Hong Kong....The city that never sleeps!? Day 2

The Peak Galleria Centre

2nd day in Hong Kong had already planned a trip up to the Peak, visit the Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum, do some shopping at Times Square, eat lunch, shop and eat some more! We had free breakfast vouchers for the 4 days we stayed. Went down to the restaurant at 8 am and was greeted by the reception and we gave him our vouchers and he showed us to the table. Breakfast was basic actually. The normal stuffs like breads, cheese platters, fruits, some hot dishes, cereals and pastries as well. There's also an omelette station with a chef at the helm. You can choose with cheese, tomatoes, herbs, plain omelette or simply fried egg sunny side up.

Hotel JEN entrance

Free hotel shuttle bus

View of Kowloon

The 2nd building from the left where Batman attacked the Hongkies in the Dark Knight!

The hotels shuttle bus schedule begins at 8am daily and operates in an hourly basis. It goes to the Macau Ferry Terminal station, The Star Ferry Terminal Pier, IFC Convention Central and back to the hotel. Total journey takes around 30-40 minutes depending on the traffic.

  

Me awaiting to board the bus to the Peak Tram station

If you are going up to the Victoria Peak via the Peak Tram, you should take the open-top bus from the Central Star Ferry pier to the Peak Tram station. It is a short 10 minute ride and you get to go through the forest of skyscrapers in the central business district of Hong Kong. It is bus #15C. You can pay the fare of HK$ 9.80 by using the Octopus card or cash. If the weather is good, you can sit on top of the open bus to get wonderful views of the towers and buildings along the way. Unless you are like a block of ice and melts easily, come on down to sit in the air condition part of the bus.

The Peak Tram Station

Mr Jackie Chan sayin "Haro!" Just Kidding.

The station was damn full and waited for 2 more trams before we could get in.

Arrival of the 3rd tram

Me got lucky  standing next to the door

Peak Tram Operating Hours are from 07:00 to 00:00. Extended services will be provided during special events or public holidays. The frequency of the service is every 10-15 mins. The prices for Adults is HK$20 for one way, HK$30 for return trip. As for children aged between 3 to 11 are priced at HK$ 6 for one way, HK$ 9 for return trip. Seniors above the age of 65 and above pay HK$ 7 for one way and HK$ 14 for the return. Payment can be made with Octopus card too. Taking a bus or minibus from/to The Peak offers a different experience to the Peak Tram, therefore you may take bus No.15 or minibus No.1 from the public transport terminus underneath the Peak Galleria Shopping Centre. 

The view from the tram

Entrance to Madame Tussaud's Museum

I have already been to Madame Tussauds Wax Museum before in Shanghai. As my brother had never been in one, i bought 2 tickets for us and entered. Tickets cost HK$160 for Adults, HK$90 for children aged between 3-11 and HK$90 for seniors aged 65 and above. A bit pricier than Shanghai i must say. But i hope it offers more than what Shanghai has in store. Madame Tussauds Museum is a renowned chain of wax museums founded by Marie Tussaud of France. Hong Kong is the first and one of the only two permanent Madame Tussauds museums in Asia, the other being the Shanghai branch, which opened in 2006. The Hong Kong branch houses almost 100 wax figures of internationally known personalities and celebrities, with Asian figures taking up more than a third of the total, of which sixteen were from Hong Kong. Artists such as Andy Lau, Aaron Kwok, Jacky Cheung, Anita Mui and many more are available. Sports celebrities such as David Beckham, Tiger Woods, Ronaldinho and many more are also there. Below are some of the photos i took, actually many that i took, but only gonna post a few.

The closest thing i ever get to Ronaldinho

We spent about 2 hours in the museum taking pictures and do some read up on their display. Felt hungry and search for something light to eat. Came across this ice cream joint at level 3(i think), of the galleria. It sells ice cream in a crepes. I had the Banana with Chocolate Syrup, Crepes with Vanilla Ice Cream and it was awesome! On a hot day, ice cream beats everything else! You gots to have ice cream! I scream for ice cream!

EA Games Centre and Store

Cloudy view of Hong Kong City

Still cloudy over Victoria Harbour

At least i get a clear shot of this

Looks like Bruce Wayne's Mansion and underneath is the Batcave

Condos on a hillside

In the tram on the way down to Town.

Somewhere along Wan Chai Road

IFC Convention and Shopping Centre, also the Airport Town Check in is there

As soon as we headed back down from the Peak, we went to Wan Chai Road, The IFC Convention Centre and Repulse Bay. Walked along the beaches of Repulse Bay and got a few pics. Then went back to town just in time for dinner. My friend told me that there is a mosque in Hong Kong that has a canteen or restaurant i should say, within the building itself. Managed to Googled it up and found the address and the name of the mosque. It is called the Masjid Ammar & Osman Ramju Sadick Islamic Centre which is located at 40 Oi Kwan Road, Wan Chai. The restaurant is called Islamic Centre Canteen, and are within the premises of the mosque which was at the 5 level. Many Muslim travelers come to this mosque to eat, pray and go for seminars held by the mosque. Even the Hong Kong residents come to eat here. I heard also that the food was good at a reasonable price. They serve all Halal food ranging from Dim Sum, Noodles, Fried Rice, Meats( no pork) and vegetarian dishes. Food are made to order and are using fresh ingredients.

Halal Menu Card

Located at level 5 in the mosque

Egg Foo Yong of Prawns

Egg and Sausage Soup

Stir Fried Broccoli with Cod Fish slices

Hong Kong Seafood Noodles

Steamed Chicken with Sesame and Ginger Sauce

5 dishes for 2 person.

The dishes we ordered are simply superb. No complaints and no need to wait for half an hour for food to arrive. Service was quick and the aunties there are very warm and welcoming. They do serve you Chinese tea upon order or you can have soft drinks or even hot drinks too. Chicken was moist, tender, juicy and succulent. Noodles was not the spicy version as i am customed to but it works. Broccoli cooked perfectly, fish slices are great. both seasoned to perfection. As for the egg omelette, it was well seasoned, not over cooked, generous portions of shrimps and the soup was delicious. Overall, it was F**kin-tastic! Total bill was HK$275. Money well spent on good food is all that matters. After a hearty meal, we headed back into town to catch the Symphony of Lights at Victoria Harbour. The timing for the event starts at 8pm daily. We took a cab and went to Central Star Ferry Pier to catch the 1950hrs ferry to Kowloon. As soon as we boarded and began to sail. The show was about to begin and i started taking pictures and do some video of the event. Below are the pictures.

Waiting for a cab

Taxi uncle doing his best Tokyo Drift impression

Man...was he fast!

Symphony of Lights about to begin

Ferry heading to Kowloon

Lights and green lasers

The final seconds before we  dock into Kowloon Pier

Walking towards the Space Museum

Statue at the Avenue Of Stars

Great night shot of the skyline

Me with the night skyline in the background

Jordan MTR Station

Train cabin. Same as Singapore's MRT train.

Sky Lounge back in the hotel

Sky Lounge Buffet and bar counter

Orange juice and Kiwi Juice after a long day

After wandering around in Kowloon and visiting the Avenue of Stars, we decided to head back to the hotel to get some rest and get ready for another long day of wandering around Hong Kong. Took the MTR from Jordan station back into Hong Kong Central MTR Station. It was a solid 12 hour marathon of sightseeing, eating and more eating! Once got back into hotel, redeemed our coupons for free drinks at the Sky Lounge before heading back to our room to sleep. Stay tuned for the next post...


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