Hong Kong Travel: As Bad Lucks Followed...

In my previous entry, I mentioned bad lucks following me to Hong Kong. Well, it’s time to elaborate that:

1^st Bad Luck: Heat

On the day I touched down in Hong Kong, heat wave started. The weather was so hot that Hong Kong Observatory issued a “very hot weather warning” the next day.

I with Malaysian-Design-Heatproof-body could not withstand the 35ºC. I was forced to change into a singlet but still sweating heavily.

I really didn’t understand some people who still managed to wear coat and tie in this kind of condition, either Hong Kong was full of crazy people or the people had blocked pores that preventing them from sweating! Gee, I was at the wrong place and wrong time! In addition, I packed a lot of long sleeves clothing and jackets, thinking the weather would be 28ºC!

2^nd Bad Luck: Lost

Getting too used to the transit in Malaysia where usually there is only 1 or 2 entry points, I actually printed a portion of the Google map to guide me to my hotel. I thought it should be quite straight forward – from A21 airport bus drop zone, Tsim Sha Tsui Station marked with green box to Ramada Inn marked with yellow box.

When my bus approached that area, I was surprised to see so many entry points for Tsim Sha Tsui Station ( ‘ж’ symbol marked with Green Box). I was immediately lost!

For a while, I was walking in circles, carrying a printed google map with blurry street names. Wrestling and rejecting lots of street people who was offering nice accommodation with cheap price, I managed to arrive my hotel 2 hours later under super hot condition. By then I thought I could finally have a nice bath and go for nice meal, but I was wrong!

3^rd Bad Luck: Hotel Problem

“Sir, we could not find your reservation or any payment made in our computer. Let’s us do some manual checking for you and get back to you shortly” I almost fainted after hearing these words from the front desk. I panicked and began to wonder whether I was scammed into paying a fake agent for my accommodation.

After telling the staff that I would be back after 2 hours, I left the hotel and went to a nearby park to draft for plan B.

It was not an easy task because hotels in Hong Kong were super expensive, in average a small room would cost HK$600++ (≈ RM290) unless you dare to try your luck with those offering cheap accommodation by the street.

Under enormous heat, not having a meal since I left Penang and body sweating badly, I tried to scout for nearby hotels with reasonable pricing. It proved to be difficult as many hotels were fully booked mainly by tourists from Indonesia and Philippines who took the opportunities of their public holidays to visit Penang.

2 hours later, I was glad that everything was settled and I managed to check into a small room.

Oh well, lesson learnt.

• Need to do a final checking on the weather before packing for that country
• Do not use the transit station as a landmark on the map because there might be multiple entries into that station.
• Remember to print out the confirmation code after booking the hotel, or I might be sleeping on the street next time.

A bad start for my trip in Hong Kong? Stay tune!