Tuesday, June 5, 2007
For our last day's sightseeing we hopped on the ferry to Lamma Island to the south of Hong Kong Island. As always our timing is impeccable. When we got to the ferry pier no. 4 the ferry was already there and the passengers were already entering the vessel. We thought we missed it but the lady who was near the turnstiles let us in (it's very convenient if you have the Octopus Card).
The ferry ride to half an hour. We went to the South side pier dock (forgot the name) where we got off, walked through the small village mostly inhabited by expats and a few locals (lots of Filipina ammahs or maids). From the village we walked past the small restaurants and shops to the small Tin Hau temple. Then we followed the signs for the North side pier dock (on the other side of the island). It was hot and humid that we would always stop to rest and drink some water. On one corner of the narrow lane we saw this small open air place covered with tarp, tables and chairs set up. The old man was serving the 4 Chinese tourists this yummy looking dessert - much like the Filipino taho (soft bean curd with syrup and sago). Yes, it was taho, called tofu fa. We ordered one bowl for each of us and to my surprise the tofu fa was cold and refreshing (our taho is warm yet still delicious). It really hit the spot; helped cool us in such a muggy weather and gave us energy to walk to the other side of the island.
It took us about an hour to get to the North side. Stopping at the nearby beach, we sat on one of the benches shaded by trees enjoying the refreshing breeze coming from the ocean. Reminds us of Kanaha Beach park. The walk after that was slightly steep but with the paved walkway it was an easy hike. When we reached the peak of the hike we lingered a bit to enjoy the cool air underneath the pagoda.
The North side of Lamma island is much smaller than the South. The homes here are slightly more modern and has more space for a garden. Lots of sampans are docked on this side and seafood restaurants are lined up along the narrow street. We didn't try eating here because it was a tad expensive and Peter wanted to avoid eating seafood for now.
On our hike down to the North side I saw the ferry arrive. Thought we'd miss it because we didn't know what time the next ferry would be. We didn't rush walking down but walked at a regular pace. As we neared the ferry station we learned that it was scheduled to leave within 20 minutes. What an amazing timing, again! The next one to arrive would have been an hour from then (we'd probably end up eating at one of the seafood restaurants there to wait).
So we got back to Hong Kong Island in about 4o minutes (30 min. ride), walked through the IFC mall to look for a place to have lunch. Well, it was around 12:30 p.m. when we got there so the restaurants, especially the Can-teen (kind of food court) was very busy and packed with office workers. We decided to go back to Times Square to eat at the food court there but we asked this Filipina behind us on the escalator where the nearest food court was, she told us to go to Pacific Place, just four stops by tram from where we were. We heeded her advice and went there.
The Pacific Place food court is not really a food court, it's on the ground floor of the mall and the restaurants (moderate to expensive) are sprinkled around the area. This was not what we wanted. So we walked back to the nearest MTR which was Admiralty and ended up finding a Can-teen right in the middle of the Admiralty building. We had our lunch there - honey BBQ pork with roast duck (and poached chicken) on rice, much cheaper and filling.
We returned to Kowloon via Jordan station to check out the Hung Hom station to the east. On our return trip from Shanghai at the end of June we will be taking the train to Guangzhou. We wanted to know where this station was and if we could get our tickets now. When we got to the station we asked the ticket person if we could get tickets to Guangzhou there. He scolded us with his raise voice telling us that that was not the place to get tickets but we should go upstairs. Now that was a surprise. The last time someone did that to us was when we were in Paris at a train station too AND she was also Chinese. Anyway, we realized that he probably got the same inquiry from tourist because there are no signs letting us tourists know where to get the Guangzhou tickets.
Above the station was the main Hung Hom station and the place to get Guangzhou tickets is the China Travel Service (the same place you can get China visas). The young person, who was the third person to help us, was nice enough to tell us to just buy our tickets when we arrive that day to make sure we get on the train otherwise if we missed it there would be no refund. Nice guy.
To return back to Tsim Sha Tsui we took the KCR train (different from the MTR) which was more convenient than having to walk outdoors.
What we learned today:
For our last day's sightseeing we hopped on the ferry to Lamma Island to the south of Hong Kong Island. As always our timing is impeccable. When we got to the ferry pier no. 4 the ferry was already there and the passengers were already entering the vessel. We thought we missed it but the lady who was near the turnstiles let us in (it's very convenient if you have the Octopus Card).
The ferry ride to half an hour. We went to the South side pier dock (forgot the name) where we got off, walked through the small village mostly inhabited by expats and a few locals (lots of Filipina ammahs or maids). From the village we walked past the small restaurants and shops to the small Tin Hau temple. Then we followed the signs for the North side pier dock (on the other side of the island). It was hot and humid that we would always stop to rest and drink some water. On one corner of the narrow lane we saw this small open air place covered with tarp, tables and chairs set up. The old man was serving the 4 Chinese tourists this yummy looking dessert - much like the Filipino taho (soft bean curd with syrup and sago). Yes, it was taho, called tofu fa. We ordered one bowl for each of us and to my surprise the tofu fa was cold and refreshing (our taho is warm yet still delicious). It really hit the spot; helped cool us in such a muggy weather and gave us energy to walk to the other side of the island.
It took us about an hour to get to the North side. Stopping at the nearby beach, we sat on one of the benches shaded by trees enjoying the refreshing breeze coming from the ocean. Reminds us of Kanaha Beach park. The walk after that was slightly steep but with the paved walkway it was an easy hike. When we reached the peak of the hike we lingered a bit to enjoy the cool air underneath the pagoda.
The North side of Lamma island is much smaller than the South. The homes here are slightly more modern and has more space for a garden. Lots of sampans are docked on this side and seafood restaurants are lined up along the narrow street. We didn't try eating here because it was a tad expensive and Peter wanted to avoid eating seafood for now.
On our hike down to the North side I saw the ferry arrive. Thought we'd miss it because we didn't know what time the next ferry would be. We didn't rush walking down but walked at a regular pace. As we neared the ferry station we learned that it was scheduled to leave within 20 minutes. What an amazing timing, again! The next one to arrive would have been an hour from then (we'd probably end up eating at one of the seafood restaurants there to wait).
So we got back to Hong Kong Island in about 4o minutes (30 min. ride), walked through the IFC mall to look for a place to have lunch. Well, it was around 12:30 p.m. when we got there so the restaurants, especially the Can-teen (kind of food court) was very busy and packed with office workers. We decided to go back to Times Square to eat at the food court there but we asked this Filipina behind us on the escalator where the nearest food court was, she told us to go to Pacific Place, just four stops by tram from where we were. We heeded her advice and went there.
The Pacific Place food court is not really a food court, it's on the ground floor of the mall and the restaurants (moderate to expensive) are sprinkled around the area. This was not what we wanted. So we walked back to the nearest MTR which was Admiralty and ended up finding a Can-teen right in the middle of the Admiralty building. We had our lunch there - honey BBQ pork with roast duck (and poached chicken) on rice, much cheaper and filling.
We returned to Kowloon via Jordan station to check out the Hung Hom station to the east. On our return trip from Shanghai at the end of June we will be taking the train to Guangzhou. We wanted to know where this station was and if we could get our tickets now. When we got to the station we asked the ticket person if we could get tickets to Guangzhou there. He scolded us with his raise voice telling us that that was not the place to get tickets but we should go upstairs. Now that was a surprise. The last time someone did that to us was when we were in Paris at a train station too AND she was also Chinese. Anyway, we realized that he probably got the same inquiry from tourist because there are no signs letting us tourists know where to get the Guangzhou tickets.
Above the station was the main Hung Hom station and the place to get Guangzhou tickets is the China Travel Service (the same place you can get China visas). The young person, who was the third person to help us, was nice enough to tell us to just buy our tickets when we arrive that day to make sure we get on the train otherwise if we missed it there would be no refund. Nice guy.
To return back to Tsim Sha Tsui we took the KCR train (different from the MTR) which was more convenient than having to walk outdoors.
What we learned today:
- To refill Octopus cards - must be in HK$50 increments, not less. If you do not need that much, you just simply get a single ticket for every ride you take.
- To go to Hung Hom station, transfer from MTR Tsim Sha Tsui to KCR east to Hung Hom (only one stop).
- If you plan to visit Lamma Island, make sure to 1)arrive early in the day, 2)check the return ferry schedule so you won't need to rush - this is if you place to go to the other side of the island, either way, 3) bring water, sun block, swimming attire, hat, etc., 4)spend time meandering and lingering in some places, 5)try the tofu fa, you won't miss it, it's simply delicious and refreshing!
Tomorrow we leave for Shanghai. So my next post will be from there. Pray for our safe trip. Thanks.
posted by Mimi | 12:53 AM
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