Time Out Hong Kong

At last!! The layout of Time Out Hong Kong is normal and navigable!! Or maybe it is only normal in IE8. Whatever the case may be, I am having fun exploring it, especially the Big Smog Blog. Big Smog has "streetwise" feature articles that explore an individual street in Hong Kong. The tributaries of Jordan sound like something we might want to check out!
Oh, Oh, Juan. There's an Ikea in Sha Tin: "Pots and pans
If you can’t resist a little shopping, head up the street to Homesquare. This three-storey mall specialises in homeware, including an outlet of quirky Italian brand Alessi. For those whose budget is more student than tai-tai, the whole of the third level is taken up by a branch of the ever-popular Ikea."

Where Juan and Mandy want to take us

Dinner
1. Peak Lookout
2. Chubby Little Sheep (hotpot)
3. Banquet at boathouse in Sha Tin (seafood)
4. Seafood at Sai kung
5. Temple street (outdoor street market)
Breakfast
1. Dim sum in Sha tin with mandy's grandparents
2. Australian dairy company
3. Congee in Cheung wan
4. 7-11 for bakery stuff
And for lunch....or snacks
1. Tofu pudding in kowloon city
2. Thai in city plaza (sha tin) or kowloon city
3. street vendor waffle (sooo good) Is this the same as mini egg-puffs?
4. Big Buddha vegetarian restaurant
5. Dessert place in Western market (Honeymoon Desserts?)
Wait, Juan, you have forgotten the Noodles.

Ding Ding

Making my google map of Hong Kong I ran across the Ding Ding Tram Guide Map from the Ding Ding Hong Kong Tram Guide from the Hong Kong Tourism Board.

Hong Kong Food

I was browsing YouTube for Hong Kong Wet Markets and came across Hong Kong Street Food which led me to South China Morning Post's site on YouTube.

• Dim Sum
• Hong Kong Street Food
• Dim Sum at Lok Yu Tea House

And then there are others, like Le Gourmet TV:

• Main Hong Kong Page
• Le Mong Kok Street Food
• Light Vegetarian Restaurant in Kowloon
• Seafood on Lamma Island
• Egg Tarts
• Maks Noodle in Central
• Stinky Tofu Chinese Cheese
• Clay Pot Rice
• Snake Soup
• Kowloon City Market Food Court

And Trip Film and Anthony Bourdain (the TV show chopped up into 10 minute segments). Anthony Bourdain says that the street food stalls have been moved indoors to "food courts".

• Dim Sum In Wan Chai
• Anthony Bourdain: 1/5 Temple Street Night Market
• 2/5 Hand made noodles in Tai Po
• 3/5
• 4/5 (Alvin's deconstructions)
• 5/5 (Dim Sum)
• Anthony Bourdain: Dim Sum in Hong Kong

• bamboo steamers
• Happy Cow Guide to Hong Kong Vegetarian Restaurants

And then there are feature articles on Hong Kong food:

• Taste.au: Hong Kong Specialties
• Travel & Leisure: Eating in Hong Kong

5 Things to do in Hong Kong

Since we will be there Monday to Friday, I'm making a list of things I want to do, so that we can coordinate. These are detailed only so that I know which public transport to take and in which direction to walk.
1. Take the Airport Express (Round Trip Ticket - Kowloon Station HK$160) to Kowloon station and then the complimentary shuttle bus (K5) to the Royal Plaza Hotel. Take the train to Sha Tin.
2. Kowloon: Since these are in the neighborhood, we could do these things any day. Visit the Yuen Po Bird Garden & Flower Market (7am-8pm) and Goldfish Markets across Prince Edward Road. Then walk down Fa Yuen Street (lined with stalls) to 123A where they have a municipal building with a wet market and public library. Walk over to Langham Place Shopping Mall and visit Seibu and Muji. Go to the nearby Bird Market. The Ladies Market is on Tung Choi Street to the east of Nathan Road between Argyle and Dundas Streets. Walk down Nathan Road to Waterloo Road and then west to Shanghai Street and shop for kitchenware. Go down to the Jade market on Battery Street (10am-4pm) And maybe go to the Temple Street Night Market for dinner.
3. Hong Kong Island. Walk over to Prince Edward Station and take the MTR to Tsim Sha Tsui Staion. Walk past the Peninsula Hotel and take the Star Ferry across to Hong Kong Island. See the IFC Building. Take the tram to Sheung Wan, the Western District of Hong Kong Island. Maybe do the Central and Western District Walk. Take the midlevel escalators uphill after 10 am. Go down via Peel Street and visit the wet markets along Graham and Peel Streets down to Central Market. Can we take the Tram to Victoria Peak the same day? If so, do we want to take the 15C bus from the Star Ferry to the Lower Terminus of the Peak Tram, go up to Victoria Peak, come down and do Sheung Wan afterwards? Depends on when the skies are clearest?
4. Catch the MTR at Prince Edward, get off at Wong Tai Sin and visit the Wong Tai Sin Temple. Then take the MTR to Diamond Hill and visit the Chi Lin Nunnery and the Nan Lian Garden.
Or go to Lantau Island. Do we want to spend the time seeing the country side with a ferry trip from Central to Mui Wo, a bus trip to Tian Tan Buddha and Po Lin Monastery and a walk back down to Tung Chung? But do we want to take the Ngong Ping Skyrail? Do we have time for this?

Discover Hong Kong on Flickr

The Hong Kong Tourist Board (discoverhongkong.com) has a presence on Flickr where users can contribute photos of Hong Kong. There is one contributor Briyen that is creating "One Year in Hong Kong" and has nicely annotated photos that really show the fast-paced life there.

Once a Week

Golly, it looks like I only post once a week. Today I made reservations for the flight from PIT to LAX using our dividend miles, and since it was cheaper, I chose first class, which means that for 100,000 miles we are flying first class to LA, with a stop in Phoenix because nonstop is not an option with "award travel". At least Fernando cannot say I'm not using the miles. If only the trip were to Paris...
Today I picked up an Insight FlexiMap to Hong Kong, so I can easily pick out where we are staying and where we want to go. I have become fairly familiar with the layout of the city by now and I am also pretty familiar with the main tourist attractions. I spent about an hour at Borders looking at their Hong Kong books - actually I probably only really looked at one of them - and I can't even remember its name...(Oh, it was a DK Top Ten Hong Kong) I've been looking for a Lonely Planet, Rough Guide, or Moon handbook for Hong Kong but really haven't come across one. At home right now I am reading a Culture Shock book that has the most interesting section on history that I've read so far. Some history can be pretty dry.

Hong Kong Transport

There are so many different ways of getting around in Hong Kong that we'll have to try each one. And to make riding them easy, maybe we should get the Octopus card at the airport so that the fare is deducted automatically. The transports below marked with an asterisk take the octopus card.

1.* The Tram on Hong Kong Island.
2.* The Star Ferry from Kowloon to Hong Kong Island.
3.* The Peak Tram up Victoria Peak.
4. The Midlevel escalators on Hong Kong Island
5.* Take the MTR.
6.* Take the Kowloon-Canton Railway/MTR to Sha Tin.
7. Take the Mui Wo Ferry* to Mui Wo and then the New Lantao Bus to Ngong Ping* (read this travel account) and the Tian Tan Buddha on Lantau Island.
8. Or take the MTR* to the Tung Chung station (from Prince Edward take the Tsuen Wan (red) Line to Lai King and then switch to the Lai King (yellow) Line to Tung Chung) and catch the Ngong Ping Skyrail (74 HK$ one way) up to the Tian Tan Buddha. (Here's a YouTube video for the connection. Check out the other "Walk Me 2" videos on getting around in Hong Kong.)
9. Walk from the Tian Tan Buddha down the Wisdom Path, then walk down to Tung Chung Fort and back to Kowloon on the MTR*.

Hong Kong Department Stores

Fodor's lists various department stores as good options for picking up souvenirs and kitchenware. Plus there are branches in various parts of the city and Fodor even mentions the New Town Plaza in Sha Tin, "decidedly off the tourist trail". Festival Walk in residential Kowloon Tong (20 minutes from Central on the MTR) is a Fodor's Choice for malls. I'm not one for malls unless it is raining but I do like to pop into foreign department stores, and I must admit that I enjoyed the malls in Bogota, not as much as the mercados of course. The Royal Plaza Hotel is connected to a mall (Grand Century Place) with a Sincere Department store. Fodor's also mentions Wing On for household items.
Other department stores are Chinese Arts and Crafts and Yue Hwa Chinese Products Emporium.
And then there is always the Japanese department store Seibu, one branch of which is at Langham Place in Mongkok. There used to be a Seibu in Los Angeles when I was in high school. It had lovely fabrics but the store did not last long. Seibu also runs Muji and there is a Muji at Langham place and also at the airport.

Hong Kong Neighborhoods: Sheung Wan (Western)

I'm reading through Fodor's Hong Kong and want to remember what I'd like to see. What better way than to enter them here so I can pull them up on my iphone. I should try reading this blog on the iphone...
Fodor starts out the neighborhoods with "Western" (Sheung Wan) -- "Western has been called Hong Kong's Chinatown" -- and since I've always loved San Francisco's Chinatown, that is reason enough to visit. Sheung Wan is on Hong Kong Island, to the west of Central and it has the Midlevels Escalator. Its iconic structure is Western Market, alas no longer a produce market, but the narrow streets to the west of it are trade streets: herbal medicine on Ko Shing Street and Queen's Road West, dried seafood on Wing Lok Street and Des Voeux Road West, ginseng and birds' nests on Bonham Strand West and chops (engraved seals) on Man Wa Lane. There are flea market items (aka antiques) on Upper Lascar Row (Cat Street) and a long narrow stair called Ladder Street (just like Pittsburgh) that you can take on your way to Man Mo Temple. Hong Kong Tourism Board has a Central-Western walking tour that covers these sites.
But Fodors says that to the west of Man Mo Temple is a "sleepy area filled with small shops" called Tai Ping Shan (the Chinese name for Victoria Peak and one of the oldest residential districts) and the Sheung Wan Wet (produce) Market at Sai Ying Pun and Centre streets. I'll be on the lookout for wet markets.

Walking in Hong Kong

Most of what I'm learning about Hong Kong is where to eat! So, naturally, I need to create a walking itinerary so I don't gain TOO much weight.

• Hong Kong Tourism Board Hong Kong Walks

Nan Lian Garden

This Tang Dynasty style garden located in the north of Kowloon has a vegetarian restaurant where the meals are prepared by the Chi Lin Nunnery. From the photos it is really a beautiful oasis in the middle of a city. Check out Carol Abroad's Blog. She has 3 postings on the Garden and lovely photos.
So after we walk around the garden for an hour we can treat ourselves to some vegetables!
Vegetarian Restaurant at Nan Lian Garden

Hong Kong Restaurants to Try

I've been reading some of the blogs on Hong Kong posted below and am making a list of some interesting sounding restaurants:

• Australian Dairy Company for scrambled eggs on bread and steamed milk pudding
• Kung Wo Soybean Factory for Tofu Fa (silken tofu soup)
• Sunsing Teahouse for tea and teaware

Happy New Year

It's time I got back on the Hong Kong travel trail, now that Fernando has applied for a passport renewal. Here are some Flickr albums of Hong Kong.

• Hong Kong 0911
• Hochit's Hong Kong Collections
• The Wamphyri

And here are some blogs on Hong Kong

• KampungBoyCityGal
• TastyTreats
• Big in Hong Kong

And here are some videos:

• GeoBeats
• YouTube: Hong Kong Revealed
• Hong Kong Eats
• Hike to Stanley
• YouTube: Hong Kong Wet Markets
• YouTube: Hong Kong Street Food

Shopping in Hong Kong

Of course, when I say "shopping" I mean for food, kitchen implements and handicrafts rather than for clothing, purses, jewelry and electrical appliances.
Discover Hong Kong has a shopping page on Chinese Authentics Clusters or Chinese Foods, Antiques, Arts & Crafts, so I will review it and add it to my google map.
There seem to be a lot of interesting Chinese markets on Hong Kong Island, for instance, Tai Yuen Street/Cross Street in Wan Chai, which you can read more about in Hong Kong Fun in 18 Districts and Western Market, formerly Sheung Wan Market.
We should also check out the temples for some peace and quiet.
And we won't want to miss the flower, bird and goldfish markets.

Getting Around Hong Kong

MTR is the transportation site for Hong Kong. They have a Journey Planner in English that is a flash application.

Hong Kong

I'm getting ready for the prenuptial trip to Hong Kong in May.
First I'm making a google map so I can keep track of what is where. Then I've gone to the Hong Kong Tourism Board site: Discover Hong Kong.
We'll have to go to Victoria Peak on Hong Kong Island for the Funicular and the view. To get there, take the Peak Tram from the Lower Peak Tram Terminus on Garden Road (Bus 15C from the lay-by outside Central Pier 6 or walk from MTR Central Station Exit J2).
We'll also have to take the Star Ferry from Kowloon to Hong Kong Island, just to see the harbor.
And then I'm searching through Flickr to find some good photo galleries of Hong Kong by tourists.
And then we did some exploratory searches for flights from Pittsburgh to Hong Kong. The best one right now is on United, either via Chicago or San Francisco, at $972.

Heavy Rain (Showers)

So the forecast for Saturday is "Heavy Rain", worse than Friday which is only "Heavy Rain Showers". You can check out what the weather in Glasgow looks like with the St. George Square webcam or with this streaming video of Buchanan Street. (On my apple, I have to depress the mouse button with the cursor on the side scrollbar to keep it from flickering on and off - maybe it is different in windows.)
The Evening Times has traffic webcams. They also have a video tour of the West End called "A Walk on the West Side" (except it is not playing on my apple). I'll check out the rest of the West End videos at work on a Windows machine. The Evening Times layout on the mac is all screwy as well and some of their links aren't active.
OH WAIT!! I just rechecked the weather forecast and now it says that on Saturday there will be "Sunny Intervals" and the "Heavy Rain" has been pushed off till Sunday.

Walk It

So there's another route calculator besides Transport Direct. This one is walkit.com but it seems to work best from landmarks rather than street addresses. For instance, you can put down restaurants or schools but not just an address. The results will give you walking directions (no public transportation) and uses directions like: "You’ll soon pass GAMBA Restaurant and then PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS Business Facility." This could be handy, if you don't have a map.

scottish dialect

Apparently Sauchiehall Street is pronounced "Sucky hall Street". And Glasgow is "Glazgo". Here's a bit of Scottish Identifiers:
ARE you Scottish?
You know you are Scottish if (edited).....
1. You can properly pronounce Sauchiehall Street, St Enoch, Ecclefechan, Milngavie, Auchtermuchty and Aufurfuksake.
2. You actually like deep fried pizza from the chippy
3. You're used to four seasons in one day
4. You know what haggis is made of and you still like eating it
5. You arnae surprised to find curries, fish and chips, pizza, kebabs, fags, and nappies all in the one shop
6. You know irn-bru is a hangover cure (a soft drink with a unique combination of 32 flavours). Is that related to Iron City? In the movie The Crow Road, they really do use Irn Bru for a hangover!

Edinburgh

I imagine the best time to visit Edinburgh would be on Sunday when Papi can come with us. One can take the Scotrail train from the Queen Street station at 9:30 am and get into Edinburgh's Waverly Station at 10:28. I'm not sure what the fare would be since they have a variety of ticket types.
edinburgh.org, the official tourist website, says the Edinburgh Art Festival runs from the 5th of August to the 5th of September and the Edinburgh International Book Festival runs from the 15th to the 31st of August. They say Edinburgh is hopping in August and hard to get a room in. And the Edinburgh Military Tatoo festival runs from August 7-29th. I'm thinking now maybe we DON'T want to go on a Sunday! Then there is the Fringe Festival (initially those who weren't selected for the Art Festival) from the 7th to the 31st of August.
They say a must see is the Edinburgh Castle but I think I'd rather spend the 13 pound admission ($21.50) on dinner instead. Although for "Concessions" (aged 60 and over) is only 10.50 ($17.40). I wonder if foreigners qualify for concessions.
I'd like to go to the Royal Botanic Garden but there probably won't be time. I think just wandering around the old town, having lunch in a pub and maybe going to the National Galleries of Scotland should fill up a day. They have an exhibit on Spain: From Goya to Picasso that we might enjoy, except that it has an admission fee of 8 pounds...