To begin with, like any other place Hong Kong gave some cultural shocks, some not so pleasant memories and some usual stuff. The city lifestyle and transport was similar to Singapore. So didn't feel like a stranger in a strange land. Yet culturally they are so different. Compared to Singapore I found that the people are less friendly. In spite of being an English colony most of the people there doesn't understand English and they are least bothered to even hear what you speak. Though both are coastal cities, Hong Kong climate is lot better than Singapore climate. Save for the climate, on any given day I would choose SG over HK. I feel lot better in SG.
The first shock came when we landed in the airport. We actually took a train to just reach the immigration coupled with, may be, a KM of walking. It was that HUGE. Then we reached our hotel room to experience the real commercialization. Our room was just as big as a large size bathroom. And they managed to fit in a double cot and a single cot in that. And this is S$75!!! Day light robbery I say. I was reminded the line in Munnabhai MBBS “Bhai, yeh kamra to shuru hote hi khatam ho gaya “. The positive side is it was immaculate and well maintained.
Disney was a total let down. Too much of kid stuff. But the Space Mountain was really amazing. Felt the adrenaline rush through my body and my body parts stopped taking any commands from the brain. Felt like I was zooming past the universe. In the evening headed to the Avenue of stars where the symphony of lights didn't stand up to my expectations. But the sight of the skyline and the coast makes you go wow.
Next day was the Lantau island. The view from the cable car was just spectacular. And the Buddha Temple was so pleasant and scenic. In the evening we headed to the Madame Tussauds. People say it’s not as big as the other Tussauds but it has quite a number of statues including SRK. Had so much fun imitating the wax figures.
The food was a big let down. May be we didn't know the right places or for some other reason we couldn't really hog on the local delicacies. At one point we were even contemplating to have our breakfast at McD. McD yuk. Luckily found one café which got a good local menu.
Finally headed to Macau from HK. If HK was horrible Macau was pathetic. No one understands English there and we were forced to be on our own. Had a not-so-great sky walk on the Macau tower. I know that Macau is the Las Vegas of East. But never knew that it has so many casinos. Every street has a casino and it’s as if people for the casinos and not casinos for the people. My first entry to the casinos and felt like a square peg in a round hole and guess what yours truly hit the bull’s eye. Won a paltry sum of HK$26 :P. Casinos can be really boring when you don’t know how to play. I was bored.
Overall I am still in search of any place that can beat Thailand. Man talk about Thailand. The place is truly blessed by nature. And the people there make it livelier. HK is light years away from being a Thailand. Next travelogue will have to wait for sometime I guess.
