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bonding with brothers (the hk-shenzhen trip)
Posted by poeticnook
on
6/30/2010 10:59:00 AM
in
in transit
For the past three years, I've only been home for a total of three weeks so I thought it would be great if this time my brothers and I could hangout somewhere outside the country and just chill. Can't complain about the sunshine and beaches in Cebu but 42 degrees is just insane. I'll trade this for snowstorms anytime of day.
I've never really explored HK, the longest I've stayed there was when I had a 12 hour layover for a connecting flight. I figured it's time to pay a visit to the land of of the laser lights, and who knows, maybe see Disneyland. But of course, my two burly brothers were not the least bit interested to see Mickey Mouse so instead we bought octopus train cards at the airport and went on to chart the best course to see the city.
At first we joined a tour group that took us to all the shopping places we didn't really want to go to, so we bailed out on that, took the MTR and double deck buses, and explored the city on our own. I must admit, a map is important in this type of quest, but the only map I got was the train stops for the red line. Fortunately, we met someone who used to work in the city some years back. She decided to go back and revisit HK now that she has enough money saved. Among other things, she showed us where Jollibee was =) now, we know where to score all the chicken joy.
After a visit to the massive building where they sell all the electronics stuff, we walked down Nathan road to the Avenue of the Stars so we could watch the symphony of lights show, but before that we decided to stop by a restaurant that serves BBQ duck. Twas great that the menu came with pictures, coz the guy at the counter didn't speak any English and we knew no Chinese. I sincerely hope that was duck we ordered ^_^, it looked like it.
The trek to Victoria Peak is probably the highlight of the trip. Although it was drizzling and foggy, we did manage to get a good view of the downtown Hong Kong skyline, Kowloon, and Victoria Harbour. Kuya was also able to buy some souvenirs to take back home.
We spent two nights in HK then proceeded to Shenzhen via train. The bus tour guide asked us if we were picky about food and if we eat anything. Some people said they eat everything and the guide warned us that we shouldn't order hot dog in that city, because that meant real dog, eww! I think that was when we decided to stick to McDonald's and KFC for this leg of the trip =)
There was really not much to see here, it was also the same time when the flash floods were happening and it was all over the news - so there was an overcast of gloom on the city. We did see the Windows of the World and more night markets, jewelry shops and car factories - I guess those tour buses are shopping traps in disguise. Good thing we weren't really into buying stuff, but more into eating so that's where all our HKD and RMB went to.
The whole adventure was a great opportunity to bond with my brothers. It was their first passport stamp, their first trip outside the country, and I'm glad we survived it despite our constant petty quarrels. We laugh when people say that we look like we get along really well ^_^ Hopefully we can do this again next year.
I've never really explored HK, the longest I've stayed there was when I had a 12 hour layover for a connecting flight. I figured it's time to pay a visit to the land of of the laser lights, and who knows, maybe see Disneyland. But of course, my two burly brothers were not the least bit interested to see Mickey Mouse so instead we bought octopus train cards at the airport and went on to chart the best course to see the city.
At first we joined a tour group that took us to all the shopping places we didn't really want to go to, so we bailed out on that, took the MTR and double deck buses, and explored the city on our own. I must admit, a map is important in this type of quest, but the only map I got was the train stops for the red line. Fortunately, we met someone who used to work in the city some years back. She decided to go back and revisit HK now that she has enough money saved. Among other things, she showed us where Jollibee was =) now, we know where to score all the chicken joy.
After a visit to the massive building where they sell all the electronics stuff, we walked down Nathan road to the Avenue of the Stars so we could watch the symphony of lights show, but before that we decided to stop by a restaurant that serves BBQ duck. Twas great that the menu came with pictures, coz the guy at the counter didn't speak any English and we knew no Chinese. I sincerely hope that was duck we ordered ^_^, it looked like it.
The trek to Victoria Peak is probably the highlight of the trip. Although it was drizzling and foggy, we did manage to get a good view of the downtown Hong Kong skyline, Kowloon, and Victoria Harbour. Kuya was also able to buy some souvenirs to take back home.
We spent two nights in HK then proceeded to Shenzhen via train. The bus tour guide asked us if we were picky about food and if we eat anything. Some people said they eat everything and the guide warned us that we shouldn't order hot dog in that city, because that meant real dog, eww! I think that was when we decided to stick to McDonald's and KFC for this leg of the trip =)
There was really not much to see here, it was also the same time when the flash floods were happening and it was all over the news - so there was an overcast of gloom on the city. We did see the Windows of the World and more night markets, jewelry shops and car factories - I guess those tour buses are shopping traps in disguise. Good thing we weren't really into buying stuff, but more into eating so that's where all our HKD and RMB went to.
The whole adventure was a great opportunity to bond with my brothers. It was their first passport stamp, their first trip outside the country, and I'm glad we survived it despite our constant petty quarrels. We laugh when people say that we look like we get along really well ^_^ Hopefully we can do this again next year.
