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Monday 12 September 2011

Hong Kong....The city that never sleeps!? Day1

The night skyline view of Hong Kong from Kowloon
This trip was back in August of 2009. It was a last minute kind of thing because the holidays in Singapore was on the 9th of August as we are celebrating Singapore's Independence as a nation. So i took the liberty of booking a flight on the 7th august which was on a Friday and planning for a return home on the 10th.

There were many airlines having cheap airfares. Those were Singapore Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Malaysia Airlines, Thai Airways, United Airlines and Northwest Airlines. All were in the region of S$400-500 per return ticket. What caught my attention was that Singapore Airlines had assigned the latest A380 on the SIN-HKG route. and the promo price was S$388-488. As i had never been on the A380 before this was the best excuse that i have to book Singapore Airlines. Went to their website, logged in, signed in with Kris Flyer and the rest was history! I booked for 2 pax as my brother wanted to tag along. After making payment and all, received confirmation and i'm good to go!

Changi Airport Terminal 3 Departure Hall
Automated Check In Machine for Singapore Airlines
Glad that i used the machine as there was a long queue for check in.
That's my boarding gate, Gate B7
SQ A380 being loaded up
The new Queen of the Skies, what a beauty!
Boarding began at 9.15 am and Priority, PPS Members Club, Kris Flyer Gold, Business and First classes are being announced to board first followed by the Economy passengers. Was greeted by a gorgeous stewardess at the door and directed the way to my seat. As i walked along the aisle, another crew greeted us with a friendly smile and chatted briefly with us. Now that's what i call quality service. Once the passengers were on board, the cabin crews began their final checks and going around handing out Hot towels and menu cards. Not many airlines nowadays do that. SQ has been the gold standard for most of the airlines to follow for years. I began flirting with the controls of the IFE and once the crew handed out headsets, i began browsing through their music and movies library. Not bad choices, as they have all the latest and up to date music and movies.

KrisWorld screen menu
AC/DC in the air!

Cruising altitude of 39,000 feet



Nasi Kuning with Curried Okra and Lamb Rendang

39,000 feet over south China Sea
View of Lantau Island during landing
Cabin view during landing
Taxiing to gate
Arrival terminal
Walking towards the train shuttle
Signs after immigrations

 Takeoff was smooth and i must say that the A380 is very quiet. You can't even hear the roar of the engine when taking off. The A380 is definitely an awesome piece of machinery ever to be produced by Airbus. Service began after reaching a cruising altitude of 38,000 feet. The crew served the special meals first and i have ordered a Muslim Meal, as the menu on SQ are not entirely Halal as they do serve pork too. The other passengers had either Nasi Lemak with Sambal Prawns, Egg Omelette and Chicken or Fried Egg Noodles with Pork Char Siew. My Muslim meal for the flight was Nasi Kuning (Yellow Rice) with Lamb Rendang and Curried Okra. My brother was served the same meal too. We began digging into our meals and i must say that the rice was a tad bit hard, lamb was too hard and curried Okra was good. 50% of the lamb Rendang was inedible as it was hard. Taste was good but overall disappointing though. But the apple crumble dessert was the savior of my inflight meal. Followed by a few cups of apple juice to wash it down and was done. Movies on the KrisWorld library was extensive with a mix of old and up to date movies. So i watched G.I JOE for the remainder of the flight. 

2 hours and 40 minutes has gone by and the Captain announced to the passengers that we were beginning descending towards Hong Kong International Airport. Crew began clearing rubbish, retrieving headsets and checking passengers seat belts to make sure they are fastened. Final approach was quite bumpy as the weather approaching HKIA was cloudy. Landing was bumpy though but who the hell cares as long as we are safe. Plane went to the gate, passengers began their restless procedures to deplane very quick as i was still sitting down awaiting for them to go. Deplaning took about 10 minutes and we had to take the train from arriving terminal to the main terminal for immigrations. Immigrations was full of many tourists awaiting to enter and it took about 30 minutes to get through security and customs. The first thing to look for after immigrations was the Airport Express train. The journey from HKIA to Central station is HK$150, and you can use the Octopus card for easy traveling to and fro. You just need to top up a certain amount for travel on Hong Kong's public transportation system. This can be bought at the Airport upon arrival.

Airport Express station

Map of the MTR system in Hong Kong

Central Station
Journey towards Hong Kong Central was 20 minutes. The station comes with a check in counters for those wanting to check in earlier in town without worrying for time. They can check in their baggages too and carry on doing on final shopping at shops nearby. My hotel was called the JEN Hotel located at Queens Road West. This hotel was later renamed Traders Hotel, but the interior are still the same. Took a cab from the Central station to our hotel and encountered many slow traffics along the way as it was late lunch time. Many of them going back to work or doing deliveries. The ride costs me around 40 HK$ and took about 15 minutes. My friends told me not to take the taxi as it is damn expensive, but for now, i just need to get to my hotel quick.
Queens Road central

Hotel JEN Lobby



Welcome message on LCD TV screen

Twin Beds with a nice view of the harbour
Water sink next to the door

Great cable channels. They even have pay to view porn!...

Night view of the harbour


Served with Naan Bread, Potato Kofta balls Masala and Tandoori Chicken


Fish Briyani that i had

Upon reaching hotel, bellboy took our bags and escorted us to the concierge and began check in process. As our room was the mountain view, we had to check in at level 28 which was the SKY Lounge. Check in was a breeze and got my room access card after furnishing my details of payment. Once we sorted out all our stuffs, got out of the hotel and walked along Queens Road West to look for some dinner. Overcame a Halal Indian Restaurant which was featured in Zabihah website,forgot what the name of this restaurant was. We ordered white rice, Potato Kofta Balls Masala, Naan Bread and Chicken Tandoori. Even it took about 20-25 minutes for the food to get out from the kitchen, it was worth the wait! The Fish Briyani that i ordered was f**kin delicious! Fish cooked to perfection, rice full of flavor. Never could i ask for more! One of the best briyanis that i have had in a long time. Naan Bread was moist not hard, Kofta balls Masala got that spicy zing to it and the balls itself was simply Ballin!...hehe. Chicken Tandoori was a bit dry on the inside though but still packed with much flavor. The total bill was 170 HK$ which was okay to me. As long as it delivers the goods, then i'm happy! Went back to the hotel full and gettin ready for the next day..
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