Avenue of Stars

If you read my last blog entry on The Peak, you'll remember I said that there are two places to go in Hong Kong for you to catch a glimpse of the stunning view of Hong Kong island rated as the world's best skyline. Well, the second place to be is at the Avenue of Stars.

Many years ago while I was here, Avenue of Stars has not been created yet. So this place is called TST or Kowloon or even Victoria Harbour. In 2003, HKD40million was spent to create the Avenue of Stars here at what they now called TST Promenade. TST Promenade actually is the most strategic place to view the entire Hong Kong island from the mainland.

Avenue of Stars is created to pay tribute to the Hong Kong film industry which we all know is one of Asia most strong film industry. Films and tv series which are created in Hong Kong are view by Chinese all over the world. So, it is a very big industry and the stars are considered regional stars all over Asia and in fact to all Chinese community around the world.

Let's face it, stars like Jackie Chan, Jet Li or Michelle Yeoh are known all over the world! So, here we get to see their hand prints all over the the promenade.

So I gotta take the most cliche pose. This is Jackie Chan's hand print and boy is his palm huge!

And this guy ... hmmm, OK I think he's not really a HK star but still a Chinese nonetheless. Mr Bruce Lee, the small tiny Chinese guy who can beat 6 feet tall opponents. He's now immortal in Avenue of Stars.

Look at the crowd surrounding the bronze statue! I think besides being a kung fu action star, he's like a chinese hero of all time.

Now, Avenue of Stars actually encourages hopeful artists to perform here so that people can see how talented they are and maybe a recording studio executive might just be around to scout for fresh faces.

Oh yeah, back to the reason why I'm here. It is to view the best skyline in the world. This is one of the view I managed to captured in the afternoon.

Again, I think the better view is at night. So hang around here and wait for the sun to set and you'll get to see this.
Happened to have the famous Chinese yacht passed by. When you see this yacht fronting the buildings, you'll know you're in Hong Kong.



Now, on a nightly basis at 8pm, try to get a spot and wait for the 'Symphony of LIghts' show. About 20 of the most strategically located buildings took part in this light and sound show. OK, its' nothing really great but it does show you the best skyline in the world.

The view of Hong Kong island is very wide so I can't capture everything in one shot. So here is my amateur attempt at combining 3 different photos to show the panoramic view of Hong Kong during the light show from TST. Absolutely breathtaking! Definitely one of the most beautiful city skyline in the world.


Location : Hong Kong

Date of travel : December 2010

The Peak

Obviously you've heard of Victoria Peak in Hong Kong. This is the place to go if you want to catch a glimpse of one of the world's most beautiful skyline. Hong Kong actually has the most skyscrapers and high rise buildings in the world. There are two places in Hong Kong that you should go to see exactly what does this means. One of the place is to be in Victoria Peak.

In order to reach The Peak, which is one of the most popular tourist attraction in Hong Kong, you need to ride The Peak Tram and you can catch this at Hong Kong island in Central district. Most tourists that follow tour groups only managed to go to The Peak at day time. I should know better, been here twice and its only during day time. Well, we still get to see the skyscrapers but it is nothing compared to what you get to see at night.

This is the view at The Peak during daytime. It's OK only right? The night view is a totally different story. If you can plan wisely, you should be able to view both the day view as well as the night view.

Anyway I'm pretty sure that 80% of tourist in Hong Kong would like to go to The Peak. So you can imagine the nightmare of catching the tram which is the only way to go up to The Peak. Be prepared to queue for nothing less than 1 hour on any given day. I can't even imagine what the queue is gonna be like during holidays. So, if you wanna catch both the day and night view from the summit, you gotta be at the station latest by 4pm.

Since the last time I'm here, I don't remember seeing this structure. Basically if you see this, you know you're at The Peak.

Since the last time I'm here, I also don't remember seeing this shopping complex. But its here and it's such a good idea because we can hang around here during day time, grab a dinner and then go back to catch the night view.

This is my son, all clad in jacket and gloves because the weather at night is very very chilly with the strong wind blowing at The Peak of 552 metres above sea level.

Ladies and gentlemen, this is the night view of Hong Kong at The Peak. OK, maybe my camera and photography skill doesn't do it justice but trust me, it is just simply breathtaking.


Look at the crowd. I'm standing in one of the least favour spot but can still see the night view below!

Just gotta take more pictures of this absolutely stunning view.

We left The Peak at about 9.30pm, there are still people coming up at this hour.




Location : Hong Kong
Next, Avenue of Stars

Hong Kong ... revisited

I've been to Hong Kong quite a number of times but the last time was actually more than 10 years ago. When I was much younger, all I care about is to go shopping. Also, most of those trips were sponsored by my parents. You see, a lot of the older generation of Chinese prefer to go back to where they feel comfortable with, speaks the same language and serves the food they like, even if it means going back to the same place over and over again. At that time, Hong Kong is still a British colony. Today Hong Kong is part of China although being categorised as 'Special Administration Region' just like Macau. So, I still do not need a visa to go in Hong Kong.

This time when I revisited Hong Kong, I skip a lot of the touristic spots that I've been and merely just spent a couple of days soaking in the city, the food and of course the main agenda is to treat my son to his first Disneyland experience. So, this blog is gonna be like a lazy holiday version of Hong Kong.

Much of Hong Kong still looks the same to me. Well, of course with even more sky scrapers than I can remember. Do you know that Hong Kong has the most skyscrapers in the world? Yes, not in Manhattan or Chicago but in Hong Kong. Hence Hong Kong also has been named the best skyline in the world. We'll get to that later. So, here's is the version of my Hong Kong trip ... revisited.

First stop, Central District.

Central District is the main business district in Hong Kong. Here it is all about business. Probably here is also where most of the sky scrapers are located.

Take for example this one, I think it is One IFC, most probably the highest in Hong Kong Island.

Or this one, which is the HSBC Building. Very unique structure and design that I can immediately recognised.

Here we can also find a lot of important landmarks such as this beautiful Legislative Council Building.

Or the Majistret

Or even the Police station. OK, I'm not sure if this is the Police HQ but the facade of the building is beautiful, marking the British influence here in Hong Kong.

In Central, there is also a very important structure which is the Central Mid Level Escalator. It is the world's longest outdoor covered escalator. How long? Its 800 metres climbing 445 feet in total! So, you can just stand on the escalator and travel from one area to another. Amazing!

Only problem is that after you have happily stand stagnant and being transported almost 1km uphill, you gotta walk back down ... not funny.

Through this Escalator, we managed to come to SoHo which in my opinion is the most hype place in Hong Kong. Lots of bars, cafes and eateries here. You can find most foreigners here.

Another 'happening' place being serviced by this escalator is the 'Lan Kwai Fong'. But I don't find anything interesting except for this picturesque back lane. Perfect for me to practice my photography skill.

In Hong Kong island, the surest and cheapest way to travel is by hopping onto one of this tram and you can travel around the city for only HKD2. If you decide not to get down, you can travel from east to west for only HKD2! Unbelievable. If you decide to hop down, you can get one anytime almost instantaneously.

So, one night, we just hop onto one, climb to the top level and just sit down and enjoy the sights of Hong Kong island.

This is the Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) in Happy Valley. A lot of Hongkongites are crazy about horse racing or more accurately gambling. How crazy are the bettings on horse racing in Hong Kong? Let's just say, billions of dollar bettings are involved. The HKJC is the largest tax payer in Hong Kong. Enough said.

OK, apart from all the glamour city living, we managed to visit one of the morning wet market in Fortress Hill. Couldn't help but snap a picture of the typical Hong Kong life.

Here, we also managed to find a very delicious Hong Kong cuisine, the goose drum-stick. It cost HKD68 for a drum stick but OMG ... taste so superbly good.

One more place that you should go to in Hong Kong island is the Causeway Bay. This is like the shopping district in Hong Kong. Heck, you can find anything here including a shop that sells nothing but ang pow packets. All sort of sizes and colours (gotta be red or yellow or auspicious colour) and some have even various surname engraved on it. Suffice to say, we went a bit crazy at this ang pow shop. Hey, if we gonna be giving money out on Lunar New Year, might as well do it in style right?

The Times Square is also located in Causeway Bay.

I know Hong Kong city is always full of people and I tend to walk a little bit faster as well in case people trip over me but I've never seen so many people as in Times Square. Just crazy. This picture is taken at almost midnight!

Oh, last but not least, in Hong Kong, there is a very famous chain called Milan Station. They sell all the 'pre-loved' handbags and purses. So, if the queue for Birkin doesn't seems to reach you, you can just drop by Milan Station and there are plenty for you to choose and take home with. There are even some vintage and limited edition Channel .,, ooo la la. OK, I didn't go in, just sneaking from the window outside. I just can't trust myself.

Judging from this blog, doesn't look like a lazy trip right? OK OK, one last place I wanna talk about is non other than Tsim Tsa Tsui or better known as TST by Hongkongites. It is actually located at the mainland in Kowloon district. So, we gotta climb onboard an MTR to come here.

Here is like another shopping haven. Mostly of street fashion and mid-level pricing items. At night, there are at least 2 to 3 night markets but since I've been to them in my previous visits, I skipped, what's with my 5 year old son along.

But that doesn't stop us from shopping at day time. Me, cam whoring with my son while waiting for my hubby to buy his shoes.

And, if you can afford it, you have to come and have an afternoon tea at the Peninsula Hotel. This is like an icon of TST.

OK, I think you get the idea, Hong Kong is just way too interesting. There's just too many things to see, to eat, to buy ... I shouldn't wait for another 10 years to come again.

Location : Hong Kong

Next, The Peak