December 27, 2008

Travel snippets

Harbour view
It was the first time I stayed in a hotel room with a harbour view. Actually I just booked a standard room (harbour-view rooms must pay extra, you see). But I think I checked in a bit too early, so the standard rooms were not ready yet.

After some checking, the receptionist said, Sir, I upgrade you to a harbour view room at no extra cost. It was not a question, just a statement. I didn't mind. I love the sea, so I said OK.

This is the harbour view from my room at the 17th floor. I saw speed boats, a rowing boat, yachts, a barge, ferries, even a junk and a cruiser. Nothing spectacular, but better than.......



this, the backside of another building. So, are you willing to pay more for a harbour-view room?


And there was a market nearby selling live seafood.


No seats
I have been to HK several times but it was only about a year ago then I realized that there were no seats at their bus stops - whether the bus stops are at big streets or small streets. At first I thought it was a bit unusual.

But then I think probably because all along there were no seats and people got used to it and so they think they don't need to sit down at bus stops. Old people also can stand.



Not hygienic
This is a small restaurant. I think the man in white is the chef. See his 'uniform' - dirty and unsightly. I saw a waiter at another eatery. He was also wearing a long white shirt which was crumpled and looked unwashed for days. And the lower part of the shirt was stained with spices and sauces. Quite awful.

I think some of these small eateries are also quite unhygienic in their handling of food.

Again, perhaps the people there are used to all these, so they don't think it is dirty or unhygienic.
Or they don't mind as long as the food is good.



Christmas cheers
I saw these Christmas girls and asked them if I could take their photo. Can, one of them said. After taking the photo, I zoomed in on their faces and showed them the picture.

"Both of you very pretty" I said.
"Hee hee hee hee" they were very happy.
And so were I. Nice to see them happy.



You know, I'm quite happy with this Casio camera (the one that had a fall) - battery can last very long even in cold weather, easy to use, quick response and the pictures usually turn out well even though I anyhow take.

4 comments:

Victor said...

Welcome back, Frannxis. Nice photos, especially the last one. :p

In Rasa Sentosa Resort, they also have "hillview" and "seaview" rooms. 2 years ago, one must pay $20++ extra/day for "seaview" rooms. Now maybe more. My family usually chose the "seaview" rooms if available as we usually stay only 2 days at the most. In my view, an extra $40++ is worth paying for the nice view.

Anonymous said...

do you always stick to the same hotel every time you go?

Anonymous said...

Vic: This hotel, the harbour view room is about S$10 more only. It is a 3-star hotel. But the thing is most of the time we are not in the hotel. At night nothing much to see except the bright lights on the ferries.

Shanice: No, because sometimes I may prefer to stay in a certain district.
Another reason, sometimes the rooms not available or the rate has gone up.

Lam Chun See said...

Hi Franxis. I too just returned from a holiday. But the place I went to was totally different from Hong Kong. We went to Kuching and visited mainly 'nature' attractions like caves, rain forests etc.

Each time we went to a shopping centre, my son looked absolutely miserable.