Hong Kong 2015

This was somewhat a last-minute, impromptu trip.  A colleague/friend and I had annual leave to use up and no plans so we decided to go Hong Kong.  The decision was made around end-November 2015 and the trip was end-December.

As we both didn't want a too hectic trip, our itinerary was quite loose and flexible, with only 2 fixed items: Disneyland and Ocean Park.

Our itinerary was as follows:-
Day 1 - Check into Hotel, roam the Tsim Sha Tsui area
Day 2 - Australian Dairy breakfast, Disneyland, random roast goose restaurant
Day 3 - Tsui Wah, Ocean Park, Temple Street Night Market, Yee Shun Dairy
Day 4 - Yi Dian Xin, roam Central area, Yung Kee

Very simple, with a lot of flexibility.

Some notes:
1. Year end is peak season - tourists attractions were ridiculously crowded.  We wanted to visit the Peak on Day 4 (31 December 2015), around noon time, but the queues... people were queuing at the traffic island across where the ticketing counter is.

2. If you can, always get to the theme parks when they open.  We queued very little from opening to (say) 1pm.  The queues got significantly longer after 2pm.

3.  If you want to try the iconic high tea at Peninsula Hotel, go BEFORE 2pm (which is when it starts).  We were there at 2.30pm (on 28 December 2015) and were told that the wait was about 2hours.

4.  It seems night markets at HK aren't like night markets in Taiwan, the focus isn't on street food, just cheap shopping.

5.  Ocean Park's theme park is very carnival-like.  Not a lot of theming and ambience the way Disneyland is.

6.  If you want to take pictures with Mickey or any of his friends, be willing to wait.  We queued for Mickey at the start of our visit to Disneyland.The queue didnt seem too long but every person takes what seems like tens of photographs AND the characters take breaks every 10 to 15 mins.  All that adds to the wait.

7.  Food at HK is more expensive (perhaps due to lack of street food) but for shopping, I think it may be cheaper than TW and Sg for certain items.  I got a bargain for my Sulwhasoo cushion foundations AND the salesperson was super nice and gave me tons of samples!  I would definitely hit up places like Boujour and Sasa as well, just to see if my favourite products are cheaper there.  I helped a friend get a Clinique sunblock for about sgd7 cheaper than at the Chinatown shops.

8.  Weather was pretty nice.  I had sweaters and heattech leggings.  Many were wearing down jackets but I honestly didnt think it was necessary.  I think a nice fleece jacket (which I have but did not bring) would have been sufficient.  I believe the temperature was around 15 to 20 Celcius on the days that we were there.

All in all, a good trip.  Nice weather, good food, good shopping.

Taiwan 2015

I am aware that this post is much delayed but since I'm in the mood for being grateful and complaining less, I think this is a good time to re-visit my trip to Taiwan last year.

I try to travel with my family once a year, last year, it was to Taiwan.  We were able to fix a 5-day trip early-November and decided that instead of sticking to Taipei, we would take a look at Taichung as well.

Our itinerary (simplified) is as follows:-

Day 1 - Taipei, Xi Men Ding, night market at Huaxi Street

Day 2 - Visit Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall, Shida night market

Day 3 - Taiwan Raiways to Taichung, Yizhong night market

Day 4 - Trying out the Tai Yang Bings at Taichung, travelling to Taipei, Shuangcheng night market

Day 5 - Taipei 101 and surrounding malls, Ningxia night market

Clearly, we didn't cover a lot of ground.  That seems to be the theme whenever I travel with my family as they (i) refuse to plan; (ii) refuse to follow an itinerary; and (iii) tend to drag their feet.  I admittedly got annoyed a little but I try to control my temper because at the end of the day, the trip is for us to spend more time and experience new things together , not for me to sightsee.

I have the following things to say:
1. Taiwan (at least in November) turns dark earlier than Malaysia/Singapore so although you may think you are eating dinner at 6.30pm, it is more likely to be 5.30pm.  What that means is, supper!

2.  Please, go to some night markets.  I didnt go to the bigger/more popular ones (crowds are a huge deterrence) but from the 5 that I did go, i can see that they are each different from the other and always interesting to take a look at. Of the 5 I visited, Ningxia I believe is more well-known and for me, that was the least interesting.  It could be that we were too full to enjoy the myriad of food options but it was also way.too.crowded.

3.  If you like skincare (specifically, masks), there will be sooo much for you to choose from, and they are priced lower than Singapore!  I wasn't, however, particularly impressed with the makeup at the drugstores.

4.  (We might have missed something but) There is nothing to do at Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall, really.

I would totally go back, to shop (things are rather decently priced), eat and look-see.  I am already checking the price for tickets to Kaoshiung!