Hong Kong Day 2

A brought me to the Flower Market near the hotel on the first day. I love it very much! Rows and rows of roses welcome you everywhere... with a bunch of iris here, a cluster of lilies there, and also carnations, chrysanthemums of all hues and scents! I am in heaven! So I went to have a look at the flowers again before I embarked on the adventures for the day - visiting museums!

My first stop was the Hong Kong Museum of History. On the first floor, visitors are invited to sit and watch short documentary clips. For "Life in Frame", the series include: fashion, food and public transport. There is also a section on government documentaries featuring festivals of HK and housing in HK. I had fun at the natural environment exhibition area. The other permanent exhibition galleries include: prehistoric HK, the dynasties from Han to Qing, folk culture in HK, opium war and the cession of HK, birth and the early growth of the city, Japanese Occupation, modern metropolis and the return to China. I didn't suffer from claustrophobia as the galleries were spacious and many areas were brightly lit. It was a wonderful experience, not spooky at all.

I particularly enjoyed the exhibits on family life in the 60s & 70s, postwar education in HK, and below is one of my favourite exhibit. SO CUTE!

With the help of the Security Officer at the History Museum, I took a bus to my next museum - Hong Kong Museum of Art. But before that, I need to get some lunch as it was close to 1.30pm, way past my regular lunch time! I must say that the Museum Cafe served the best pork chops I've ever tasted! And you get a great view of the Victoria Harbour! After a big meal of pork chops, steamed veges and small portion of pasta in cream sauce, washed down with a perfect cup of coffee, I'm ready to explore the Art Museum.

There is a large collection of ceramics and a selection of paintings from the Xubaizhai Collection at the permanent exhibition galleries. Most of the areas were closed so the last place I went to was the feature exhibition on Wu Guanzhong's donated paintings. A lot of efforts have been made to enhance the visitors' experience... just look at the stain glass which replicates his painting of the HK skyline and 3 sides of walls replicating his other painting.

I ended the day with delicious Korean BBQ dinner with K. It was great to see her again! Also had a sip of Korean ginseng wine. I like the taste. Very nice!

Hong Kong Day 1

This is my second visit to Hong Kong since 2006. The only difference is that this time, I'm travelling alone but I wasn't alone the whole time. I managed to catch up with wonderful friends!


After more than a year of not having any holidays, I could finally feel relaxed when the plane took off and when I opened a packet of salted peanuts. No holiday is complete without that!


It was around evening time when I arrived. After checking in, I went for dinner with A at Wang Jia Sha, one of Shanghai's famous restaurant chains. Here's a picture of the entree dishes - my favourite was the one on the left! Cold, smooth white broad noodles (liang fen?), with fresh cucumber and ham slivers, and fragrant peanut sauce. YUM! We also had Shanghainese fried noodles, Chinese cabbage in cream sauce (dunno why it tasted a bit bitter), dessert... Oh, what a spread!

Malacca Day Trip II

After a simple and delicious lunch, we proceeded to explore nearby areas: Cheng Hoon Teng Temple (founded in the mid-1600s and restored in 2005), Kampung Kling Mosque, Sri Poyyatha Vinayagar Temple (oldest Hindu temple in Malacca), just to name a few.

Don't you think the Malacca River looks somewhat familiar to Singapore River??

We were given an hour to shop before heading home. I think my friend and I were the most efficient... we bought Aik Cheong coffee, freshly baked Heong Peang (they are really yummy!!), beaded shoes, gula melaka... and after a brief stop for ice-kachang (for my friend) and 100-plus (for me!), we managed to return to the assembly point on time with 2 big bags!

We'll definitely return to visit Malacca again. Apart for buying more Heong Peang, and the fragrant coffee, there are still places that we haven't explored yet.

Malacca Day Trip

This is my first trip to Malacca. We visited 54-56 Jalan Tan Cheng Lock, which was the main purpose why we were there. It used to be a Maternity Home but is now a Centre for the study of historical architecture and urban environments of Asia. The wooden door and the "window" below have very interesting gadgets.

To the untrained eyes, they were just bricks. However, some of the bricks (can't remember clearly now but I think it was those bricks on the left hand side) were produced during the VOC era around the 17th century. Woah...

My favourite places in the house: the spiral staircase and the stained glass windows!