I made a Bsky account for informal junk dumps, casual blurbs, chicken pictures, and actually being able to follow people. (This tumblr account isn't my main, and I know tumblr made changes to make it otherwise, but I'd rather be able to follow people on an established account ;v;)
Anyway, if you follow me, I'll be able to follow back now!
I visited Hong Kong! There is a heavy Cantonese population in Chinatown, San Francisco, and having now explored both, many parts of Hong Kong remind me of a warmer (and not-so-ADA-compliant) SF. The little port and island-based Special Administrative Region boasts hilly and lush combinations of urban and tropical surroundings with humbling skyscrapers and apartment complexes.
When first landing in HKG International Airport and leaving with your luggage, your attention may immediately look right towards a huge stuffed cat. My friend swears the ear moves, but I wasn't looking. I also exchanged some money to HKG. The coins have fun flower ridges...and some are magnetic! They would stick to my coinpurse that I purchased in Taiwan (which I'll talk about in another post).
There are a few options to leave the airport, but I'd say the most popular option is to take the Airport Express that will stop at major locations such as Lantau Island (which also hosts Disneyland) and the arterial Hong Kong Main Station on Hong Kong Island.
Getting out of Hong Kong Main Station from the airport side is so confusing! @~@ We wanted to head southwest towards Wellington St. (as that was where our hotel was), and we discovered that the closest exit, Exit C, could only be accessed if you purchased an MRT ticket when entering and then exiting. We were trying to find a way to get up to the pedestrian overpass (that we also learned was a thing in Hong Kong) and just get across Connaught Rd Central. Why did they make it so hard?
We also found out that not everyone in Hong Kong speaks fluent English ^^' Although we observed that the older generation has a more distinct British accent than the youth! My dad was with us, but he kept asking for directions in Mandarin (????) instead of Cantonese. which he also speaks but chose not to do (?!?!?!). It was on this trip that I decided I'd never travel with my dad overseas again...for many reasons.
Also annoying was that the station attendants will not allow you to use escalators if you have suitcases; they make you take the elevators. I understand it's for safety and all that, but our luggages weren't even heavy. Ah well. The elevators are far and very very very slow.
Nevertheless we made it to our hotel which was very comfortable and convenient once we got there. Phew. Just in time for afternoon tea!
My friend and I had afternoon tea at the Clipper Lounge in the Mandarin Oriental. The hotel is very fancy! So much so that we felt poor just being inside ^^' Everyone is very posh and in suits or doing important business. We felt out of place, having barely just landed in Hong Kong, so we just had on some tourist clothes like a bunch of hillbillies...
In any case, the afternoon tea was delicious! They had their spring set menu, and we chose a Taste of Legend blend, as well as a 1837 Black Tea. You pretty much get unlimited refills of tea, and the flavor holds for a long time, a true sign of great tea! Taste of Legend is more mild, but the 1837 had lingering floral notes that I really loved.
The food was well done and prepared with utmost care. The rose jam is a Mandarin Oriental exclusive and very tasty! You can taste the rose and detect hints of lemon in a burst of floral flavor. I think my only complaint was that the clotted cream had the consistency of butter instead of a spreadable texture, but eh. It doesn't look like a a lot of food, but we can attest to being full afterwards!
After tea, we went up to find rose jam for purchase. The price was something like $290 HKD for a tiny jar TTpTT We ended up not buying it, but I do think about that jam...Perhaps I'll be able to recreate it one day...
We booked a later time slot for tea, so the sun was setting. Perfect timing to head up to The Peak!
The most fun way to head up Victoria Peak is to take the Peak Tram on May Rd. It's very steep and can hold a lot of people. Something fun is that the floor of the trolley has these waves, so you don't trip on a flat incline. We only bought one-way tickets. You can also purchase a package that includes access to The Peak lookout, but why do that when you can look out to Victoria Harbor for free?
Coming to the end of the trolley takes you to The Peak shopping mall. There are two shopping centers, actually, and plenty of bus stops and a lane for taxis.
If you go up the escalators in The Peak shopping center--not the Galleria--there are balcony access points that let you look out to the harbor without needing to pay to access the rooftop. Pretty sweet! The views were just as nice. It was actually a clear day during the daytime--no need for a fake sunny billboard lol!
The Peak shopping center also boasts a post office on one of the upper floors. If you mail out anything here, you get an exclusive "The Peak" postmark on your parcels, so it's encouraged to use their services. Even if it's closed, you can still purchase stamps from a kiosk, which I ended up doing to mail out a postcard. Sadly, I don't have a picture.
Ah, but as it turns out, during the night, the humidity of Hong Kong reaches a staggering concentration of water in the air, and a disgusting hot spongy mess of gross fog rolls in over the hillside. Yuck!
We ended up taking a double decker bus down the mountain. It was fun but terrifying! It's so steep and windy. I wasn't able to take a great picture aboard the bus, but I took one of the stairs, as we were sitting on the second floor to enjoy the elevated view. Not very interesting, I know, sorry.
The last treat we had for the day was the popular Smooth King drink from "Silk." (yes, with a period at the end). Silk. is a Hong Kong boba chain. The Smooth King drink boasts brown sugar syrup, salty cheese foam, boba, and a garnish of crispy honeycomb wafer on top. It's expensive by Asian standards ($42 HKD) but tastes premium!
The day after that, we had dim sum, as one should in Hong Kong! Weirdly, Hong Kong isn't as big on breakfast as mainland China. A lot of things open late, and dim sum is also considered more of a brunch food. Not sure why, as it's cooler during the mornings.
Pictured above (that I recall) are congee, har gow, siu mai, zhongzi, BBQ pork steamed buns, custard buns, shark fin dumplings (I know, I know, my dad ordered it), and wu gok (which was very well-cooked), complete with pu-er tea. Gotta have tea with dim sum!
After breakfast, we went on a day-trip to Macau, as I've described in my other post.
I took pictures below of the pedestrian overcrossing (hi mom!) and Turbojet from the outside and inside. The ferry is quite large, actually, and I wish I had a way to describe the scale of it.
Third day was a nice sunny day. We had brunch of roast goose and pork belly at Yat Lok (delicious but salty) and wonton noodles at Tsim Chai Kee Noodle, also absolutely tasty, but most of these dishes can be found in the U.S. if only at a little more expensive prices. I also took a picture of an umbrella dryer, which are common in these parts of Asia, as it rains frequently. How neat.
Afterwards, we paid a visit to the mainland side. It's easy to get to Ladies' Market (Nathan Road!) via the MRT. There are also a few Mixue locations on this side hehe.
The market goods, themselves, aren't anything spectacular unless you're into bootlegs or cheap bags and clothes. Some shoppers like to come here for the thrill of haggling (which I did)! It is interesting to see what stock is on display, as they seem to sell what's trending at the time. I was looking for bootleg Fjällräven backpacks, but I couldn't find any. I also did not buy a Hong Kong shirt because our luggages were full after coming from Taiwan -.-'
Temple Street ^ It's a market just like Ladies' Market, except it kinda only opens up at nighttime. There are also food vendors, according to the locals we spoke with, but those also aren't open until nighttime, alas. We couldn't stay because we were headed to Shenzhen after this.
Also found this durian stand with a...durian-costume Pikachu...?
Shots of the Wan Chai Waterfront from the Avenue of Stars, a walkway with handprints of Hong Kong celebrities, similar to Hollywood. Even saw a helicopter! This picture was taken on April 30th, right before the big China Labor Day holiday and before Japan's Golden Week! My friend who stayed behind in Hong Kong said after we left, everything became crowded with Chinese and Japanese tourists oh my.
All in all, I'd say Hong Kong probably isn't a place to visit on its own. It's kind of expensive to fly here, and getting around will require a lot of walking, not to mention some confusion with navigating the city. Perhaps next time I'll be able to visit Lantau Island or check out the south side of Hong Kong Island and see LOHAS with my own eyes ha. It would also be great to do a hike or camp during cooler weather.
I went to Singapore! It was a wonderful experience, and I can see why Himaruya is so fond of the country haha. Also brought my boys. It's very humid and there is a lot of walking (assuming you're trying to squeeze a lot of activities in a week like we did). Bring comfortable waterproof shoes and an umbrella! Captions are in each photo.
1. Be hand-knitted in the round from the bottom up with sleeves worked into the yoke/neckline.
2. Made with lopi yarn from Icelandic sheep.
3. Be physically knitted in Iceland.
Upon knitting my own (almost genuine, not locally made) lopapeysa, I quickly realized how itchy lopi is. Granted, it's very warm and moisture-wicking. Smells like sheep if that's your thing. (The yarn even has grass accidentally woven in lol)
Hi, no, it's not! I've been catching up with work and personal life, that I set most of my writing aside for a while. I'm chipping away at my stories bit by bit, though I've also developed new relationships and interests that make it harder for me to stay completely devoted and productive in the fandom. I'm always keeping up with Hetalia in the background, I swear!
