We spent our days in Singapore lying on top of Marina Bay Sands’ infinity pool eating French fries, visiting Gardens by the Bay, window shopping on Orchard Road, touring the night safari and walking about Clarke Quay.
The weather in Singapore was hot and humid with showers. Carlton Hotel was my favourite place to stay, it was clean and comfortable. Marina Bay Sands’ room was spacious with a bay view but the best part was the infinity pool, it felt like the world stopped for us while we lived ‘the life.’
Looking down from Marina Bay Sands
Gardens by the Bay
Gardens by the Bay Tickets will need to be purchased in order to walk the bridge that’s in the photo above. We didn’t go up there but since it was our first time, we were happy to explore below. Gardens by the Bay has two indoor gardens, Cloud Forest and Flower Dome (you will need to purchase tickets for entry into both). I recommend visiting the Flower Dome while the sun is still shining through the glass highlighting the true colours of the flowers. Cloud Forest is best to visit one hour before sunset, when there is still enough light to see the greenery. When the backlights go on the waterfall will be beautifully illuminated.
Haji Lane on bin day
Haji Lane A lane that’s filled with street art, cafes and fashion boutique shops making it a popular place for art enthusiasts and those who just want to take selfies in a cool place.
Chilli crab at JumboEgg yolk covered prawns
We ate the famous chilli crab and egg yolk covered prawns at Jumbo in Clarke Quay. We aren’t fans of eating crab, so I don’t think it’s necessary to order it but dipping the mantou buns in the sauce was worth it! I hope we can come back to try out all the hawker food centres soon, as we clearly didn’t eat enough!
Stopped by an exhibition
Night Safari It was raining heavily the night we booked to go to the night safari in Singapore. We had our doubts and thought of forfeiting our tickets but luckily we took our chances and persisted. Whether it’s rain or shine, the night safari will open! Once we arrived for our session, we met friendly and cheery staff members who welcomed us and reassured us that we’ll enjoy the night. We hopped on our tour bus and explored the zoo. We saw lions, otters, deers, tigers, and elephants. Don’t expect to take any clear snaps or videos, as using flash will disturb the animals.
We only stayed in Singapore for a few days and travelled slowly. I was worried with not having enough time for different activities but overall, I’m happy with the memories we had. Next time in Singapore I hope to eat more, especially the famous chicken rice and popiah, visit Sentosa and Chinatown!
In mid January this year, I landed in Hong Kong for the very first time. The weather was cool, top of 21 degrees celsius with thick clouds and faint sunlight. Boo! On the bright side though, it gave me an excuse to avoid hiking, which I was far from being physically ready.
We were slow travellers in Hong Kong, weren’t in any rush and did the typical tourist sightseeing and activities. In this post, I will be writing a mini review of the places we visited, ate and stayed at to hopefully help you with your Hong Kong travel planning.
Before you keep reading, or if you’re too lazy to read, here is the link to my Hong Kong Travel Diary with more footages of our accommodation and food: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ODPcnPQSjM
ACCOMMODATION
We stayed in three locations, one on Hong Kong Island and two in Kowloon. Staying at two places will be enough for a week long stay and it will save you from rolling your luggage around. Hong Kong is small with an efficient train system and cheap taxi fares, staying anywhere will be considered convenient, as long as there are train stations close by. I recommend staying in places that provide a complimentary hand phone for Wi-Fi when out and about if you can’t get your hands on a Hong Kong sim card but remember to turn 3G off when not in use, as battery life is not long lasting.
Upper Lascar Row/Cat Street
A colourful primary schoolView from level 5 at 99 Bonham
Accommodation #1 99 Bonham 99 Bonham Strand, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong
The hotel is a newly built and modern hotel with wooden floorboards and a marble-like bathroom bench. We stayed here for three nights.
Hotel location Sheung Wan is in walking distance to many of the popular districts. A ten-minute walk to Central, about fifteen minutes walk to SOHO for restaurants and 20 minutes walk to Lan Kwai Fong for the nightlife.
I must say this was my favourite area to stay at. It’s situated in a lively crowded market area. I loved the atmosphere there because it gave me an authentic feel of a Hong Kong I had imagined. The streets at night around nine to ten still had people and lights compared to the parallel streets nearby and it made me feel safe.
Getting around To get to the main area in Central, you must get to Queens Road, which is basically one long road that’s connected to Bonham Strand. It’s to the left of the hotel if you’re facing away from it, Bonham Strand will turn to Queens Road if you keep walking along it. While Googling places to eat in Hong Kong many restaurants and Dim Sum places I wanted to try were in Sheung Wan. This hotel was also conveniently located near Cat Street, Hollywood Road and Man Mo Temple.
Seafood at The Market, Hotel ICONDessert at The Market, Hotel ICONThe Market, Hotel ICONFree Mini Bar at Hotel ICONNespresso Machine at Hotel ICONBathroom with sliding door at Hotel ICON
Accommodation #2 Hotel ICON 17 Science Museum Rd, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong
We stayed here for one night and it was our most expensive hotel per night ($350AUD). It’s a high-class hotel with service I cannot fault. The Hong Kong Polytechnic University owns this hotel and it was built for the Hong Kong School of Hotel and Tourism management to research and develop aspiring hotel managers and hospitality staff. The level of thought and care that goes into maximising each customer’s experience doesn’t go without notice.
Getting around This hotel is close to the harbour and it wasn’t a long walk before we reached a stretch of street food stalls. Nathan Road, the bustling main long road that starts from Victoria Harbour and continues through to Mong Kok was also in walking distance.
The closest station was Tsim Sha Tsui station. It is about a thirteen-minute walk to the hotel. It doesn’t sound like much but we weren’t up for that considering the crowded streets of Hong Kong. We opted to take a taxi from 99 Bonham to Hotel Icon. The fare cost us ~$30AUD with the inclusion of toll ways to get across to Kowloon. A popular buffet called, ‘The Market’ is located inside the hotel. The area also has a variety of restaurants and brunch places along Mody Road close to the hotel.
Accommodation #3 Hotel Stage 1 Chi Wo street, Jordan, Hong Kong
Our last accommodation was Hotel Stage, a boutique hotel dedicated to celebrating art culture. We stayed here for our last three nights. Hotel Stage was modern, innovative and minimalistic.
Getting around This hotel is in the middle of everywhere we wanted to go in Kowloon. It’s a close walk to Nathan Road, two blocks away from Jordan station and is a short train ride to Mong Kok and Tsum Shui Po. It was a lovely accommodation but we were spoilt by how easy it was to walk down the streets of the previous two hotels to find food and shops close by.
Hotel Stage is in Yau Ma Tei, a district between Tsim Sha Tsui and Mong Kok. There’s no such thing as too far in Hong Kong, as everything is insanely easy to travel to but we were approaching the end of our trip and by then had walked a lot around Hong Kong. We didn’t go any further than Yau Ma Tei towards the night markets. Everything felt too far by then but don’t let the same excuse stop you!
PLACES WE VISITED
View looking down from The Peak
The Peak We visited The Peak around 4pm to 5pm, saw The Peak during sunset and waited till it was completely dark. Despite visiting Hong Kong during a hazy time, the view at night was still bright and worth the wait.
Both 99 Bonham and Hotel Stage have an app on their handy phones to purchase The Peak tickets at a discounted price, which includes a return trip on the peak tram and access to the sky tower for the iconic peak views. Ironically, Hotel ICON did not have the option on their handy phone to purchase The Peak tickets. It’s a one time access to sky tower. If you exit, you must purchase another ticket around $20HKD to re-enter. The tickets to The Peak must be purchased 24 hours before you plan to visit it. You can also line up on the day and purchase the ticket without the discount.
The queue to get up to The Peak via the peak tram was surprisingly long, which I didn’t expect. On a busy day, the lines can be up to a two-hour wait because it’s not frequently mentioned. We had to wait between 30 to 40 minutes for the peak tram to travel back down. What we learned afterwards was you can hire a taxi to take you up to The Peak if you’re not too keen on experiencing the peak tram.
Outside Montane Mansion
Montane Mansion If you search Montane Mansions on Instagram you will see endless photos of tourists and breathtaking photographs of the building. Montane Mansion is a public housing estate that was built in the 1970s for low-income earners. The symmetric condensed layers of windows and air-conditions are mesmerising. Many choose to climb up on high walls to capture the perfect angles. Keep in mind this is still private property of people’s homes please consider their feelings. You will feel awkward but it seems the residents for the most part are used to foreigners coming to take photos.
Victoria Harbour & Symphony of Lights The iconic Hong Kong city skyline is a must see when in Hong Kong just to be able to say you have seen it. It was hazy the night we went and it was disappointing because it obstructed our view. It wasn’t as bright as I had imagined and in that sense expectations were raised too high. In a way, I was glad it wasn’t as bright as I had imagined since there are concerns about pollution.
The Symphony of Lights show starts at 8pm every night. The reviews on the Internet are true. ‘Underwhelming’ is the word to describe it. It’s nothing more than laser lights flashing infrequently in time with the music from buildings but we did enjoy the company of those who showed up and watched the show with us.
Star Avenue This was a quick stop for me to take some snaps and seek out my favourite artists’ hands prints.
Finds on Cat StreetFinds on Cat Street
Cat Street and Man Mo Temple On Cat Street you can find a row of antique stores and stalls selling jade, jewellery, photographs and propaganda posters as souvenirs. The famous Man Mo temple is a street away and is known to be one of the oldest temples in Hong Kong worshipping the God of Literature and the God of War.
Hong Kong Disneyland The only other Disneyland we visited was in Tokyo but we enjoyed Hong Kong Disneyland more. Typical waiting period for each ride was 30 minutes for us on a Saturday in January, which was bearable.
FOOD
Shui Kee’s CounterCrunchy and Fluffy Hong Kong Style French Toast at Shui KeeMilk Tea at Shui Kee
Shui Kee Coffee This place has been around for three generations; the current owner is the grandson. It is famous for it’s own version of Hong Kong style French toast and milk tea. They were delicious! The toast was crispy on the outside, fluffy on the inside and drizzled with condensed milk. I’ve heard it’s not like the traditional Hong Kong style toast anywhere else. It was the only one I tried in Hong Kong and that was enough to make me satisfied.
The milk tea is traditionally served in recycled Schwepps bottles. It’s significantly less sweet than other milk teas I’ve tried in Hong Kong and refreshing. It’s a familiar taste but I don’t think I can replicate it.
How to get there? It’s a 10-minute walk from 99 Bonham and is located inside the Sheung Wan Market and Cooked Food Centre. There is a meat market inside and we had to go up to level 3 and through the door of the food centre. Once you’re through the door, the restaurant is on the far right and is the first restaurant along the wall. This building was very local and we felt out of place as soon as we stepped in, there aren’t English signs and no one spoke English but when we found it, it was obvious. There are always people there with gorilla pods or selfie- sticks waiting to try the French toast and milk tea.
Little Bao This place is packed full with foreigners and it felt like we were back in Melbourne. They sell burger-like Baos with different meat and have vegetarian options. You must try the truffle fries! We asked if one Bao would be enough for each person but you might want to consider two if you’re someone who can finish a Grill’d burger with fries.
How we got there We walked from 99 Bonham to Little Bao for take-out. Getting there was uphill and it was one of our hardest walks in Hong Kong. We wanted to eat-in but it was at least an hour wait.
Peking Garden This place serves Peking duck. It was fancy and cost us over $100AUD for one duck, a side dish and bottled water but it was worth it. The skin was crispy and the duck melted in our mouths.
How we got there We tried the one in Alexandra House. This place was hard to find because Hong Kong shopping complexes are maze-like. It’s located on the basement level next to Central train station, opposite a healthy organic juice place, if that helps.
Crunchy pork buns at Tim Ho WanFlower jelly cakes at Tim Ho Wan
Tim Ho Wan I’m sure you’ve heard about this place, the cheapest Michelin star Dim Sum restaurant. The pork buns and the flower jelly cakes were the best. I over ordered and that took away some joy, as I tried to fit it all in my stomach. It’s a place to go to say that you’ve been there before in Hong Kong. We ordered 10 dishes and it was so cheap! From memory, it was not more than $50AUD.
How to order? You will need to go up to the stand where a waiter will be there taking down numbers. She/he will give you a piece of paper to tick what you want to order while waiting in line. Sometimes the waitress will not acknowledge you in the first instance so do try to capture her attention as soon as possible. There will be people trying to push in.
The restaurant gets very busy and service there will not be the best.
How to get there? We walked from Hotel Stage and wouldn’t recommend it. It was a long walk with not much to see, either taxi or catch the bus.
Pineapple Buns at DimDim Sum Dim Sum
DimDim Sum Dim Sum This place in my opinion was better than Tim Ho Wan. The food left a greater impression on me and the service was a tad more polite. They are famous for their pineapple buns. You order the same way as at Tim Ho Wan.
We expected to see milk tea shops and street food stalls in every corner of Hong Kong but surprisingly we didn’t especially in the Central area. Street food stalls only started to pop up when we were in Kowloon and even though we didn’t visit Mong Kok and Tsum Shui Po, judging from v-logs on the Internet they are mainly concentrated around those areas.
Hong Kong was a very exciting and lovely place to visit. I can write more about this place but this post is already too long. If you have any questions, please leave a comment and I will answer below :). In my next post, I will be writing about the transportation and how to get around in Hong Kong. Stay tuned!
Most photos were taken by my talented partner, some by me and all edited by me.
Looking down from Marina Bay Sands
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