YMM: Here's my Hong Kong account!

As some of you might know, i 'm in the midst of clearing leave and all of a sudden, maybe after watching too much Hong Kong films, especially influenced by In the mood for love (2000), I had decided to take off for Hong Kong last week... Why? Because i can. =)

(Dont hate me just because YOUR gratification in life involves stretchmarks!)

Departed for HK on friday on Cathay Pacific and arrived at HKIA at noon time, during the airport transfer to my hotel (Dorsett Seaview @ Shanghai Street), passed by the beautiful Tsing Yi bridge. Was really amazed to see the coastline dotted by so many condominums that would not have been out of place at the ECP. Most of the design really resembled the condos at ECP and the heights were at least like 40-50 storeys high. This doesnt sound like a feat, but imagine these are built on the mountain ridges. They all faced the sea and imagine coming home to a view like that everyday. Well, according to the guide, these are very inexpensive housing, that cost something like as low as HKD 2000 psf as noone wants to live this far from HK island/Kowloon. And indeed, these housing were very much purchased by residents who work at the airport.

The journey was very pleasant as the scenery was dotted with much splendid a view of mountains and valleys and harbour views. Anyway, the transfer took something like 30 mins and we reached Kowloon where my hotel was at.

I would recommend Dorsett Seaview hotel for anyone who would like to have a quality 3 star accomodation (read: no frills), mainly for its fantastic location. It is right next to Temple street and just 3 mins walk from Yau Ma Tei MTR station.

I wonder if its prophetic that my room number is 911. Maybe for "Kao ming ah!! ngor mm sek tak kong cantonese ah!!" (Help! i dont know how to speak cantonese!"

More on that later...

Here's gorry sitting on my luggage and my view of the Kowloon city. Seaview hur-ee bin to ah?? (Where's the seaview?)

Actually, if my floor was higher, i would be able to see the Victoria harbour. I'm actually facing Tsim Sha Tsui...

Anyway the room is really tiny but extremely clean and i would say it serves its purpose lah, dont expect too much!

But its location is really fantastic. There's the famous Hui Lao Shan "healthy dessert" store opposite the hotel. 7-11 is behind at Temple street and in close proximity to good food stalls in the evening.

Anyway after dumping gorry at the hotel room, i went for lunch at Sai Yeung Choi Street South... On Lonely Planet's recommendation, went to Saint Alp's Teahouse. This is something like a mini modernised Cha Chan Teng, i ordered a Pig Neck Noodles with Ice Milk Tea.. Here it is ... Not bad lah i would say...

Actually it was just instant noodles that was improvised with yummier condiments. =) Rather salty though... Regretably not enough chilli and i didnt dare to ask them for more chilli... =(

After that satisfying meal, i felt alot more refreshed and went to explore the MTR to go to Kowloon Bay's UA Theatre Mega Box. I had purchased online the ticket for Lust, Caution! yes!!! The uncut version!! Eat your heart out girls!!!

Anyway here's the MTR line for the Kwun Tong line to Kowloon Bay... I bought the Octopus card, which is like our Easi-link card except that it works for 8 various forms of transport, hence Octopus... Anyway, Kowloon Bay was very much like an industrial part of HK... but as you will have it, every MTR station has a shopping center either on top of it or next to it... I had no idea where Megabox was and ended up having to ask a lady in broken canto where Megabox is.. " Mm goy, megabox bin to ah?" She ended up speaking in broken english as i guess her broken english is better than my broken canto.

I ended up walking like 2 km around just to find the red building... turns out there is a free shuttle bus service.*_*

Anwyay the Megabox looks so out of place in the industrial town. Imagine a vivocity in the midst of .... Ubi industrial park? I was grossly early for the movie so ended up wandering around the shops in Megabox.

There was some California Fitness Center recruitment thingy and this really cute HK guy was trying to get me to join until i told him i am not a local. We ended up chatting abt where i was from and he warmly welcomed me to Hong Kong. Of cos, like the Hawaii incident with the Jap beach boy, i ended up running away AGAIN!! hahah! Sigh. Now you know why my gratification in life doesnt involve stretchmarks... He was really cute though! I was warned by my friend that the HK guys look reallly cheena and indeed its true, but they do have their leng zhai-s.

The tour guide who brought us from the airport to the hotel was encouraging us to try the street food stalls where they sell the fishballs, cuttlefish, smelly tou-fus (ala those in the TVB serials) and was telling us thats the reason why HK has so many fei zhais & fei loois.

I must say that they're rather obsessed with slimming. EVERYWHERE you go, there are sooooo many adverts on slimming. Myolie Wu looks fantastic, if the pictures are to be believed of course. But in general, i thought that the HK pple would be more slim than sgpreans. Turns out the locals are indeed rather horizontally challenged. Sgpreans are much slimmer though i believe via very unhealthy means. The HK girls look more horizontally challenged BUT i think they look content compared to sgpreans.

I noticed something strange as well, in my 2 hour wait for the movie of the year... that while in general, sgpreans locals are in general more well groomed, our celebrities are definitely not even in the vicinity of their celebrities. I was at many DVD stores and looking at our best foreign import's VCD next to theirs, i felt rather.... embarassed. Their celebrities oooze glamour from their toenails compared to ours in totality! OMG!

Anyway.... here's my ticket stub for Lust , Caution. I absolutely refuse to pay my taxes and be a law abiding citizen anymore. I watched the NC-16 version in sgp and the HK version and blardee hell, the story is so different in the HK version. Why are dumb ass shows like Superbad M18 and Lust, Caution NC16!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

Of course, Tony Leung doesnt disappoint. *tee hee* Nose bled all the way back to the hotel on the shuttle bus to the MTR and on the MTR back to Yau Ma Tei. Walked around in Temple Street in a haze and still nose bled while eating my wan ton noodles at a food stall at Temple street.

Anyway i went back and KO-ed while reading "Stumbling on Happiness" by Daniel Gilbert