HK: Land of Dimsum and Curry Fishballs (Part 2: Day 1)

The very beautiful view of Hongkong City Lights from Victoria Harbour.

It was 8pm when we arrived at Hongkong International Airport. I think nighttime is way better than the day as we got to see the City lights - and Hongkong is really captivating at night.

SECURITY MADE ME WOW!

When we got off the plane, a series of security guards welcomed us. The first guard was holding a huge K9 dog sniffing every passenger who got off the plane. I was terrified at first as the guard kept saying "go on, go on, just walk" (in a Cantonese accent). The number of guards at the airport is a good impression of how strict airport security is. How I wish Philippine airport is the same (*sigh).

There was this one passenger with us who was stopped by one of the guards due to wearing suspicious clothes. The passenger was wearing a hoodie jacket, loose pants, and a backpack.  He was interrogated for a minute or so before he was able to move on.

As we were finding our way inside the airport.

AIRPORT IS CLEAN

After passing through a number of guards, we followed the crowd going to the immigration area. Signs translated in English were everywhere which is very useful for foreigners. A tourist will never get lost in their airport.

At the immigration, we lined up with a bunch of Japanese and Chinese in suits. They were so neat and flawless people it made me less of a person, nah kidding! But they don't really smile. They were staring at us the whole time, maybe because we were not wearing winter clothes in such very cold Hongkong weather.

Approving our passport was really fast we headed to their airport express train after.

Saree. Got no nice picture of the airport's inside. But the ramp is just ohh well...

The airport was less crowded and sooo white. Maybe they weren't just too many passengers or they know how to handle airport traffic so well. 

THEIR TRAIN IS AWESOME!

We lost some of our co-passengers so it was sariling sikap looking for the train. It was not really hard though as the signage was everywhere.

We stopped somewhere inside the airport to get an Octopus Card - a very essential card for commuting and buying stuff around Hongkong. It is like the Beep Card that we have in the Philippines only that it is solely for train fare. Octopus Card costs 150HKD, you'll get your 50HKD back when you surrender your card after your stay. But we kept ours as a remembrance. 

Heading to the Airport Express Train.

Yep, the glass doors are for the trains. 

The train just stopped and ready to take on passengers.

The wait is not too long for an airport train. And you'll know when the train is coming as there is an automated voice that notifies passengers. And that voice is translated into many languages like Japanese, Cantonese, Korean, Chinese, and English. 

When a train stops, people don't really rush to go inside. I think it is all about discipline. Proper line is followed. They wait for people inside to get off before going in. 

Because airport trains should be comfyyy! XD

As I sooo love trains, we used the train all throughout our stay. And yep, they have a train from the airport going to central Hongkong.

In our case, we had to transfer twice going to Tsim Sha Tsui where Cosmic Guesthouse is located. So from the Airport Express Line, we got off Tsung Chung Station and ride the MTR Tsung Chung Line (Green), then transferred to MTR Tsuen Wan Line (red) in Lai King Station. 

Things to note when riding the Train (MTR):

1) Get the Octopus Card

2) Download the MTR app which is a good guide for their train stations. It also provides travel time from one station to another which is good for tourists with a hectic schedule.

3) Train opens at 5:00am and closes at 1:00am

COSMIC GUESTHOUSE

We arrived in the place at 9:00pm. We booked it two weeks before by paying half of the cost. We settled our payment when we arrived and got the keys with a deposit of 150HKD which you can get back upon check out. 

If Disneyland and Ngongping 360 are included in your itinerary you can get a discounted ticket at the guesthouse. We asked the guesthouse for ticket reservations during our online booking.

TEMPLE MARKET

Just right after we put our bags in, we immediately started our night tour. I have read some articles of markets good for souvenir buying that was not far off Tsim Sha Tsui. Our first market was Temple Market. 

The market is open from 5:00pm to 12:00midnight.

We got back at the guesthouse around 11:30pm.

Direction:  From Tsim Sha Tsui Station get off Jordan Station, then walk three blocks.

You are on the right block when you see this...

Click here for my Hongkong Prep post.