CutiCuti: Hong Kong Day 1 - Arrival on Pearl of The Orient Soil

Assalamualaikum. 你好.

One day; while browsing the internet at home.

"Ma, I will be in Kolumpor for a week after the Korea holiday. Since there's nothing interesting to do in Kolumpor so I thought of going somewhere. Out of Malaysia to be precise." I suddenly blurted out the idea to Bunda.

"Where to? How about me joining u?" Bunda replied.

"Hong Kong top my list for now. And it's the only place that air fare suited my budget. But I wanted to go alone."

"Ok Hong Kong it will be. No solo trip, this time u have to bring me. We pay our own expenses. Everything; we divide." so the mind-reader said. 

"Deal. I've bought my ticket earlier this evening. So now lets hope the fare hasn't increase yet. There is a direct flight from KK, u fly on ur own from here then." 

"Anak bertuah! U told me ur plan after u bought ur ticket? No, I wanted to go with u. I don't mind having to buy another ticket from here to Kolumpor. I can visit Angah & go shopping with her while waiting for ur arrival from Korea". 

That was part of the conversation I had with Bunda prior purchasing her tickets. Instead of the initial idea of exploring Hong Kong alone; I was commanded to bring her along. Fair enough though because it was a perfect time to go jalan² with her; only the two of us. It's been a while since we went to Bali together. Brother can't join us because he has used up all his leaves for eid. 

Last year I spent quite lots for my South Korea & Europe trip. Budget sudah ke laut therefore I brought her to Kasih Sayang Resort; which is only thirty minutes drive from home. Ngek! Tahun ni berjalan jauh sikit lah kan, walau budget masing². Sungguh aku anak bertuah!

We arrived super early that morning. Had light(??) breakfast before boarding. 

Lucky we arrived early else it would have been another chaos searching for the departure gate. I initially thought it would be the same as the gate to other international flights i.e Seoul, Perth etc but turned out the departure gate for flight to Hong Kong is the same as domestics. Only the custom screening is at different entrance. 

Picture taken on board. Wajib isi this arrival card ok, unless kau trip warganegara Hong Kong. 

Four hours on board; three hours of restless sleep...and we arrived Hong Kong in one piece. It was almost noon when we touched down. Look at Bunda, laju jalan ke depan!

Passengers have to take the shuttle bus to the main terminal building. The first view of Hong Kong we had upon arrival.

The most criss-crossed immigration area I've ever encountered my whole life. I never thought it would be super crazy zig zag of a queue. Serius pening. Why lah they don't make it simpler. Buat queue macam immigration area di airport lain kan lagi bagus. Puff!

Despite the zig zag queue, immigration process went smooth & surprisingly; fast. No interrogation whatsoever. My journey to the customer service centre was easy peasy as well. Special thanks to Kaki Berangan for the information upon arrival at Hong Kong International Airport. His blog entries are among my most trusted references when it comes to travelling. 

I followed exactly the direction he gave. If u want to travel by bus, then make sure u follow the signboard for bus/coach.

Before we boarded the bus to our hostel, we headed to the customer service centre. Which is just outside the terminal building. U won't miss it. Bought our Octopus Card here. We paid HK$150 for the card; and that already includes the HK$100 stored value. For more information about this card, please refer here. 

Done with our Octopus Card purchased, we proceeded to the bus stop. Follow the signboard; always. Unless u are already familiar with the airport layout. Or it's not ur first time here.  

Walking straight ahead lead us to several bus stops. Again, make sure the correct bus to ur hostel & follow the sign to its stop. Insha Allah, kalau sudah buat enough preparation before u travel everything will be ok. Tawakal yang penting. 

There are more than one stops for the buses heading to various destinations, therefore kena betul² tau the bus number. 

Our hostel located in Tsim Sha Tsui (TST). So we took the A21 bus. Frequency of buses are high so worry not if u missed the first bus u saw upon arriving at the bus stop. Since we've the Octopus Card, we just tap the card at the reader near the driver upon embarking. The fare for bus from the airport to TST is HK$33. 

Free wi-fi inside the bus. Super daebak! I love service like this. Automatic sign in to the wi-fi network & get connected back to the world. Ayat bikin pasrah! As if u can't live without the technology, huh Bie.

Showered with various designs of tall buildings view throughout our journey from the airport.

It has become an addiction for me to take picture of street signs. Ever since my Europe trip. Ntah ada apa dengan street sign.

Just like in their dramas/movies. I used to enjoyed watching Chinese flicks when I was young. In fact, I grew up watching most of their flicks. And it is no surprise to me when I can understand some of the Chinese words uttered by the local here. The power of television showing bit by bit of its advantages to me; especially during travelling. I would ask the local for directions...doesn't matter if they don't speak English & answered me in Chinese. For I still understand what they're saying albeit not the whole sentences. 

Lantau Island. I reckoned this must be one of the busiest place in Hong Konge. 

I am indeed grateful to the Almighty for the bright sunny weather that welcomes us that day. I super love the blue skies...and the white cotton clouds. 

Apartments in Hong Kong is a common sight. In order to fully utilize their very limited land area, their government built many skyscrapers. Tapi apartment bukan cokia ok. Ada yang lebih mahal dari sebiji banglo I was informed. 

After an hour bus journey  from the airport, we rang the bell & alighted at Middle Rd., Nathan Road the 13^th stop if I'm not mistaken. The bus stop is right in front of the Chungking Mansion. We just need to turn left after getting down from the bus, and we were already in front of the 'mansion' in less than a minute walking. 

Throughout our holiday in Hong Kong, we stayed at Tokyo Hostel located at the 8^th floor of this building called 'mansion'. Motif sangat kan sebut mansion banyak kali.

For hostel & other stories about our first day in Hong Kong will be updated later. I am totally too lazy for now. Ngeh~~

Just for the record, our return flight tickets from Kolumpor to Hong Kong cost us RM 508.00/person. That includes insurance, check-in baggage (HK to KL) & seat. Motif jalan anak beranak, perlu duduk sebelah menyebelah supaya kalau tiba² lapar, boleh suruh Bunda bayarkan makanan. Hampas!

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