Day 3 in Hongkong

Survived my third night at Ah Shan hostel. Took the MTR to Tsim Sha Tsui for the Avenue of Stars walk. For the uninitiated, the Avenue of Stars walk is a salute to outstanding film makers / actors / actresses for their contribution and commitment to Hongkong's film industry. (pictures to fill this space after I return to Singapore).

Moved on to the pier to take the star ferry to Central for dim sum at Maxim. To get to Maxim, follow the directions pointing towards the City Hall. Over at the building where Maxim is, be careful not to mistake Maxim cafe for Maxim restaurant. Maxim is on the second level inside a huge ballroom with grand candeliers.

Maxim dim sum is old school, with tea ladies pushing carts of dim sum around. Do note that maxim is thrice the price of Tim Ho Wan, with each plate costing an average of HKD39. Portions were slightly bigger than Tim Ho Wan (from here on known as THW) but not as tasty. Maxim's prawn rice noodle ("har chiong") and beancurd skin shrimp roll was nicer than THW. Siew mai's prawns fresh but skin too clammy for my liking. The taste of flour lingers.

On the whole, I'd say Maxim falls short in comparison to THW. Dim sum in Maxim lacks that bit of magic. For me, THW was love at first bite. My opinions are therefore skewed towards THW :p

A thirty minute ride on bus 15 brought us to the Peak ("shan teng"). Being the cultured people (ahem!!) that we are, we headed to Madame Tussauds at the Peak galleria. Entry at Madame Tussauds is HKD160 person. Meet Brad Pitt and slap Angelina Jolie or rub shoulders with Obama and Eistein.

Trekked up the Hong Kong Trail (to the right of the Peak tower in the direction of Lugard Road). The trail was 4km long and I became mosquito feed. The view from above over Hongkong is breathtaking. Up there, Hongkong slows down to a stroll. Top it up with fluff white clouds skimming over the top of the mountain tops, casting shadows over them. Left me speechless.

As day slipped into night, the buildings faded and gave way to colored bright lights to showcase Hongkong's city skyline with splendour. Fucking gorgeous. Anyway, took the tram down the Peak. Travelling down at a 45 degree angle made buildings look perpendicular to the tram, like the scene in Inception where the girl flipped buildings overhead.

That ends day 3 of Hongkong. Feet are screaming in pain since I wasn't exactly in shoes cut out for the trail. Doing the Dragon Back's Trail tomorrow. It's estimated to take 3 hours for the whole trail. God knows how much more pain my feet can take. But then again, if it can take a night of clubbing in 5 inch stilettos, what's trekking in bad shoes?