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Monday 24 September 2012

London free and easy: Free walking tour, high tea and catch a play






 We arrived at the airport at around 9am in the morning. We took the tube to train station and got off at Leichester station and walk to our apartment. It was easy to locate the train station with the sign boards
Our tour start at 12 noon, we had to make do with a sandwich from subway. There were different sandwiches like tandoori chicken and also selling dougnuts. The variety of vegetables differ slightly too, they have corns and carrots.

 free walking tour, tips encourage.
I think is polite to give a bit of tips even though you are on budget. Almost everyone give tips. 
Someone just refuse to give tips, so she did not dare approach the tour guide for information and keep pestering us for information. We had none as it is our first time in London too. In the end, we give her one of our maps.
It is quite good. I visited a lot of places and picked up information. We went for a night tour with the exact same route by ourselves. It was beautiful seeing big ben and the London eye at night. 
Our guide of the day Doron.
We covered a lot of places...

Our tour guide pointing out the horse traffic light for the carriages.


 Buckingham palace





 I think this is the green park. Was not paying attention at times as it was too hot and sunny


The cute little red soldiers with fur hat.... 

The hat is too big for him..








 Trafalgar square


Admiralty Arch

   Big Ben


 St Margaret's Church







Atter the tiring walking tour, it lasted for more than 2 hours. We went for high tea. We made a reservation online before we flew to London. We thought it was a good way to rest after the walk. The high tea was one of the cheapest around. The food was not fantastic but it was good. Good selection of tea and food.
However, we did feel sad that we had to go for high tea when we were tired and sweaty.
Tiger Green Brasserie at Hilton Green Park Hotel.
 cute man.


Chicago, singing in the rain.. Theatre located near our apartment. We watched dreamcoats and petticoats as it has one of the cheapest ticket. It was a bit boring especially for the first half and due to the time difference. 3 of us could not keep our eyes open. It was like 4am singapore time while we were watching the show. It was a good experience.






There was great scenery at the bridge beside our theatre

Walking back to our apartment after the show.


Hmm.. One is a toilet...

One tiring day, we did not even had energy for supper. 



Saturday 22 September 2012

Wimdu.com


We rented an apartment for 5 days from Wimdu.com for our stay in London.
Reasons for renting apartment, much cheaper and bigger and free wifi compared to a hotel and should be quieter and cleaner than hostel. We could make breakfast and save some money. The apartment comes with a fully equipped kitchen, dining table, a  double bed and a sofa bed and also a cupboard and shelves. There is a number which we could called if we encountered any problems.
We were quite satisfied with the apartment as it was spacious for 3 girls and it was quite clean except for the bathroom. It was tiny and the water supply and the temperature of the water was inconsistent. 
The location of the place was fabulous, walking distance to tube and also there were cafes and supermarkets and theatres around it. Chinatown was just round the corner.
Good if you are those who do not need housekeeping.


KLM flight to london via amsterdam








KLM is not very famous in Singapore . some photos on board for people who are interested to try out this airline. I took this airline as it was the cheapest from Singapore to London, with a stopover but not time consuming. The flight service and the food is not bad. 


Tuesday 18 September 2012

some places i want to visit in Hongkong

Chan Yee Jai 陈意斋
電話:(852)2543-8414 傳真:(852)2543-7277香港門市部:中環皇后大道中176B號地下九龍門市部:觀塘創紀之城五期地庫L103C舖
bird nest biscuit,雞仔餅, almond biscuit, egg biscuit, beancurd roll

Tai cheong bakery
http://www.taoheung.com.hk/en/brands/tai_cheong_bakery/index_p_2.html
Famous for their egg tart
Their website looks like they have been bought over by some company.

Shek Mo Fong 石磨坊
G/F88 Hak Po St, Mong Kok 旺角黑布街88號Tel: 2398-94902.45pm-2am
Famous for desserts...

利苑酒家 Lei Garden Restaurant中環利苑 (central)
地址: 香港中環港景街1號國際金融中心商場3008至3011店
電話: (852) 2295 0238
Opening hours : 1130-3pm and 6-1130pm

灣仔利苑
地址: 香港灣仔軒尼詩道338號北海中心1樓
電話: (852) 2892 0333
Opening hours : 1130-3pm and 6-1130pm

銅鑼灣利苑 (causeway bay)
地址: 香港銅鑼灣時代廣場10樓1003店
電話: (852) 2506 3828
Opening hours : 1130-3pm and 6-1130pm

北角利苑
地址: 香港北角城市花園9至10座1樓
電話: (852) 2806 0008
Opening hours : 1130-3pm and 6-1130pm

ABC cafe (cheap western food, go during lunch)
Shop 7, Food Market, 1 Queen Street , Sheung Wan
上環皇后街1號皇后街熟食市場7號舖
It is cheap because it is in a food court.

蓮香樓 Lin Heung Tea House
中環威靈頓街160-164號
Traditional tea house.

shopping in hongkong


Flower Street 花园街 hua yuan (fa yuen in cantonese).

open in the late morning to evening. Don't visit it at night. 
Although you cant do much bargaining here, the price is cheaper than ladies market.
There is a lot of shoes store at the sides and the price is cheap, good for people who are not into brands.
There are also stalls selling food and fruits. More interesting than ladies market which is tourist trap and good for people who need more fruits to stay healthy on a trip



I visited two fresh food market in hongkong. One is nelson street (near langham place hotel)
Another one is at Bowrington Road


The rest of the standard ladies market, temple street. There are shopping malls at most of the MTR stops. Tsim Sha Tsui and CAuseway should the most number of them. A lot of new shopping malls opened at TST over the past few years. You can look at the shop directory before deciding which mall to visit. Sasa and Bonjour are good place for cheap cosmetic and toiletries.
Lung Shing Pharmacy 龍城大藥房. 28 Granville Rd Tsim Sha Tsui b2 exit. they have a larger variety than Sasa and Bonjour but the place is very very crowded with locals and foreigners.
I want to visit jusco hkd10 shop when i am in hongkong, is cheaper than daiso. http://www.jusco.com.hk/eng/10_plaza/index_shop.htm







random in hong kong

view from TST ferry Terminal


Lan Kwai Fong 蘭桂坊
Where the pubs and bars are located.
Central MTR, exit D2
The photos: left, a wine and dine event held in november
The photos: right, a beautiful coach store


Times square... shopping time..
For those looking for cheap shopping, can try jardine's crescent located at causeway bay.






Temple street's fortune telling stalls. There is palmistry, tarots and various method of fortune telling

Mongkok. Ladies street is located somewhere near here.






shu uemura deepsea water in the toilet

Star avenue. Worth taking a walk as you can enjoy hongkong night scenery for free.


This photo was taken a few years ago.
I was curiously about the turf club culture so I went to take a look. 

Hongkong traditional brand of cosmetics. It is available in singapore but I think is more expensive. They have vending machines at various location selling some of the products. There are also actual shops. However, the packaging is not fanastic so the Lu Shui 花露水 will evaporate but it really smell nice
Christmas in Hongkong a few year back. Last year, they have christmas event which was linked to tiffany and co.This year, it starting on 25 novemember.
Capture on the bus of A21 on the way to the airport.