Trip To Hong Kong (2006-01-23)
Due to KL's work situation, he had acquired some unexpected leave for two weeks. He asked me if I would like to spend a week in Hong Kong? Would I ever! Who could say no to that?! So we went to my favorite city from Jan 10 to Jan 15, during which time we had four full days to take care of some business and tucked into some favorite food.
Because we had to take our cat to the vet for boarding in the
morning and it takes three hours to get to Narita Airport, we had no
choice but to take the only available afternoon flight which didn't
leave till 6 pm. By the time our plane landed, it was 10:40
pm. There were hordes of people getting off planes around the
same time like us and lines were forming fast at the immigration.
The line we managed to grab snaked around half a dozen times.
Then Hong Kong's efficiency came to play: The officers were
opening
new windows faster than our eyes could follow which shortened the
existing lines by half immediately. And the officers were super
quick! There must have been over 50 people before us in the queue
and we only waited for a mere 12 minutes! I was impressed.
After claiming our luggage, we headed straight to the ticket counter
for the Airport Express train. There was a short line at the
counter and the second we joined it, a staff came to us with a "ticket
menu" on a clip board like she was taking order from customers in a
fast food restaurant. She was talking at the speed of a freight
train and ticked
all the appropriate boxes on the sheet in a blink-and-you-will-miss
fashion. At the end we were offered the lowest price on the type
of tickets KL requested: discounted group package for airport express
return tickets with a 3-day MTR pass for each of us. Before we
even had time to digest what she said, it
was our turn at the window.
After we paid, we thought we'd step aside to examine our tickets so
we'd know what to do with them. It was at this moment that the
fast-talking lady approached us again and explained everything to us
in a slower manner. She made sure we understand what we had
bought and how to use them while being very courteous doing so. I
was impressed again!
The train ride was smooth and fast. It only took 19 minutes to
reach Kowloon Station. We arrived too late to use their free
shuttle and had to go to our hotel by cab. There were two staff
at the cab line who directed each party to the next available opening
slot for a taxi. The line moved quickly and the staff was very
pleasant and polite. So far so good. The journey from the airport
to New World Renaissance in Tsim Sha Tsui was hassle-free.
The reception staff in the hotel was super courteous who handed KL
his credit card back with both hands and head slightly bowed!
Just when we thought our first day in Hong Kong was a happy one, our
hotel
room ruined it.
The door opened to reveal a small room. The ceiling is so low
KL could touch it with his hand stretched out. And believe me, KL
is NOT a tall man, if he can touch the ceiling, a tall person will have
to walk around the room head ducked.
Then there's this weird placement of the bed which is right by the
door. There's no room for any bedside table there. Since
that's the side I slept in, I had to prop my bottled water against the
bed head for storage because I didn't want to walk to the desk across
the room everytime I wanted to take a sip. It's just
ridiculous. And this hotel charges more than Sheraton, what a
ripoff!
The room also felt like a cold storage. KL turned the
thermostat to the maximum of 30C (86F) and we were still
shivering! After I pulled the bedspread off the top of the TV and
lay it on the bed, it felt a bit better. But we still went to bed
huddled together, cold and hungry.
PS: MTR has a super bargain deal for groups of two or more. Return tickets by Airport Express plus an Octopus card for a 3-day all-you-can-ride MTR and HK$20' worth on buses, ferry and trams, plus you get a refund of HK$50 plus the amount not used on the buses part when you return the Octopus card at the airport upon departure, all for only HK$300 per person. According to their official website (www.mtr.com.hk), that's the deal you get; but KL and I bought ours at a promotional price of HK$290 plus each of us got a refund of HK$100, so essentially we paid HK$190 each for all the rides we took. We scored big!
Offer only available to tourists.
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