Beautiful Girls of Tung Chung

DAY 1

Blaming it on an hour's worth of flight delay, nothing really special happened during our first day since we arrived in HK International Airport at around past 9 pm. But if you add the immigration stuff plus the claiming of luggage and bus ride to Tung Chung, we arrived in our flat in Tung Chung Crescent at around 10 pm. Before you leave the airport, you can buy yourself an octopus card, which is already pre-loaded with 100 HKD and 50 HKD deposit, which you can claim once you return your octopus card before leaving HK. You're gonna need it for the train ride or bus ride to the city. After buying octopus cards, we went down to ground level and exited the airport. We went right, and straight ahead until we reached a bus stop in front of a parking lot. No need to cross, it's the S1 bus stop for us who will go to Tung Chung. The bus ride is worth 3.5 HKD. For complete details on transports to and from the airport, check out HKA transport.

The good thing about Tung Chung Crescent is that it is just in front of the City Gate Outlets. So, after dropping off our stuff in the flat, we went down to check shops, and to take some photos of the vicinity.

We really saved a lot of money in this trip because we didn't have to pay for hotel accommodations since we stayed at a flat of my friend's aunt who works in Cathay Pacific Air. Saving as many peso as possible is something you should always keep in mind when traveling.

Traveling tip: sometimes, it's better to look for a place to stay first (like ask a friend to stay at his place for a while or rent their place for the duration of the stay) and then find cheap airfare, before saying "Si" to an out-of-the-country trip. It's more practical for us since it's okay for us to eat home-cooked food for dinner to save even more money. Plus, the place was like a hotel in itself but with a "yes-to-cooking" add on.

City Gate Outlets

DAY 2

If you'd like to explore as much as possible, starting the day way way early is the answer.

Our first stop was Diamond Hill, Kowloon. Surrounded by high rise buildings is the Nan Lian Garden connected to the Chi Lin Nunnery. We rode the MTR to Diamond Hill station, and took Exit C2.

We first went inside Nan Lian Garden and took hundreds of photos because of its beautiful sceneries. The place depicts the vibe of having 'history being surrounded by the future'. The garden was built in Tang style, representing the enactment of the timber structure and garden of the ancient Tang Dynasty. My favorite spot there was the Pavilion of Absolute Perfection situated at the center of the Lotus Pond. It gives you the feel of being in the Tang Dynasty.

Entrance to Chi Lin Nunnery

We then decided to head to Harbour City where we wanted to have our lunch. But, on our way there, since we were already too hungry, we ate lunch at a small Chinese restaurant instead. After lunch, we proceeded to Harbour City where we just strolled around for a while then bought some macaroons from Laduree. Harbour City is one of Hong Kong's flagship malls and it is actually the biggest mall in Hong Kong. It even has the largest Toys R Us store in Asia. To get to Harbour City, take the MTR to Tsim Sha Tsui station, then take exit A1. Turn right, then walk along Haiphong Road.

Laduree

We then headed to Avenue of the Stars to check out Hong Kong's famed skyline. From Harbour City, we walked along Canton Road then turned left on Salisbury Road. Past the Peninsula Hotel, use the underground subway to cross to the other side of the road to reach the Avenue of the Stars.

Or you can just walk along Canton Road until you reach the Star Ferry Pier and the Clock Tower where we opted to have our photos taken.

Hong Kong was nearing it's Mid-Autumn Festival at that time, thus, there were lots of lights and autumn-inspired gimmicks placed at tourist spots.

Walk past that and along the bay, and you'll see the Avenue of the Stars.

What's really nice about Hong Kong's skyline is that it is really different when you go there during daytime as well as during nighttime. So for today, we opted to have our pictures taken during daytime and reserved the nighttime experience to the day that we've decided to watch the Symphony of Lights.

You can sit and relax and just enjoy the breeze on a cloudy day such as this.

Along the Avenue are sets of prints of famous Chinese stars such as Jet Li and Jackie Chan.

There were also lots of statues there where it's fun to take photos.

After taking a stroll along the Avenue, we decided to head to another mall where we splurged into a shopping spree, one of the things you'd really get yourself into when you're in Hong Kong. And then headed home.