Hong Kong [5/7 - 8/7]

We arrived at Hong Kong on the evening of 5th July (Monday) via MTR from Shenzhen. Hong Kong is highly accessible by MTR, so we can easily getting around. Even during the peak hours, there is no problem getting on board the MTR (unlike Singapore's MRT).

We checked into The CityView which is at Yau Ma Tei. It is a 3mins walk from the station.



The room is spacious but there is a S$10 charge per day for internet use over 4 hours. Internet is more important than TV to me; since I will be right in front of the computer writing reports, chatting or facebooking.



During the day, we go to our office at Chung Nam building which is on Hong Kong island, right in the heart of the financial district. Here is the view from the 21st floor towards Victoria Peak.



Here I am!



And the view towards Victoria Harbor.



During one of the lunch session, our local colleagues gave us a Dim Sum treat. wow!!! we have finally sampled Dim Sum in Hong Kong! When we came 2.5 years ago, we could not find any Dim Sum places. Dim Sum are actually hidden in restaurants.



We decided to take a walk around the city in the evening after work one day. There are millions of workers transiting to Hong Kong island each day and the MTR is able to handle the passenger load easily. The intervals between trains is 1min. Talk about efficient urban planning, thumbs up to Hong Kong.



Since our hotel is around Kowloon area, we always walk towards Mongkok from Yau Ma Tei. Notice a large poster below with many people in it, it is actually the star-tutor posters. Students studying under them will have no problem passing universities entrance exams. They seems more like models to me.



Walking through the many narrow streets of Hong Kong with high rise residential flats on both sides - Typical Hong Kong style.



During the final evening, we decided to check out the night laser performance from victoria harbor. It starts at 8pm. The Hong Kong cityline is always impressive each time we look at it. Definitely more impressive than Singapore's. No wonder expats still prefer Hong Kong to Singapore.



During the final day morning, we decided to visit the old wanton mee shop at Mongkok. It is directly opposite the Dragon Hostel in Mongkok. I ordered 2 bowls of wanton noodle and it still cost HK$10 (S$2).



Next we go on to Wong Tai Sin, a large famous temple to the north.



Here is the photo of the main hall.



Master Cheng told me there is this famous street with lots of fortune teller. There are more than 100 of them! Initially I was planning to consult a fortune teller in Hong Kong. After seeing the large number of them, I decide to skip~



One of our favorite restaurants to hang out is Cafe De Coral. It has a great variety of set menu and the portions are suitable for me. Feels similar to Zhen Gongfu in China.

Shenzhen Cultural Villages [04/07]

Today we will be visiting the China Folk Culture Villages (中国民俗文化村) and Splendid China (锦绣中华) in Shenzhen. The nearest station to both the villages is Hua Qiao Cheng (华侨城站) station. The entrance to both the sights are together.

There is actually not much things to do in Shenzhen except to visit the 4 theme parks. The other two are an amusement park and mini-wonders from around the world.



Coincidentally, they are having a special theme this month and it started from yesterday. It is the Water Festival.



Entrance to the village cost RMB120. We arrived at 9.30am in the morning. As seen from the map below, the section to the left-half belongs to the Splendid China sights while the right-half is the Cultural Village. We spent most of the time at the Cultural Village.



Past the entrance and down a flight of stairs is a Chinese dragon with a background that is beautifully decorated with umbrellas.



We arrived at a traditional Chinese house where the perimeter has many large opera masks.



Here I am with one of the mask looking at me.



A traditional chinese courtyard where it is surrounded by 4 walls （四合院）.



A mosque but it is not opened for public visit at the moment.



We arrived at the Uygur's Village and they presented a 15mins performance for us.



Next is the Tibetan Lama temple.



With its beautiful prayer flags fluttering in the wind.



Golden prayer wheels.



The Buddhas of the past, present and the future.



Next we visited a traditional Tibetan house.



They showcased a 20mins long performance. Below in the picture they began by doing the full body prostration and by putting their palms together and praying for compassion and peace for all. Whenever I come into contact with Tibetan culture and religion, I find there is a sense of closeness with it. This kind of feeling just came up within me, maybe I have some close affinity with Tibetans in the past...



We crossed a bridge and find what used to be a river that has stopped flowing.



The next performance is by the Thai tribe.



We have the Buddha of the southern tradition.



And many more below.



There is also a mini-showcase of the beautiful waters of Thailand.



A long golden dragon boat.



The below picture shows the Wind and Rain Bridge. There are many people taking an afternoon nap in the bridge. I felt tempted to join them but have to move out to check out the other sights.



Next is a performance by the Wa tribe, the speaker is extremely humorous. He call his main actor 'chocolate' while his actress '黑雪公主'. There were also audience participation.



We have a representation of Guan Yin below.



Next is a performance by the Miao tribe. exotic~



With a large audience supporting.



Next are performance by Mosuo Tribe. I find their tradition to be quite interesting. It is said that the people don't get married. The children will follow the mothers. During the day, the husbands and wives will return back to their respective family to work. At night, the husbands will visit their spouse houses. Thus the men will always take care of someone else children during the day.



We adjourned to the Horseback Battle Field stadium at 2pm.



The ground turn into a battle field.



There were some pretty cool moves.





All assembled in one straight line.



After the performance, it is lunch time.



We have noodles.



And BBQ food.



A photo of us below having our meals.



Performance in conjunction with the Water Festival.



The stone forest.



Flying fox down across the lake.



Posing with performers from the Yi Village. We also joined in the dance in this performance.



Finally performances by the Gaoshan Village.



Mini-Terracottas.



The Imperial palace, with condos in the background.



The Great Wall of China.



The Potala palace.



I am not really fond of Splendid China (锦绣中华) actually. Cos everything look so small. It's like Godzilla walking around buildings. Think by looking at the real sights will we be impressed by the grandiose and magnificent of the wonders of China.

We left at 6pm and got back to our hotel for a 30mins rest before going out for dinner again.