Hong Kong no Phooey TR (Apr 2012)! The Yee's have it....TR finish #1101, 07/09

[queenie82]

Thank you for the lovely shots of 1881

I looked down into the courtyard from my room at the Marco Polo but never wandered around the actual hotel. I only ever flew by it and the Peninsula

AWESOME going to the canon HQ too! Fun and nice for DH Wish we had something like that here. I hate looking in Camera stores here. You get bugged to death and there's never enough room to move.

And as for the bread. I have a friend slightly obsessed with those deep fried bread so we always get them at Yum cha. But it's like a mini roll...rather than looking like a churro.

Nice to seeing you getting things accomplished despite being ill

 

[aussietravellers]

Wow, those paparazzi lenses were HUGE!

It's a shame you were not well, nothing worse than being sick on holidays. That happened on our last WDW trip. I was SO sick with what I thought was flu, but ended up as Bronchitis. It took at least 3 months, maybe longer to get rid of once I was home. I will say though, when you are travelling and have a cough like that... If you are in a line somewhere... it's a good way to get to the front of the line quickly! People seem to move away from you

Great shots of 1881 too! Love the shops there

 

[Aussie Wendy]

Sad you got sick but at least as you said it got really bad towards the end of your trip not from Day 1. Sounds like you were lucky it didn't turn into pneumonia. I am impressed with your fortitude in sightseeing and shopping despite how crappy you must have felt! Wishign you 100% well trips from now on!

 

[kmedina]

I love the Cannon store. Not only is it beautiful, but they fixed thee black speck. Yay. It stinks when our gadgets are not working perfectly. Hopefully, my phone can be fixed too (as long as it does not cost as much as replacing it).

I am always down for more noodles but agree that I am just along for the ride without many opinions when I am not feeling well.

 

[ACDSNY]

Another great update, I'm amazed at how much you squeezed into the last few days while you were ill.

 

[franandaj]

For how bad you were feeling, you sure got a lot of great shots. I'm sure if I were feeling that bad, pretty much I would have been in bed watching TV, and maybe out for some of that noodle soup, and maybe would have had the gumption to take some food porn. But oh yeah, most of the TV was probably not in English, huh?

Good job!

I wondered where people bought those honkin' camera lenses. I don't think it would fit in my purse very well.

 

[PrincessInOz]

Thank you for the lovely shots of 1881

Glad you liked the shots.

Wow, those paparazzi lenses were HUGE!

It's a shame you were not well, nothing worse than being sick on holidays. That happened on our last WDW trip. I was SO sick with what I thought was flu, but ended up as Bronchitis. It took at least 3 months, maybe longer to get rid of once I was home. I will say though, when you are travelling and have a cough like that... If you are in a line somewhere... it's a good way to get to the front of the line quickly! People seem to move away from you

Great shots of 1881 too! Love the shops there

Particularly in Hong Kong! That happened to me a couple of times...maybe they thought I had bird flu or SARS or something like that!

Sad you got sick but at least as you said it got really bad towards the end of your trip not from Day 1. Sounds like you were lucky it didn't turn into pneumonia. I am impressed with your fortitude in sightseeing and shopping despite how crappy you must have felt! Wishign you 100% well trips from now on!

I really felt bad about the state of DH's camera so I made myself get out of bed to try to fix it. And we took it really easy so it wasn't all bad.

I love the Cannon store. Not only is it beautiful, but they fixed thee black speck. Yay. It stinks when our gadgets are not working perfectly. Hopefully, my phone can be fixed too (as long as it does not cost as much as replacing it).

I am always down for more noodles but agree that I am just along for the ride without many opinions when I am not feeling well.

Hope you get help from the Genius with your phone.

Another great update, I'm amazed at how much you squeezed into the last few days while you were ill.

Thank you. I was concerned about the lack of activity at the time...so we did try to do a few things to maximise the experience.

For how bad you were feeling, you sure got a lot of great shots. I'm sure if I were feeling that bad, pretty much I would have been in bed watching TV, and maybe out for some of that noodle soup, and maybe would have had the gumption to take some food porn. But oh yeah, most of the TV was probably not in English, huh?

Good job!

I wondered where people bought those honkin' camera lenses. I don't think it would fit in my purse very well.

There were quite a few channels in English. DS was particularly happy with the Cartoon Network.

Those camera lenses would NOT fit in my bag either!

 

[shushh]

Congratulations on your new baby! Even though it is a Canon...

Sorry to hear you were so unwell. And despite that, still managed to get some beautiful photos in. I always love all the details that you put into your TR, and written so beautifully as well!

 

[PrincessInOz]

Congratulations on your new baby! Even though it is a Canon...

Sorry to hear you were so unwell. And despite that, still managed to get some beautiful photos in. I always love all the details that you put into your TR, and written so beautifully as well!

Nice to see you back. Thanks for popping back in.

I guess for a Nikon shooter, there's not much more to say about the new baby.

 

[PrincessInOz]

What DH did whilst I was sleeping



We’d finished lunch at Praise Noodle House and I was just about ready to collapse. I figured I needed to head back to the hotel and get back in bed but I didn’t want that to stop DH or DS from doing something else.

It turned out that DS was more than happy to head back with me and veg out for the day. DH….well…he decided to stay out for a bit.

So, DS and I caught the shuttle back to the hotel. I slept for the afternoon.



DH? He did a bit more shopping around Tsim Sha Tsui and then decided to walk back to the hotel along the Avenue of the Stars. The AotS is Hong Kong’s equivalent to the Hollywood Walk of Fame. There are stars along the promenade to notable Chinese actors.

The pictures here are from DH’s camera. Hope you enjoy them.

About the only thing I will note is that it had taken Hong Kong 10 days for us to see blue sky. And there I was, sick in bed…asleep….and I missed most of it. If it hadn’t been for these pictures, I wouldn’t have believed that blue sky existed in Hong Kong!



(Continued in Next Post)

 

[PrincessInOz]

(Continued from Previous Post)


Dinner for One



Those of you that followed the PTR will know that I was expecting to catch up with a cousin of mine for dinner tonight. She and her family had jetted in during the day and it was to be our one and only overlap day!

The rest of the family headed off for the family catch up – I figured I wouldn’t be doing her any favours by spreading my germs – and they had dinner somewhere in Times Square.



I ended up having dinner for one.

I looked at the room service menu. Would you believe that I felt like having noodles for dinner?

I also checked out the desserts.

Yeah. I might have been sick but there was no way I was going to order room service at those prices!


I ended up at the food court in the Metropolis Mall.

My noodles came with the bowl of soup. This came to HK$34; about $5 in our money.

I also popped into the supermarket and got the mango pudding and the soya milk to drink. I think I paid around $28 for these two items combined; about $3 or $4 in our money.

I didn't get to eat the banquet that the family all enjoyed but dinner for one was adequate enough for me. And I finally got to check out the Food Court my parents had talked about.

 

[kmedina]

I love Jackie Chan, so I got a little giddy when I saw his star. Anyway, I am sorry you missed that and the blue sky. Most of all, I am sorry you missed your cousin and had to dine alone. That was nice of your family to still meet up with them. I never grow tire of noodles, so I fully support your decision to have noodles again. Room service prices are usually high and better food can almost always be found cheaper. Your decision sounded wise to me.

 

[dgbg100106]

Blue Sky, what a novelty!!!

 

[PrincessInOz]

I love Jackie Chan, so I got a little giddy when I saw his star. Anyway, I am sorry you missed that and the blue sky. Most of all, I am sorry you missed your cousin and had to dine alone. That was nice of your family to still meet up with them. I never grow tire of noodles, so I fully support your decision to have noodles again. Room service prices are usually high and better food can almost always be found cheaper. Your decision sounded wise to me.

My cousin and her family will be visiting Australia at the end of the year. I'll catch up with her then.

Blue Sky, what a novelty!!!

It was to me!

 

[PrincessInOz]

Our Home away from Home - Grand Plaza Metropolis


When I was planning this trip and looking at accommodation in Hong Kong proper, the Grand Plaza Metropolis did not figure in my list at all. For one thing, it was located outside of the central Tsim Sha Tsui area that I had hoped to stay in; and for another thing reviews on Trip Adviser whilst reasonable/good, were not great.

You may recall that the only reason I settled on this hotel was because my parents had stayed there before and our TA friend got us an awesome deal for the stay. The deal was book early for a standard room and we got a free upgrade to the 1-bedroom suite.


I have to say that after having stayed here for 8 nights, I would recommend the suite if you were travelling as a couple. The sofa bed is uncomfortably firm; so keep that in mind if you have kids with you. And if you had the standard room, it would be small. However, the convenience of the Hung Hom train station and the free hotel shuttle to the heart of TST makes this place a great alternative if you were looking for a quieter spot in Hong Kong to park yourself.

You might be better staying in the Time Square or Central area as an alternative to TST.


You’ve already seen the room in a previous post. These are some of the pictures I took around the hotel over the 8 day stay.


The Foyer or Lobby area. We never did eat downstairs; but we did enjoy tea on our first afternoon here.

The pool, with quite a view of the Harbour. The pool was decent; but the hot tub was not big enough for the size of the hotel. By the time 4 people got it, there was no room left.

The view from our suite was AMAZING! This was the real bonus of our stay. By day….

…and by night.

We really got lucky with the room and the Harbour view. I made sure that I gazed out morning and night every day we were there to remind myself how lucky we were.



(Continued in Next Post)

 

[PrincessInOz]

(Continued from Previous Post)


The Yee’s Have It – Symphony of Lights from the Hotel Room



After dinner, I returned here for more much needed bed rest.

I looked out across the harbour. Somewhere out there, the family was having dinner.

I noticed a group of people practising Tai Chi in the forecourt below my window. DH would have been interested to join them.

It was at this point that I realised it was 8 pm and the Symphony of Lights were starting so I thought I’d watch it again from the bedroom window. What I hadn’t realised was that the building next to the hotel, the Hong Kong Coliseum, was part of the display as well.

It had taken 8 nights for me to catch this!

I guess I could have turned on the radio to broadcast the music that went with the show. But the lights of the Coliseum were pretty enough that I didn’t need music to enjoy my second (or yee) time of watching the Symphony of Lights!

I guess that the building on this side of the harbour would be why the tourist boats come this far in. I had wondered why they didn't just anchor close to where the Star Ferry Terminal was; but given how colourful the Coliseum had been, it would be worth cruising all the way out here too.


After this, I headed to bed and fell asleep. I didn’t hear the boys come in so I figure it must have been much needed sleep.



Tomorrow was our last day in Hong Kong!

 

[shushh]

Ah, Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan. Love them!

You know, I don't think I've ever seen blue sky in Hong Kong?!??! maybe just a brief glimpse at Disneyland, but that's about it

And the good old food court saves the day!

 

[franandaj]

Well at least you finally discovered the pretty lights! Too bad it took until the last night and you having to stay home sick for that. You still got more and better photos than I would have!

 

[kmedina]

Sorry about the uncomfortable bed. The hotel looks nice though, especially the view. I love the lights but am sorry you had to be sick to see the ones next door.

 

[PrincessInOz]

Ah, Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan. Love them!

You know, I don't think I've ever seen blue sky in Hong Kong?!??! maybe just a brief glimpse at Disneyland, but that's about it

And the good old food court saves the day!

DH said there were other stars there but those were the only two he knew. I really need to get him into Chinese movies more!

I thought I was the only one not to see blue sky in Hong Kong. Are you saying that you didn't see any either? WOW! Wonder if the grey cloud is a permanent feature?

Well at least you finally discovered the pretty lights! Too bad it took until the last night and you having to stay home sick for that. You still got more and better photos than I would have!

Yeah. Too. Bad.

By the sounds of it, I may have missed out on my cousin and her family but the food wasn't that memorable that night.

Sorry about the uncomfortable bed. The hotel looks nice though, especially the view. I love the lights but am sorry you had to be sick to see the ones next door.

I still managed to get sleep in that bed. Thanks.