Living in: Switzerland Read more Switzerland
  • Day 11

    Hong Kong

    April 1, 2019 in Hong Kong ⋅ 🌬 20 °C

    It’s been almost two weeks since we left Hong Kong. Hong Kong was an amazing city. Definitely one of my all time favourite. This city is the perfect place for shopping queens and foodies. My first impression of Hong Kong is that it is very clean. People are not permitted to drink or eat in the public transports and the streets were spotless.

    We had a hotel in Kowloon in the Tsim Sha Tsui district. Our hotel, the New World Millennium was a dream. We had some troubles with the showers at the two apartments we stayed in the last two cities and the apartments were not the newest. Considering these facts, this hotel was a major upgrade. The staff were very friendly and assisted us where needed. The hotel is near Hong Kong’s Hollywood Walk of Fame and is surrounded by luxury shops.

    We stayed there for fives days and I am not going to bore you with a day to day run by.

    The taxis aren’t expensive in Hong Kong, despite this we spent a majority of the time using the public transport or walking to get to the destinations. The public transport, such as the buses, Victoria Harbour Star ferry and the subway a.k.a MTR are very cheap, fast and well connected. The buses even have Wi-Fi. Walking was a good way for us to get the whole Hong Kong experience. On one street we would have very modern highrise buildings, shops like Gucci and Prada, then we go around the next corner and see street markets selling fruits and hats, a completely different surrounding.

    We had a lot of highlights. On the Kowloon side we enjoyed the Symphony of Lights. We saw it from both the Kowloon and Hong Kong Island side and have admit that the view from the Kowloon side was by far the best. We also visited the Temple Night Market and the Sneaker street. I don’t know why, but I had a completely different expectation of the Sneaker street then what it was. I was expecting statues of Sneakers and Sneakers hanging around etc. Something Insta- worthy... well it’s just a normal street with sneaker shops, with sneakers at a reasonable price. Perfect for sneaker lovers, nothing for me.

    We went to the Victoria Peak on the Hong Kong Island. Before we went up there, we were told by many that the tram is the most preferred mode of transportation to get up there and also that people like to go to the Sky Terrace to enjoy the view and take pictures. Both of these together cost $99. We ended up taking the bus up to Victoria Peak. The view was amazing, the bus had Wi-Fi and we paid around $5 if I recall correctly. Once up there we took a walk on one of the trails and had an amazing view. We did look at the Sky Terrace and it wasn’t that spectacular.

    The Hong Kong Zoological And Botanical Gardens is also worth a visit. We saw some very cute monkeys (in cages) and enjoyed a walk through the park.

    We enjoyed going to some bars and restaurants in the district Soho and shopped in Causeway Bay.

    I do have to say, I enjoyed eating Dumplings at Din Tai Fung in Tsim Sha Tsui and Truffel Pasta at Alto.

    Our five day trip in Hong Kong was amazing. It’s a city I would most definitely revisit.

    Must Dos:

    Restaurants Bars:
    - Nah Trang
    - Din Tai Fung
    - Fumi
    - Ce la vie Bar
    - Carpaccio
    - Le pain quotidian
    - Alto
    - Iron Fairies

    Sights and Districts:
    - Soho
    - Causeway Bay
    - Tsim Sha Tsui
    - Hong Kong’s Hollywood Walk of Fame
    - Symphony of Lights
    - Din Tai Fung
    - Victoria Harbour Star Ferry
    - Temple Street Night Market
    - Sneaker Street
    - Hong Kong Zoological And Botanical Gardens
    Read more

  • Day 6

    Israel

    March 27, 2019 in Israel ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

    It’s due time, I write about my experience in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. Two very different places, but each with its own charm. We arrived in Tel Aviv early Saturday morning. And with early I mean 1am. We were unable to use the public transport to our accommodation in Tel Aviv due to the Jewish rest day, Sabbath. We took a taxi to our accommodation and were surprised by a startling amout of people dressed up in costumes all around the city. Considering that Tel Aviv is a gay friendly city, my conclusion was that they were drag queens. My conclusion proved to be wrong the next day, when were told by one of the locals that it is the Israeli Halloween..

    Our apartment in Tel Aviv can be described as okay. Good location, but barely any hot water...

    We visited the hipster quarter Neve Tzedek and Old Jaffa on our first day. Both of them are a must see. There are plenty of insta worthy but also delicious restaurants in these areas. Old Jaffa with the stone architecture and hidden alleyway is really nice to explore.

    We decided to head to Jerusalem the next day. It is easily accessible by public transport. We headed out at 9.30am in order to be at the Jaffa gate of the old town at 11am. There are free walking tours starting there daily at 11am and 2pm. The tour, which took two hours was good to get an overview of the city. We headed to the Yehuda market after the tour and strolled along the different goods stand. Here they sell everything, from dried fruits to spices.

    After yet another quick bus ride, we headed back to our apartment to get ready for a night out. We went to two bars which were mildly packed. We were told that the nightlife is usually more lively, but the city is tired after partying for three days straight (halloween).

    We spent the next day resting and eating and getting ready for our flight the next day. Our highlight of the day was watching the sunset at the beach. On our last day we had time in the morning to brunch. We left for the early 3.5h prior to departure, which was perfect. The security check at the airport is very strict and it took us around two hours to get through it. We were happy to be sitting in the flight to our next destination after the exhausting morning.

    Must dos:
    Tel Aviv
    * Hipster Street Neve Tzedek
    Restaurants:
    * Cafe Alma (Brunch), Margoza, Puaa, Onza
    Bars:
    * Dizzy, Voodoo

    Jerusalem:
    * Yehuda Market, Old Jaffa
    Restaurants:
    * Hasandak
    Read more

  • Day 1

    Helsinki

    March 22, 2019 in Finland ⋅ ⛅ 5 °C

    It’s already time to say goodbye to our first destination, Helsinki. Simone and I managed to see quite a lot of the city, despite the cold weather. Our apartment was very central and we were able to reach most sights on foot. We awarded ourselves with frequent coffee breaks inbetween the sights.

    One of our favourite spots turned out to be the spa Löyly. It offers saunas and the possibility to jump into the Golf of Finnland to cool off. We loved the place so much, we ended up coming here on our last day again. Jumping into the freezing water turned out to be a fun challenge. We enjoyed it so much that we did it twice.

    Feeling rejuvenated, we are waiting for our flight for the next destination. Somewhere warmer.

    Tips for future visits:
    * The fastest and cheapest way to get to Helsinki city from the airport is the train.
    * The spa which we tested out and approve is Löyly
    * Robert’s Coffee House & Pauling are some cafés
    Read more

Join us:

FindPenguins for iOSFindPenguins for Android