When i am overseas, i usually wouldn't plan much for the last day and normally spend it around our accommodation, shopping for food and souvenirs to bring back to my family and friends.
It's no difference for our last day in Hong Kong although we went beyond the close proximity of Dorsett Mongkok hotel towards the direction of Mong Kok MTR station. Above is a photo of the Dynasty Theatre, an old school cinema that retained the decor and charms of a movie theatre back in the 60s - 70s.
As expected, i got trigger happy with my DSLR and shot more photographs for which i have no captions for. Quite intrigued with the refuse collection point though as i wonder what the upper levels are for.
Yet again a dim sum breakfast on our last day and this time, we would be trying out Dragon Court (龍閣) near Mong Kok MTR station. Recommended by a colleague, the location wasn't ideal yet the place was filled with customers, most of whom were around my parents' age! Click here for my review!
Eye-catching recycling bins! What's most important is that people are using them correctly! I just got to know a few months ago that while i have been diligently cleaning and drying the plastic bottles at my workplace before putting them in the recycling bins; almost 100% were not recyclable due to contamination with non-recyclables!
Google Map is so helpful; a click on the app and it brought me to Wing Wah bakery where i got a few packs of their signature wife biscuits for my mum. If you ask me, Hang Heung wife biscuits are nicer.
Dried food store, butchery and fishmonger stall; quite an interesting sight with the latter two as the Singapore mind would have deemed Mong Kok as a centralized area where rent is comparatively much higher and most residents would prefer to shop for fresh produce in a supermarket instead.
Getting a Starbucks coffee for Alex at New Kowloon Plaza so that i continue to shop for more food souvenirs. Alex doesn't shop much and is happy just staying put at one place. As mentioned a few times in this blog, he enjoys staying in the hotel when he is overseas, unlike me.
More loot from Kee Wah Bakery! Even though i always seem to overbuy, there are always friends that i miss out! It can be so stressful; to the extent that for commonly visited places like Bangkok, i would ask close friends what they want instead and i would buy for them if it is convenient.
Road sign for Tai Kok Tsui; where Dorsett Mongkok hotel is located.
And since it's our last day, i decided to check out Tai Kok Tsui Market which was right across from Dorsett Mongkok hotel. I did it alone as our dear Alex wanted to go back to the hotel to rest.
Last look of the view outside our hotel room before leaving for the airport. The building in yellow cladding is Tai Kok Tsui Municipal Services Building which housed the Tai Kok Tsui Market.
Hopped onto a cab right outside our hotel. Friends have suggested i take the airport shuttle which would be cheaper but given the amount of luggage, i prefer to take the taxi for convenience.
Kee Wah Bakery; the same branch at New Kowloon Plaza that i went too just an hour or two back. Given the situation in Hong Kong, i am not sure if any of the shops i blogged about for the past 11 months is still around.
Towards Lantau Island; isn't it cute to see the mickey mouse logo on the signboard? However, there's a lot more to Lantau Island than Disneyland and the airport. There's Ngong Ping, there's Tian Tan Buddha and there's Tai O fishing village!
In order to get to Lantau Island by road, you would have to cross Park Island with the help of Tsing Ma Bridge and Kap Shui Mun Bridge.
The greenery; one thing i noticed during this trip was how much greenery Hong Kong has and it's befuddling that they are still having such a big housing issue. According to a Hong Kong friend, Hong Kongers are especially passionate when it comes to nature preservation and this ideology is different from the practical mindset of most Singaporeans.
High rise buildings near Tung Chung MTR station; they are in fact pretty close to Chek Lap Kok International Airport yet their height and proximity would have likely broken Singapore's height restrictions.
At this point, the taxi fare was about S$40.
Eventual bill came up to about S$50 and when i requested for breakdown, i was surprised that our luggage was chargeable too as that's not the case in Singapore. I took a picture in case i needed to file a complaint later; turned out it's common to charge for luggage in Hong Kong!
Our luggage, which would be checked in. I was thinking if i should invest in another piece of luggage that's about the same size as the larger blue one in the photo. In actual fact, most of the items inside belonged to me as Alex doesn't shop as much nowadays and in this trip, he even didn't have to buy anything for his colleagues as it was his company trip for the first four days.
Terminal 2 of Chek Lap Kok International Airport! I spent quite a bit of time going through some of the stores after checking in the luggage; actually, you can also do some souvenirs shopping here as there were an Aji Ichiban store (with the wasabi crackers you can't get in Singapore), Wing Wah bakery and a Disney store where you can procure Disney memorabilia (a friend asked me to get her a mug).
My mom specifically asked me to get her two tins of mooncakes from Wing Wah bakery and i bought them on Day One as i am afraid the pricing at the airport would be more expensive, which is usually the case in Singapore. I took pictures of the prices in the airport and they are the same as the city branches!
There's also a PMQ Select where you can get selected merchandise from some of the stores within the old Police Married Quarters at Aberdeen Street on Hong Kong Island!
Clearing customs two hours beforehand in case there were more things to explore and shop within the departure hall.
Another Wing Wah bakery! This time, you may refer to the price list as above for your reference. Do note that the prices were after discount as the period i visited were still too early for the mid-autumn festival when demand for mooncakes spikes.
Taking the subway that would bring us to the respective stations that were gates that had been clustered together. I was thinking there could be a huge departure hall like in the case of Changi International Airport and Suvarnabhumi Airport where there would be more shopping!
My fear had come true; there were retail stores (including another Wing Wah bakery!) but nothing that made me want to shop / explore further. There's a Koi Kei Bakery which hailed from Macau but there's also a branch right here in Singapore too.
With about two hours to spare, i took to ordering a mocha and Panini from Pacific Coffee. Nothing for Alex as he went to eat Burger King (what else) while waiting for me to shop at terminal 2.
Taking time lapsed videos! My friend has been persuading me to get a decent tripod so that i can take better photos and videos but i really hate having to lug around a tripod when i am travelling!
The sky had been gloomy since morning but the rain only started when we were at the gates! I was telling Alex that come to think about it, we were quite lucky as far as rain was concerned as we only encountered a light drizzle.
Sharing the time lapsed videos for your viewing pleasure!
Our Jetstar plane had arrived and i initially there might be delays in departing as the rain continued to be heavy and i guess we would not be able to take off as scheduled.
Turned out we were still pretty much on time. My only worry then was seeing the kid in front of me; would it a torturing few hours on the plane? Thankfully, this little kid was an angel!
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