Day Four HK: Exploring during Typhoon Usagi

On our fourth day, Typhoon Usagi had hit Hong Kong... in the form of rain and wind. We decided since we will probably never be in Hong Kong again, we started our day in the rain! We had visited the Goldfish Market once already but it was late and a lot of the stalls were closed so we wanted to check it out when it was in full swing.

We spent over an hour just walking the streets of the Goldfish Market and checking out all the cool fish. They had so many different kinds of exotic fish there and for not that expensive. While there, Rick and I decided that we want to have a salt-water fish tank in our future house. Some of the tanks were just so pretty. We'll worry about the cost of these fish tanks later.

These fish were really cool! They all had these little spikes for fighting but the fish store had put foam blocks on them so they couldn't fight each other. The result was fish that couldn't swim, they could only float

Next we went to the Bird Market. It was super rainy at this point so there weren't a lot of birds out but we were able to see a couple cool things. Rick really enjoyed the crickets that were in bags for the birds to eat. We were really sad about the rain while we were there because a lot of the birds that would normally be out were inside.

Rick enjoying the birds that were out

Rain rain go away

By this point, we were hungry so we went into our guidebook for a restaurant recommendation. We found one for a great soup restaurant so we headed that way. This time, we weren't disappointed with the food. The prices were reasonable and the soups we ordered were really good. Score one for Hong Kong.

Happy to eat some good food!

Next we went to the Hong Kong Museum of Art. When we first planned our Hong Kong trip, we didn't want to go to any museums but we changed our minds due to the rain. The Museum of Art was really cool. We weren't allowed to take pictures of most things but the things we were allowed to take pictures of, we definitely did.

Rick enjoying the view

Bok bok bok

Ever since inside of a rabbit?

They have a cool section at the museum where you are supposed to be a pioneer. You're asked a series of questions and at the end, you tally your score to find out what kind of personality you have. Rick was "Romantic" and I was "Sensible." ... Who would've thought? Now it is clear who has the brains of this operation :)

Sensible, clearly!

Romantic!

After the museum, it was back onto the Star Ferry because I was very worried about the typhoon. If the typhoon gets to a certain level, Hong Kong shuts down the MTR and we would have no way back to our hostel. So back to Hong Kong Island and we stopped by the Bank of China Tower on the way. They have an observation deck there that is free. But, by the time we got there, it was closed due to the holiday. And the men there told us the typhoon was now at a Level 8! This meant they could now close the public transportation with no notice whatsoever. We booked it back to the MTR and made it back to our hostel safely!

Storm signal 8!!!

Preparing for the typhoon!

Once we had internet again, I checked the status of our flight. It was supposed to leave the next day at 9AM but it had been cancelled. We spent all night on the phone with Expedia (worst customer service ever, I will never book with them again) trying to get some answers. Originally we called the airline and they said because we booked with Expedia, they couldn't help us. The man I first spoke to told me that he didn't think a flight would be available until WEDNESDAY. As this was Sunday night, I was freaking out. Finally, we called Expedia again in the morning and they told me to just go to the airport. Thanks for all the help. 

We were put on hold... a lot..

We made it back to Taiwan but we had to miss our classes. I felt really bad for my co-teachers but there was nothing else we could do.

Happy to finally be on a plane!

And that ended our vacation in Hong Kong! Next vacation: Thailand!

Day Two HK: The Peak, Zoological Gardens, Shopping, Star Ferry, Shopping

Our second day in HK started off bright and early, we headed off to Victoria Peak! Victoria Peak was very busy, probably considering it was a holiday but it was definitely worth the wait. The tram to go up to the peak was so packed, we had to wait in three different lines but finally we were up there.

Line one!

Sitting on the packed tram!

It was a beautiful day and we could see for miles. Rick really enjoyed his time up there while I was getting pretty hot in the sun. But it was still so beautiful to see that much of the city all at once. We walked around, checked out different angles of the view, and we ate lunch. Again, we were really disappointed with the food there. Almost $50CAD later and it was nothing special. There was a really large mall at the top of the Peak so we checked that out too, just to get out of the sun for a bit. Then we took the tram back down and decided to head to the Zoological and Botanical Gardens next.

The view

Shameless selfie

Pretty happy to find WiFi

Obligatory tourist photo

He is very ... special :)

In our guide book, it said the Gardens were pretty close to the Peak so that is why we decided to check it out. It was a long, uphill walk to the Gardens but we made it. It was pretty tiring to get there which is maybe why when we got there, the Gardens weren't that interesting anymore. We had a small break, Rick got some ice cream, we saw some monkeys and we were off again! This time in search of a restaurant.

Very tired Melissa

This picture speaks for itself

Searching for our restaurant!

A major reason we bought the guide book was because we use our one for Taiwan, so much! If we are in an area, we trust the book to give us a recommendation for a restaurant. So our guidebook said there was a rooftop restaurant near by that had great Mexican food so we headed that way. It was hard to find, but we found it! We were so excited.... but it was closed. Stupid Moon Festival. Onward to the next restaurant! A German restaurant, yay we found it! Closed. Stupid Moon Festival. Choice number three; open!!!!! Finally! By this point, we were starving. And if you know me, you know I can get pretty hangry. (hungry + angry = hangry) It was worth the wait and all the walking we had to do because I think it was one of the only meals we had in Hong Kong that we were pleased with.

Ecstatic to be eating!

Our next plan was to catch the Star Ferry while it was still during the day and then do a little window shopping. It was a really nice view during the day but it really is amazing at night. We ended up seeing a rooftop parking garage to a mall that Rick thought would be a great view of the city. I was worried about going up there without having a car to go to but Rick told me not to worry that no one would know we were up there. So we head up, thinking that we are the only ones to have thought of this. Nope. There were, at least, a hundred people up there doing exactly what we were doing. Rick got really excited while we were up there because there were some sort of fighter jets there? I'm not sure... I'll add a picture.

Fighter jets.. maybe?

We decided to do a little window shopping next. We wanted to check out the prices of cellphones to see if they were less or more, relatively the same and on we went. We headed over to the Chungking Mansions. If you've ever booked a hostel in HK, you would know that 75% of the hostels available are in these "mansions." I think mansions is a very loose term. It is a very big building, with four different blocks, all filled with hostels and Indian restaurants. Along with the ground floor being filled with little stalls selling absolutely everything. We were originally going to book our hostel here but I heard a lot online about the bad security and overall sketchiness of the place and we decided to pay a little more to book elsewhere. And I am glad we did.

Walking inside is comparable walking against a huge gust of wind. But that wind takes a different form, a form of 30 Indian men walking towards you, beside you, in front of you, telling you that THEIR Indian restaurant is the best one and that you should go there. We did actually end up going to one of them because the guidebook recommended it (it was Rick's favorite meal during our time in HK). But it was exhausting going in and out of that place. I couldn't imagine doing that every time I wanted to leave my hostel.

Really excited to eat some good food!

Next it was a night time trip on the Star Ferry and back to our hostel for a good night's sleep.

Day One in Hong Kong: Temple Street Night Market, and Ladies Market

Our flight left Taiwan at 12:30 so we didn't arrive in Hong Kong until the afternoon. By the time we got to our hostel and were settled in, it was around 5 o'clock so we decided to go to Temple Street Night Market. We love all the night markets we go to in Taiwan and figured this one would be great as well. Plus, I read in our guidebook that it had a lot of touristy items which I wanted to check out for people back home.

Taoyuan Airport

Sleeping on the plane

We made it to our hostel!

So we took the MTR and started our night. The Temple Street Night Market was a really cool experience. A lot different from the night markets we visit in Taiwan. In Taiwan, night markets have a lot of food stalls and they sell a lot of clothing as well. In Hong Kong, this night market sold a lot of clothing, accessories, and tourist items but there was not one single food stall. Which we were actually kind of disappointed about, we were looking forward to snacking but instead we just shopped a lot. We were able to buy a lot of souvenirs for people back home which was nice because souvenirs are actually hard to find in Taiwan. I was recently talking to a co-teacher and she told me to wait until I go to the airport in Taoyuan as the gift shop there apparently has the best souvenirs.

Temple Street Night Market

After the Temple Street market, we were super hungry as we had expected to eat there. So we took out our trusty guidebook and picked a restaurant to go to near where we were. We arrived and when we walked in, it looked like we had crashed someone's wedding. The decor was ... interesting. Which is something that would happen at a few of the places we ate while in Hong Kong. Overall, we were disappointed by the food. Our book really recommended this place and it was expensive, and the food was just.. alright. Disappointment in food would become a common theme with our time in Hong Kong.

Super .. interesting .. decor

Next we headed to the Ladies' Market. They had some cool clothes but it was the same kind of stuff they sell in Taiwan for double the price so I didn't buy anything. It was then time to head back to the hostel. Since we were on a different island, we decided to take the Star Ferry back to the Hong Kong Island that we were staying at.

Ladies' Market

The Star Ferry proved to be one of the highlights of our time. It was super cheap to take (works out to be .33 cents CAD for one way), and the views were amazing. We took it multiple times throughout our trip and each time, it was so exciting.

Star Ferry

Day two in Hong Kong was planned to be a big one so we got plenty of rest for the rest of our time. But first we ended our night with some amazing guava shaved ice :)