The Peak Tram, Central, Hong Kong

The Peak is one of the national icon of Hong Kong and we are going to ride the tram to the top. The tram station is actually located near Central MTR station and there are a lot of signs pointing to the station so you don't really need a map to find it.

We reached the ticket counter around 4ish and the queue was already long. Zzz. But it moved pretty fast so I guess it's not that horrifying after all. 

My travelling companion never visit Madame Tussauds in Hong Kong so we decided to buy the package for the Peak observatory and the wax museum. The package price for the tram, the sky pass (observatory) and the wax museum costs HKD310. If you buy online, you can apparently get it cheaper at HKD290 (see link).

Yep, welcome to the crowded waiting area. =S

Finally managed to get ourselves inside the tram. 

If you happen to sit at the right side of the tram, you can catch a glimpse of the view from the way uphill. 

The tram ride is not that long, so if you don't get a seat, at least you don't have to stand for a long time. Hehehe.

Enjoy the ride uphill~~~

Welcome to Central, Hong Kong

After our hearty first lunch in Hong Kong (see here), we are ready for our walk around the town. First stop of the day is Central area. Simply because we want to go to the Peak afterward.

There's an exhibition at the MTR station showing a various design of Octopus Card. The exhibition only lasts until 30 September. So you only have time until Tuesday to see it. Go quickly!

If you do not have time to see it, don't be sad. I'll share some pictures with you. Hehe. Especially those designs that I like. XD

Like Doraemon. Who do not like Doraemon? 

Been a while since the last time I see Looney Tunes characters. 

Dragon Ball and Dr Slump! My Sunday anime favorite when I was still a small kid. =P

When we finished checking out the MTR cards, we came out and yes, we are totally in the business district area of Hong Kong. Hello, skyscrapers! 

If you walk back to the MTR at night time, the skyscrapers will be lit. 

There are so many things to do in Central, so keep on reading! =)

Hong Kong Eats: Hong Kong Cafe alongside Butterfly on Prat

We were so hungry after we finally done with check-in and all those hotel stuff. So, we straight away went to the nearest restaurant we spotted on the road. We did not even check the name or anything and hence, the weird and not-helping post title. #sorry

The menu. I droll when I saw that condensed milk crispy buns (奶油豬/ Nǎiyóu zhū). Most of restaurants in Hong Kong have English menu (not like in Taiwan) so no worry about language confusion here. =P

I opted for a set meal which consists of the charsiew/ chicken/ sausage rice oh-my-gawd I'm in foodgasm. 

A bowl of lotus root soup. 

Milk tea (奶茶/ Nǎichá) is a must to have in Hong Kong. It is included in the set meal too.

The condensed milk buns is not part of the set but we ordered them anyway. Yummy!!!

I knew it's gonna be a one heck of an EATING trip. 

Hong Kong Hotel Review: Butterfly on Prat Tsim Sha Tsui

For our summer trip to Hong Kong, my friend and I booked our stay at Butterfly on Prat at Tsim Sha Tsui after she got the best deal from this link (I am kinda lousy in finding good deals..XD). I suppose this can be considered a boutique hotel because the hotel's size is not that big and as many other hotels in Tsim Sha Tsui, it's located at one of the many alleys in this area.

This is how the main reception looks like. Minimalist yet quite nice to look at, right?

The internet cafe (or more like station?) is located near the receptionist. 

Ready to ride the colourful lift to our room. 

My friend and I got the double room. And the bed is decorated with rose pillow and butterflies? Hahaha. The bed is comfy btw. And the size of the room is pretty big. 

We thought there's an Ipad on the table. But apparently the hotel uses an ipad cover to keep all its booklet and guest information. LOL. #cheated

Bathroom is pretty standard but as long as it is clean and the water is working properly, I am not complaining.

You can consider this hotel if you want to stay in Tsim Sha Tsui. The area is quite vibrant and still crowded at night too, so you won't feel unsafe when you walk back to your hotel at night. 

Summer Vacation in Hong Kong

Since there are not much things to do in Taiwan when it's kissed (or slammed?) by a typhoon, I decided to do a some kind of late-post about my trip to Hong Kong in June. =P

Welcome to Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA)!

I grabbed a tourist booklet in the airport (there's a map inside). As what the booklet says, I expected an exhilarating summer in Hong Kong. Hehehe.

We stayed at Butterfly on Prat Hotel which is located at Tsim Sha Tsui area. Since we are lazy to lug our luggage all the way from the MRT station, we decided to ride an airport limousine instead. You just need to purchase the ticket from the Airport Hotelink counter at the arrival terminal. After you tell the counter staff the name of the hotel where you are staying, they will inform you the price and give you a ticket. Then you need to follow the staff to the waiting area for the bus and wait until your hotel name get called. 

The bus is quite comfy and cozy too. 

Passed by Tsing-Ma Bridge and we are ready to have fun in Hong Kong. Woot! 

Summer Day at Yehliu Geopark, Taiwan

....is probably not really a good idea because it's HOT! SCORCHING HOT! *melt*

I think you can tell how hot it was from the picture of the mushroom formation from above.

Other than the heat, you must be able to withstand the crowd of tourists in summer. I guess a lot of countries are having summer holidays so yes, expect a lot of people in Yehliu. 

I'd probably gonna get a sunburn from wearing sleeveless but...anyway, let's take a picture in pretty Yehliu. Hehe.

Another shot with the sea at the background. #spam

Cute version of the Queen's Head. Hehe. Nobody has the feeling to queue to take picture with the real Queen's Head because it's simply too hot. If you want to know how it looks like, you can see it here.

If you want to have more pleasant experience here, I suggest you to visit Yehliu in different season. Hahaha. I suppose winter may not be a good idea either cause it will be freezing cold. XD

Another Taiwan snack post

Did I tell you I love to snack? If you forget about that fact about me, you can check out this post and post. #shameless

One of the fun things about grocery shopping in Taipei is that there's always new stuff to try. Yeay!

First is something called frugurt (fruit-yoghurt??).

I was expecting something yoghurt-like but it turns out to be more like strawberry milk pudding. Taste so-so. 

The next one is koala biscuit filled with cheese cake filling (something like Hello Panda). I like this one. Sorry, I did not take the picture of the biscuit because I was busy eating it. XD #greedy

The last item to introduce today is the cocoa milk tea. Most drinks sold in Taiwan's convenience stores taste amazing. And this one is included. Slurp~~~

The above really look like my daily staple of food intake. Hahaha. Oh well~~

1914 Huashan Creative Park

Summer is gonna be over soon. And despite my deep hatred for a humid weather, I still feel somewhat sad. =(

In order to turn this summertime sadness feeling into summertime fun, we are going to the park today. Hmm, the weather is kinda cloudy but I suppose it's not gonna rain (fingers-crossed). Hehe.

There's a Sunday market in the park so if you want to visit the park, make sure it's a Sunday. 

There are a lot of art galleries, cafe and stores here and we'll explore them soon. 

Green house. A literally green house. 

Going inside the buildings. It feels somewhat artistic and eerie at the same time. Probably due to the fact that the building is kinda artistically old. 

Arts displayed on the wall. 

Street performances. Quite fun to hear. =)

The nearest MRT to Huashan Creative Park is Zhongxiao Xinsheng/ Shandao Temple. However, you need to walk a bit for 10 minutes from either MRT station to reach the park. No entrance fee to the park however, some art galleries will charge you entrance fee. 

Night Market Food: Scallops on a Stick, Shilin Night Market

Whenever we, the girls, are going to a night market, we are immediately attracted to those stalls with (a) long queue or (b) cute mascot. I suppose in this case, (b) is the culprit. That scallop mascot is like...kawaii! XD

We pass by this stall while we are strolling in Shilin Night Market. They look somewhat interesting (and the mascot is cute) so we decide to stop and order. Haha. 

This is how the banner look like in case it's super crowded and you won't see the signage below. 

It's like scallops with salt and pepper because they basically just coat it with whatever powder according to the topping that you chose. Hmm okay-ish but not really fantastic I guess. Haha. 

Are you going to give it a try when you are at Shilin Night Market? =P

Yongkang Street Cheese Scallion Pancake, Taipei

I seriously wonder why my wallet is slim. Not like its owner. Oh well~~

Good thing about staying in Taipei is that you don't have to pay a lot to eat good food. Even simple food taste like heaven. #notexaggerating

Since I don't really have a lot to spend on daily expense at the moment (saving up for next trip), I wander off to Yongkang Street again after school in a mission to find something edible without creating a hole in my wallet. 

And a queue line draw me in..like usual.. #weak

Can't really see what are they selling so I come really close. Huh? Looks yum! 

It's Taiwanese pancake! Aww smells damn good and it's not expensive too. I immediately join the queue. And order my cheese egg pancake. If I'm not wrong, it costs me NTD30 - 50. 

Itadakimasuuuu~~~~ =) =) =)

The stall is located at the intersection opposite Kao Chi. I don't think you can miss it because of the queue. =)