Hong Kong Adventures 2012: Day 1 - The Rush for Warmth

It was this foggy when we arrived at the HKIA.  

Yes, it was cold.

     I went to Hong Kong for the third time earlier this month.  I travelled with my friends this time around.  We didn't get to do anything, except for shopping on the first day for warmer clothes and comfortable shoes, and going to Disneyland.  But since it was almost closing time, we just took photos outside the park.

    Why did we need to buy warmer clothes in Hong Kong on our first day?  You see, my friends were not appropriately dressed for the weather even though they knew that it was going to be cold in Hong Kong.  It was around 15C when we got to Hong Kong but most of my friends were wearing summer clothes; one was even wearing flip flops!  When we were on the plane,we were amused with our co-passengers on full winter gear.  One friend quipped, "Exag[gerated]! May fur-fur pa!"  I laughed along with them since I also thought that bubble jackets weren't necessary.  But when we boarded down the plane, guess who the laughing stock was.  Yup, us!

It was so foggy HK was barely visible.

In fact, we only saw the harbor when we were this close already.

    It got worse when we arrived at Hong Kong International Airport's immigration.  We were surrounded by throngs of travellers from Japan, and possibly, Korea, too, (let's just say East Asians to be sure).  And they were all dressed to impress, in full winter garb!  My friend, as I said, was wearing flip flops, and her toes were turning blue from the cold..  My other friends were wearing high-heeled sandals and stilettos, the ones you wear to the office.  One does not have a jacket on, just a thin blouse, but at least they're wearing pants because my flip flops loving friend was just wearing leggings.  Imagine the bewilderment of the people queued at the immigration.  You can clearly see the shock on their faces, even consternation from some.  All of them were looking at our footwear.  Guess, they were thinking how stupid we were.  

    I came almost adequately prepared; I was even appropriately dressed. But I was really hesitant to wear my rubber shoes because while it provides comfort, it isn't fashionable.  I was aware that people in Hong Kong, locals and travellers alike, are generally well-dressed.  You can even say fashion-conscious.  I wanted to look the part of a posh traveller but I did not want to bring my winter dress coat since it's too heavy.  When I got to see those travellers at the immigration, I wished I brought it along since most were wearing their most fashionable coats, boots, etc.

     Anyway, we rode our coach service going to our hotel and we rested for an hour or two before we headed out to shop.  We went to Tsim Sa Tsui to buy warmer clothes at H&M.  I just bought some bonnets on sale (HKD 10 a piece) and some flats to go with my new shoulder bag I bought back in the Philippines.  My friends rushed to look for winter clothes and shoes but only one did buy a more comfortable footwear.  The rest skimped on spending and braved the cold weather.  One purposely didn't buy anything because she said she had thermal underneath.  But she was shivering nonetheless and had to wash it everyday as she just had one thermal with her.  I even had her use my newly bought flats since she couldn't walk anymore by night time; she was wearing stilettos.

Is this the Silvermine Beach?  

The windows of our coach service is kinda filthy, hence the brown streaks.

I had to tweak the photos to get rid of the fog, but the color of the sea is real. 

So pretty!

K-11 Mall is very near Mirador Mansion, just beside Holiday Inn if I remember correctly.

This dude was sleeping at the open-space area at K-11 Mall.

 Tsim Sha Tsui

     Then we went to Mongkok and browsed the camera shops there and ate our super late lunch/early dinner at Cafe de Coral, a food chain I see almost everywhere in Hong Kong.  As we squandered our time shopping, we barely had time to go to Disneyland so we just took photos outside.  We were supposed to watch the fireworks but it was damn cold and we were all shivering. I was shivering the least.  My friends quipped that they now know how Nelo felt as he dies in the snow with Patrasche. And it was only about 13C!  Can I just say that every time I remember the anime "My Patrasche" tears well-up in my eyes?  Damn.

 Sunny Bay.  All Disney!

Sorry for the crappy night shots.

I didn't know I could adjust the ISO.

     To give ourselves another chance to buy warmer clothes, we went to City Gate.  But no luck!  We headed back to Panda Hotel via cab.  It cost HKD 170.00 or thereabouts from City Gate including toll fare.  And there goes our first day in Hong Kong!

    

Hotels and Accommodations: Courtyard @ Heeren, Melaka, Malaysia

     As you may have probably noticed, I only have good words for Courtyard @ Heeren, which is not surprising given the quality of the service it provided to us.  It was clearly superb.

     Our trip to Melaka would not have been possible were it not for the suggestion of the Courtyard @ Heeren staff, the affable Amar, to buy us bus tickets for an earlier departure for a return journey to Singapore.  It was really unexpected for the staff to go out of their way just to make our plans push through.  Imagine, the staff had to reserve and buy the tickets for us and the hotel paid for it in the meantime.   When we arrived, we paid for the tickets.  I was thoroughly impressed!  So, to Amar, Audrey and the rest of the Courtyard @ Heeren staff, thank you very, very much!

   

Location

    It is located along Heeren Street, a few feet away from the Heeren Guesthouse, almost in front of the Baba House, and a very short walking distance from the famous Jonker Street. It's centrally located so the places of interest in Melaka are within comfortable walking distance from the Courtyard.  Here's the map they sent me via email so I would not get lost.

Reception

     Courtyard @ Heeren is one of the many heritage homes-turned-boutique hotels in Melaka. But I assure you that this one is a gem.  Their rates are quite reasonable, and I dare say, cheaper than what I expected to pay for, and their rooms are just divine.

     Anyway, when we arrived at the Courtyard @ Heeren, the staff, including Amar, promptly gave us some welcome drinks, cold pomelo juice, and helped us settle in. The room was not yet ready since we arrived earlier than the check-in time but we had no problems with it since we needed to go out immediately to withdraw some cash at an ATM machine (Amar told us how to go there in detail).  Amar gave me the tickets, which I paid for, and gave me a receipt of our room booking which I previously paid for by credit card.

The door to the left leads to the rooms on the ground floor.

Reception area (main door on the left side)

Stairs leading to the breakfast area.

 Superior Room

     This is the first room that you'll see and surprisingly, it was not noisy at all.  This, despite the fact that everyone has to pass by our room to get into the other rooms.

     The superior room has twin beds and the bathroom is just so cute with colored glass.  The bathroom has an illusion that it is bigger than it is (although it is quite at a comfortable size) because of the mirrors obscured by the wooden bars.  I love the rain shower and I should say, the bathroom is really clean.

     I should say that the superior room is definitely a bargain at RM 200 I paid for, and that includes breakfast for two, too.  The colored glass on the windows gives the room a certain warmth and undeniable charm.  Over all, the room is just so pretty.

 Breakfast area

     Accessible through the stairs at the main entrance.  Breakfast is basic but tasty.  There's an omelet station, too. 

Around the Hotel

     There is a small courtyard inside with seating area and furniture reminiscent of those I usually see visiting old homes in the Philippines.  It evokes a feeling of nostalgia, really.  The mortars and pestles on the garden are a nice touch; and old iron (is it?) for cooking/baking are so cute I wanted to just stare at them all day.  There was even a old blade fan from a ceiling fan converted into a deco piece.

 This is the small space outside our room (window-side).

 I know the photo is crappy, really blurred.  But I like it, and its the only one I have. 

 That's the upstairs room above.