The Hong Kong airport was busy. Seriously, i've never seen so many people in an airport before. The queue for immigration clearance was long, even though there were many counters.
I took a cab from the airport to the hotel, and the journey took more than 30 minutes and cost HKD382. As we were approaching HK island, i could really feel that this is a big city, even more metropolitan than Singapore. The city is just filled with skyscrapers, cars on the roads, and people on the streets.
I'm staying at the City Garden Hotel, though not located in the city center, it is surrounded by some busy streets as well. When i arrived at the hotel, i was directed by the front desk to the highest floor where the business center is located. Since the booking was done by the company, i got to check in at a special place, and i was told that the Internet access is free. How nice.
However, the room was disappointing. It was small, so so so much smaller than the one in Taipei.
Looking out from the hotel room
In the evening, i walked around the area looking for a place to have dinner. Initially i've thought of going to those kopitium (茶餐廳) to have some authentic HK food, but all those that i've passed by looked dirty. The waiters and waitresses seemed unfriendly, and there are many patrons in the shops too. As i can't speak Cantonese, i felt really uneasy to walk in and not knowing what and how to order.
I continued walking and passed by a McD. I had thought of just have some burgers, but then decided not to since i really wanna try the local food. I continued walking and then came to this fast-food type of Chinese restaurant that sells mini steamboat, clay pot rice and some other kinds of Chinese food. I decided that this would be an easier place for me to order food and so i ordered a set of pork chop rice that comes with a cup of tea.
Frankly, i regretted it later.
Not only did it look unappetizing, it also didn't taste good and i didn't finish it. I mean, it's not like it tasted horrible, but it was just not considered good.
Anyway, i was having this sudden craving for potato chips, so on my way back to the hotel after dinner, i decided to look for a supermarket. There are lots of Watson and 7-Eleven stores, such as this one near the hotel.
I also saw Guardian, which is named differently here.
Finally i found a minimart just a street away from the hotel.
The junk food section was small, but i was delighted to see so many different flavour of potato chips that we don't get back at home
They also have the Qoo drinks here, which i like very much but seems to be going extinct in Singapore.
I would have tried all different flavours of the potato chips if i were to be here for a longer period. But in view of the bad weather here, i gotta refrain from taking too much heaty stuff. So in the end, i only bought two packets.
So, my plan for tomorrow is to go shopping at Time Square. The heel of my boots (which was quite new) was broken and i need to buy a new pair. How lousy the quality can be. I'm gonna get a good pair of boots tomorrow, which hopefully can be of good quality and last longer.
Labels: travel
