Hong Kong Day 2 – Doraemon and Ladies Street

It was a coincidence that Hong Kong was celebrating Doraemon’s (小叮噹) birthday, 100 years before it’s birth. We heard there were 100 Doramon waiting for us at Harbour City yeah !

Look at Boon Xin’s smile, Doraremon has not only captured her attention, but generations across Asia.

After breakfast, we took a bus to Star Ferry Terminal again.

At Harbour City (海港城), we saw 100 Doraemon models on parade ! Step through the Timezone door, and relive our childhood dreams.

Long queues have formed from photo enthusiasts. In fact queues were long throughout the exhibition period 🙂

Thanks to Harbour City’s organisers, we manage to lay our hands on some funky 100-years-old souvenirs.

Do drop by our Day2 HK album for more Doraemon portraits and toys.

We bid Doraemon and Da Xiong (大雄) good bye 🙁

The next item on our itinerary was to pop over to Hong Kong Island and enjoy some Tram rides, unfortunately Boon Kang lost his backpack! Mummy and Boon Xin end up going to the bus HQ to retrieve the backpack, while Daddy brought the boys across Victoria harbour.

Love the fluffy clouds, and reflections off the skyscrapers’ glass walls.

We have not really been on a tram ride before, and it was fun to see the Trams share the same road as other vehicles. From the map, we know the Trams ply along the coast at Hong Kong Island, and it cost only HKD 2.30 flat !

Do take note you can only mount the Tram from the rear, and climb up the narrow steps to the top deck. Please remind kids not to stretch their hands out of the window, as trams and double-decker buses pass each other within one metre !

We can actually hear the wheels grinding on the road tracks, and we spend almost 30min on our Fun tram ride 🙂

You can learn more about Tram 电车 history from wiki.

Next stop, Wan Chai (湾仔). Some of Hong Kong’s iconic buildings like HSBC bank and Lippo are all situated in this area.

Macdonald is always easy to settle kid’s meal. Daddy is too lazy to look for more “nutritious” food. You must try the delicious pork burger 🙂

After french fries, we proceeded to take some iconic photos.


The Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, we remember Jackie Chan chasing villian Daniel Wu on the rooftop (新警察故事)! A lot of PRC tourists were here to look at the flame, symbolizing Hong Kong’s return to Chinese rule.

Tsim Sha Tsui (尖沙咀) as seen from Hong Kong Island. The tall building on the left is the Sky100.

We walk along the coastline until we hit Wan Chai ferry terminal.

We took a Ferry back to Tsim Tsha Tsui.

We finally caught up with Mummy, and we had our lunch at Crystal Jade Harbour City. Fried rice is the easiest choice to make everyone happy.

Harbour city is actually a mega mall, with over 400 shops. Ladies and kids will be happy to shop within. We even notice a shop with two doors, separately for adult and child.

We caught up with our Sengkang neighbours (Heng family) at the arcade 🙂

Anyone craving for desserts? In Hong Kong, you will find dessert stalls every few streets, day and night. Kids will love the sweet mango pudding. 許留山 (Lau Hui Shan) is one of the franchises.

Dinner back at our hotel. Most of us are tired from one full day of walking. We need to recharge before the last stop 🙂

Next stop, Mongkok MTR. Ladies Street (女人街) is one of the recommended streets for Tourists. You can find a lot of souvenirs and food along the back streets.

Do not bargain, unless you are interested in the merchandise. Do not expect tip top service from the stall owners. You will likely suffer a barrage of criticisms in Cantonese, if they detect you as insincere :p

Night snacks anyone? The Zhu Chang Fen (猪肠粉) looks tandalising. Daddy was actually looking out for the pushcart fishballs, as seen in Hong Kong dramas. We end up with bubble tea to quench our thirst.

When night falls, Hong Kong never sleeps. Do pop by our Day 2 album for more Doraemon photos.

–> Our 6D5N Hong Kong Family Itinerary summary

Day 1 – Dim Sum, Ferry, Goose
Day 2 – Doraemon!, Tram, Ladies Street
Day 3 – Ocean Park
Day 4 – Buddha, ThePeak and Madam Tussauds
Day 5 – Street food, Disneyland !
Day 6 – Breakfast with Mickey, DisneyLand (part ii)

All photos from Day 1 to 6 are available on our Fanpage:
–Day 1 photos
–Day 2 photos (Doraemon)
–Day 3 photos (Ocean Park)
–Day 4 photos, and Buddha lantau
–Day 5 photos (Disney)
–Day 6 photos (Breakfast with Mickey)

Singapore Conversation, about our future

Singapore Conversation tries to engage Singaporeans to talk about their future. Today, we face issues and challenges like Global competition, Foreign Talent and lack of babies. What will our kids face 20 years from now?

The theme is “Our Population, Our Future“:
– How do we feel about Singapore, now and in the future.
– What do we wish to improve ?
– How can we make a difference?

In 20 years, our kids would be working or studying, and steering their own future.
And 2032 is not so far away.

A few weeks ago, Daddy got a peep of previous and current survey results.

1) What weighs heavily on Singaporeans’ minds? (Look at the clouds below)
– job security
– cost of living (will more HDB flats break the resale and valuation records?)
– transport (will the transport infrastructure meet our current demands)

2) Making more babies and building Happy families, issues and challenges :
– Cost of raising children
– work life balance (we suspect work culture in SG is timeline motivated, not family)
– meeting the right match, securing a house, stable career, new parents sacrificing financial and lifestyle freedom

3) What about our future? Will Singaporeans remain competitive internationally?
– we want jobs with better career advancements and opportunities (satisfaction)
– more well paying jobs
– is it a given for talents to come to Singapore, when Shanghai, Mumbai are booming ?

When we talk about jobs and economy, the topic on FT (Foreign Talent) always hog the limelight. Everyone knows why we need foreign talents, we are only upset at how easy it is for them to be granted PR (Permanent Resident) status, enjoy the benefits, then hop off to greener pastures.

With Foreign talent, citizens face competition for jobs, houses, primary school allocations, and our low-wage earners’ salary are suppressed. Someone mention Singaporean girls are being wooed by more eligible foreigners 🙂
A few participants voiced out why PR status seem to be non-expiry?

Will Singaporeans feel like a stranger in Singapore?

As a parent, Daddy has one major grip. There are too many DO-NOT signages in Singapore.

– Do not litter
– Do not eat in train
– Do not jaywalk

We are not robots, why does everyone look to the government for guidance and solution? Do Singaporeans really need someone to remind us to behave? Are we not littering because we fear the fines? What do Singaporeans really want for ourselves?

Tourists must be amused at the number of signages in Singapore.

Decades of campaigns have yet to yield a mindset change. Cigarette butts still litter the floor, even when rubbish bins are everywhere. Our streets are clean because of an army of efficient cleaners. We break the rules when “no one” is around.

Look at how Japan and Taiwanese keep their streets clean. They have a culture of their civic mindfulness. When we were in Taiwan, people gave way to strollers, no shoving at MRTs. People greet you with a smile if you stop to ask for directions.

Maybe, we can remove the signage, and let us see whether the streets will become dirtier? Will Singapore become more gracious?

~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~

In summary, Daddy enjoys his feedback session. Ideas are formed when we think out of the box :
– someone suggested removing Istana, so higher plot ration in Orchard area can be accomodated
– legalising same-sex marriage
– encouraging and paying stay-at-home mums for their “silent” contributions.

If you have not been to a chit-chat session before, make time. The ideas and discussions always bring new perspectives to our journey.