy. It was a wonderful 3 1/2 years.
This year I managed to return to Hong Kong. Akmar and I was there for 4 days and 3 nights.

The Preparation
 We bought the tickets way back in March, 6 months before the trip. There was an Air Asia promotion then. The total return trip costs RM 1102 inclusive of luggage and comfort pack. For this trip Alyssa will be left behind with Tok & Opah. She is too small to bring to Hong Kong and won't remember much if she did. Booking the flight was simple. The price wasn't too bad. Next was finding a place to stay.

RM 1102

Hong Kong is one of the most expensive places to live in. Property prices are astronomical. Hotel rates are generally RM 300 above per night. Since this is a budget trip, we opted to stay in a hostel. We booked a hostel via Hostelworld.com. There are a lot of hostels in Hong Kong, mainly in Kowloon area. Try searching online and hostels at the notorious Chungkin Mansion will probably pop out. The hostels there are generally cheaper. But having visited that area more than 10 years ago, that place is not for the faint hearted. I can't imagine myself returning to that area in the middle of the night. There are pimps and pushers every where. According to some websites, the place have been redeveloped and been given a facelift. But I wont take any chances.
Check Inn Hostel, located in Wan Chai, Hong Kong Island, had many favourable comments from visitors. From the pics, it looked decent. It wasn't the cheapest hostel but the location was ideal. I'll elaborate more on the hostel later on. We booked for a room for 2 people with an ensuite bathroom. For 3 nights stay, the total cost was HKD 1980, roughly RM 792.

Day 1: Departure and Arrival
 We took Star Shuttle bus to LCCT from Terminal Bas Medan Gopeng Ipoh at 5 am. It costs RM 42 each and took 3 hours. The bus was of the executive type (3 seats in a row) and was comfortable. We slept through the whole journey. No hassle at all.

 We arrive at LCCT at around 8 am. It was my first time at LCCT and was taken aback at how literally low cost it was. Even the staff at the check in counter was 'low cost' . (Make up and baju dah cantik, tapi tak senyum langsung...nak tanya pun takut!). Our flight was at 120 pm and we were supposed to board the flight at 1240 pm. The gate only opened at 1250 pm. Barely 5 minutes after it opened there was already an announcement that the gate will close in 2 minutes....I was surprised. There was a long line and yet I only have 2 minutes!!! Am I supposed to cut Q? No wonder there are some uncivilised MALAYSIANS pushing, shoving and cutting Qs!
 Maybe those RETARDS didn't pre book their seats. Fortunately we did! Looking for our seats wasn't a problem. The flight took off on time and arrived 10 minutes early. As expected the seats were rather cramped especially for someone as big sized as me (full of muscles!). But I'm not complaining. You get what you pay for.
 On board the flight a got myself a Nasi Lemak and Akmar tried the Nasi Ayam. The food actually tasted good. The price is abit steep though.

Boarding..Hong Kong here we come!

We arrived in Hong Kong at 5 pm. It was raining and the temperature was between 23 - 25 degrees celcius. The airport was astounding. Its a massive airport and very modern. Everything was in order. Going through customs and immigration was a breeze. What surprised me most was the availability of a common prayer room at Terminal 1 and 2. Its not specific to any religion but the prayer room was very comfortable. There's even a Kiblat direction.

Chek Lap Kok Airport

The prayer room

Chek Lap Kok Airport sits on an island, near Lantau Island. The last time I was here, the only way to get to Lantau Island was by ferry. But things have changed so much now. You can take the taxi, bus or MTR/Airport express there. The best thing to do is first get an Octopus card. It cost HKD 150 each. It comes preloaded with HKD 100 and the HKD 50 is a deposit (you'll get it back once you return it). It works like a Touch n Go.

To keep cost low, we took a bus from Terminal 2 to Tung Cung MTR station (Bus S1 to Tung Chung MTR). Then from Tung Chung we took at MTR straight to Wan Chai station (switch train at Hong Kong station). It cost HKD 23.50 in total and 1 hour plus to get to Wan Chai. To get there faster you can take the Airport Express for HKD 100 for 20 minutes journey. We were'nt in a hurry then since it was raining and we  had to scrap our plans to go to The Peak.

We checked in at Check Inn Hostel at around 8 pm. It is situated in a 'mansion' (more like a flat) in Wan Chai, along Hennessy Road. You have to look really carefully for the sign. You can easily miss it among the many other neon lights (the sign is not lit up and is black and white). Its an ideal place if you just want a place to sleep and spend most of the day exploring. A tram station is just at the doorstep. A McDonald's is just across the streeet. An MTR station is just a few hundred meters away. For Muslim travellers the Islamic Center is barely 500 meters away. 

The room itself is very small. There is a bed (between single and queen size, I'm not really sure) and a toilet that is very cramped. Despite the shortcomings. the room is very neat and tidy and very chic. The staff there are helpful. Plus, you free wifi and free bananas daily (nice touch).

The toilet...just enough room for business

Don't know what size it is

Makan Maggi je la...budget punye pasal!

After settling down....we jalan jalan!

Pangkor Ride

Had a blast last week (29th - 30th August) in Pangkor with Groupe De Cycle. We attempted to conquer Pangkor by cycling around the island, roughly 16 km of tarred road. However out 9 MTBikers (and 1 marshal on a motorbike) only 1 made it around the island.

My equipment:
1. Raleigh Enduro Pro with upgraded Wellgo clipless pedals (RM 95)
2. Shimano MTB shoes with cleats (RM 195 from Wancycles.com)
3. Deuter hydration bag (fake)
4. Cheap riding gloves (RM 50)

Day 1
Everyone gathered at Marina Island, near Teluk Batik at 11 am. Parking there cost a RM5 per day (very reasonable). The facilities there are very new but looks under utilized. Ferry tickets cost RM 10 for a return journey (additional RM1 for bikes). However to buy tickets from the counter, you will need to be a member for RM 10. A member can take up to 20 guests (but still have to pay RM 10 for the tickets)...weird rule. Another rip off was upon boarding each one of us has to pay RM 3 per bike to pay the crew members.
As soon as we arrive, it was cycling time! It was just a 6 km ride to our dorm at Pangkor Rimba Kem Resort near Teluk Nipah. But the terrain was bad. Plenty of steep hills. I had to push my MTB a few times up the hills. My cleats malfunctioned and the screws came off while on the way up. Had to ditch the cleats and changed to normal pedals. We arrived at the resort after slightly less than 1 hour.

Lunch was some fresh fried fish and 'ikan sardin'. And then some lazing around in the sea. We started to cycle again at around 5 pm. Teluk Nipah to Teluk Dalam was a breeze. The worst and steepest hill was after Teluk Dalam. Even with the lightest gear the bike was barely moving. Instead of moving forward, I was doing wheelies instead!

Night time was mainly spent on dinner. Spaghetti, ikan bakar and sotong bakar was on the menu. The night ended with some karaoke til late night.

Day 2
Breakfast was served at 11 am. A very delicious meal of Nasi Lemak. The ride back home (to the jetty) began at 3 pm. It was scorching hot. Along the way a pack of dogs managed to get our hearts racing....we cycled so fast, it took only 45 minutes instead of 1 hour. The hills heading back wasn't as steep though. We fared better this time. Didn't have to stop to push the bike.

Hours later, I was back home. Fortunately, I didn't suffer from any cramps this time.
Back home, this little baby girl greeted me...... :)