Fotoeins Fotografie

location bifurcation, place vs. home

Posts from the ‘Asia’ category

Image by Sameboat, for Wikimedia

MTR Hong Kong: in town flight check-in

Chep Lap Kok airport, otherwise known as Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA), opened for service in 1998, replacing the smaller Kai Tak Airport in Kowloon. HKIA operates 24-hours, and is one of the busiest airports in the world by passenger numbers, aircraft movements, and cargo traffic.

As the airport is located over 30 kilometres (over 20 miles) from Hong Kong’s “Central” business district and city centre, transport options include taxis, buses, coaches for major hotels, or the MTR.

The MTR (Mass Transit Railway) Airport Express route is a reasonably quick and inexpensive choice with trains running every 10-12 minutes between the city of Hong Kong and the airport in a one-way trip lasting under 30 minutes. As of posting, the cost for one adult is HKD$100 (less than USD$13) for a single journey, same day return ticket, or with an Octopus card; additional information about fare-, ticket-, and travel-options with the MTR Airport Express can be accessed here (fares above as of 2013).

( Click here for more )

Hong Kong: dining magic at North Point’s Tung Po

1 Sep 2022: Tung Po forced to close after 30 years in business (TimeOut HKG).

If you’re in Hong Kong, one thing you should do is make reservations at Tung Po in North Point (εŒ—θ§’) for a truly local dining experience. Reservations are especially recommended as the place is packed solid by 7pm.

Why should you care?

As a “dai pai dong” which has moved indoors into the Java Road Cooked Food Centre, Tung Po Kitchen has excellent fresh seafood, is recommended by many, and frequented by locals. The place opens for dinner between 530 and 545pm, and within an hour to two, the floor is full of people, the noise levels are so high it’s hard to hear the person in front of you, and the food keeps coming and coming and coming …

You should care, because this is a place where locals come to eat.

I care, because my sister had been to Tung Po before, and she satisfied my request to dine at this well-reviewed joint.

We decided to keep things “light” by ordering only the following four items:

  • black squid-ink noodle,
  • oyster omelette,
  • deep fried spicy prawns with garlic, and
  • soup with Chinese zucchini, green pea vermicelli, chinese mushroom, dried shrimp, and ginger.

( Click here for images and more )

Say ‘so long’ to Hong Kong

When this article is posted (at 0001 UTC, 2 July), my scheduled flight will have departed Hong Kong, southbound for Singapore. Located at a mere one degree of latitude north of the equator, I’ve a few more days of sweating it out in the tropics, before I venture farther south and pile on the extra fleece to encounter southern winter.

I’ve had a great month of June in Hong Kong, including a short sidetrip to Saigon, Vietnam. Thanks to my sister and my brother-in-law who provided shelter, travel tips, food, and conversation, and thanks to the new friends I’ve made in the last few weeks. I leave H-K-G with great memories of the city, the surrounding area, and of course, the food.

“Bye bye, 香港!”

West along Hennessy Road, Causeway Bay

I made the photo above on Hennessy Road near MTR Causeway Bay station on 21 June 2012. This post appears originally on Fotoeins Fotopress (fotoeins.com).

Pho Thai Son, Saigon, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, fotoeins.com

3 Places to Eat in Central Saigon

Saigon is a metropolis in southern Vietnam with over 7 million people; some say there are upwards of 9 million in the area. Although often referred by its present-day name of Ho Chi Minh City, many still call the place by its old name of Saigon.

A big attraction in a short trip is always about the food. The out-of-this-world traffic points to everybody in a big hurry on the go, and it seems the entire population is on their motorbikes. This also suggests everybody is hungry, all the time.

Naturally, there are many places, stalls, and street-side carts, but if you’d like to sit down under cover and see what others are eating, you might give these three places in central Saigon a try.

( Click here for more )