Discovering Tsim Tsa Tsui's Salisbury Road

Striking a pose before starting exploring Hong Kong.

Day two of jalan-jalan Hong Kong take us to discover Salisbury Road on the East Tsim Tsa Tsui and taking the Star ferry ride across Victoria Harbour.

Overview of the Salisbury Road.

Salisbury Road is located by the waterfront at Tsim Tsa Tsui East. Seriously, the roads are really that clean :) You don't see any pedestrians because there is an extensive underground tunnel system for pedestrians to access the most popular destinations in Tsim Tsa Tsui.

We walked quite a portion of the Salisbury Road heading towards the Star ferry terminal. We walked pass the historical Peninsula Hotel, the ultra-luxurious five-star hotel that also houses luxurious designer brands like Prada, Louis Vuitton, Versace, and Tiffany & Co. The classic facade is also similar to its sister hotel in Mid-town Manhattan, Fifth Avenue in New York.

Peninsula Hotel by day.

Peninsula Hotel by night.

Peninsula hotel--locally known as 'the Pen'-- is one of the most famous hotel in Asia. It was founded in 1928 by the hugely successful Kadoorie family from Bombay, but of the Baghdadi Jew descent. During British colonization of Hong Kong, the expatriate and caucasian foreigners would patronize this hotel to experience a taste of its opulence that reminds them of home.

The Pen also has a place in the World War II history. The Allied surrender document to the Japanese was signed here under candlelight by General Maltby and Sir Mark Young, the Governor of Hong Kong, on Christmas Day of 1941. Both were later confined here before taken to an internment camp in Shanghai.

These are interesting buildings we discovered strolling down Salisbury Road.

An interesting oval building that houses two luxury watch brands- Tudor and Rolex.

The Hong Kong Space Museum.

The Hong Kong Space Museum is located right adjacent to the Pen. It has a unique egg-shaped dome that is one of the famous landmarks of Hong Kong. We didn't go into the Museum but we read that there are two thematic exhibition halls: Hall of Space Science and Hall of Astronomy. Both are interactive where visitors can learn through a series of entertaining and educational exhibits. Think Petrosains!


Now it's off to the Star Ferry ride!~



See you guys in the next post!

Clowing Around Kowloon & The Avenue of Stars

Again...this is Emily writing in for Moe for all the Hong Kong entries :)I HEART HONG KONG!~~

Why did we choose Hong Kong for our first overseas destination?

It was because Moe and I absolutely have no idea where to go. My aunt told me that she had ALWAYS wanted to go to Hong Kong but all of her friends has already been there. Eventhough she yearns to go to Hong Kong, she didn't want to travel alone.

It was a wish of hers that has been kept for over 30 years.

"Why not we go with you?" I blurted out when we had a conversation in my kitchen.

It was a half-hearted promise. But my aunt really went all out organizing the vacation--from air tickets to accomodation for three.

I can't exactly back down now, can I? Plus, her wish is like older than me. It would be really mean of me to chalk this on up as an April Fool's joke.

So six months after that impromptu decision, here we are.

By now, we were ready to discover what Kowloon has to offer. I already know Hong Kong by heart even before we stepped our foot here. I read all blogs about Hong Kong, bought a guide book about Hong Kong and read it as though i had to take a test to be a tourist guide.

So it's only apt that i lead the troop.

Kowloon reminded me way too much of Petaling Street. So we took the shuttle bus provided by our (Metropoark Kowloon) hotel to Tsim Tsa Tsui (TST).

I wanted to go to The Avenue of Stars and snap a photo with the famed bronze statue of Bruce Lee. I want to see with my own eyes the Hong Kong's version of Hollywood Walk of Fame. I want to see the skyscrapers of Hong Kong Island on the other side. I want to experience the Hong Kong I see through Jackie Chan's movie when i was little.

The first glimpse of Tsim Tsa Tsui....i can't wait to see the Hong Kong island from the Avenue of Stars.

After a fifteen minute shuttle bus ride, we arrived at the Avenue of Stars, TST. Moe and I were totally in awe with the larger than life skyscrapers of Hong Kong island.

So the first activity we did was to clown around at the Avenue of Stars and admiring the breathtaking scenary of Hong Kong island, with the Star Ferry (or Tin Seng Mah Tau in Cantonese :D) ferrying people back and forth from Kowloon peninsular to the Hong Kong island.

Hong Kong Island--where all the rich and famous resides. More on that later.

I love this shot of Moe. Too bad my camera is too old school.

It was a really hazy day. Not my camera's fault.

Say 'hello' to Mr. Lee. He is the most famous Chinese in the world.

I think Moe took too long to film this shot that the director and the camera man froze from boredom.

"Whaaatttttt????"

Orang Ipoh kita, Michelle Yeoh.

So this is how you test the boom mic....

First directorial debut of Moe Nasrul.

A little backgrounder about the Avenue of Stars, it is located at the Tsim Tsa Tsui Promenade, Salisbury Road and was officiated in 2004 to pay tribute to outstanding professionals of Hong Kong's film industry. It serves as a landmark for Hong Kong movies aficianados to visit. It is an appropriate gesture to model Hollywood's Walk of Fame since Hong Kong's greatest export is their movies, TV series, and music.

The Avenue of Stars is easily accessible via public transport. The easiest way is by MTR. Just get down at the Nathan Road station. You know you are at the right place when you see Renaissance Kowloon and the New World building.

Other places of interest to visit that is of walking distance are:

1. H.K Museum of Art
2. H.K Space Museum
3. H.K Cultural Centre
4. Peninsula Hotel
5. Star Ferry Pier

Click on the image to enlarge the map.

More on all this in the next update. For more information about the Avenue of Stars, refer to Avenue of Stars website.

Penang to Hong Kong...with Love

Hi guys,

This is Emily, filling in for Moe. He promised to write about our Hong Kong trip. I kept pestering him but alas, i decided to write about it myself. I can write it on my blog, but Moe gets more visitors than me :D

Our boarding pass to FREEEDOOOMMMMMMM!!!!

You know the feeling of carrying a baby for nine months, and you are beyond excited to hold your baby for the first time, to see how your baby looks like for the first time?

The feeling of first of the first? That's how i felt when we arrived in Hong Kong.

It's mine and Moe's first time taking a vacation outside of Malaysia. For the three years that we are together, we mostly traveled within the country--Malacca, Ipoh, Penang, KL, JB, Port Dickson, but never outside. So you can imagine how excited we both were.

Yes.....that is Moe's 'excited' face....lol

Cathay Pacific left the island of Penang at 8:00am, and after a three-and-a-half hour flight, we looked out and saw mountains and sea greeting us on the HKIA runway.

This is how the runway looks like...surrounded by south china sea and highlands.

We're here!!~

Welcome to the land of Edison Chen....

I hope the guys looks at least the slightest bit like Edison Chen

A little backgrounder about Hong Kong island. For first-time tourists like me and Moe, it's easier to break down Hong Kong into three tourists territories-- the posh-skyscraping-Hong Kong Island, the middle class and more affordable Kowloon, and the idyllic Lantau island, where the HKIA and Hong Kong Disneyland are at.

My aunt (yes...we went to HK with my aunt) and the cab driver who speaks in the cutest of Hong Kongese accent.

From Lantau island, we took a cab to the Kowloon peninsular, crossing two bridges and sights of Hong Kong's natural landscapes of highlands and sea, all the while listening to old canto-pop songs on the local radio station.

Weird to see no Protons and Peroduas but Beamers, Mercs, Jaguars, Toyotas, and Hondas.

By the time we reached Kowloon, the scenery took a different turn. From serene and idylic Lantau island, we're pushed into the hustle and bustle of Petaling-looking streets, with buses and cabs everywhere you see.

Really reminds me of the many scenes of Hong Kong movies.

Our cab driver warned us in his fairly-ok English, "When in Hong Kong, careful with your mon-ee"

I gotta admit that Kowloon looks slightly unsettling. But I won't let my first impression spoil my optimism.

At least our hotel looks very cozy.....

Metropark Kowloon Hotel, smack dapped in the middle of Yau Ma Tei, walking distance to Ladies Market, Mong Kok.

And if anything, i have my knight-in-shining-armor :)

To be continued.

• Hong Kong Info: We always see red-colored taxis in Hong Kong movies and drama series, but do you know that taxis in Hong Kong are colour-coded according to their operating areas. Separate rows are designated for different types of taxi:
  -Urban taxis (Red) serve all destinations throughout Hong Kong including the airport except Tung Chung Road and roads in south Lantau.
  -New Territories taxis (Green) serve only the New Territories and specific roads in Lantau.
  -Lantau taxis (Blue) serve all destinations in Lantau and the airport.
  
  Scene from HKIA's Taxi Station. Yes, they have THAT MANY taxis...

Riding the MTR

It's Saturday and this weekend is one of the hectiest of weekends.

I woke up at 6:30am to get ready to record my news for Fly FM, and it was off to One Utama for an event I'm emceeing, and headed straight for the studio for 8TV Nite Live.

It's going to be the same routine for tomorrow.

Thank God for Red Bull, Coffee, and a good shower :)

I usually see Emily once a fortnight, but since I'm working this weekend, we decided to meet perhaps next week. She could watch me tonight, and listen to me next morning...and i wish i can do the same.

Hey, wait a minute...i could!

We uploaded a video of us in Hong Kong, riding the MTR (Hong Kong's version of our LRT, but so much more efficient.)

I know i promise I'll blog more on our trip to Hong Kong, but i'll let Emily fill in for me on that since she will be on holiday until Monday.

More on our Hong Kong trip later, but here is a video of us riding the MTR.

Hong Kong Trip

Emily and I atop Victoria Peak

Well folks i came back from Hong Kong exactly a month ago. But i never got around to blog about it. My bad people. Lately I've been tied up at work and other pressing matters.

But i'll take some time off to blog about my Hong Kong trip, since the memory is still fresh in my mind.

This trip is a significant moment for both Emily and I. It is our first trip overseas together. We saved up enough to afford a vacation outside of the South East Asian (SEA) region.

The trip was a much-seeked vacation, and we came back with a renewed sense of purpose. It was really an eye opening vacation. Lots of similarities and yet, lots of differences as well. It was very hard to get halal food. So we both had vegetarian food all the time and very nice and healthy manggo pudding.

I'll blog more in detail but as of now i need to get myself ready to record some voice overs. i'll leave you guys with a Vblog we made while waiting for the ferry to take us back to Kowloon peninsular from HK Island.



P/S: I've been eating a lot this week...wonder why.