Macau: Where Baccarat Rules All

Since living in HK for the past 4ish months, a weekend trip to Macau was an ABSOLUTE MUST! With only a 1 hour ferry trip from HK, this sinful escape offers many large hotels & resorts, fine dining options, shows & visits galore & of course GAMBLING. We stayed at the Galaxy Macau, which is a fairly new resort on the Cotai Strip in Macau. Among other incredible amenities, the hotel has a casino (duh), a vast array of stores+restaurants to choose from, a private man-made beach & pool area, a cinema & the list goes on. Overall, we were extremely pleased with our room (BEAUTIFUL bathroom/bathtub that's to die for) & the service we received. On various trips around the tiny island, we visited other big name hotels (Wynn, Lisboa, Banyan Tree, Hard Rock etc...) & thoroughly indulged in the fine dining (a Macau food post is in the works, trust) & a wee bit of gambling... Let's just say, a certain foodie may or may not have won approximately $100 from Sic bo + the slot machines hahaha. Since I've never been to Vegas (though I plan on doing so in the next 5 yrs), this trip to Asia's sin city was superb & a definite to-do while in HK.

our room+view

casual stroll around the place

the golden empire

pool timings

"crystal lobby"

DIAMONDS

HK City Life

Taking a city tour was a must with my brother in town, so we spent a day doing just that. The Bank of China Tower offered us a nice view of the city (free of charge fyi) in a very central location... in Central (see what I did there...ha). Victoria Peak is the most obvious spot to get the best view of HK+Kowloon but my favorite spot has to be Hong Kong Park, which is situated in the heart of the city. Among the chaos & crazy go-getters, there's a splendid oasis to escape from the madness. I've said this before (& will say it again) I LOVE THIS CITY.

Bank of China Tower view

Bank of China Tower

mid-levels beginning (longest set of escalators...in zee WORLD)

el Peak

hello birdie

HK Park - cray cray

building...within a building?

again...

oh & once more

DimSum HK: Take 3

A quickie note - I was looking up on CNNGo.com (wicked travel site for foodies out there) & wanted to check out M Garden Vegetarian (featured in this top HK dim sum list) in Mong Kok. WELLLLL, long (& somewhat frustrating) story short, it's closed. No longer there. Poof. After a few frustrated moments, my brother & I headed to Cheers Restaurant in the same building (3rd floor of Grand Tower 639 Nathan Road) which served dim sum. It was a "fancier" place than most hole in the walls I usually frequent, but was none the less delicious. The place was bumping since it was a holiday in HK but service was quick & food was delicious. This is a great place to go with a large group (as many families do) & is noisy/busy as always. Here are the nom nomsssss...

turnip cakes (not my fave, but my bro loves them)

the ultimate fave - pork bun

delish

another favorite

Markets, Markets, Markets

The title should be fairly self explanatory but just in case... HK has A LOT of wonderous markets scattered about. Many are extremely touristy & provide various knick knacks that everyone forgets after 1.5 seconds of possessing it, but there are some interesting & uncommon markets that are a great sight while staying in HK. Goldfish Market, Flower Market & Bird Market. Yes I've said/written those correctly and no they are all not in one market (silly silly). These three markets can be found consecutively after the infamous Ladies Market (touristy/gimmicks are all here fyi) in Mong Kok. This is a definite afternoon (they usually open after noon) sight to see, with various fish of all sizes & colors, flowers & flower arrangements galore (not to mention a pleasant scent change from the fishies) & bird-crazy people. It gives a curious glimpse of some interesting local HK-ers (you can witness some people buying over a dozen bags of fish or 3 various bird cages...makes you wonder what the hell are they going to do with all those animals?!?!) and enjoy a different side of the traditional "markets" in HK.

hello fishiesss

an oddball of sorts

& off we go

gorgeous

colorful bunch

"you wanna a BIRD?"

also sold cages, if anyone was interested

favorite pic/smile of the day :)

Hike to the Big Buddha

Are we crazy? Yes. Was it worth it? Absolutely. Let me start from the beginning. The Big Buddha is a must-see in HK and is located on Lantau island (if you have great memory, you'll remember I've already been...if not, go here to review). I wanted to take my brother here (aduhhh) but wanted to HIKE it up. Give us some well needed exercise but also see a different part of HK (fyi there are NUMEROUS hiking trails all over HK). So off we went, taking the MTR all the way to Tung Chung (about 30-45 minutes from Hong Kong station in Central). Once there, it was a bit of a struggle. First of all, everyone we asked at the cable car/bus stop near the station laughed at the idea of our hike and told us not to go. After a few minutes of wandering and asking, we finally had some helpful guidance on where to go. Essentially, we took the Ngong Ping Rescue Trail, which is a bit tricky to find. Best way to get there is to ask/look for Hau Wong Temple and follow the trail over this bridge/through some sketchy paths. Once we started, I almost immediately regretted this decision, jkjkjk - but for reals this is not a trail for the weak. It's a definite physical and mental battle for the first 1-2 hours. All uphill, all stairs/hills and a WHOLE LOT OF SWEATING. In the end though, it was totally worth it and I definitely suggest hiking UP to the Buddha (vs hiking down from it). It's more challenging/more rewarding. Unfortunately for us, it was very cloudy/foggy that day and we could barely see the Buddha once we actually got there. It was still a great day and we were so thankful that the weather was against, aka it wasn't OVERALLY hot/humid. Here are the photographic memories that I captured!

the start of our hike & diegs is already sweating

& it's all uphill 

breathtaking views (literally)

some inspirational words on the way up? thanks tips

& in comes the fog

our destination...a little bit foggier than I remember

Visitors in HK

One (of the many) reasons why there has been a lack of posts in the last month has been due to my amount of visitors to HK! I was graced with the presence of two of my besties & then my brother! I tried to show my favorite spots of HK to both & here is what I came up with! Also, this post makes me think that I should probably make a "Best of HK" post...highlight my favorites things to do, eat, see in HK & some must do's&dont's for anyone visiting....just a playful thought at the moment, a rainy day activity I suppose :) anywhoo, enjoys!

when I returned from Thailand, I was greeted with this lot of screaming fans

turns out some huge K-Pop (korean pop for all you mere mortals out there) star was arriving that day

the beginning of a surprisingly great meal in Mong Kok, location unknown

sweet&sour pork was delish as always

spare ribs hot pot was a go

took the faves to the lightshow of course

cheers to HK & fwiendzzzz

great salad choice by celeens

mmmm udon

fried delicacies

udon me crazayyyyyyy

nomz

thoroughly delicious @ mochi cafe in TST

mkts near central

couldn't resist

dim sum is always a must when visitors arrive

my fave pork bun <3

cheers restaurant in mong kok (a "fancier" dim sum one might say)