Hong Kong IV

After our visit to Stanley, we decided to view the famed escalator walks leading to the residential levels of the peak. So from Stanley, we took the bus back to central. As it was the afternoon, the escalators were moving up (in the mornings they move downhill) which was great as that was the direction we were heading in. It was an interesting experience as through-out the walk, we could peek left and right into residences right next to the walkway.

Halfway up, we decide to stop for afternoon tea at an English type teahouse called Portebello.

Tea at Portabello

Having explored the escalators, we then decided to have an early dinner at the famous Yung Kee, famous for it's roast goose.

Yung Kee Restaurant

With our roast goose, we had a vegetable and goose liver sausage, a clay-pot fish and egg-plant, and a garlic fried vegetable. It was all very good except for the price... but that's Hong Kong!

After dinner we walked over to Pier 7 and took the Star Ferry once again to Kow Loon in time for the light show of Hong Kong Harbour which started at 8pm. Below are some shots, taken free hand and mostly free of camera shake!.

The IFC Building

The Bank of China Building

Once again, after taking the Star Ferry back to Hong Kong Island, we walked back to Wan Chai before calling it a night.

Hong Kong III

Day 3 in Hong Kong began at 9am with a quick breakfast at a noodle shop next to the hotel.
Then after consulting the receptionist at the hotel, we decided to take the No. 40 minibus from Times Square to Stanley Bay, where the famous Stanley Market is. So off we went and made our first discovery of the day, which is that the buses in Hong Kong do not give you any change! So still whinging for paying HK$15 extra for our bus trip, be settled into the bus for an eye opening bus ride to Stanley. I describe the bus ride as an eye opener because so far, Hong Kong has been a jungle of high rises set closely together; however having crossed the tunnel under the mountains, we were greeted by a lovely spectacle of nestling high-rises by sand fringed bays; rather like Batu Feringgi in Penang. After a 30 minute ride we were in Stanley.

View of Stanley Bay

The Lead-in to Stanley Market

Stanley Market turned out to be what I imagine a "pasar-malam" would be like, if it was run by an ang-more. Sited in a warren of padestrian streets by a nice water front. If you grew tired of the market, you could go round the corner and enjoy a nice pint or coffee at one of the nice eateries by the promenade.

The Promanade at Stanley

Hong Kong II

Day 2 of our Hong Kong trip began with "Yum Cha " of course. At 10 in the morning, we asked the hotel receptionist advice for the best place for Tim Sum and she directed us down to a place down Hennesy Road which was rather convenient, as it was on the way to the Peak Tram where we wanted to go to after Brunch anyway. So off we went, and found a restaurant after a 10 minute walk. (Not sure if it was the place we were directed to, however the food was fairly decent)

The good thing about Hong Kong in December is that the weather is really wonderful, about 20 -23 degrees through the day. Great temperature to walk in. So, after Brunch we decided to walk to the Peak Tram station, which took us about 20 minutes; where we had the dramatic architectural change from china town Wan Chai to CBD Central with views of some iconic buildings including the Bank of China Building and the IFC ( International Financial Center) Building.

The Bank of China Building from Street Level

Upon reaching the "Peak Tram" Terminal we bought our tickets and waited for the tram for the Peak. The journey to the Peak was an insight to the topography of Hong Kong, as it was a steep climb with some wonderful views of the CBD thrown in.

The Peak

At the peak, we decided to have a drink at Peak Lookout and was absolutely dumbfounded that it cost HK$45 for a coffee. Ah well... it had a good view.

The Tram...The Tram

So after breathing in the view and drinking our coffees, we decided to move on to the next tourist must do of the Star Ferry, walking pass the IFC before crossing over to Kowloon.

The Star Ferry

Kowloon and Nathan Road

Upon arriving in Kowloon, we proceeded up towards Nathan Road via Salisbury Road past the Peninsular Hotel, where we could not resist taking some snaps standing in front of the hotel. Then it was up exploring the shops at Nathan Road. Being a retarded shopper, this part of the holiday was rather lost on me.

May and Tom

Next on agenda was dinner with my cousin May and her husband Tom, which I fixed up whilst I was still in Malacca. We had agreed to meet up at Times Square MTR station at 7, which we reached at 6.45. As my feet was aching from all that walking and I wasn't wearing my orthopedic insoles, I decided to dash back to the hotel to change shoes as well as pick up the whisky we had bought for Tom. Unfortunately, the hotel was not actually on Morrison Hill Road as published in their literature but is actually on Tin Lok Lane which runs into Morrison Hill Road, the 10 minute dash turned out to be a 40 minute treasure hunt and Tom and Sonny had a rather long wait at the MTR station.

Anyway dinner was at the Hong Kong Football Club, which is part of the Happy Valley Sports Grounds. The buffet dinner was bloody good especially the roast pork, which I certainly did justice to.

On the Left, the Tangs, Jennifer, Peter, May and Tom
On the Right, the Tays: Yee Ling, Hin Siang, Sharon, Sonny and Me!!!
An interesting note is the bright lights in the background is the Happy Valley Race Course.

Thanks May and Tom for a brilliant evening. With a full belly, I slept well in my cell.

Hong Kong I

Following the debacle with our intended Thai trip with Air Asia, we (my eldest sister, Sharon, her husband Sonny and their kids Yee Ling and Hin Siang) decided to travel to Hong Kong on MAS instead.

That must be one of the best decisions of the year, as the holiday was great.

So we left KLIA at 6.25 pm and landed in Hong Kong at 10.30 pm. By the time we got to the Hotel Bonaparte in Wan Chai, Hong Kong it was past midnight. We were attended to by a very pleasant and efficient receptionist who checked us in without any delay. Having got to our rooms, we discovered why the hotel cost only HK$665 a night which is about half the cost compared to other 3 star hotels in Hong Kong. The room was small! "Cosy" does not do justice to the diminutive size of the room. It was a 6'x12' cell, however the rooms were well appointed and was recently refurbished in April this year.

With it's excellent location, helpful staff and affordable rates, you shall certainly not be hearing any complaints from me. 

 

Air Asia Rant

The following; in verbatim; is my open letter to Datuk Tony Fernandes.

"28th November 2008

Datuk Anthony Francis Fernandes
c/o Air Asia Bhd.

Dear Datuk Tony,

Re: Crisis in Thailand - Air Asia’s Lackadaisical Attitude


It is with much disappointment that I have to write this letter of complaint regarding the incoherent action by Air Asia to the current crisis in Thailand.

My I first congratulate Datuk on transforming the aviation industry; from being a staid industry to one where innovative ideas and marketing strategies are regularly implemented.

It was therefore highly disappointing to find that Air Asia has not been pro-active when dealing with the current state of emergency in Thailand.

My situation is:

• My family and I have booked a holiday in Thailand flying by Air Asia and Air Asia Thailand with the following schedule.
o 9th December 2008 Kul – CNX AK896 Booking Ref: SLPZDE
o 12th December 2008 CNX – BKK FD3239 Booking Ref: U3LTBE
o 16th December 2008 BKK – Kul AK883 Booking Ref: REMJEB
• With the current situation in Thailand, my family and I have decided that it may be prudent to change our holiday to a different destination.
• On Thursday the 27th of November 2008, the second day of the occupation of Bangkok Airport, I called up Air Asia’s support line, waited the inevitable 25 minutes to be attended to by a distressed Help Line Assistant and requested that I be allowed to change the destination of my holiday, for which I would be willing to pay any difference in the fares and administration fees.
• Unfortunately the only options available are
o the dates of the flights (within a 3 month period)
o and/or the name of traveler.
o forfeiting in full the fares herein paid.
• Bearing in mind that my family members are travelling from New Zealand and do not have the luxury of changing their schedule or revisiting the region within the next year, these options are not satisfying.

It is obvious that the top management of Air Asia has given no thought to an extremely serious situation that has developed in the industry. It also baffles me that the said management has also not been able to see that if they allow travelers to change their destinations (under emergency circumstances), not only will travelers feel more comfortable with the destinations they are travelling to but Air Asia would probably gain financially as the fares will inevitably be higher as travelers change their cheaper tickets (bought during the early booking period) with “prime fare period” tickets.

I believe that unless issues such as these are addressed, Air Asia’s hope of being a fully integrated airline for the global market shall be stymied as long haul travelers will not be comfortable booking regional connections as there are too many restrictions concerning the change of destinations on flights which have to be booked well in advance. Especially in emergencies like we are facing in Thailand and India.

Air Asia may actually be known as a “fair weather” airline. Fine when everything goes well, but absolutely clueless in event of an emergency.

I hope the feedback in this letter serves to improve the service offered by Air Asia to all your customers who are probably facing more trying situation then myself.

Yours sincerely,



Seet Cheng Khim "

As expected, I did not even get an acknowledgement of this letter.

Bill Clinton

I went to the Bill Clinton lecture at KLCC on Friday the 5th of December with one burning question in mind... "How did the cigar taste like?"
Unfortunately, all he could talk about was recycled rubber and greening the world.
So I can only conclude that Bill is tight with his rubbers and will always recycle them!!

Or.. the cigar tasted like recycled rubber!!!

Where's the rubber Bill??!?

A Living Language

It's interesting to note that A Wireless device 50 years ago meant a radio, the two terms were actually interchangeable. Nowadays, in the computer age it has come to mean, a connection without wires, much like a radio however it now covers computers, PDAs, mobile phones, headsets, printers, mp3 players ...just about anything electronic.

Friday Nights at Jim's

Ever wondered what grown men get up to after spending nearly every Friday night in the same pub for 20 years?!? Yes 20 years!!!!

Well...

That's what!

Oh... and also alot of this



And this...





Drinking to an old friend Danny Sim who is recovering from Colon Cancer in Singapore. Get well soon Danny.

Tong-adle

Inspired by Grax's Spoontulas, I've invented a device which also serves two functions.
One as a pair of tongs; the other as a ladle.
Attached are two videos of it's inaugural roll-out, demonstrating it's uses.