Tuesday, August 21, 2007

Hong Kong Day 1: The Tropical Cyclone No.8

10 Aug 2007, Friday

We arrived into Hong Kong at approx 6:30am. It was already raining. I guess it was the first flight of the day, so the baggage, custom and imigration process were pretty smooth and quick. We were then transferred by the pre-arrange coach to our hotel, Intercontinental Grand Stanford in Tsim Sha Tsui. Check-in was hassle free with those friendly staff.


Things looked pretty good so far apart from the rain. "Never mind, tomorrow will be a better day", we thought (We knew it's gonna rain all week but was still hopeful). We decided to take it easy by just exploring Kowloon and shopping around. We popped by ไป™ๆžœๅœ’ - "Joyful Peach" for a refill....




We also met up with Kevin and his wife in Mongkok, who happened to visit Hong Kong at the time too. They were on the run, so we agreed to have a proper catch up supper at night. As they departed, we continued shopping in Grand Century Place and also made a detour to Bird Street and Garden Road. Not much to see as it was raining like cats and dogs. I was almost soaked wet so we went back to Grand Century Place. As we walked back into the mall, I noticed many shops have closed and the mall was crammed with people. Only later on, we learned that the Hong Kong Observatory had issued Tropical Cyclone No. 8 warning signal. Offices, shops were closed or to be closed and everyone was rushing back home. Hell! They hadn't had this No.8 Cyclone for 3 years, and it hit on my first day in Hong Kong! I just couldn't help I was that lucky!!

Coming from a windy city, gale of 60-70 km/hr is a norm for us and we had been through the gale of 160 km/hr once that had blown cars over on the motorway. We were quite curious of what this Cyclone No.8 is capable of (I had only seen it in the Hong Kong series). However, seeing the chaos in the city panicked me. There were long queues at the bustop, people were pushing trying to crammed into the bus/MTR. People were crying and infuriated. It was quite a situation! We managed to bit the traffic, taking MTR back to Tsim Sha Tsui and bought some bread/buns on the way for our dinner. All cakes, buns and bread were almost gone by then! They've only got like two trays of buns left!

The gale was already gusting at 70-80 km/hr while we were walking back to the hotel. The rest of the night, we just stayed in the hotel watching news and eating buns. It seems to me that the Cyclone No.8's gale is not as strong as 160 km/hr but I must say it is far more hazardous than what we had in Wellington due to the geographical and the compactness of the city.


So, there gone my 1st day in Hong Kong....didn't really do much unfortunately.


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16 comments:

mistipurple said...

lucky you are safe ya? that is the most important thing. and overall it was such an enjoyable trip fortunately! :)

eastcoastlife said...

Oh you so lucky to meet the cyclone! kekeke.... but at least you came back in one piece and with lots of shopping! :)

Anonymous said...

That bed looks comfortable, is that fried egg plant?

Anonymous said...

hahahaha .. but .. but it was a good experience right? everyone rushing to go back .. scared to be left behind :)

Dad went to buy dinner at about 8 smthing at a shopping centre.... the place sooo clear . hahaha .. guessed everyone is hiding at home at the moment :)

eve said...

The last time I went , I was not so "lucky"..no nombor 8...hehe..but that was like..ages ago liao..Too bad the rain , or else you would have enjoyed the trip better...

Winn said...

woooooo.....i see food!
doreen i come back n read this again...my internet sot sot

Anonymous said...

eh the Yuan Yang is nice hor~~.
by the way, where did u had the smelly beancurd ah? we could not find it when we went there last year.

Belinda + Zee said...

food!!! how come the brinjal skin has two colors? at least u get to experience it but most importantly, you guys are safe and sound.

Jennifer Yap said...

In Japan they call it Tyhoon no 8. We were quite worry that it will come to Japan again and have been wathing the news very closely. Atleast u didnt experience what we are experiencing right now, hot and humid weather, everyday nearly 40 degree man! Its killing us.... Jennifer

Doreen said...

mistipurple:
Yeah, safe and sound, and that's the most important! (^_^)

eastcoastlife:
Ya lor, should have bought lotto or 4D. hahaha

iva:
It is called "Taiwanese Soya Sauce Egg Plant" I think it is steamed. (^_^)

misha:
Ya, it is definitely a memorable experience of Hong Kong. Now that I think of it, I sort of glad that I experience this rare occasion, and safe and sound.

eve:
Ya lor, the weather had made all outdoor activities rather difficult. But a good excuse for more shopping! Hehehe

winn:
yes, food and more food to come! Come back soon else food kenal taken. Hahaha. See u soon. (^_^)

irenecheong:
Yep, Yuan Yang damn nice! All their milk tea very nice! The smelly tofu ar...in Mongkok, a street called "Xi Yang Cai street" (watercrest). I will post up photos soon. (^_^)

liwan:
Ya lor, I also dunno why got two colours. I just ate. Hehehe

Jennifer:
Jennifer! Nice to see you! 40 degree is very hot, hot enough to melt me! You and Shen take good care ok? *hugs*

Chen said...

u manage to meet up with the infamous No.8 Cyclone.. o.O Luckily both of u are safe..

slurp at ying yong :D

Lee said...

Hi Doreen, love your pics of HK, and the cakes look so delicious. By the way, how much that coffee cost?
You look great in that coffee pic.
Glad you not bothered by that typhoon too much.
Thanks for your comments in my new blog posting.
Re the story, I have 2 previous experiences that you might like to take a peep at, posted in 1/ April, 'You are not my son'. 2/ June, 'Faded letter from the past'.(This was from a matured lady's letter that found me here after 30 years, with no address.) Keep well, Doreen, UL.

Doreen said...

chen:
Nice hor the ying yong. Nah, go ahead slurp once more....we share share...hehehe

u.lee:
Hello Uncle Lee! That coffee-tea cost HK$10. Less than NZ$2, damn cheap! Thanks for the note, I will certainly read through those posts of yours (^_^)

Winn said...

i m back for the food again...

and cyclone no.8. err..sounds like a music piece to me. u know .. err..mozart D minor something liddat..hehehe

eh i jealous ..u got 1st class!!:!!!:D

Ah Boy said...

ah boy also wanna slurp ying yong

Doreen said...

winn:
Welcome back! (^_^) Haha, now that you mentioned, it does sound like those classical pieces. Hehehe

ah boy:
Ah boy come! Ah boy kuai *pat on ah boy*. you want to meet the pretty Vell?