Day 64 – March 9th – Hong Kong
The weather was as nice today as it was bad yesterday. Gray skies with threats of rain were replaced by clear blue skies and pleasant temperatures.
Today was a beautiful day
Heading to Hong Kong Island
Around 10:30 AM we headed down to the taxi line to grab a cab over to the Hong Kong side. The ship is connected to the Kai Tak terminal by a scissors type jet way bridge that consists of 5 switchbacks with 35 steps per switchback. Consequently, it takes over 175 steps simply to get into the terminal followed by another 5-7-minute walk to get to the taxi stand. As I noted in yesterday’s post it took us almost 15 minutes (probably close to ½ mile) to walk back to the ship from the taxi drop off spot due to the very circuitous routing thru the terminal when returning.
Here are the switchbacks that lead from the ship to the cruise terminal
Bottom line: Be prepared to walk more than you may expect to get to any tour bus or taxi when you are berthed at the Kai Tak cruise terminal.
It was only a short wait for a taxi and I had our destination, The International Finance Center 2, (located above Hong Kong’s Central Station) saved as a screen shot on my phone so I could show it to our driver to confirm our destination. As it turned out, his English was good enough and our destination was well known enough so it probably wasn’t necessary, but I always try to have my destination in writing when travelling in China.
IFC in Chinese
International Finance Center
The International Finance Center is home to the large IFC shopping mall and the second tallest building in Hong Kong – over 1300 feet high.
Our plan today was to visit one of the Tim Ho Wan Dim-Sum restaurant, advertised as the world’s cheapest Michelin starred restaurant. Tim Ho Wan, famous for years in Hong Kong, now has 45 locations around the world. The original location is in Hong-Kong’s Mongkok area but there are 5 others around Hong Kong. There are two in the USA – New York City (East Village) and Honolulu (Waikiki). If your cruise doesn’t visit Hong Kong, you can find Tim Ho Wan restaurants in Singapore and Australia among other locations in Asia.
The taxi to the IFC cost $170 HKD or about $22 USD and took about 35 minutes in light traffic. You could also get to the IFC by taking the ship’s shuttle bus to the Peninsula Hotel, walking to the Star Ferry and taking it to Hong Kong, then walking across the pedestrian bridge to the IFC. If you have plenty of time and want to ride the Star Ferry (which everyone should do at least once) this would be a nice adventure unto itself.
There is a large Apple Store in the IFC mall and we stopped by to take advantage of their fast & free
Wi-Fi to get all our apple devices synched and download the updates to various installed apps.
Tim Ho Wan
The Tim Ho Wan restaurant is located on Podium Level 1 in the IFC Mall and is nestled in amongst other stores and restaurants, but you will be able to spot it from a distance as it is the only shop with a huge line outside. Finding it can be a little tricky as the various levels can be confused with the levels that are part of the Hong Kong Central Station Metro station. Once you get in the mall, ask a passersby for directions.
We arrived around 12:30 PM and the line was switched back and forth about 4 times. It took about 20 minutes to get seated. The line was shorter after we left, so I think we got there at one of the busiest periods. While waiting in line, we were handed a menu/order slip which lists everything they have along with an English description, the price and a box to indicate the quantity of each item desired. The place mat has pictures of many items, but you can’t see that until you are already seated.
Line at Tim Ho Wan – this was after we ate and the line was less than when we arrived
Once at the head of the line, the hostess will ask how many are in your party and will then seat you when the next set of seats for your party size open. The seats are close together and you will be seated with others if that’s the only space available. After you are seated, you hand your menu/order form to the waitress and your food will arrive in waves whenever it is ready. Tea is included and served automatically. Mineral water and soft drinks are available, and you order them on the same card as the rest of your food. This is not a restaurant for a leisurely meal. Service will be fast, and you are expected to eat and get out.
Steamer Rice Rolls Stuffed w BBQ
Rick chatting up a fellow diner – turns out he was from San Jose
Tim Ho Wan Menu and order form
If you plan to come here, take some time in advance to study the menu online, and read some reviews of what other people enjoyed.
We ordered:
- Baked Buns w/BBQ – each order has 3 small buns. Very Good
- Sweet black sticky rice cream w/corn – OK – would not order again
- Steamed egg cake – OK
- Steamed rice rolls stuffed w/ BB Pork – Very Good
- Pan Fried Spring Dumpling w/salad dressing – OK
- Glutinous Rice Dumplings – We didn’t like the texture – would not order again.
Here is a picture of the food we ordered
Central – Mid Level Escalators
After lunch we went up to the second level of the IFC mall, which is the level where you will find all the pedestrian bridges crossing over the streets below. Our destination was the Central – Mid Level Escalator system, which is a series of 20 escalators and 3 inclined moving walkways that opened in 1993. They cover a horizontal distance of about ½ mile and rise about 450 feet. Connected in places by footbridges, and with 14 entrances and exits, it takes about 20/25 minutes to ride the complete length of the escalator system one-way.
More about the escalators HERE
The escalators run from Queen’s Road Central to Conduit Road in Mid-Levels. They travel downwards from Mid-Levels from 6am to 10am daily and then reverse traveling uphill until midnight. Keep this in mind as you won’t be able to take them back down after 10 AM
The beginning of the escalator system can be accessed from 100 Queens Road Central or the elevated walkway system over Queens Road Central or Cochrane Street.
Along the way you can take a side trip down one of the many streets you will pass if something catches your eye on the way to the top. After each escalator, you may have to cross a street or take a connecting switchback bridge to get to the next escalator.
Traveling Sidewalk near the the start of the escalators
View looking down on escalators
We only ventured off the escalators a few times to check out some nearby stores since we had to be back on the ship by 3:30 pm. With more time, we could spend several hours exploring the various neighborhoods at each level.
Margaret, Judy and Rick on the escalators
The escalators are in the middle of a major renovation project, so we had to walk up the adjacent steps for one segment since the escalator was out of service.
Rules for the escalators
The escalators end on Conduit street. I had originally planned to hail an Uber since I wasn’t sure if I would be able to get a taxi there quickly. As it turned out, taxis were whizzing by every 30 seconds and it was easy to flag one down and head back to the ship. The card we received from the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal taxi stand was invaluable as the driver’s English was not very good and he wasn’t that familiar with the location of the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal. He paused for a second to consult his map book and then realized it was the location of the old airport and then he knew exactly where to go.
Back on the Ship
Roof top park
After we arrived at the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal we discovered that there is a park on the top of the cruise terminal. We spent about 20 minutes up here exploring and enjoying the nice views. It turns out that we were at about the same level as the Lido Deck.
Once we were back on the ship, we were instructed to go to the Hudson room to clear Hong Kong immigration since we went to Macau. Clearing immigration consisted of turning in our passport. We didn’t have to talk to any of the immigration agents who were busy working at nearby tables.
The weather was beautiful for the sail-away and we enjoyed chatting with Bill and Mary Ann for a bit as we waited for a wonderful sunset.
Queen’s Lounge
Laurie Ashworth and Spencer Moran of “Eterni Amici” – meaning Forever Friends in Italian – were the headliners in the Queen’s Lounge this evening. They sang a collection of hits from musicals and pop songs including: Memories, Let it Be, Don’t Rain on My Parade and Beauty and the Beast. Laurie and Spencer dazzled with their amazing performance of “I Remember/Stranger Than You Dreamt It” from Phantom of the Opera. Laurie put on a dazzling display of her vocal range when she hit the incredibly high note toward the end of the song. Don’t miss this talented duo if you are lucky enough to have them performing nearby.
Pillow Gifts
Back in the room we found two carry-on size roller bags as our latest “pillow gifts.” You can find pictures of all the pillow gifts on the blog under 2018 World Cruise Reference Items.
Carry on bags