HK Day 2_ The " left in a lurch" episode

I stayed the first night in peninsular HK, Kowloon Mong Kok.
For the second day I intend to stay in HK island. I have booked a room in " Budget Hostel" in Kingston Road, Causeway Bay ( RM 180 /day). 10% deposit was paid through the net.
http://www.hostelworld.com/availability.php
I arrived at the doorstep of the hostel at 11 am , only to find it under lock and key. The door bell was also not working. The place seemed to me has closed shop. I asked the door man of the building. The Mr Singh kept shaking his hands, said he knows nothing about any hostels in the building.
OMG, I felt cheated.
I was left without a place to stay.
I walked a few blocks to the HK Tourist Info Centre. The receptionist helped me to ring the place and no one answered the phone.
To avoid being accused of 'no show' and charged 1 day rate ( as stated in the booking condition), I waited until 12 noon ( the stipulated check-in time) and finally gave up.Bloodyshit!

Hey!!!! Budget Hostel, Kingston Street , Causeway Bay!!!!! I WANT MY $$$$$ back!!!!!!
KNN*&#!*^!^&@!**##@!

To prove that I was there at 12.00 noon on 20 March 2009

Frustrated, felt cheated. No hostel to check in!



..............
..............

Luckily by a freakish chance I found another hostel in the same building but at different floor.
( I went up and down the lift umpteen times hoping the door to the Budget Hostel will be opened for me. On one of these trip an Europian lady traveller press the button '5' on the way up. So I thought : maybe there is a lodging house at 5th floor? So ...... I followed the lady.... and wuahahahahaha ! I found this door, of another guest house.
I believe I have found a better lodging than the one I booked . So it is a blessing in disguise.
This is the place I checked in ( entrance and 'cute' lobby)

My room ( RM165/day, cheaper somemore) . Hey, got LCD TV ler!

The boss is Mr Pang, a nice and friendly young man.

Hifi rejuvenated

My turntable has been lying idle for a few years because the cartridge has a broken stylus and the turntable belt is slack. So my LPs are collecting dust in the cupboard.

My biggest harvest for this Hong Kong trip is being able to source a replacement belt and also bought a new cartridge ( SHURE M97xE ) in Apliu Street, the famous flea market in HK.

Wow ! look at the secondhand hifi sets offered for sale there, really air liuh meleleh ............

Back home , now my hifi set never sound so good before. The Shure cartridge (RM360) is a higher grade unit than the Ortofon VMS30 I had. Furthermore I am using a better amp and speakers now.

see, no 'needle'! slack & hardened belt

I wanted very much to visit this place. Finally I was there.

My spanking new cartridge

Enjoy !!! Let the music flow !

Day 4 _ Hong Kong here I come

After checking out from the Hotel in Shenzen, we walk towards the Immigration checkpoint in Lo Hu.



Passport stamped ' exit China' , we took the Hong Kong MTR to Mongkok East station,
then switched train to Mongkok.



Searched north south east west to locate the hostel that we have booked.

Finally found it. Actually we were very near it already. Just too bad walked in the opposite direction

The place is quite ok, a unit on the 8th floor of a highrise in busy Mongkok. Our room is
a 8'x10' twin private ensuite, a double bed, a small TV and a small bathroom. Daily charge is HKD 280(RM140).


Location is very strategic. Walk a few steps we can access these places









Wow, "people mountain people sea" ( aka a lot of people la!)

Street musician in action.

This girl is very 'chu bi' ( interesting).

She stands still like a statue, with a card on the floor written: Don't give any money ,or else I WILL SING!

Being curious, I put in 1 dollar, the lady starts shaking and sings for about 30 seconds. Another guy put in 2 dollars, she sings about double the time. See , how much entertainment you get depends on the 'investment'. But hor, I think I can sing better than her.

At night we went to Temple Street.

If I walk into one of these tents, I may be told when will I strike KTM, or when will I get 4 for my PTK. But I didn't. No gut mah.

Toured 43 countries_ 2

Actually hor, I used this passport,

and this "Visa"

to tour here

You see, the world is under my feet

when I was up here

Current Issue In China ( March 2009)

One of the hot issues in China at the moment is counterfeit money. You can hear about it in the news nearly everyday. People has been advised not to accept notes bearing serial no. CE or CH because they are counterfeits.

When you pay for your purchase or food with big bills ( say 100 yuans notes) , the cashier or waitress will read out the serial nos to you and you have to nod your head to acknowledge.

This routine is to prevent you from denying they are yours if the notes turn out to be fakes.

The crooks try all sorts of way to circulate the fakes. They go to the extend to join half a fake note to half a genuine one. Then they deposit it into the bank's cash deposit machine. The machine can't detect its fake because it has half real one. After that they withdraw the same amount in good money from ATM. Smart ler!

Toured 43 countries

Don't believe it?


See, This is my passport


These are the immigration stamps when I enter the
countries. Altogether 43 of them!




and........
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.
.
.
.
These are the places of interest I visited

Taj Mahal in India


House Of Parliment , London


London Bridge, London





The Colosseum, Italy


Angkor Wat, Cambodia



L'Arc de Triomphe, France



Eiffel Tower, France



Kyongbokgung, Korea


Borobudur, Indonesia


Japan



Royal Palace, Bangkok Thailand





and many many more.............