Hong Kong Trip - Day 2

After a good night's rest, everyone was eager to start sightseeing around HK. Since I was the organiser of the trip and seeing we were such a big group, I had made the itinerary simple; just one place of interest per day.

1st stop - The Peak.

Initially I had planned for us to take the MTR to The Peak. However after talking to the hotel receptionist Joey, she suggested we take the Star Ferry and then the double decker bus. It was much cheaper plus we got to experience the ferry and take in more sights of HK that way. The trip to the Star Ferry took us 10 minutes to walk and was easy to find thanks to the great signage. The ferry ticket cost us HKD2.40 per adult and I think HKD2 per child, which we had to buy at a ticket vending machine. It was at this point I pointed out to hubby that we should have bought the Octopus Cards at the airport the day before. You can use the Octopus Card for the ferry, buses, MTR and trem up the peak. Me and my cousins, Azad and Aina, on the ferry. You can make out the HK buildings in the background.
My mom supplying everyone with lollipops for the ride. Count on my mom to be the every ready supplier of food. She made sure everyone had food and drinks for the trip. Hong Kong Skyline. They had some really amazing buildings. The one with the criss cross pattern is the Bank of China Tower, a landmark of HK. Even though it was kind of humid, there was still mist up in the hilltops.
More buildings in HK Island. I don't know what that auditorium is but it reminded me of the Sydney Opera house. Heee. This is the International Finance Centre (IFC), the 2nd tallest building on HK. We passed by it on our way to The Peak as we rode the double decker bus there.

The ferry ride took only 10 minutes. Then it was a short walk to the bus terminal. Joey had advised us to take the 15C bus to the lower terminal of the Peak, seeing how we wanted to take the trem up the hill. The bus fare cost HKD2.40 per person but we needed exact change. It was at this point hubby finally admitted I was right and headed off to the Central MTR to buy the Octopus Cards. It took him 30 minutes, which we missed 2 buses waiting for him.

At this point Daria fell asleep so while I had her in a sling, it was kind of hard to take photos while on the double decker bus. I'll grab some from my cousin when I get the chance.

The bus ride took another scenic 2o minutes so it was around 11am when we reached the lower terminal of The Peak. Fortunately we already had our Octopus Cards (yeah me!!) so we didn't have to line up to buy trem tickets. Trem tickets were HKD36 for a round trip for adults and HKD16 for children. The trem came by every 8 minutes so it was a short wait for our ride up the hill. The trem is similar to the Bukit Bendera trem for those who have been to Penang but much more interesting as it really tilts backwards and all the buildings nearby seem like they are slanting!

Once we reached the top, we headed straight to Madame Tussauds. Ticket prices were rather steep; HKD160 per adult and HKD90 for children but we had budgeted for that so it wasn't an issue. Taking a photo with Kungfu legend, Bruce Lee. This was taken outside the theater so it was kind of a teaser of what was to come inside.
Me and Aina getting cosy with Nicole Kidman. Man, is she tall!
En Rashid getting even cosier with Mrs. Kidman. Sabarrr je la! Hubby and me getting up close and personal with Mr. and Mrs Smith. If you think I'm posing maut, just look where En Rashid has his head resting. Tengok...tengok!!
Posing with Mr DiCaprio. I can't believe he's this tall. He doesn't look it in his movies.
I'm not actually a big fan of Aaron Kwok but damn it..the dude was bare chested with a six pack showing!! Who can resist!!
The girls with...some HK actress whom I've forgotten her name. It was kind of cool, there was key nearby which when you turned, would cause her to dance. Heee.
Me and the late Leslie Cheung. Sigh...he really is jambu!
Me and the late Lady Diana. A special moment for me for I really met her in real life when I was a kid in the UK. She looked really real...and extremely beautiful.Hubby and Daria with the rest of the Royal family.
Errrr....no comment!
The girls dressing up as Royals.
My aunt giving a lecture to the Presidents of the United States. Heee.
Hubby and my cousin, Ain making a new friend (don't ask me who).
Me and Aina making nice with Mr Depp. Dreamy!!
Mr. Bond and Charlie's Angels...plus one hot momma. Hahaha!
This is us with that basketball dude, Yao Ming. The guy is 7'5" tall!!
The girls getting putting lessons from Mr. Tiger Woods.
Dania doing her best Madonna impression.
Waiting for the trem ride back down hill. We had to skip the Sky Terrace because of the mist. Fortunately we were warned by the person at the counter so we didn't buy tickets for nothing. Too bad though because from the pictures I've seen, the scenery from the Sky Terrace is amazing.
Hubby and me in front of The Peak entrance. The rest of the group had crossed the street as hubby had suggested to find the halal dim sum restaurant he wanted to try out. It took us nearly 2 hours to get there because hubby had NO IDEA where it really was. My mom was ready to just sit on the pavement and hail a cab. In the end, we found it and just in the nick of time as they were already starting to close for lunch. Thank god we were a large group (again...no one turned us down for food because 13 hungry stomachs equals lots of cash!). The restaurant was actually in a mosque on Oi Kwan Road (5th Floor, Masjid Ammar & Osman Ramju Sadick Islamic Centre, 40, Oi Kwan Road, Wan Chai.) so we had to take the MTR from Central to Wan Chai then it was suppose to be a 20 minute walk to Oi Kwan. It would have taken less time had we known the shortcut but nevermind, we got to eat lunch and a very nice one at that.

Hong Kong Trip Day 3 coming soon!