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Monday, October 29, 2012

~ Hong Kong 2012 - Day 1 (Part 2) Avenue of Stars ~

Our day continues spending our evening walking along the scenic Avenue of Stars (星光大道) which is located along the Tsim Sha Tsui waterfront. This has been built to honour the celebrities of the Hong Kong film industries. The best time to visit (in my opinion) is during the evening when the weather is cooling and you can see the blue sky turning orange as the sun sets. Enjoy the sea breeze as you walk along the Avenue with your love ones. I enjoy the freshness of the air which is so relaxing and therapeutic after spending most of the morning travelling.


Upon entering, you will not miss the replica of the statuette given to the Hong Kong Film awards winners.



Apart from enjoying the fascinating skyline of Hong Kong, this is also a hot spot for photo taking.


 Majestic and Enchanting
 Paranormal View of Victoria Habour

Bruce Lee - the 2.5m statue has been erected here since 2005. Many tourists from all over the world will not miss taking a photo with our legendary movie hero.


We spotted a new face at the Avenue of Stars! Mcdull (麦兜) - the first cartoon character winning a spot at the avenue overlooking the sky. Cute! :)


Another prominent feature of the Avenue of Stars are the plaques containing hand prints and autographs (set in cement) of the famous Hong Kong stars. As we walked along, stepping pass the names of these celebrities, it reminded us of our younger days where we grew up watching their movies.


It was a gloomy evening and the rain came drizzling down on our faces. We missed the Symphony of Lights and admiring the beautiful night skyline due to the bad weather but that did not dampen our mood at all.

 Its good to be back again with Hubby.


Avenue of Stars linking up to the Tsim Sha Tsui Promenade is definitely a place not to be missed whenever you are in Hong Kong. There are cafes and restaurants nearby and not forgetting the Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong Space Museum and Hong Kong Cultural Centre which are also located within its vicinity.

Summary of Day 1 - Part 2
Places of Interest

Avenue of Stars
Address: Tsim Sha Tsui Promenade, Kowloon
How to Get there: MTR, East Tsim Sha Tsui Station, Exit J

Friday, October 26, 2012

~ Hong Kong 2012 - Day 1 (Part 1) ~

To celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary, Hubby and I have planned for our trip to Hong Kong since last year. Hong Kong is a very special country to us, as it was also our first flight to an oversea country together and we have many fond memories there.

Our last family trip to Hong Kong was in 2007 and the kids were still very young back then. Now that they have grown up, this is really an excitement for all of us as we will spend 8 days 7 nights in Pearl of the Orient (東方之珠) during the September school holidays!

01.09.2012 - We woke up at 4 plus in the morning to catch the SQ flight at 7 plus. Denver and Gladys were so zest up that you cannot spot any sleepiness in them despite the early hours.


 We love to arrive early at the airport. That gave us ample time to snap photos and shop around. :) 

This is the first time our kiddos taking the Singapore Airlines and they LOVE it! The games and latest movies kept us entertained throughout our flight journey. Denver and Gladys had no problem getting familiar with the gadgets giving Daddy and Mommy some moments of peace. :)

 Our lunch! Yummy and filling!

HELLO HONG KONG! We have finally landed and were welcomed by poster of Disneyland which we will be visiting real soon.

Unlike our previous visits, this time we took the Airport Express from Chek Lap Kok Airport (赤鱲角機場) to the city. Situated strategically at the Arrival Hall, the Airport Express departs at about 10-minute intervals taking passengers to Central in just 24 minutes!

There was a long queue at the airport and the MTR staff advise us to take the train first and purchase our fare tickets before exiting our designated station! To add on to our delight, we realised there was a current promotion for visitors and locals where children with a valid Child Octopus card gets to enjoy a free ride on the MTR Airport Express! That adds on to our savings. :)


The ride on the airport express was quick and comfortable. We enjoyed the scenic view as the train took us to Hong Kong station.



Before leaving the airport, Hubby bought a prepaid SIM card from the local 7-eleven stall costing HKD$60 (~SGD$10). You can choose to activate 1 day, 7 days or 30 days data plan to stay connected during your trip. :)

For more information, check out the China Mobile website.



After taking 1.5 hour transferring between stations and dragging our luggage, we finally reached our resting point - CHI Residences 279.

Before we embarked on our vacation, Hubby and I have been shortlisting and deciding which hotel to stay. Most of the rooms in Hong Kong, especially those located in Kowloon are small and expensive. This makes it extremely challenging for us as we want to rest comfortably, yet not too far from the MTR and of reasonable pricing.

After many months of searching and reading the reviews and advise from Tripadvisor, we finally settle down for CHI Residences 279. We booked the serviced apartment through Agoda for 7 nights at SGD$1480 (~SGD$211 per night).

Located at Shanghai Street, Chi Residence is about 10 minutes walk to/fro Yau Ma Tei MTR Exit C. Despite being situated along the buzzing streets, security is excellent and well thought of. We have to enter a passcode before entering the main entrance. The Residence is under 24-hour security monitoring and guests are also given an electronic magnetic card where you have to tap it in the lift which will bring you to your designated floor only. Entrance to the room is then via another key. These extra security measures makes us feel at ease when we are away. :)

Stepping into the boutique serviced apartment makes us feel very cosy and at home. A staff (Uncle Johnny) warmly welcome us and helped us with our luggage. Looking at the photos that are pinned on the board and all the Thank You letters by their previous guests further assured me that we will have a great stay here!


Denver and Gladys WOWed when they saw our room. It was spacious, modern looking and clean! There is a lot of space for the kids to roam about and we loved the softness and comfort of our queen size bed.



Every detail, equipment and gadgets that are place in the living room, bedroom, kitchen and toilet makes us feel at home. Plus, there is free in-room WiFi and Internet access on the LCD TV screen which comes with a DVD player. ^_^

The toilet is really big which is considered rare for the rooms in Hong Kong. The seating area in the bath area and the powerful showerhead jet from Grohe is so relaxing that all of us enjoy our shower everytime. :)


Apart from the various TV channels to select from, Denver and Gladys were delighted to see the range of DVDs that they can rent for free! Each room can borrow up to 2 DVD titles and to be return in 2 days. Our kiddos had "Movie World" almost every night! We were very happy with our stay at Chi Residences 279 and our children looked forward to returning to their temporary home every day.


It's time to roam the streets of Hong Kong after having a good rest. We were famished but the good thing is finding food is never a problem here. There are many food and street stalls near our apartment. We bought a jumbo hotdog and fishball stick as our appetizer.


Spotted Yee Shun Milk Company (義順牛奶公司) at Nathan Road (near Yau Ma Tei MTR) and we ordered their famous "Double Stewed Milk" (雙皮燉奶) at HKD$25. It is a milk-based sweet dessert with a thin layer of milk skin at the top. The texture is smooth and thick. Hubby and I had our first stewed milk at Yee Shun during our first visit to Hong Kong which was more than 10 years ago. Revisiting and tasting it again really brings back good old memories. ^_^

Denver had a beef sandwich (HKD$20) while Gladys prefers her sausage with eggs (HKD$22). It is not cheap to makan in Hong Kong but we spent a lot of time and dollars munching along the way. It has been a great enjoyment and I guess that whats make our trip so fulfilling.


Langham Place (朗豪坊) is a 15-storey trendy shopping mall in Kowloon which is within walking distance from our apartment. With direct access to the 5 star hotel, Langham Place Hotel, apart from fashion, food and beverage outlets, there is also a cinema within.


Snack attack time and our kiddos like to have a taste of the yummy cupcakes (HKD$28 each) from Awfully Chocolate. Its a funny thing that we did not bother to try them in Singapore but now in another country. :)


Another thing not to be missed when you are in Hong Kong is trying out the street-side food stalls (大排挡). From fried octopus, fermented beancurd to yu dan (fish balls) and meat balls. These stalls are commonly seen and have been our energizers for the next few days. Not to mention, our kids LOVE the food.



More food and scenic views of Hong Kong in Part 2! :)

Summary of Day 1 - Part 1

- Airport Express from Airport to City. *
- Purchase Octopus Card from MTR station.*
- Purchase of prepaid SIM Card (from China Mobile) at 7-Eleven stall. 
- Apartment stay @ Chi Residences 279

* Check out if there are any local promotions during your visit.

Shopping

Langham Place
Address: 8, Argyle Street, Mong Kok, Kowloon
How to Get there: MTR, Mong Kok Station, Exit C3.

Food 

Yee Shun Milk Company
Address: G/F, 513 Nathan Road, Yau Ma Tei
How to Get there: MTR, Yau Ma Tei Station, Exit B1

Awfully Chocolate
Address: Shop 20 Level 4, Langham Place, 8 Argyle Street, Kowloon
How to Get there: MTR, Mong Kok Station, Exit C3.

Sunday, October 14, 2012

~ Review - Pilot FriXion Clicker pens ~

Apart from spending time with my family and blogging, one of my other hobby is drawing. I enjoy scribbling with my pen or pencil on paper anytime anywhere. To satisfy my sketching experience, I love pens with vibrant ink colours and does not smear as I write.

Thanks to Pilot Pen Singapore, I'm glad to be able to review the improved version of the Pilot FriXion Clicker pens which comes in 7 colours. (Red, Dark Blue, Light Blue, Green, Pink, Purple and Black)


Our little princess was fast to spot the colourful kit as she too share the same joy in drawing. Her favourite colour is PINK of course!


The FriXion Clicker pens comes with erasable ink and a clicker with an easy sliding mechanism. All I need to do is click and write. If I made a mistake, the ink can be erased with the durable rubber stud at the end of the pen, and I can re-write again. The best part is the rubber stud also does not produce any rubber dust, making my desk clean and neat! I find this All in One feature really COOL and Convenient! 

*NOTE: With this erasable ink feature, do note that this pen is not suitable to use on legal or official documents and for our kiddos to use in the examinations. 


After testing the pens, I enjoy the smoothness as the ink imprint on the paper. It does smear a little, but the ink dries up fast enough before it smudged. Colours are vibrant and I have a good grip on the pens. I like the fact that the ink does not seep through the page making it neat and clean. 


Not only are the Pilot FriXion pens suitable for writing, it can also be used to do fine sketches as well. I have used all the 7 coloured pens in my drawing and the best thing is I do not have to worry about making mistakes during sketching. ^_^ The pens seem to go pretty well with colour pencils and its good to do fine and detail outlining.

 UP FOR GRABS Before It's All Gone! 
I drew our favourite cuisine - SUSHI and our kiddos thought it looked very real! ^_^ They started complaining that I "open" their appetite for supper. If only those are real sushi right now!

Gladys looks desperately hungry. :)

I had a fun time drawing and the kids enjoyed posing and imagining their supper. Now our kiddos got more "excuses" to use the Pilot FriXion Pens for drawing. :)

Disclosure: Sponsored Review - All comments and opinions are personal and no monetary compensation was received. Penmanship Salvation Kit was provided by Pilot Pen Singapore.