We headed to Temple Street (廟街, pronounced as Miu Kai) after 10pm. It was quite near to our hotel, within 5 minutes of walk to reach its south point.
Temple Street is a street located in the areas of Jordan and Yau Ma Tei in Kowloon. It is probably the most well know night market in Hong Kong, and is popular among both locals and tourist.
Mahjong (麻將) is a popular game in Chinese community which often played as a gambling game; and it is intensely popular in Hong Kong.
Privately-run gambling businesses are illegal in Hong Kong, but there are legal Mahjong schools for people to ‘learn to play’ Mahjong… but you probably can guess that most people who are ‘learning’ Mahjong are actually experts.
There are not many licenses issued for Mahjong school though; lots of it can be found in Yaumatei-Mongkok area.
I passed by this one on our way to Temple Street near Jordan and Yau Ma Tei. Just beside the entrance is this giant banner teaching the basics on Mahjong… I guess they were trying their best to make it school-like :)
People queuing up to get into a Louis Vuitton’s outlet at Canton Road in Tsim Sha Tsui. Canton Road is famous for top brand shops; we didn’t do any window shopping though, just passing by while on our way back to our hotel after seeing the Symphony of Light.
We went to Tsim Sha Tsui’s waterfront promenade after our dinner to catch the Symphony of Light show.
A Symphony of Lights (幻彩詠香江) is an orchestrated light and laser show featured on buildings situated on both sides of the Victoria Harbour. It is the world’s largest permanent light and sound show; it starts on 8pm daily (under good weather) and lasts for about 15 minutes.
Spectators can listen to the show’s music and English narration live along the Tsim Sha Tsui waterfront between the Avenue of Stars and the Hong Kong Cultural Centre; and the promenade outside the Golden Bauhinia Square in Wan Chai every Monday, Wednesday and Friday night.
The show was quite spectacular, but I attribute it to the fact that the night scene of Victoria Harbour was already breathtaking with or without the show. The show was an exciting experience nonetheless, but was one of those that we should see it once in our lifetime, but not more than once.
Wong Tai Sin Temple (黃大仙祠) was the first tourist spot we visited in Hong Kong. The Taoist temple is arguably the most famous temple in Hong Kong, and is often mentioned as a highlight destination in Hong Kong tourism brochures.
Woke up 5am to prepare for the 9.15am flight to Hong Kong. I was travelling with my 2 elder sisters and a young niece in the 6-days self-packed tour.
We took an airport limo and arrived at KL International Airport at around 7am… plenty of spare time before the departure. My eldest sis brought me into the MAS Lounge for a peek of what’s happening inside; while my other sis and her daughter strolled along some shops.
The flight was delayed to 10am, and we arrived at Hong Kong by 2pm. The weather was hot, close to 30 Celsius; we didn’t expect this kind of heat in October when making our plans a couple of months ago. Besides, it was quite hazy in Hong Kong… polluted air flying in from the dense industries in mainland of China.
We bought our Octopus Card* at the Chek Lap Kok Airport before taking a cab to Kowloon (九龍) to check in at our hotel, B P International. We didn’t stay long in the hotel; as soon as we settled in with our luggage, we navigated to the nearby Yau Ma Tei (油麻地) MTR station to get an underground train to Wong Tai Sin Temple.
* Octopus Card is a useful prepaid card that can be used at most (if not all) of the mass transit systems, convenient stores (7-11 etc.) and some other services. It save people from the hassles of preparing small changes. There are some packages that fit the needs of foreign tourists, check it out at the airport. [Official Website]
Saint-Paul de Vence is an old village located in south eastern France, about 30 minutes drive from Nice.
I had never heard of this place prior to the visit, but our tour guide told us that it’s a wonderful place, that there’s a saying which if Jesus is to be born onto earth again, it will be at St Paul.
The statement might be over-exaggerating, but St Paul was a lovely place indeed. The fortified village structure was something that I had never seen before; and its environment, the narrow streets and stony buildings were simply mesmerising.
The only regret I had, was that we were not able to spend much time there to fully appreciate the place. Back then, I had vowed to visit the place again… I am not so sure about the feeling now, but at that moment, I think I was in love with St Paul de Vence.
The top of the Castle Hill (La Colline du Chateau) is a must visit in Nice. Nothing much was left from the castle (Le Château) on top of the hill, but the place offered a great view of the city and harbour.
Me and my sister decided to take the elevator to go up the hill and walk down the stairs on our way back. We just didn’t have the energy to walk up hundreds of steps for the view… walking downwards offered just about the same experience, probably.
