Killing Time @ Jewellery City, Hong Kong

When you arrange your trip through a travel agency, a visit to a jewelry shop or a factory outlet is almost always inevitable. This is a way for the local tour guides or agency to make more money off the tourists.

On our trip to Hong Kong, after the compulsory city tour (the word "compulsory" rubs me the wrong way, but whatever), we were brought to Tokwawan Road in Kowloon at Jacky Chan's Jewellery City Co..

There was some cursory introduction about jewelry making, but everyone knows we were there to be tempted to buy their merchandise, and were ushered to the showroom post-haste.

It's not bad really, my sister and I bought some silver rings for $150 and our mom loved her bedazzled $400 magnetic bracelet so much, she swears days later that claims of its "healing properties" were true ( No hypertension in weeks! She enthused).

I guess it's not a total waste of time and our tour of the factory outlet in Hung Hom resulted in me finding my friends' usual choice of pasalubong (ref magnets) and we bought some quality shirts for $100 so I'm not complaining too much.

But do be quick about looking around these places or else you won't have much time in Disneyland or wherever you're supposed to go after that. Don't linger more than you have to, buy what you want or need and skedaddle. Spending time in Disneyland and Ocean Park are way more fun.

Jewellery City Co. Ltd.
Unit A3, Ground floor
Merit Industrial Centre
94 Tokwawan Road
Kowloon, Hong Kong
Tel (852) 2764-1133
Fax (852) 2764-175
Email jcl@jewellerycity.com.hk

Sampan Ride @ Aberdeen Fishing Village

the sampans...

The Sampan ride in Aberdeen remains one of the must-do activities when in Hong Kong and we were glad to have been given a chance to ride this traditional Chinese wooden boat (for a HK $50 fee) after our drive around Victoria Peak.

mama and sis pre-ride

sis Maris soaking up the sun

Mama & Fed's Lola enjoying the experience

We took the ride with the other Filipino tourists staying in our hotel. We bonded with the family of Fediline who was traveling with her lola (grandma) and younger brother Dan. Fed loving travel the way I do, promised to contact me if she ever needs a travel buddy... now we're planning a trip to Jakarta & Australia.

great view of Aberdeen Harbor

passing by the Jumbo Floating Restaurant

bonding with our new friends...

                                   
We passed by the famous Tai Pak and Jumbo Floating Restaurant. The view of the village and buildings around the Aberdeen Harbor from the boat was amazing and the company was great. It's wonderful to have the sampan ride off my bucket list at last.

Strolling Along The Avenue of Stars, Tsim Sha Tsui

Our tour guide picked us up at 8am for our half-day city tour and we made a stop at The Avenue of Stars in Tsim Sha Tsui. It's where you can find Hong Kong's answer to Hollywood's Walk of Fame.

The Avenue of Stars features the hand prints of famous actors like Michelle Yeoh and Jacky Chan, a statue of martial arts great Bruce Lee and an awesome view of Victoria Harbor and Hong Kong Island. We had a great time posing for pictures and just soaking in the stunning view.

Though this is a predictable stop for tourists and can be quite crowded most days, this is a definite must-visit place in Hong Kong. It also provides a great view of the A Symphony of Lights show every night at 8:00pm (weather permitting) from the buildings across the water. Walking around here made me wish for a place like this in Manila--clean, safe, tourist-friendly--One can dream, right?