Hong Kong: Asia's World City (3 Countries in 3 Days Part 2)

Victoria Harbour Hong Kong

We don't spent much time at Sentosa Island, we have to go back to the airport. Our next flight was at 2pm so we need to get hurry before it's too late. We took MTR to the airport, check in and then took a lunch. It was wonderful, we still have a lot of time at the Burger King. And then we entered the boarding room. Here was the problem started. The airport officer ask us to weigh our hand baggage. And my baggage is 13 kg, over 3kg. I was trying to dispose some of my stuffs and then try again from the other entrance gate. Unfortunately, my baggage still 13kg and the officer mad on me because her colleague has put sign on my boarding pass. She said that I must pay the over baggage about 90 Singapore Dollar. Wtf!!! I was trying to argue but she didn't listen and I gave up. Finally, I have to disposed more of my stuff and then she let me go. Damn!!

Flight from Singapore to HK took 4 hours. After landed at Hong Kong International Airport, we took bus and it took about 1 hours to reach our hostel, Manila Hotel at Chung King Mansion. This building located at 36-44 Nathan Road in Tsim Sha Shui, Kowloon, Hong Kong. The building is well known to tourists as nearly the cheapest accomodation in Hong Kong. Chung King Mansions contains the largest number of guest house in one building, with 1980 rooms in total. Since it offers some of the cheapest rates in town, it has become a legendary haunt for backapckers and budget travellers like us.

Ngong Ping 360

We start to explore Hong Kong with Ngong Ping 360. The Ngong Ping 360 is a tourism project on Lantau Island in Hong Kong. The Project was previously known as Tung Chung Cable Car Project before acquiring the Ngong Ping 360 brand in April 2005. It consists of the Ngong Ping Cable Car, a gondola lift formerly known as the Ngong Ping 360 Skyrail, and the Ngong Ping Village, a retail and entertainment centre adjacent to the cable car's upper station.

Ngong Ping Cable Car is a 5.7-kilometre (3.5 mi) long bi-cable gondola lift system (referred to by its operators as a "cable car") linking between Tung Chung (where it connects the MTR Tung Chung stationand Ngong Ping (where the Polin Monastery and Tian Tian Buddha are located). Between the two terminals at Tung Chung and Ngong Ping, the lift system runs across the southern shore of the Hong Kong International Airport Island and Nei Lak Shan, with eight towers including the stations. Five of the towers are located within the country park.

Big Buddha at Ngong Ping Village

The cable car journet offers a 25 minutes alternative to the current one-hour journey by Thung Chung Road, allowing visitors to glide across Tung Cgung Bay and up to Lantau Island towards Ngong Ping Plateau. During the 25 minute journey, travellers can see panoramic views over the North Lantau Country Park, the South China Sea, Hong Kong International Airport, the Thung Chung Valley, Ngong Ping Plateu and sorrounding terrain and waterways. As visitors approach Ngong Ping, they can see The Big Buddha and the Po Lin Monastery.

Disneyland Hong Kong

Our next destination after Ngong Ping 360 was Disneyland Hong Kong. Despite my friend ever told me that visiting Disneyland HK is nort worth to see compare to the price we have to pay, but visiting HK will not completed yet without Disneyland. Well nothing was attract my attention while in Disneyland, I even did not enjoyed that time. Maybe for kids, Disneyland is amazing, but for adult people like me, hell no..

The Peak

If there is only one thing you can do in Hong Kong, go to The Peak. If you have many things to do here, still go to The Peak. The highest point on Hong Kong Island, this has been the city’s most exclusive neighbourhood since colonial times – back then it was the cooler air that attracted the rich and famous; in the post air-conditioning era, the views of one of the world’s most spectacular cityscapes keep them coming.

Sky Terrace at The Peak

That view is also what makes The Peak one of the most popular attractions in Hong Kong. By day your eyes stretch across sparkling skyscrapers and Victoria Harbour all the way to the green hills of the New Territories. In early evening this panorama melts into pink and orange before reincarnating as a dazzling galaxy of light, shimmering beneath you. And if you listen carefully enough, you can hear Asia’s world city humming below. Vantage Points The anvil-shaped The Peak Tower has a large viewing platform called Sky Terrace 428, in addition to dining and retail outlets. Nearby, The Peak Galleria has a free-entry observation deck, as well as shopping and dining options. More eye gulps of the views can be had at Lugard Road Lookout, Lions View Point Pavilion. For leisurely unfolding vistas, take the 3.5-kilometre Peak Circle Walk.

Riding the Peak Tram is a visual experience in its own right -- Hong Kong Island’s skyscrapers slide past your window at what appear to be impossible angles as you make the ascent to The Peak on the city’s historic, funicular railway. Located at Lower Terminus, The Peak Tram Historical Gallery is a way of paying tribute to The Peak Tram, its heritage and the history of Hong Kong. Since 1888, The Peak Tram has served Hong Kong, quietly witnessing 120 years of the city's changes. The Gallery brings back many memories for local visitors and gives overseas visitors a glimpse of how the Pearl of the Orient has come to shine.

Madame Tussaud

With over 100 incredibly life-like wax figures, Madame Tussauds Hong Kong delivers a fun and interactive celebrity experience in which everyone can either become a star, or just compare themselves to the real thing.

Located in The Peak Tower, guests can gawk at some of the world’s most famous faces in ten themed areas: Hong Kong Glamour, Royal Family, Historical and National Heroes, TV Studio, World Premiere, SCREAM, The Champions, Authentic History, Music Icons and Fantasy Kingdom. They can learn martial arts from Jackie Chan, practice Wing Chun with Donnie Yen, pose with Barack Obama, live the glitz and glamour of the red carpet with Angelina Jolie, enjoy an elegant breakfast date with Audrey Hepburn, shoot hoops with Yao Ming, dance with Lady Gaga, perform some fancy footwork with Cristiano Ronaldo, feel Andy Lau’s heartbeat and meet Marvel superheroes.

SCREAM is Hong Kong’s first permanent scary attraction, and its name is well and truly justified. Set against a chilling backdrop of an abandoned asylum, it promises to stir up humanity’s deepest and darkest fears using a mix of live performers and wax monsters. When journeying through the dark corridors, daring and brave guests will need to escape an asylum choked with rampaging psychopaths on the loose.

Avenue of Stars

The Avenue of Stars pays tribute to the names that helped make Hong Kong the ‘Hollywood of the East’,while giving visitors a panoramic view of the city’s most iconic sight: its glorious skyline, dramatically set against The Peak.

With commemorative plaques, celebrity handprints, descriptive milestones, movie memorabilia, a life-size statue of kung fu action hero Bruce Lee and a bronze rendering of popular cartoon character McDull, the Avenue of Stars fittingly sets the glamour of Hong Kong’s film industry against the captivating dazzle of Victoria Harbour.

The atmosphere here is always lively, with around 30 performances, including music, drama and dance, organised each month. This is also the perfect vantage point to catch the A Symphony of Lights multimedia show.