The New Beginning: Hong Kong August 2014

Hong Kong in
14 days and 930 pictures

When my friends heard how much I like Hong Kong and i've been there many times, they will ask., why ? And that's a good question. Why some people wants to go to Greek every year ? Why some people wants to travel only in their home country ?

Before my first time in HK in 2008, I really didn't know what to expect. In my mind Hong Kong was an old city with old houses, Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan movies, streets full of kung fu fighters, small street restaurants with full of asian food and all in black and white. Most of my information of Hong Kong came from my childhood.

First time I was going to HK with my boss, who has been there many times, but he had to cancel at the last moment, so I had to go alone without a guide. Ou shit, what should I do ? where should I go ? How can I find my hotel ? How can I even get out of the airport ? But I survived without big problems.. When I walked in the streets of HK for the first time, I was like WOW ! This city is awesome, I love it ! Skyscrapers, streets full of fast moving "special looking" small people, the sea, the mountains, crazy traffic, warm weather etc. It was so different and more special than any other countries i've visited. I want to know more about this country... And now, after seven years i've been in Hong Kong four times, I don't have that WOW! effect anymore, but still I would like to go back, if I would have a chance.

My latest time in HK was with my wife. Two weeks in August 2014. I wanted to have that trip with her, I wanted to experience Hong Kong together with her. Did she like HK ? Well I'm not so sure, if she really liked it. Would she go again ? maybe not. But this time I knew better. I knew how to move around, how to use public transport, where to eat, where to shop and I knew that also in the other side of the Island is life and the most important: You don't have to stay in the Island. We didn't really have a plan with my wife, let's just do what's feeling good at the moment. Ou, we had at least one plan, she wanted to see pink dolphins..

Warning !

This is a very long story of our trip to Hong Kong in August 2014... I put times next to some pictures, so you can follow a little bit of our time schedule.

17.8.2014 - In the plane

Straight flight from Finland to Hong Kong takes about 9 h 30 min.
Distance 7,821 km. Luckily planes are quite big, and there is
an entertainment center for each passanger.
Movies, TV-series, documents, informations, games...

...Or you can just watch out of the window,
or sleep.

We had luck with the weather,
when we arrived to China.

In my eyes China is a beautiful country.

I've been always a big fan of mountains and hills and islands.

Of course we have also islands and mountains in Finland,
but it's still totally different story.

As you can see, at least this part of China is quite green,
but there's not much free space left to build.
But still they are building new all the time.

18.8.2014 - Day One

After a long flight we arrived to our hotel about 12 o'clock. Our room wasn't ready yet, so we had to wait outside of the hotel. Weather was very hot and sweaty. While wen were waiting, I took some pics around our hotel.

I don't remember that have I ever seen accidents in Hong Kong,
even if there's so much traffic and cars.

Sometimes in rush hours traffic in Hong Kong can be crazy,
but still it's running. I've never used public busses in Hong Kong.
Trains are so much easier and I don't know how is this
ticket policy in busses, if they speak english, that's fine, but if not,
then it could be a little bit tricky to buy a ticket from the driver.

Taxis are cheap in Hong Kong,
with 50HKD (5€) you can drive a long way.
To the airport it was about 400HKD in 2008.

If I remember right, our room was in 17th floor.

Our hotel was Hotel Cosmopolitan. Very nice hotel, and the location was good, near to Causeway Bay, Times Square and Wan Chai. To the MTR station we had to walk some minutes, but that wasn't a problem.

Room was simple, clean and nice.

The view to the Happy Valley was nice.

Surprise for us was, that our hotel gave us for free a smart phone
(that orange one on the right) with unlimited internet
in the whole Hong Kong area. We used it as a hot spot
for our own phones, so we could use data for free. That was great.

At the first day we were quite tired because of the long flight.

My wife had a jet lag, so she stayed at the hotel room in the bed,
and I took a walk outside.

I came back with a pack of snacks and McDonalds hamburgers :-)

I don't know, but metadata says that this
picture was taken at 04:17.
Maybe I was sleep walking.

Panorama

19.8.2014 - Day Two

We booked our room with breakfast, like we always do. Breakfast is one of the biggest highlights in our travels. Hotel breakfast was very good and versatile.

Breakfast
(09:03)

More breakfast
(9:12)

After the breakfast we went for a walk.
That's the tunnel under the street next to our hotel,
we had to use it many times.
(11:07)

Times Square
(11:25)

Times Square
(11:26)

(11:28)

(11:29)

Russel Street
(11:30)

(11:31)

(11:39)

(11:40)

(11:42)

Hennessy Road
(11:44)

I really can't remember that picture,
but I think it's from the window of some shopping mall.
(12:20)

(12:39)

(12:41)

These places are funny,
local people are buying food all the time from these.
I'm sure that food is good, but that wouldn't be my first choice,
when i'm getting hungry.
(13:20)

(13:21)

Junction of Matheson St and Sharp St East
(13:22)

(13:26)

(13:28)

Back to our hotel
(13:34)

Time for a dinner in Soho area.
Nice evening walk will raise your appetite
(18:58)

Nice combo, something new and something old
(19:06)

Rice and meat for me
(20:13)

Vegeburger for my girl
(20:13)

Olive, Greek and middle eastern restaurant in Soho area.
(20:33)

(21:02)

(21:03)

(21:04)

(21:05)

(21:07)

(21:09)

(21:12)

As you can see, it's raining, but not much.
We had umbrellas too.
(21:15)

Nice Datsun in Queen's Road Central
(21:20)

Window shopping in Queen's Road Central
(21:20)

D'Aguilar St
(21:22)

Des Voeux Rd Central
(21:26)

(21:26)

Junction of Pedder St and Chater Rd
(21:28)

Bank of China Tower
(21:30)

International Finance Center on the right
Jardine House on the left
(21:33)

(21:34)

(21:42)

(21:44)

Circle K shop in Hennessy Road, Wan Chai
(22:02)

(22:06)

(22:09)

(22:13)

Wan Chai Road
(22:16)

20.8.2014 - Day three

It was raining.. Now we will jump off the Hong Kong Island to a Kowloon side in mainland China. First we had to walk to a MTR station in Wan Chai.

(13:30)

(13:47)

In Hong Kong Island there's only one train line through the Island.
We jumped to the train in Wan Chai station
and in Central (or Admiralty) we had to chance to another line
which is going to Kowloon.
(14:03)

From the Central station is running three lines.
One to the Airport, one to the Lantau Island
and one is going to the mainland China.
(14:05)

Trains are running after every few minutes, so it's not a big deal
if you just missed it.
(14:06)

Sometimes trains are totally full of people,
and trains are so long that even if you are in the middle of the train
you can't see the end or the beginning of the train.
(14:15)

Kowloon
(14:28)

I'm sure that those racks doesn't have EU approval.
(15:17)

Those air-conditioning boxes are not looking so nice.
(15:21)

(15:30)

Nathan Road
(15:32)

Junction of Nathan Road and Saigon Street
(15:37)

Magazines and books
(15:43)

There's over 230 McDonald's restaurants in Hong Kong (year 2013)
(15:46)

Kowloon Park
(15:50)

Kowloon Park
(15:52)

Kowloon Park
(15:54)

Kowloon Park
(15:55)

Kowloon Park
(15:58)

Kowloon Park.
In the horizon you can see the tallest building
in Hong Kong
International Commerce Centre (484m)
(16:00)

Kowloon Park
(16:07)

Kowloon Park
(16:17)

Kowloon Park
(16:23)

Kowloon Park
(16:30)

Kowloon Park
(16:32)

Exit to Haiphong Rd
(16:36)

Singaborean restaurant Bee Cheng Hiang, Haiphong Rd
(16:38)

(16:40)

Louis Vuitton, Canton Rd, Kowloon
(16:44)

A shopping Center in Salisbury Rd
(16:48)

Hong Kong skyline
(16:52)

Hong Kong skyline
(16:53)

Hong Kong skyline
(16:54)

Hong Kong convention and exhibition centre
(16:55)

Hong Kong skyline
(16:58)

Chinese Junk boat
(16:58)

Tsim Sha Tsui Clock Tower
(16:59)

Kowloon Public Pier
(17:01)

Avenue of Stars, Bruce Lee
(17:10)

Avenue of Stars, Jet Li
(17:12)

Back in the hotel
(22:06)

(22:07)

At least we doesn't have to buy a ticket for the football game.
(22:11)

21.8.2014 - Day four

No more rain... Good day to visit Hong Kong Disneyland. From the Central station we took a train to Lantau Island, to Sunny Bay station and from there is running Disneyland's own train to Disneyland Resort. And like we did, we bought one ticket straight from the Wan Chai to Disneyland Resort from the ticket machine. Journey time about 40 minutes.

Street food.
(11:06)

In Hong Kong if you want,
you can build your own, cheap balcony,
no problem.
(11:06)

(11:12)

Fleming Road
(11:14)

That's just would not work in Finland :-)
(11:17)

Wan Chai Station
(11:29)

Inside the Disneyland train, as you can see..
(12:02)

Inside the Disneyland train.
(12:03)

Disneyland Resort
(12:09)

Disneyland Resort
(12:12)

Disneyland Resort
(12:13)

Disneyland Resort, entrance
(12:25)

Disneyland Resort
(12:26)

Disneyland Resort
(12:28)

Disneyland Resort
(12:29)

Disneyland Resort
(12:34)

Disneyland Resort
(12:35)

Disneyland Resort, craftsman
(12:37)

Disneyland Resort
(12:39)

Disneyland Resort
(12:45)

Disneyland Resort
(12:59)

Disneyland Resort
(13:01)

Disneyland Resort, shadow places are fully booked,
seats in the sun are all free. It really was a hot day !
(13:02)

Disneyland Resort
(13:02)

Disneyland Resort
(13:10)

Disneyland Resort
(13:20)

Disneyland Resort
(13:23)

Disneyland Resort
(13:28)

Disneyland Resort
(13:29)

Disneyland Resort
(13:31)

Disneyland Resort
(13:33)

Disneyland Resort
(13:35)

Disneyland Resort
(13:37)

Disneyland Resort
(13:44)

Disneyland Resort
(13:48)

Disneyland Resort
(14:02)

Three hours under the hot sun. Time to go back to our hotel.
(14:31)

After some relaxatiooon, it's time for one of our favourite moments.
(19:04)

It's time for a evening walk.
(19:09)

(19:10)

We are heading to Causeway Bay area.
(19:11)

(19:13)

Russel Street
(19:13)

(19:16)

(19:17)

Small streetmarket in the middle of the road.
(19:19)

Pharmacy ?
(19:19)

Nice blue color..
(19:23)

Smile !
(19:27)

(19:46)

(21:21)

Chicken was cheap.
(21:22)

(21:26)

(21:30)

Wan Chai Road
(21:32)

Wan Chai Road
(21:39)

Once I tasted those small, sweet balls,
and I have to say that they were really good.
(21:41)

(21:42)

(21:43)

Still working, it might be much easier to work in the evening,
when it's not so hot.
(21:43)

I really like the colors of the fruits in the lights.
And I think he's wearing only underwears..
(21:44)

They all are having long days at work.
(21:44)

Fresh "something" from the sea.
(21:45)

Days are going by.. It's time for a sleep
(21:53)

(21:53)

We are close to our hotel.
(21:55)

22.8.2014 - Day five

Weather looks ok, so we rented a red Ferrari and drove to the Lamma Island. Nope, not quite like that, we took a ferry. Lamma island is the third largest island in Hong Kong.

This guy didn't have enough money to buy a Lamborghini :-)
(10:28)

A different kind of machine.
(10:30)

Waiting for the train to a Ferry station.
(10:42)

(10:56)

(10:59)

Ferry Piers
(11:03)

From here you will get a good view of
the International Commerce Center
(11:04)

If you have to go, you have to go, there's no choice.
(11:21)

Ferry to Lamma Island.
Tickets we bought from inside the building.
(11:27)

(11:32)

(11:35)

Waiting, waiting, waiting...
(11:39)

Like a normal public transport, nothing special.
Yes, I think you could also buy a first class ticket.
(11:56)

(11:58)

After half hour. Land ahoy !
(12:29)

(12:30)

(12:31)

Ou, what's that in the back ? Nuclear ?
(12:35)

Drying clothes, carpets, towels and fishes..
(12:36)

(12:37)

Fruits and drinks.
12:39

And of course, alcohol.
(12:41)

We went for a walk,
actually our plan was to walk to the other side of the island.
In that hot weather, it was a little bit crazy idea, but
let's do it.
(12:45)

There's a marked routes through the island. So you won't get lost.
And remember, take enough water with you,
there's not much shops in the middle of the route.
(12:47)

(12:49)

(12:51)

After ten minutes, first place to take a break.
(12:55)

(12:55)

Beautiful island, and then you will see those !?
(12:57)

Hung Shing Yeh Beach
(13:04)

(13:07)

Hung Shing Yeh Beach
(13:09)

That thing behind is actually Lamma Power Station.
It provides power to Hong Kong island and Lamma island.
(13:10)

Hung Shing Yeh Beach
(13:12)

Hung Shing Yeh Beach
(13:17)

Time to move on..
(13:21)

Power to the people
(13:32)

You can see it from everywhere.
(13:37)

That is so nice..
(13:41)

After one hour, we are close to our final destination.
(13:48)

(13:57)

There it is, a small village, where we are going,
our boat back to the Hong Kong island
is also leaving from there.
(13:59)

(14:00)

Drinks and ice cream.
(14:06)

Sok Kwu Wan a small fishing town.
(14:11)

(14:12)

(14:14)

(14:16)

It seems that during the tide, this sand is under the water.
(14:17)

And now local people are searching something from the sand.
crabs, clams, small insects ?
(14:17)

(14:24)

Rising tide is also bringing garbages to the island.
(14:29)

Local shopping mall.
(14:32)

(14:35)

More like a shopping alley.
(15:14)

It would be good for everybody
to do some stretching after hard walk.
(15:23)

Locals and their sport.
(15:25)

Is that our ride, looks a bit small.
(15:41)

Locals and their sport.
(15:52)

Locals and their sport.
(15:53)

there's finally our ride.
(15:56)

After half hour, we can see again the coastline of Hong Kong.
(16:28)

A bridge to Tsing Yi island from the mainland.
(16:28)

Kowloon
(16:28)

Kowloon
(16:29)

(16:29)

It is huge !
(16:30)

484m
(16:32)

Skyline of Kowloon
(16:32)

I'm sure that icecream is a good business in this weather.
(16:45)

(16:51)

International Finance Centre
(16:51)

415.8 meters,
second tallest building in Hong Kong
(16:57)

Apple Store(16:57)

After hard walking and a boat trip,
we went for a shopping.
(16:59)

We knew that in Hong Kong is a Hard Rock Cafe shop.
We just had to find it.
(17:02)

(17:02)

(17:05)

(17:16)

(17:18)

Now we are close..
(17:25)

Hard Rock Cafe Hong Kong
55 D'Aguilar Street, Lan Kwai Fong, Central(17:36)

We bought some T-shirts.
(17:42)

(17:51)

The Center
(17:58)

Now we are hungry. Soho is near, so let's go to eat.
(17:59)

(18:00)

Street market in Hong Kong
(18:01)

Street market in Hong Kong(18:03)

Elgin street in Soho area,
full of good restaurants from different countries.
One of our favourite was Restaurant Olive.
(18:10)

Kippis and zum wohl !
(18:28)

(18:32)

We shared a starters.
(18:37)

That Curry sauce was perfect.
(18:55)

Nice, warm evening to have a walk back to the hotel.
(19:21)

(19:21)

(19:24)

Massage ?
(19:28)

(19:31)

Movie scene
(19:36)

(19:42)

(19:44)

Queensway
(19:45)

I like the reflections of the lights in the windows.
(19:46)

In front of Lippo Towers
(19:49)

(19:52)

Sold !?
(20:08)

Some local man told us that those old buildings
are the oldest in Hong Kong. Is it true, i don't know.
(20:08)

Behind the corner is our hotel.
(20:12)

23.8.2014 - Day six

I went out by my self, just to look what i will find.
(14:21)

(14:22)

Happy Valley Racecourse
(14:33)

You really should be careful to hang these to dry.
(14:35)

Wong Nai Chung Road
(14:36)

The Leighton Hill
(14:40)

Happy Valley Racecourse
(14:43)

Happy Valley Racecourse under construction.
(14:44)

Inside Times Square
(14:57)

Butterfly Hotel (on the left)
(15:08)

Later in the evening we went out together for a dinner.
Cheap chicken street food. We skipped that, again.
(18:16)

Gloucester Road
(18:19)

Near the Convention and Exhibition Centre,
we founded a nice, modern looking building.
(18:20)

We walked through the building.
(18:22)

We went inside to a restaurant called Asian Twist.
(18:37)

Sorry, that's me.
(18:42)

Restaurant was very nice, open, clean simple.
Just how I like it.
(18:44)

They served Thai and Singaporean food.
(18:48)

Curry sauce with meat and rice
(18:55)

Everything was very good.
I actually don't remember eating bad food in Hong Kong.
(18:56)

Dessert
(19:25)

Restaurant Asian Twist
in International Finance Center Mall.
We both recommend that place.
(19:35)

Hong Kong skyline
(20:03)

Kowloon skyline
(20:16)

Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre
(20:20)

Gloucester Road
(20:42)

A shopping mall in 183 Queen's Road East.
(21:25)

Shops were closed, it was too late.
(21:26)

But you could still come inside and walk around.
(21:27)

McDonald's was still open.
(21:28)

Queen's Road East(21:30)

Queens Road East
(21:31)

I believe that these could be really
the oldest buildings in Hong Kong.
Looks old.
(21:32)

(22:00)

Wong Nai Chung Rd
(22:02)

Wong Nai Chung Rd
(22:04)

Causeway Bay
(22:25)

It was so funny feeling with those lights,
We were outside, sky was totally dark,
but it felt like a day time.
it was so unreal.
(22:26)

(22:31)

(22:34)

(22:44)

Street shops are open late.
Normally at night you can buy only unhealty food from the grill,
but not in Hong Kong, here you can buy fruits
instead of sausages and hamburgers.
(22:48)

I think that they will be open as long as they want,
maybe there's no rules for that.
(22:49)

Well-known tunnel before our hotel.
(22:56)

24.8.2014 - Day seven

Kowloon and famous Ladies Market, street photos, shopping, walking, drinking and eating. That was our agenda for that day.

Kowloon
(17:06)

I like the idea,
that you can test all these toilets in the shop.
Just bring your own toilet paper.
(17:07)

(17:16)

(17:28)

(17:35)

(17:36)

(17:38)

Ladies Market in Shan Tung Street, Mongkok.
On of the best known shopping street in Hong Kong.
You can find pretty much everything.
I bought an 8Gb USB stick with special shape, and it was working.
Not the fastest one, but it was something like 2€
including a nice gift box.
(17:49)

Ladies Market in Shan Tung Street, Mongkok
Lots of bags, T-shirts and millions different covers for iPhones.
(17:50)

Ladies Market
Shan Tung Street, Mongkok.
(17:50)

Ladies Market
Shan Tung Street, Mongkok.
(17:52)

Ladies Market
Shan Tung Street, Mongkok
(17:59)

Ladies Market
Shan Tung Street, Mongkok.
(18:00)

Time for a dinner
(18:41)

(18:44)

(18:47)

Maybe I don't even have to say, but we both liked the food.
Sadly I can't remember the name of the restaurant.
Eating with sticks is fun, it takes more time, but it's fun.
(19:00)

(19:24)

(19:25)

(19:27)

Nathan Road, Kowloon
(19:27)

(19:30)

(19:34)

(19:37)

Nathan Road
(19:56)

Hong Kong skyline
(20:26)

Hong Kong skyline
(20:28)

A shopping center in Salisbury road, Kowloon
(21:04)

Train back to the island.
(21:06)

25.8.2014 - Day eight

To The Peak

(15:14)

(15:19)

It was afternoon, and we knew that there will be
a long queues to the Peak Tram, so we took a taxi.
Sadly my wife didn't experienced The Peak Tram :-(
(15:20)

The Peak Galleria shopping center
(15:45)

The Peak Galleria shopping center
(15:46)

A view to the other side of the island.
(16:09)

(16:09)

You can see also the Lamma island with three pipes(16:09)

Correct if I'm wrong, but I think that's Mount Kellet
(16:11)

(16:12)

The Peak Galleria shopping center
(16:13)

The Peak Galleria shopping center
(16:14)

The Peak Galleria shopping center
(16:16)

The Peak Galleria shopping center
(16:17)

The Peak Galleria shopping center
(16:26)

The Peak
(16:39)

The Peak
(16:44)

Sky Terrace 428
(17:16)

A view over Hong Kong
(17:16)

A view over Hong Kong
(17:17)

A view over Hong Kong
(17:18)

A view to the other side of the island
(17:21)

The Peak Galleria
(17:23)

A view over Hong Kong
(17:27)

(18:02)

(18:03)

The Peak Tower
(18:05)

A view over Hong Kong
(18:06)

Findlay Road
(18:15)

The International Finance Centre
(18:16)

International Commerce Centre
(18:20)

Sun is setting down, lights and shadows are changing.
(18:27)

(18:30)

(18:35)

(18:52)

Harlech Road Fitness Trail
(18:53)

Dinner at the Peak.
(19:41)

Dinner at Cafe Deco, The Peak, Hong Kong
(19:43)

You can check their menu from here (PDF)
(19:44)

My favourite, Naan Bread
(19:44)

Dessert list here (PDF)
(20:35)

The weather was close to perfect in that evening.
(21:04)

(21:08)

(21:10)

(21:11)

(21:13)

(22:05)

(22:07)

Later we desided to walk back home,
which was maybe a little bit stupid idea.
(22:40)

But I got some nice shots from a different point of views.
(22:45)

(22:47)

(22:50)

(22:59)

We walked quite long, it was totally dark and late,
and we noticed that our hotel is still too far away to go by foot.
Luckily there was coming a taxi behind us, so we took it.
(23:08)

26.8.2014 - Day nine

Ocean Park Hong Kong.
To Ocean Park, which is located in the other side of the island, we went by bus. City Bus runs daily every ten minutes between 9am and 4pm. Price is ridiculous, 1 € ! But prepare to stand in the queue, and that's a good practice, because in Ocean Park, you'll have to queue many times. Weather was crazy hot, so umbrella is a good thing to have, otherwise you will be burned in the sun. I took only few pics, so of course there was lots of other things to see, which you wont find from my pics.

Ocean Park entrance.
(11:18)

(11:20)

You can purchase tickets also online and pay with Visa.
(11:20)

The Grand Aquarium
(11:21)

(11:22)

The Grand Aquarium was the only place we queued,
waiting time approx 45 minutes.
(11:26)

Lucky people with umbrellas.
(11:27)

(11:32)

(11:51)

30 minutes later, and we are inside.
(11:57)

(11:59)

(12:01)

A bit dark place to take photos without a flash light.
(12:06)

(12:07)

(12:15)

(12:17)

(12:19)

(12:20)

(12:22)

(12:28)

Jöö !
(12:41)

Panda Bear was funny :-)
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Jeee ! cablecars !
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"Old Town"
(12:55)

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Here we could cool down a little bit.
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Seal show.
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Very nice view..
(15:08)

27.8. 2014 Day ten

DolphinWatch.
We booked online tickets to a Hong Kong Dolphin Watch. In the morning we met others in Kowloon, bus to our boat was leaving from there. We paid with cash.

(9:31)

In the boat.
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First sightings of the dolphins.. A little bit too far for my camera.
Pink dolphin.
(10:27)

Grey one is a baby dolphin.
(10:29)

Pink dolphins are very rare,
and Dolphin Watch tours are made for to tell people about them
and to collect donations to keep them alive.
(10:35)

In this cruise, I missed my old
Canon camera and zoom objective many many times.
(10:35)

They said that Dolphins are not really pink but white,
pink color comes because they are "blushing". Not a joke.
(10:35)

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Just before we were leaving, this one made a nice goodbye jump
(10:59)

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(11:47)

These cable cars are going to the Big Buddha
(11:55)

Hard day..
(11:57)

(11:58)

(11:59)

(12:00)

When we left from Finland, I forgot to pack my socks.
But that's not a problem,
good socks are cheap in Hong Kong streets.
(13:22)

And something for my wife ;-)
(13:26)

28.8.2014 - Day eleven

Macao. The land of the crazy hotels and huge casinos. Casinos in Macao are moving more money than in Las Vegas, that was a surprise for me. From Hong Kong to Macao you can go by ferries or by helicopter, we took the ferry. Sailing time approx 55 minutes. And if you want, you can also choose VIP cabin. For example TurboJet is running every 15 or 30 minutes between 7am and midnight. We bought our tickets from the ferry terminal.

(9:37)

Macao Ferry Terminal
(12:06)

I think those girls are from different hotels or casinos (?)
Giving prochures...
(12:07)

(12:07)

Let me quess, a new hotel ?
(12:30)

We took a taxi from the Ferry station
straight to the Cotai hotel and casino area on Taipa Island..
(12:31)

We said to the taxi driver that we want to go to a Hard Rock Cafe.
He took us to the City Of Dreams
(12:31)

City Of Dreams is quite new hotel and casino complex, opened in 2009.
(12:32)

City Of Dreams
(12:34)

City Of Dreams
(12:35)

City Of Dreams
(12:39)

I tried to get in, but i forgot my tie.
City Of Dreams
(12:40)

City Of Dreams
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City Of Dreams
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City Of Dreams
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City Of Dreams
(12:44)

Our favourite Coffee restaurant.
(12:50)

Pacific Coffee. It's a shame that they are not world wide.
(12:56)

City Of Dreams
(13:08)

City Of Dreams
(13:11)

We didn't go to any casinos, i'm so bad in games.
City Of Dreams
(13:13)

City Of Dreams
(13:14)

City Of Dreams
(13:15)

In Hard Rock shop I spent some Dollars.
(13:19)

City Of Dreams
(13:26)

Hard Rock Hotel
in the City Of Dreams
(13:39)

City Of Dreams
(13:41)

City Of Dreams
(13:43)

City Of Dreams
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City Of Dreams
(13:45)

You just can't find anything "normal" from this place.
(13:51)

City Of Dreams
(13:52)

City Of Dreams
(13:54)

City Of Dreams
(13:58)

The Venetian
(14:00)

(14:04)

And just when we tought that nothing can beat
the City of Dreams, we went inside The Venetian.
(14:07)

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Maybe the owner of Zara
is just the second richest man in the world,
because of the monthly rent of this Zara shop..
(14:16)

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In Venetian hotel, there just have to be a mini version of venice
(14:36)

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In China they have some thing with yellow lightning.
There's nothing wrong with my camera :-)
(14:59)

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Finally we found ourselves outside.
(15:15)

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Did we had enough, of course not.
We took a taxi back to the mainland Macau
to the other side of the long bridge.
(15:31)

(15:35)

You don't have to go very far from the hotels,
when you will see a "normal" side of Macao.
(15:46)

(15:46)

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Oooo, poor, small old house in the front :-)
(16:24)

Grand Lisboa
(16:26)

Casino Hotel Lisboa
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Grand Lisboa
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Wynn
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Praia Grande
(16:43)

Macau Tower.
You can do a bungee jump or an outdoor skywalk.
(16:43)

Wynn
(16:46)

(16:47)

Wynn
(16:48)

No cameras or sun classes to the casino area, sorry.
(16:49)

Wynn
(17:02)

Wynn
(17:03)

Ok, that's enough of Hotels and casinos.
We started to walk back to the ferry station.
(17:06)

(17:07)

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(17:19)

Macao Science Center
(17:19)

Macau Museum of art
(17:32)

Sands Macau
(17:33)

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(17:35)

Day is rescued, Starbucks Coffee !
(17:37)

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Macau Fisherman's Wharf Park
(18:10)

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Sands
(18:18)

Soon we are back in the Ferry Pier.
(18:19)

(18:19)

Amizade Bridge
(18:39)

Inside the ferry terminal.
(18:51)

Something to eat..
(18:51)

Honey, do you think that it's right ?
(19:04)

Noodle & Dim Sum Kitchen
(19:05)

Tasty, with the sticks of course..
(19:10)

Long day again, few steps to our hotel.
(23:07)

That's our hotel's lobby.
(23:10)

29.8.2015 - Day twelve

Time to relax at the Repulse Bay beach, in the southern part of Hong Kong island.

Repulse Bay Hotel
(13:25)

Turtles
(13:35)

It would be a little bit tricky to come here by bus,
so we took a taxi from our hotel.
(13:38)

The Beach
(13:42)

The Beach
(13:43)

Yes, we did swim.
(14:13)

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I liked that this beach wasn't totally full of people.
When is the heaviest season time ? I don't know.
(16:19)

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Still +30 degrees
(17:46)

Time to burn some calories by walking.
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These escalators on the left are called Mid-Level Escalators.
It is the world's longest outdoor covered escalator system.
(20:24)

(20:25)

(20:27)

Foot and body massage doesn't sound bad..
(20:28)

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Hey, I've seen this place before..
(20:33)

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(21:00)

Pacific Place
(21:02)

Pacific Place
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Pacific Place
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Pacific Place
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Pacific Place
(21:09)

Pacific Place
(21:10)

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(21:26)

McLaren 650S Spyder (HK$4,828,000)
(21:31)

30.8.2015 - Day thirteen

Our last full day in Hong Kong. What should we do ? We tried to find a big shopping mall a little bit more far. Something were we could go by train.

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Our destination was Tsing Yi,
it's a small island between mainland China
and Lantau island.
(12:52)

Tsing Yi station
(13:12)

Maritime Square Shopping Centre
(13:12)

Maritime Square Shopping Centre(13:14)

Maritime Square Shopping Centre
(13:17)

Maritime Square Shopping Centre
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Maritime Square Shopping Centre
(13:35)

We just had to go to a Starbucks.
Cool Mocha Frappuchino with whipped cream !
Maritime Square Shopping Centre
(13:37)

Maritime Square Shopping Centre
(13:39)

Tsing King Rd
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(14:31)

Tsing Yi Park
(14:36)

Tsing Yi Park
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Tsing Yi Park
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Tsing Yi Park.
Ornamental Lake and 4.8m high Artificial waterfall.
(14:43)

(14:45)

Tsing Yi sports ground
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Tivoli Garden Blocks
(14:48)

Tivoli Garden Blocks
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Tsing Yi sports ground
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Next Station, Tung Chung in Lantau island
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Pacific Coffee but too much people,
we had to skip this time.
(15:48)

Citygate Outlets,
the first outlet mall in Hong Kong.
(15:53)

Citygate Outlets
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Citygate Outlets
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Citygate Outlets,
Food Republic. Different restaurants inside.
(16:00)

Food Republic
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Food Republic
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Food Republic
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Food Republic
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Food Republic
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Food Republic
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Back to the MTR station
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(17:16)

Tung Chung Crescent Blocks
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CityGate Outlets
(17:19)

Tung Chung MTR station
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Tung Chung MTR station
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Tung Chung MTR station
(17:26)

Hong Kong Central
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Hong Kong Central
(18:08)

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The Center building
(18:26)

The Center building
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The Center building
(18:28)

The Center building, 80 floors, 350m
(18:28)

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Pacific Coffee.
(18:45)

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Thai Restaurant Lil Siam in Elgin Street, Soho.
Nice place, good food. But I don't know if it's there anymore.
(20:28)

Elgin Street, Soho
(20:32)

Elgin Street, Soho.
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The Central Building in the evening
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The Central Building in the evening
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The Central Building in the evening
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The Central Building in the evening
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Jubilee Street
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The Hong Kong Club building
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Cheung Kong Center
(21:21)

Cheung Kong Center
(21:22)

Bucatti
(21:24)

Cotton Tree Dr road
(21:28)

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Queensway Plaza
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Queensway Plaza
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Pacific Place
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Pacific Place
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Pacific Place
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Pacific Place
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Rolls-Royce Wraith (HK$5,900,000 in 2013)
It's our last evening, so we already spent almost all our money, sorry.
(21:57)

Sadly that was our last evening In Hong Kong. We had a great time together. We visited many places, we ate nice foods, we walked a lot around in the city. The weather was great except our first days when it was raining. Maybe a bit too hot for my taste, because you have a sweaty feeling all the time. Our hotel was nice, location was good. Do I have anything bad to say ? No. Maybe I'm mad to myself because I still couldn't taste more of those famous Hong Kong street foods.
Would I come again ? Absolutely. But if I have to use my last money to only one trip, I think I would choose this time some other Asian country, Japan ?

There's still some airport pictures left...

31.8.2014 - Day fourteen

At the Hong Kong International Airport, time to go back home.
Our hotel offerted a free bus transport to the airport. We came much much earlier than our flight was, we wanted to spend time in the airport and maybe buy more homecoming gifts.

Hong Kong International Airport is big.
It opened in 1998 and it's still one of the largest
passenger terminal buildings in the world.
(15:33)

HKIA is in top ten of the busiest airports worldwide.
From these pictures you really can't see that.
(15:33)

There's two terminals T1 and T2,
our flight was departing from Terminal 1.
(15:33)

There's about 80 shops in Terminal 1,
mostly in non-restricted area.
(15:54)

T1
We are still in non-restricted area.
(15:54)

T1
(16:04)

T1
Free Wifi everywhere.
(16:04)

T1
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T1
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We couldn't check in our baggages yet,
so we took them to a baggage keeping in Terminal 2.
(16:10)

T2
(16:13)

Terminal 2 is bigger than T1, there is over 200 shops,
but most of the shops are after the security in restricted area.
(16:14)

T2
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Pacific Coffee Company
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T2
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T2
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T2
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T2
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T2
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T2
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T2
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T2
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T2
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T2
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T2
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T2
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T2
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T2
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T2
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T2
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T2
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T2
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T2
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T2
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T1
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T1
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T1
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T2
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T2
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T2
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T2
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T2
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T2
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T2
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Now we are inside in restricted area Terminal 1, after security check.
(21:49)

T1 restricted area
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T1 restricted area
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T1 restricted area
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T1 restricted area
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T1 restricted area
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T1 restricted area
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T1 restricted area
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T1 restricted area
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T1 restricted area
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T1 restricted area
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T1 restricted area
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T1 restricted area
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T1 restricted area
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T1 restricted area
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T1 restricted area
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T1 restricted area
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T1 restricted area
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T1 restricted area
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T1 restricted area
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T1 restricted area
(23:02)

If someone still have money left,
this is the last chance to spend it..
Ou sh.t... This shop was closed.
(23:04)

T1 restricted area
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T1 restricted area
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T1 restricted area
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T1 restricted area
(23:14)

My last picture in Hong Kong.
That's what it takes to be two weeks in Hong Kong.
My Adidas Superstars are kaputt.
I hope it's not raining in Finland.
(23:21)

Well. our trip is done. If somebody was so crazy, that made through the whole story

GONGRATULATIONS ! WELL DONE !

I think in the future, I will just stick to a short blog updates. Watching others holiday pictures and reading stories are not everyone's thing. But if someone already was or will be in the future in Hong Kong, hopefully for those people I gave something useful.

I like to take pictures, and that's why I like to travel in different places. My favourite pictures are those which were taken in the evening, in the dark. For those kind of pictures Hong Kong is a perfect place. I would like to do more street photography of a people, but I'm too shy for that.

Our budget in Hong Kong (without flights and hotel) was a little bit more than HKD 20000. 14 days, two persons, everyday eating in restaurants, lots of homecoming gifts, Lamma Island, Ocean Park, Disneyland, Dolphin Watch, Macao, clothes, taxis, trains etc. I think that wasn't bad. But it's still lots of money, and with that amount of money you could do many things, but that was our way to spend it this time.

Go and travel around the world, if you have a chance.

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Hong Kong August 2014