Hong Kong & Macau 2008 Day 2

Woke up to the sound of pattering raindrops, and when I pulled open the curtains, I was extremely disappointed to see that it was raining on what should be a beautiful morning. Remained stuck in our room, with me reading some Japanese magazine found in the living room and Slug playing his PSP, till 11.30am when the rain finally stopped.

Took the MTR to Sha Tin, where we spent the next few hours roaming in the fascinating New Town Plaza. Comprising Phase I, Phase III and Grand Central Plaza (erm, where is Phase II?), it seems even bigger than Vivocity to us. This New Town Plaza houses boutiques of many big brand names like agnes b. and Viviene Westwood, middle-class clothing stores, cosmetics stores (at least Shiseido and Clinique have their own boutiques here), a huge department store, a huge food court, ice-cream parlours like Ben & Jerry's and many others, which is certainly impressive for a suburban shopping mall.

At Causeway Bay MTR station

Sha Tin town

We had brunch at this noodle shop in the shopping mall, which serves Beijing cuisine.

Brunch of pork cutlet la mien and xiao long bao

Xiao long bao with carrot slices as its base!

New Town Plaza Phase I

The shopping mall sure was crowded even on a weekday afternoon. After lunch, we visited Snoopy's World, an outdoor theme playground at Level 3 of Phase I. Other than having large statues of the characters from Snoopy, there was not anything much. Besides, my slippers were soaking up the rain puddles on the ground and the feel was unbearably icky.

Snoopy's World

With Snoopy

Woodstock sitting on a lamp post!

Explored the food court at Level 3 of Phase III, which serves a variety of cuisine from Japanese to Western, from Korean to barbeque delights.

Fast food stalls at the food court

Sushi counter

I am not a fan of fruits, but these bowls of colourful fruit salads looked tempting!

Then we explored the huge Yata department store, which occupied the whole Level 2 and portions of Level 3 of Phase III. I was seized by excitement and nearly asphyxiated when I turned around and saw the unmistakable purple and black interior of Anna Sui boutique. I just had to get something Anna Sui because there isn't any Anna Sui clothing boutique in Singapore, only cosmetics. After looking through the expensive handkerchieves, handbags and umbrellas (that cost a ridiculous S$800), I settled for a wallet.

At the Yata department store

Anna Sui makes me swoon!

My purchase certainly entitled me to a chance to participate in their in-house grand lucky draw, and after filling out the draw form meticulously, I realised T&C No. 1 stated that participants must hold valid Hong Kong identification passes. I let out a frustrated groan, crumpled up the form, but still dropped it in the box anyway.

We continued to walk around, making further purchases of bags, Japanese magazines and Gundam's Romance of the Three Kingdoms figurines (Slug's precioussssss buys). We wished we could continue shopping as we had not covered the whole New Town Plaza, but it was getting late - 2.30pm. We left New Town Plaza hurriedly for the nearby Sha Tin Park.

Exiting New Town Plaza ...

... passing the Sha Tin Public Library ...

... passing the Sha Tin Marriage Registry ...

... and arriving at Sha Tin Park, within 10 minutes!

We rented two bicycles from the bike kiosk there for HKD80. Luckily, the shopkeepers, two young skinny topless bengs, allowed us to store our bulky purchases in their lockers. The Sha Tin cycling track network is the largest in Hong Kong, with cycling tracks extending to Tai Po and even further to Ma On Shan. We intended to just cycle from Sha Tin to Tai Po, on a route which will cover about 20km and offer us scenic views of the Shing Mun River and the Tolo Harbour. There is an option for us to rent the bikes at Sha Tin and drop them off at Tai Po Waterfront Park, but unfortunately, due to heavy rain earlier on, the bike kiosk at Tai Po was closed. What an excuse to escape from work.

We then had no choice but to change our plans and return the bikes at Sha Tin after cycling. The weather was cloudy which made it cooling for cycling, but I was bearing a constant fear that it would rain. Also, I wondered if it was possible to cycle from Sha Tin to Tai Po, and back again, within a time frame of between 3.30pm and 6pm. That would equate to cycling 40km within 150 minutes, and to accomplish that, we would have to cycle at a constant speed of 16km/h, non-stop!

Bike kiosk at Sha Tin Park

Slug initially wanted to rent this to ferry me around!

Off we went!

We would never get lost if we followed these helpful road signs religiously

Lek Yuen Bridge

Interesting-looking flats along the way

Shing Mun River

At a point, we had to cross over to other side of the river to cycle because the track outside Penfold Park was closed and hence the cycling track was diverted. Cycling alongside traffic and crossing junctions was a scary experience. We followed the track along Tai Chung Kiu Road, and soon we were cycling in front of a row of condominiums.

Cycling alongside the row of (seemingly luxurious) condominiums

People kayaking along the Shing Mun River

We came to a bridge which brought us back to the side of the river we were initially cycling on.

Taking a breather on the bridge

The cycling track went further inland, and amidst the trees lining the sides of the track, we passed by a sewage treatment plant and the Marine Police HQ, before emerging beside the river again. After zipping through two underpasses and cycling further, we came to the promenade just outside the University of Hong Kong. The views there were even more breathtaking. We particularly envied the residents of the tall flats on the other side of the river, and you can see why from this picture.

Backed by tall misty mountains and fronted by peaceful waters

So we just rested at the promenade and immersed ourselves in the peaceful silence of the picturesque mountains and Shing Mun River.

It was already 5.10pm and we decided that there just was not enough time to complete the ride to Tai Po, which was about 10km away. We had to return our bikes at 6pm, so no choice but to ride back to Sha Tin. Will be back next time to complete the ride!

Will pick up from here the next time I come!

We sped like mad back to Sha Tin, and luckily managed to make it right on time to return our bikes. We were hot and sweaty, and our legs were trembling like jelly after we got down from the bikes, and we quickly returned to New Town Plaza for some cool respite.

Passing by the condominiums again

Finally, back at Sha Tin Park!

On to New Town Plaza again!

We bought more stuff, and had dinner at Maxim. Wasn't very good.

Slug's roast meats and rice set

My omu rice and some Korean crap set

Maxim at New Town Plaza

We took the KCR to Mongkok, and on the way, the mobile TV on the train kept playing Hong Kong Broadband Network's latest commercial, which never failed to make me laugh out loud!

On the KCR on the way to Mongkok

We visited the night market along Temple Street, which sells mainly junk, and then rested by having dessert at our dearly-missed bird nest shop.

Rustic Temple Street

Scenes of Mongkok

At the bird nest shop

The refreshing bird nest soup with lychees

After lazing at the shop for half an hour sipping on our desserts and watching a variety show hosted by 葛民辉 and 张智霖, we returned to Causeway Bay, where we did more late-night shopping at the shopping malls there. Then it was back to our apartment, and we spent the night watching TV (especially looking out for the funny 岂有此理 commercial).