My Very First Blog

This is my last post on my Hong Kong trip. I almost did not want to blog about this. By this, I mean the hotel which I stayed for 5 nights in Mongkok, Hong Kong.

It was, without the slightest hint of exaggeration, the smallest budget hotel room I have ever stayed in my life! No kidding. I have traveled to quite a number of countries in Asia - China, Thailand, Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia, Singapore, Indonesia - and none of the budget hotels I stayed in these countries could beat this one in terms of size.

After blogging about all the wonderful places I visited and all the delicious food that I ate in Hong Kong, a few readers had started to ask me this horribly annoying question : "So, where did you stay in Hong Kong?"

My reply had always been ... "It's a lousy hotel. I won't recommend it."

One or two very observant readers had told me this : "I don't remember reading about the hotel you stayed in Hong Kong." Haha! They knew me well. I tend to blog about every single hotel that I stayed in every single country. And of course they were right - it's just that I did not want to blog about it!

Others went so far as ... "Can you recommend me a good hotel in Hong Kong?" With a sigh, I would reply, "Why don't you try Agoda.com for some of the best choices?" LOL!



But then, I decided to change my mind. Why should I not blog about it? It's after all a record breaking feat! I did stay in this tiny hotel room for 5 freaking nights and survived to tell the tale! Haha!

And so, if you must know, the smallest budget hotel room I have ever stayed in my life was at MK Hotel, Sincere House located at No. 83, Argyle Street, Mongkok.

Now we all know that Hong Kong do not have a lot of land space, so most people stay in high rise flats or apartments. When my friend told me he had booked the hotel for our trip, I had already expected the hotel room to be small. But I did not expect it to be THIS tiny!!

Note to self : I MUST be the one doing the research and the booking next time!!

To save space, the bed they have in the room was a bunk bed. In fact, it's a twin over full bunk bed. Wow! First time in my travels I slept in a bunk bed! My friend chose to sleep at the top, while I slept at the bottom. The bottom bunk is actually meant for 2 person, but I could not imagine how that would fit!



Anyway, this bed already filled up most of the room. I am not kidding. We barely had space to even put our luggage! There's a small table next to the bed right below a tiny window. Yes, thank God there's a window!!

The person in charge actually told us that he had given us a very good room with a window! How amusing! But guess what did we get to see outside our window? The run-down rooftop and the sky. Nothing else.

Oh, there's a TV too. A flat screen TV hanging oddly at the corner of the wall. I still remember both my friend and I watching this TV every night. It was indeed our source of entertainment. Our only source. Free wifi Internet access? Didn't even believe it existed! LOL!



The room was so small we could barely walk in it. So most of the time, we would be sitting on our beds. It was so claustrophobic to me that I doubt even petite Asians would be able to last long staying inside. If you are a Caucasian or somewhat bigger size than the average Asians, please do not even dream of staying here!

Now if the room was that small,  can you imagine how small was the bathroom?



It was so damn small that the shower head was right above the toilet seat and that's about the only place you could stand to take your shower! Due to this, the toilet seat became wet and you know, I just hate to sit on wet toilet seats!! My friend hated it too, so we purposely went to the toilets in shopping malls to do our big businesses! Haha!

But what's worse was that during our first night in the hotel, there was no hot water! The weather was already freezing cold and without hot water, we did not take any bath on our first night in Hong Kong. Yucks! Luckily, after we complained to the person in charge, the problem was rectified by the next day.



There's also a small kitchen with a sink next to the bathroom. Surprising right? Even with such a small room, they have a kitchen! Anyway, this sink also doubled as the place for you to brush your teeth. Just for your information, only one person could walk in this narrow kitchen. Two people would feel way over-crowded!

Oh, and guess what? The hotel did not provide any towels or soap. Not that I would even dare to use their towels! But with 7 Eleven at close proximity to the hotel, we had no problem getting soaps and shampoo ourselves.



How much did I pay to stay here? Well, we paid HK$1,350 for a total of 5 nights. That means it's HK$270 (US$34.80 / RM112.30) per night. Even after splitting the amount between the two of us, I still find it rather expensive for such a small room!

My friend and I had actually wanted to move to another hotel after seeing our room. But when we talked to the person in charge, he said it would not be fair to him as we had already booked for 5 nights earlier. Besides, he said all other budget hotels in Mongkok also have such tiny rooms.

So, we decided to just stay put. In retrospect, we should have searched for other budget hotels and did some comparison. Since it was my first time in Hong Kong, I really had no idea which was the best hotel to stay. It would be easy to just choose a 4 or 5-star hotel to stay but that would be out of our budget, at least for this trip.

If you know of a good, clean budget hotel with bigger rooms and reasonably priced, do let me know! It will be helpful for my next Hong Kong trip! Thank you! 



The one good thing about staying in this hotel was the location. It was in the prime area of Mongkok, close to all the eateries and shops. Cabs were aplenty if you wanted to take one. It was within walking distance to the nearest MTR Station, to the Ladies Market and even to Langham Place shopping mall.



Another good thing staying here was that the boss actually helped us get tickets for Ocean Park, The Peak and Disneyland at a discounted price. That was quite some savings!

And despite the room being absurdly small, it was luckily not too dirty. But will I stay here again? Never!! It's definitely for backpackers who just want a place to sleep for the night. You definitely cannot stay inside this hotel room the whole day - you will go insane!


Hui Lau Shan and Aji Ichiban - two shops you can find in Mongkok near MK Hotel

Apart from the hotel, I had enjoyed almost everything else about Hong Kong. So it was with a pretty heavy heart that I left Hong Kong. Good bye, Hong Kong! I hope to visit you again in the near future!

If you had missed any of my Hong Kong posts, feel free to check out the complete list below.

1. My First Day In Hong Kong
2. I Bought Something Naughty At The Ladies Market In Mongkok
3. Yummy Mango Desserts At Hui Lau Shan Hong Kong!
4. My Breakfast At Australia Dairy Company
5. Pandas Galore At Ocean Park Hong Kong! (Part 1)
6. Pandas Galore At Ocean Park Hong Kong! (Part 2)
7. The Waterfront At Ocean Park Hong Kong
8. The Cable Car Ride At Ocean Park Hong Kong
9. The Summit At Ocean Park Hong Kong
10. The Symbio Water Screen Show At Ocean Park Hong Kong
11. Searching For Roast Goose Rice At Lan Kwai Fong
12. A Steamboat Dinner At Dao Xiang
13. My Dim Sum Breakfast At Dao Xiang
14. My Visit To Wong Tai Sin Temple In Hong Kong (Part 1)
15. My Visit To Wong Tai Sin Temple In Hong Kong (Part 2)
16. Riding The Peak Tram In Hong Kong
17. My Visit To The Peak In Hong Kong
18. A Tribute To Hong Kong
19. My Visit To Madame Tussauds Hong Kong (Part 1)
20. My Visit To Madame Tussauds Hong Kong (Part 2)
21. Night Views Of Hong Kong From The Sky Terrace
22. Dinner At Ming Yuen Noodles Restaurant
23. My Visit To Hong Kong Disneyland (Part 1)
24. My Visit To Hong Kong Disneyland (Part 2)
25. Roast Goose Rice At Kowloon Chinese Style Restaurant
26. Polo Bun, Milk Tea And Egg Tart At Kam Wah Cafe
27. My Ngong Ping Cable Car Ride To Tian Tan Buddha
28. My Visit To Ngong Ping Village
29. The Amazing Tian Tan Buddha On Lantau Island
30. Awesome Vegetarian Lunch At Po Lin Monastery!
31. Watching The Symphony Of Lights At Avenue Of Stars
32. Walking The Avenue Of Stars
33. Food I Ate During My Hong Kong Trip
34. Top 5 Places To Visit In Hong Kong For First Timers

Coming Soon : Spiritual Feng Shui By Lillian Too

If you have never been to Hong Kong and are planning to go there, you have probably come to the right place! Today, I would like to share with you the top 5 places to visit in Hong Kong.

Personally, I do not think it's necessary to follow a tour group. You can easily do some research online, plan your itinerary and explore Hong Kong all on your own without much problem. For first timers to Hong Kong, these are the top 5 places I recommend visiting.

1. Ocean Park

Located at the southern part of Hong Kong Island, Ocean Park is a marine park, amusement park and educational theme park all rolled into one! It's really huge and you need to spend at least a whole day here.



Ocean Park is divided into 2 areas - The Waterfront and The Summit, which are separated by a mountain. You need to either sit the cable car or the Ocean Express train to commute between these two areas.

At The Waterfront, you can see real giant pandas at The Giant Panda Habitat, enjoy underwater sea creatures at the Grand Aquarium, entertained by birds at the Amazing Bird Theatre, go up a hot air balloon at SkyFair and relive the olden days of Hong Kong at The Old Hong Kong.



If you are into adrenaline pumping rides, The Summit is the place for you! Besides the thrilling rides, you can also enjoy watching the beautiful sea jellies at the Sea Jelly Spectacular and explore the history and culture of China's Yangtze River at the Chinese Sturgeon Aquarium.



After a whole day of fun, don't forget to watch two dragons fight at the amazing 360 degrees water screen fountain show called The Symbio Water Screen Show scheduled at 7.30pm daily. I highly recommend Ocean Park and do not mind going there again in future!

Check out my experience at Ocean Park in a series of posts HERE.

2. The Peak

As the highest mountain at Hong Kong Island, The Peak is an ideal place to escape the heat and to catch the panoramic view of Hong Kong city. To reach the top, you will need to ride the Peak Tram, which is an experience in itself!



You can shop, dine and visit Madame Tussauds Wax Museum inside The Peak's unique building known as the Peak Tower. And on top of this tower is the Sky Terrace 428 which boasts the highest 360 degrees viewing platform in Hong Kong!



Do not miss the night views of Hong Kong city from the Sky Terrace - it's an amazingly beautiful sight from up there!



I would suggest half a day should be spent at The Peak probably going up there in the early afternoon, and time your itinerary well so that you end up at the Sky Terrace at night. Check out my activities at The Peak HERE.

3. Hong Kong Disneyland

Located at Lantau Island, Hong Kong Disneyland is the smallest Disneyland in the world.



I did not quite enjoy myself at Hong Kong Disneyland. But if you are a kid or you are an adult but a huge fan of Disney characters, then it might be a different experience for you. While you are there, do not miss the Flight Of Fantasy Parade, which is a scheduled daytime parade of Disney characters.



I did not fancy any of the rides there but then again, if you are a kid, you will most probably love all the rides! However, I highly recommend the 3D animated film at Mickey's PhilharMagic and the Festival Of The Lion King musical - they were pretty awesome!

And of course, you have not really visited Disneyland if you did not catch the nightly fireworks display with the Sleeping Beauty Castle as the backdrop.



If you have been to Disneyland in other parts of the world, I suggest you skip Hong Kong Disneyland. Unless you really have no other places to go. LOL! Read more about my visit to Hong Kong Disneyland HERE.

4. Avenue Of Stars

The Avenue Of Stars, located along the Victoria Harbour waterfront in Tsim Sha Tsui, is a tourist attraction that honors celebrities of the Hong Kong film industry.



Besides enjoying the stunning panoramic view of the Hong Kong Island skyline here, you can see plaques of Hong Kong celebrities complete with handprints and autographs, modeled after Hollywood Walk Of Fame. Below is a photo of Jackie Chan's plaque.



At night, you can catch the famous Symphony Of Lights from here. Performed nightly at 8pm for a duration of 14 minutes, this Symphony Of Lights is a synchronised multimedia light and sound show that should not be missed for a first timer to Hong Kong.



Read more about The Avenue Of Stars and The Symphony Of Lights HERE.

5. The Big Buddha

Also known as the Tian Tan Buddha, the Big Buddha is a popular tourist attraction in Hong Kong. Located at Ngong Ping on Lantau Island, the Big Buddha is just next to the Po Lin Monastery.

To go there, I highly recommend riding the cable car which will bring you across the picturesque South China Seas and the green verdant mountains of Lantau Island.



However, I do not really like the Ngong Ping Village which to me, is like a tourist trap. Still, it's just a short walk across the village to reach the Big Buddha.



The sight of the Big Buddha sitting on a lotus flower at the top will blow you away. After visiting the Big Buddha, do not miss the yummy vegetarian meal at Po Lin Monastery nearby.



Check out my trip to Big Buddha HERE.

Of course, there are many more places to visit in Hong Kong, but the above are my Top 5. If you have more time, do visit the Wong Tai Sin Temple as well. It's really quite interesting!

For shopping, I recommend the Ladies Market at Mongkok for cheap souvenirs and other products and the CityGate Outlets at Tung Chung for discounted high quality branded goods.

And if you are interested in the culture and heritage of Hong Kong, do check out the brochures provided by the Hong Kong Tourism Board.



In fact, for my next visit to Hong Kong, I will explore more non-touristy areas on foot guided by this Hong Kong Walks booklet.



If you are a first timer to Hong Kong, don't miss some of the yummiest food on this side of the planet! Check out the food I ate during my Hong Kong trip!

Hong Kong is a food paradise. To me at least. During my 6 days in Hong Kong back in 2011 (yes that's how long it took me to blog about the trip LOL!) I had enjoyed most of the food there.

Despite the inconvenience of sharing tables with complete strangers and having to put up with rude waiters, I still find eating in Hong Kong a pleasurable experience. I guess tasty and quality food really matters. And the big portion is definitely a plus point!

Anyway, here is a round up of most of the food I ate in Hong Kong.

1. Beef Ball Noodles at Lok Yuen



Oops! I think I forgot to blog about this one! Maybe because it was pretty forgettable. LOL!



So it's true not all food are nice in Hong Kong. But the not-so-nice food are clearly in the minority. I guess I have eaten better beef noodles in Malaysia, so this did not impress me much.



Located at Fa Yuen street in Mongkok, Lok Yuen has other types of food in their menu, but they are most famous for their beef balls.

2. Scrambled Egg Sandwich at Australia Dairy Company



One of the best cha chaan tengs (cafes) in Hong Kong, Australia Dairy Company offers the yummiest scrambled egg sandwich, egg custard and fantastic milk tea!



I still do not know how they make their scrambled egg sandwich but it tasted heavenly!!


Located at Parkes Street in Jordan, Australia Dairy Company is a MUST VISIT! Read more about my breakfast at this place HERE.

3. Mango Desserts at Hui Lau Shan

Easily one of the best desserts I had in Hong Kong was at Hui Lau Shan. They have the best mango desserts ever!



The mango ice cream was something to die for!



I ate at Hui Lau Shan almost every night in Hong Kong. Or was it EVERY single night? I could not really remember hahaha!



Hui Lau Shan can be found at almost every street in Mongkok. No kidding. Check out the various types of desserts I ate at Hui Lau Shan HERE.

4. Dim Sum at Dao Xiang Restaurant

It is a MUST to eat dim sum in Hong Kong or you will be missing out on this fine Cantonese cuisine. Hong Kong does serve one of the best dim sums in the world!



Although I did not visit enough dim sum restaurants to say that Dao Xiang has the best dim sum in Hong Kong, I think they were pretty good! Of course, I do have my fair share of not-so-nice dim sum in Hong Kong like the one I ate at Dim Sum Specialist.

Anyway, one dim sum that really stood out for me at Dao Xiang was this red dates dim sum! So yummy!!



Located at Nathan Road in Mongkok, Dao Xiang Restaurant also serve steamboat meals.



You can read more about my experience eating dim sum at Dao Xiang HERE.

5. Wonton Noodles at Ming Yuen Noodles Restaurant

I fell in love with wonton noodles during my trip in Hong Kong. The wontons were big and juicy, the noodles were springy and the glass lettuce was tasty!



My favorite wonton noodles were at Ming Yuen Noodles Restaurant located at Soy Street, Mongkok.



If you like to eat innards and liver, they do serve some very delicious ones, although I must say I do not like eating innards!



Read more about this Ming Yuen Noodles Restaurant HERE.

6. Polo Bun and Milk Tea at Kam Wah Cafe

Hong Kong is famous for their polo buns so do not miss these yummy food when you are there. One of the best polo buns I tasted was at Kam Wah Cafe.



Eating polo buns with a cup of hot milk tea is one of the best breakfasts I had in Hong Kong! Adding an egg tart made it totally awesome! If you fancy polo bun with barbecued pork, then this is THE place  to go!



Located at Bute Street in Mongkok, Kam Wah Cafe is another of my favorite cha chaan teng besides the Australia Dairy Company mentioned earlier.



For more details about Kam Wah Cafe and their yummy food, read HERE.

7. Roast Goose Rice at Kowloon Chinese Style Restaurant

I went on a wild goose chase trying to locate good roast goose rice in Hong Kong but ended up at this Kowloon Chinese Style Restaurant in Mongkok.



The roast goose was yummy and dipping the meat into the plum sauce was heavenly!



It looks as if a lot of yummy food can be found in Mongkok itself, so staying here may be a good choice if all you want to do in Hong Kong is to eat, eat and eat! LOL!

For more details on the roast goose rice, click HERE.

8. Deluxe Vegetarian Meal at Po Lin Monastery

If you are searching for vegetarian food in Hong Kong, look no further than the Deluxe Vegetarian Meal at Po Lin Monastery in Ngong Ping, Lantau Island!



After climbing the steps to reach Big Buddha, you will surely get hungry and will appreciate the vegetarian meal at this monastery.



Check out the awesome vegetarian lunch I had at Po Lin Monastery HERE.

Besides the food mentioned in this post, I also ate some street food like stinky tofu, pancakes and fried food on skewers but they did not really stand out for me. Of course, there are many more food and restaurants in Hong Kong that I have yet to try, so I hope I will be able to try them the next time I visit Hong Kong!

On our last day in Hong Kong, my friend and I visited the Avenue Of Stars located along the Victoria Harbour waterfront in Tsim Sha Tsui.

We were there the night before to catch the Symphony Of Lights show but since it was too dark to explore the Avenue Of Stars, we decided to return the next morning. From Mongkok, we took the MTR to Tsim Sha Tsui Station, walked through a passageway leading to Tsim Sha Tsui East Station before getting out via Exit J. (Refer to the MTR map HERE)



From there, it was roughly a 3-minute walk to the Avenue Of Stars. Along the way we passed by Hong Kong Museum Of Art. Due to lack of time, we did not visit this museum.



The first sight that greeted me at the Avenue Of Stars was this 4.5 metre tall replica of the statuette award given to winners at the Hong Kong Film Awards.



There's a promotional poster of Hong Kong's tourist attractions by the Hong Kong Tourism Board featuring famous Hong Kong actor Tony Leung at the promenade.



We saw this giant statuette the night before when we watched the Symphony Of Lights but it was too dark then. Now I could see it clearly in the bright day lights.



The Avenue Of Stars, which is modelled after Hollywood Walk Of Fame, honors celebrities of the Hong Kong film industry.



Built at the cost of HK$40 million, the Avenue Of Stars was first opened to the general public on 28 April 2004.



Oh! Is this cute or what? : )



Took another photo from a different angle to show the car hidden behind it : )



Set into the 440-metre long promenade were plaques honoring Hong Kong celebrities, both alive and dead.



Some plaques contain hand prints and autographs of the stars set in cement. This one below belongs to veteran actress Josephine Siew Fong Fong.



For those who are already deceased, their plaques only contain their names, like this Bruce Lee's plaque.



I think there were more than 100 plaques here - it was not practical for me to take photos of each and every plaque LOL! By the way, this is Jackie Chan's.



And Kenneth Tsang's.



Oh, I stumbled upon the late actor and singer Leslie Cheung's plaque. There were wreaths and flowers on top of his plaque.



For the benefit of those who are not into Hong Kong stars, Leslie committed suicide on 1st April 2003 by leaping off the 24th floor of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Central District, Hong Kong Island. Pretty tragic, no?



Nice film reel design on the floor.



A film making scene with the cameraman and the director.



Bruce Lee immortalized in this bronze statue.



Just took another shot with the cruise liner in the background. LOL!



More statues showcasing the filming industry in Hong Kong.







I thought the Avenue Of Stars was a great tourist attraction with stunning panoramic view of the Hong Kong Island skyline.



But why was it so hazy? Was it due to air pollution?



Took two more pictures of the Hong Kong Island skyline.





We then walked over to the Tsim Sha Tsui Clock Tower nearby.



Built of red bricks and granite, this Clock Tower stands at 44 metres high. Can you see the long lightning rod at the top?



Walking further, we reached the Ferry Pier. Here, I saw the cruise liner Ocean Princess docking so I just snapped a photo of it.



It was time to return to our hotel in Mongkok to check out before heading straight to the airport. Our 6 days in Hong Kong had been both exciting and memorable. So is this the end of my Hong Kong posts? Well, not quite. Stay tuned for my next post coming soon! : )