Click here for trip summary.

After the delicious tarts which warmed up our hungry tummy, we took a short walk to Senado Square 議事亭前地. Since it was still CNY, the atmosphere was lively with CNY decoration adorning the place.

CNY

Here is the summary of my latest version of HK/Macau chapter, my best HK and Macau trip so far in terms of food hunting. More to come and links will be added from time to time. Remember to check back again for new updates!

Day 1
– Eat: Margaret’s Cafe e Nata (玛嘉烈蛋挞)
– Eat: Cafe Tai Lei Loi Kei (大利来咖啡室) @ Ruins of St Paul
– See: The famous street of Rua da Felicidade (福隆新街)
– Eat: Gelatina Mok Yi Kei (莫義記) @ Rua do Cunha, Taipa
– See: Taipa Houses – Museum (龍環葡韻住宅式博物館)
– Eat: Casa de Pasto Seng Cheong (城昌饭店)
– Stay: Hard Rock Hotel
– See: City of Dream’s The House of Dancing Water (水舞間)

Day 2
– Eat: Breakfast @ Hard Rock Cafe
– Eat: Dimdimsum Dim Sum Specialty Store (點點心點心專門店) @ Mongkok
– See: Starbucks (星巴克咖啡) @ Mongkok (Starbucks with movie theme)
– Eat: Kam Wah Cafe (金華冰廳) @ Mongkok
– See: Apple Store, Hysan Place @ Causeway Bay
– Eat: Wing Kee Noodles (榮記粉麵) @ Causeway Bay
– Eat: Se Wong Yee (蛇王二) @ Causeway Bay
– Eat: Lucky Dessert (發記甜品) @ Mongkok

Day 3
– Eat: Mui Kee Congee (妹記生滾粥品) @ Mongkok
– See: Wong Tai Sin (黄大仙祠) @ Wong Tai Sin
– See: Sai Kung Waterfront and Public Pier (西貢公眾碼頭)
– Eat: Chuen Kee Seafood (全記海鮮菜館) @ Sai Kung
– See: The streets of Sai Kung
– Eat: Tung Po (東寶小館) @ North Point
– Eat: Lee Keung Kee North Point Eggette (利強記北角雞蛋仔) @ North Point
– See: Ding Ding Tram from North Point to Central
– See: Lan Kwai Fong
– See: Star Ferry

Day 4
– Eat: Australia Dairy Company (澳洲牛奶公司) @ Jordan
– See: Tian Tan Buddha (天壇大佛) @ Lantau Island
– Shop: Citygates Outlets
– Eat: Yue Kee Restaurant (裕記大飯店) @ Sham Tseng

Day 5
– Buy: Duck Shing Ho Egg Rolls(德成號蛋捲) @ North Point
– Eat: Good Hope Noodle (好旺角麵家) @ Mongkok
– See: Lamma Island excursion
– Eat: Rainbow Seafood Restaurant (天虹海鮮酒家) @ Sok Kwu Wan, Lamma Island
– Eat: Tao Heung (稻香) @ Carnavon Plaza, Tsim Sha Tsui
– See: Ozone Bar @ Level 118, The Ritz Carlton, International Commerce Centre

Day 6
– Eat: Kam Wah Cafe (金華冰廳) @ Mongkok
– See: Starbucks (星巴克咖啡) @ Central (“Bing sutt” theme)
– See: Pottinger Street (砵典乍街) @ Central
– Eat: Tai Cheong Bakery (泰昌餅家) @ Central
– Eat: Sing Heung Yuen (勝香園) @ Central/Sheung Wan
– Eat: Lan Fong Yuen (蘭芳園) @ Central
– Eat: Kwan Kee Store (坤記糕品專家) @ Sham Shui Po

Last year, we chilled and relaxed at this place. This year, we planned an even shorter getaway that is only 45 minutes away from KL. Even though it’s near, we still had to wait for about 5-6 months before this came to reality. It’s not that Sekeping Serendah is hard to book, but making everyone to commit to the date is harder than we ever thought. Fortunately, it didn’t seem a long wait to me as I had quite a number of stuffs to do in between the date. So that day finally came, and we gathered yet again.

It was pouring that day, and we were caught in horrendous jam for about an hour before reaching Sekeping Serendah. Thank goodness we didn’t lose our way as the map provided by Sekeping management is not really helpful at all. Fortunately, I recorded a video of the journey, so for future visitors to Sekeping Serendah, you can watch the video that will bring you right to the doorstep. (Refer to the video at the of the post)

[ad#Google Adsense]

We stayed at Foundry (Warehouse) that sleeps 14 person. The house is pretty bare (no walls except for the toilets) and everything is pretty much open concept. Keeping things to simple and minimal, you have a kitchen with basic things like fridge, stove, kettle and cutlery. Some of these things are not in good condition, take for example the fridge isn’t cold at all and the stove is only half-working.

[Larger version]

#1 Room in Krabi La Playa Resort. I was dead worried about the condition of the hotel prior our arrival. Thank goodness, it turned out just fine. And everyone loves the big swimming pool.

[Larger version]

#2 Aonang Beach. We were supposed to have our team building here on one of the days, but it didn’t materialize. Still, we were here on one of those nights to release the beautiful “kong ming” lantern on the eve of Mid-Autumn festival. Sweet.

#3 Kong Ming lantern. Kindly provided by tour agency. I never expect this to be a hit among us. I guess everyone was more excited flying it up than writing our wishes on it. One of the surprises that we had for the lads.

#4 Snorkeling at Chicken Island. Not a very great spot for snorkeling but everyone was having fun in the water.

[Larger version]

#5 One of the island hopping is Poda Island. It’s a great spot for photo-taking. We took numerous shots here. Thanks to the great sunny weather!

#6 Phra Nang Beach. The last of the island hopping excursion. A totally chillax place. 🙂

[Larger version]

#7 Another view of Phra Nang Beach.

[Larger version]

#8 Still at Phra Nang Beach. Playing with iOS 6 Panorama feature. 🙂

#9 A visit to the lagoon during our Hong Island excursion. It’s beautiful.

[Larger version]

#10 Pakbia Island. At one of the stops during our Hong Island excursion. The beach is littered with a lot dead corals. Still, the view is to die for.

[Larger version]

#11 Another view of Pakbia Island. I love panorama shot!

[Larger version]

#12 Hong Island is our last stop. Here we chilled to the max until the cows come home. 🙂

[Larger version]

#13 White sandy beach at Hong Island. Terrific!

[Larger version]

#14 Low tide reveals all the dead coral.

#15 We were looking for anything PORK, and sniffed our way to this stall. Hmmm, perfectly marinated grilled pork skewer! Life’s simple pleasure… 🙂

#16 Everyone reluctant to go down initially but ended up excited like a school boy when we saw scores of baby sea turtles.

#17 Tiger cave. Our visit was cut short due to time constraint.

I thought it would be kind of waste not to make some videos along our journey in NZ so I actually got myself a tiny but powerful video camera – GoPro HD Hero. Armed with all the right accessories, I took quite a number of videos and here they are… some of them which I duly compiled for your viewing pleasure. All the videos are in full high-definition. Enjoy!

Part 1 – Journey from Christchurch to Tekapo. [Day 1 Story]

Part 2 – A view of Lake Tekapo, Church of Good Shepherd, Mount John Observatory and Astro Cafe. [Day 1 Story, Day 2 Story]

Part 3 – Journey from Pukaki to Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park with gorgeous view of turquoise Lake Pukaki and the jaw-dropping scenery along the way. [Day 2 Story]

Click here for the NZ executive summary and other posts.

Day 13
Christchurch to KL

*

Slight drizzle greeted us on our final day in NZ. Unwillingly, we dragged our luggage to the car, and drove around the city looking for breakfast.

Vic’s Cafe

I did not plan anything on this day. I felt if there’s anything which we did not manage to do for the past 12 days, this would be the day we’d make up for it. Thankfully, we were pretty much settled down and therefore, we unanimously picked Canterbury Museum as the place to go.

Christchurch was still pretty much in rubble, especially the CBD area. Much of the area was cordoned off. There were ongoing constructions almost everywhere. I felt so sorry for what had struck this beautiful city.

After our lovely breakfast (and our new obsession with paninis), we navigated few streets away to find the beautiful Canterbury Museum sitting next to Botanic Gardens.

Canterbury Museum