Globe Trotting Part II

Continuing my holiday destination reviews:-

Hong Kong & Macau
People : Everyone is rushing in HK. To work, to play, to eat, etc. They walk everywhere and walk really quickly. People are generally friendly but they are also very direct and they will tell you off if they see the need. But it's a very structured and disciplined society and after the SARS outbreak, very clean as well.

Service : Up and mid class places have very good service especially retail outlets. Restaurant, not so much. They may not be rude but they are not particularly friendly either. Other places are very efficient though no one really talks to you.

Food : OMG! This is my fav place for food. Absolutely amazing. Everything is good but not cheap. You can eat street food or restaurant and it taste great. Fav food are Typhoon Noodle under the bridge, seafood at Sai Kung and dim sum anywhere. Macau has some Portuguese food and was better than China but HK is still my fav.

POI : SHOPPING!!! Great places to shop as fashion is trendy though may not always be cheap. Can check out Stanley Market, Ladies Street, Electronic Street and Tsim Tsa Tsui. Victoria Peak is also my fav place to hang out. I also love Repulse Bay, Ngong Ping 360 and of course Disneyland, where you will experience a Cantonese speaking Mickey. Symphony of Lights show at the Avenue of Stars is also amazing. In Macau, people are only interested in the casinos. If gambling is not your fancy, there are many shows you can go to. There is a particular good 3D show called The Bubble Show that you can check out.


Taiwan - Taipei only
People : Generally friendly folks but English literacy is kinda low. Every signboard is in Chinese. So felt pretty useless. We got separated from our families and needed to call them and my batt was flat. Someone in the streets heard us and just loaned us their phone. I thought that was pretty amazing. Prob didn't know it was an international call. Haha!

Service : Everyone's busy so they are not particularly friendly Only at the Taipei 101 Tower did we see some smiles. Food, hotel, bus and subway stations, smiles are pretty rare there.

Food : There are so many night market and so many varieties of food. Just amazing. However, you need to know where to go because not everything is good. We tried their minced beef rice, beef noodle and a place called Ah Choong mee suah. These left a good impression on us. Fishball and oyster omelettes were horrible!!! Pls avoid if you are traveling alone.

POI : Good places to find bargain stuff and fashionable as well. There is a Yeh Liu Geopark and a village called Jiufen. Must visit. The Chiang Kai Sek memorial was enjoyable for me and you gotta see Taipei 101 Tower.


London & Paris
People : People on the street were a lot friendlier in London than Parisians. Everyone is saying "sorry", "excuse me" and "good morning, afternoon, etc". Getting around was easy and folks were very helpful.

Service : Funnily, restaurant people in London were not as friendly as those in Paris. They were more surly and more curt. Those in Paris were chatty, smiling always and patience since we needed help with the French menu. Those in retail outlets were also pretty friendly and helpful, both places.

Food : What can I say? London bad, Paris gorgeous!!! We only had one good meal in London, on board a ferry opposite the Eye of London. Almost every food we had in Paris was amazing. From the Nutella Crepe to our Foir Gras. There was a fish place that didn't really get me going but everything else was absolutely gorgeous!

POI : Too many to mention! The favs for me, British Museum, Tower Bridge, Greenwich Meridian Line, Stonehenge, Big Ben, Bath, Eifel Tower, Notre Dame, Seine Cruise, St Michael's Fountain and Louvre.


Continuing to Part III........