Today I shifted over to Mong Kok in Kowloon to begin the second phase of my Hong Kong sight-seeing. I had booked a dorm bed at Ah Shan Hostel/Dragon Inn which cost me HK$148 (Rs. 980/$19/€14) a night. Finding my hostel wasn’t that hard. As soon as I disembarked from Mong Kok Station, I took Exit D2 and the second building named Sincere House housed Ah Shan Hostel.
There are four elevators in total for this buildingThe hostel is on the 14th floorThis looked a residential/commercial kinda building. Space in Hong Kong being a luxury, even apartment rooms are turned into commercial spaces.
The dorm room wasn’t all that great, considering it was super cramped inside with barely any space to walk (photo of the bed I got is at the end of this post). Fiona was the hostel owner and she spoke fluent English, proving to be quite helpful.
That’s Fiona behind the reception desk
After securing my luggage in the room, I stepped out again.
It was quite a sunny SundayThe main reason I stayed at Mong Kok is because of the many popular markets within walking distanceThis side of Fa Yuen street was a general market
This being a Sunday, the maids had their day off. Kowloon sees a huge congregation of mostly Indonesian maids. Hong Kong island is where the Filipino maids meet up.This is one end of Tung Choi Street, also nicknamed “Goldfish street”And this is whyLots of small fish on displayLots!Even baby turtles and tortoisesAnd catsIn fact, this place is great if you want anything and everything to do with pet supplies. Not so great if you are an animal rights activist.
I walked around some moreHong Kong is a city full of pedestrian overbridges. They need them. With roads being narrow due to lack of space, pedestrian overbridges help with the flow of human traffic without obstructing vehicular traffic below.The walkways are also where the maids congregate. It was interesting to see them make a picnic spot of such public spaces, meet up with their fellow country(wo)men and enjoy their weekly day off.Although I did feel sorry for the plight of these maids, I realize “that’s life” for some people in this world. I appreciate the fact the authorities allow them to ‘take over’ public spaces like this. I didn’t see them make a mess of the place or anything. They clean up well before leaving.The markets below were busy as everBack on Nathan Road, a marching band was playing tunes as part of the celebrations commemorating the 15th year since the hand over of Hong Kong to China. Although, they were playing “Poker Face” by Lady Gaga.At the other end of Fa Yuen street is “Shoe street” – for obvious reasons!You get all the popular brands here. Adidas and Nike alone have multiple outlets here. Although I didn’t find prices here shockingly low or anything.I went inside Mongkok Computer Centre looking for a brand of wireless adaptersIt’s not a huge IT mall or anything, but you get the usual gamut of computing parts and mobile storesI found the TP Link model my brother wanted, but decided to buy after checking out a few more IT mallsMost affordable malls and shopping complexes are like this: cramped for spaceStepped out for some fresh air 🙂A new Indian restaurant was being advertisedI didn’t understand a word, just clicked. A political message perhaps?This is Sino Centre. I didn’t know what was in store, but I still went in to check it out.Downstairs were stores choc full of K-pop merchandise. This store had quite an impressive collection, including the very latest releases! Not just CDs – DVD boxsets, posters, other merchandise and much more.The upper floors were all Japanese pop cultureStores dedicated to Japanese import toys, figurines, games…Western video game franchises……and of course anime!Quite the place if you love Far East pop-culture. I feel Sino Centre is one place I would visit everytime I’m in Hong Kong.That’s a LOT of manga!This was quite a popular storeThere were just too many things I wanted to buyBut this nerd decided to walk to the Flower Market nextThe flower market is located on Prince Edward roadIt’s full of shops selling anything and everything related to gardening
My mom would have loved this placeBut for obvious travel restrictions, I couldn’t buy any seeds from herePretty much a one-stop destination for all your gardening needs in Hong Kong
It’s right next to (or behind) Mong Kok StadiumIt was time for me to leave this placeI headed back to Mong Kok’s MTR stationThe sun was setting, but the markets were still busyThese pink top buses are among the many minibuses that ply all over Hong KongThey had closed Nathan Road to trafficPeople had to walk all the way to Victoria Bay for tonight’s fireworks as Tsim Tsa Tsui station was closed as well
The fireworks show was in commemoration of the 15th anniversary of the handover of Hong Kong to China. Considering how grand fireworks displays are in Hong Kong, especially during the New Year, I was expecting quite a show by the bay..
I walked all the way to Victoria HarbourIt was getting very crowded very quickIt was pretty packed by 8pmAnd it began with quite a bang
They had laser lights too
Things would whimper at intervals before going great guns again
There were a lot of “oohs” and “ahhs” from the crowdIt was quite a show!Although it was bit loud for some
But photos of fireworks are one thing, here’s an HD video!
The whole thing lasted around 15 minutes. The crowds slowly dispersed, but knowing the MTR stations would be crowded just as badly, I decided to walk instead.
It was going to be a long walk backI took the small roads instead of walking on Nathan RoadStopping along to way to take a few photos of course
The malls were closing for the dayHong Kong traffic police had opened Nathan Road to vehicular traffic
I don’t remember what I did for dinner or where I had it from – but yeah, this was the end to another day of walking around a lot!
It’s not much, but this was the room. The bed was a bit small even for my 5′ 6″ body. Oh well, you get what you pay for.
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3 Comments
Daniel
11/11/2012
Indeed the bed doesn’t look like 5* but if it was just meant as a safe&dry place for crashing into after a day out set back few quids & the establishment was clean, who cares 🙂
(The pic with the checkered wall&the guys passing by, I think, by chance, makes for a nice setup)
javani
07/11/2015
Re: Trip to Sino Centre
hi i love your trip to sino centre, pls. i want to visit it also, may know how to get in touch with ms. fiona of Ah Shan Hostel/Dragon Inn, does she have an email ? and i like the room you stayed i hope 4 person could fit inside. Can i ask a favor too, if possible show me the map on how to get to sino centre, pls. ? how far is it from the airport ? thank you and hope for your favorable reply.
Hey Javani,
You may email Ah Shan Hostel at 1406@ahshanhostel.com. Sino Centre is very easy to get to. From the airport, it’s quite far, but if coming straight from the airport, get off at Kowloon station and get to Mong Kok station. Sino Centre is on the main road right in between Mongkok and Jordan stations.
The fireworks show was in commemoration of the 15th anniversary of the handover of Hong Kong to China. Considering how grand fireworks displays are in Hong Kong, especially during the New Year, I was expecting quite a show by the bay..
Daniel
11/11/2012Indeed the bed doesn’t look like 5* but if it was just meant as a safe&dry place for crashing into after a day out set back few quids & the establishment was clean, who cares 🙂
(The pic with the checkered wall&the guys passing by, I think, by chance, makes for a nice setup)
javani
07/11/2015Re: Trip to Sino Centre
hi i love your trip to sino centre, pls. i want to visit it also, may know how to get in touch with ms. fiona of Ah Shan Hostel/Dragon Inn, does she have an email ? and i like the room you stayed i hope 4 person could fit inside. Can i ask a favor too, if possible show me the map on how to get to sino centre, pls. ? how far is it from the airport ? thank you and hope for your favorable reply.
sincerely; javani
Mithun Divakaran Reply:
November 7th, 2015 at 2:40 PM
Hey Javani,
You may email Ah Shan Hostel at 1406@ahshanhostel.com. Sino Centre is very easy to get to. From the airport, it’s quite far, but if coming straight from the airport, get off at Kowloon station and get to Mong Kok station. Sino Centre is on the main road right in between Mongkok and Jordan stations.