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T H E S H O E S T R I N G D I A R I E S
Clockwise from left: Quirky souvenirs along
Hollywood Road; colonial pieces at Wattis Fine Art;
hot bites at Tim Ho Wan restaurant
PHOTOS
LESTER LEDESMA (MAIN), APPLE MANDY (WATTIS FINE ART INTERIOR)
Day 1
Penny-pinching starts with a scenic
ride into the city from Lantau Airport;
so instead of taking the Airport Express
or A11 bus, hop aboard the E11 bus to
Causeway Bay. Get off at the Sugar
Street stop. The 50-minute ride will
cost you HK$21/PHP113.
Check in at Parkview Hostel (
Flat
14A, 14/F, Chesterfield Mansion, 11
Kingston Street, Causeway Bay;
tel: +852 3591 4801
), which is right
next to Victoria Park. Offering seven
to 10 bunk beds in a room, the hostel
provides clean and comfortable
accommodations as well as panoramic
views of Victoria Harbour, the body of
water that separates Kowloon from
Hong Kong Island. Allot HK$200/
PHP1,081 for a mixed dormitory. Ladies
who aren’t comfortable sharing with
gents would have to pay HK$220/
PHP1,189 per night.
Take a tram (HK$2/PHP11) to the
Jubilee Street stop in Central for a
sightseeing stroll down Hollywood
Road, a vibrant strip of stores that
smack of vintage romance and sell
everything from Chinese antiques to
traditional arts and crafts to fine art.
British-owned Wattis Fine Art (
2/F, 20
Hollywood Road, Central; tel: +852
2524 5302
) sells maps, photographs
and watercolor paintings of the city’s
colonial past.
Make a little detour to SoHo and take
the Central-Mid-levels escalator — the
famous sliding stairway on a slope
dotted with shops from Des Voeux Road
to Conduit Road — to the International
Finance Centre (IFC). The city’s second
tallest building houses international
retail brands like Apple’s flagship
store. With your own food and drinks,
find a spot at the fourth floor where
you can take in the views of the
Kowloon Peninsula.
Satisfy your cravings at the
Michelin-starred restaurant of Tim Ho
Wan (
Podium Level One, Shop 12A,
IFC Mall, 8 Finance Street, Central;
tel: +852 2332 3078
). The former
chef of Lung King Heen at the Four
Seasons Hotel dishes up traditional
dim sum classics like
har kau
or shrimp
dumplings,
cheong fun
or steamed rice
rolls, and
cha siu bao
or baked BBQ
pork buns (HK$50/PHP270).
After you’ve soaked up the scene
at Hong Kong Island, hop aboard the
historic Star Ferry to Tsim Sha Tsui
(HK$3/PHP16). Once there, you can
check out the works of Hong Kong’s
up-and-coming designers in shops
along Cameron Road and Granville
Road. Nearby Canton Road, 1881
Heritage — formerly the Marine