Day 2 ~ Nathan Road and the Penninsula
Saturday, Marc and I buggered from the Jet Lag were up at the crack of 4am waiting to be entertained. As he puttered around on the laptop, I watched a movie only to then have Marc decide that he wanted bacon. My tummy not quite up for it decided to go to bed, but I can only imagine Beth, lying in bed with the two of us up and then hearing/smelling bacon frying at 5am!
This was the day we headed into Hong Kong. Beth went in early to have an interview with the YMCA (which I'm happy to report, she got the job!) and Marc and I met up with her after having my first MTR experience. Now the one thing you have to remember is that in Hong Kong, it is perfectly acceptable to push your way in ~ none of this waiting until the train is empty and passengers have left before you enter. As you can see by the arrows, there are 4 to enter the car, one to exit. Hence the game of shove your way on/off the MTR!
They have what they call an Octopus card ~ this is like the Smart Cards they tried to launch in Ontario a while ago. You put money on your card and then you are able to scan it (like a magnetic scanner) to get into the subway, by things at various stores like 7-11. All in all it is very handy, but also a bit 'Big Brother-ish' as they are able to track where each card is (with the subway/bus), where you buy things, etc.
After meeting up with Beth downtown, we headed over to see CJ. Yes, he was the one you go to for currency exchange, electronics and generally anything you wanted to know about the city. And yes, it was in a non-descript door and up the stairs.
We wandered around Nathan road for a bit taking in the shops, the juice until 2pm when Beth and I headed to the Penninsula for afternoon tea. Just like the Empress in Victoria, we had tea served with the mini sandwiches and small pastries. Definitely an experience as I have never been to tea before.
From there we wandered over to pick up Marc and his friend Richard. We had made arrangements to go out for dinner... at a Mexican restaurant. I know, I know, but the appies were good despite the nachos coming with sour cream. The cab ride here was interesting as we went under the tunnel from Kowloon to Hong Kong and then up the hills to the restaurant area. The city seems to be very much alive ~ or it could have been that it was Saturday night... =)
Small pit stop on the way home to pick up some art, I was treated to the night view from an apartment in Downtown Hong Kong. Amazing to think that the price of the apartment was close to 1M Canadian. HOLY SMOKES! And I thought property prices in Vancouver were bad. It was a cute 2 level apartment with 2 outdoor areas that they could use. You definitely need to be ok with living high up as folks are stacked one on top of the other here...
This was the day we headed into Hong Kong. Beth went in early to have an interview with the YMCA (which I'm happy to report, she got the job!) and Marc and I met up with her after having my first MTR experience. Now the one thing you have to remember is that in Hong Kong, it is perfectly acceptable to push your way in ~ none of this waiting until the train is empty and passengers have left before you enter. As you can see by the arrows, there are 4 to enter the car, one to exit. Hence the game of shove your way on/off the MTR!
They have what they call an Octopus card ~ this is like the Smart Cards they tried to launch in Ontario a while ago. You put money on your card and then you are able to scan it (like a magnetic scanner) to get into the subway, by things at various stores like 7-11. All in all it is very handy, but also a bit 'Big Brother-ish' as they are able to track where each card is (with the subway/bus), where you buy things, etc.
After meeting up with Beth downtown, we headed over to see CJ. Yes, he was the one you go to for currency exchange, electronics and generally anything you wanted to know about the city. And yes, it was in a non-descript door and up the stairs.
We wandered around Nathan road for a bit taking in the shops, the juice until 2pm when Beth and I headed to the Penninsula for afternoon tea. Just like the Empress in Victoria, we had tea served with the mini sandwiches and small pastries. Definitely an experience as I have never been to tea before.
From there we wandered over to pick up Marc and his friend Richard. We had made arrangements to go out for dinner... at a Mexican restaurant. I know, I know, but the appies were good despite the nachos coming with sour cream. The cab ride here was interesting as we went under the tunnel from Kowloon to Hong Kong and then up the hills to the restaurant area. The city seems to be very much alive ~ or it could have been that it was Saturday night... =)
Small pit stop on the way home to pick up some art, I was treated to the night view from an apartment in Downtown Hong Kong. Amazing to think that the price of the apartment was close to 1M Canadian. HOLY SMOKES! And I thought property prices in Vancouver were bad. It was a cute 2 level apartment with 2 outdoor areas that they could use. You definitely need to be ok with living high up as folks are stacked one on top of the other here...
posted by Carrie @ 9:30 PM
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