HK Day 1: Around Tsim Sha Tsui

Itinerary and photos of recent 5D4N trip to Hong Kong. Enjoy!

Our SQ flight finally in the air after a 30 mins delay.

Ships at anchor outside the Port of Singapore. So many!!

Johor Straits and Pulau Tekong (right)

Delicious in-flight meals

We bought a Group of 2 Single Journey Ticket Set which entitles two passengers travelling together on the Airport Express to/from Airport and Kowloon station for HK$140. Saved HK$20 each as the usual Round Trip Ticket costs HK$160.

At the airport, Airport Express station platform is within the terminal building about 50 metres from the arrivals hall and clearly signed. Airport Express train departs every 10 mins and is the fastest and most comfortable method of travel to the city. Took us only ~20 mins to get to Kowloon station!

Remember to take advantage of the Airport Express Shuttle-bus, a free add-on service provided exclusively for Airport Express passengers travelling between Kowloon station and major hotels. Bus departs every 10-12 mins, depending on route taken. Took us another ~20 mins to get to Sheraton Hong Kong Hotel via K2 route!

Our Deluxe Room which is pretty spacious, nicely decorated, clean and cosy; no view though as the room faces an inner courtyard. Cost ~HK$1,200 (~SG$200) per night.

First meal in HK - char siew rice set meal at Café de Coral (大家樂).

The open public car park in front of Harbour City is an ideal spot for you to get a clear view of Hong Kong island and...

... expensive vehicles such as ultra-luxury car Maserati GranTurismo (above), BMW Z4 Sports Roadster and Ferrari sport car.

Tsim Sha Tsui Clock Tower built out of red bricks and granite.

Tsim Sha Tsui Ferry Pier aka Star Ferry Pier operates pedestrian ferry service across Victoria Harbour to Wan Chai and to Central on Hong Kong Island.

The must watch Symphony of Lights laser lights and music show for first time visitor to Hong Kong. We spent almost 2 hours there to 'chop' a good viewing point and to enjoy the cool breeze, hahaha.

Delicious dinner at Food Republic at Silvercord shopping plaza.

ishot: Mint Museum of Toys

We visited Mint Museum of Toys on Seah Street (finally!).

MINT (Moment of Imagination and Nostalgia with Toys) Museum of Toys is the world's first museum created specifically for toys and showcases an extensive collection of more than 50,000 pieces of vintage toys and childhood memorabilia from more than 40 countries which ranges from the mid-19th Century to the mid-20th Century.

There are a total of four galleries, each on a separate floor. The museum staff suggested to start at the top with 'Outer Space' and to work our way down.

Check out the photos below =)

LEVEL 5: OUTER SPACE
Here, you can find toys which reflect early 20th century society’s perception of technology and space travel in the future. Pretty cool!!

Space rockets

Police? robot in a space patrol car

Deadly ray guns

Space puppies? Soooo cute!

Space robots

Construction workers in space suits?

Chemistry experiment kit for the curious minds

Dan Dare figures

Star Wars figures

LEVEL 4: CHARACTERS
Here, you can find character toys such as Astroboy, Batman, Popeye, pre-war Japanese toys and Tintin collectables, amongst others.

Astro boy and his little sister, Uran

Tintin and Snowy on the moon

Tintin characters hand puppets

Flintstones

Popeye, Bluto and Oliver Oyl string holders

Battery-operated 'Popeye Rollover tank', one of four known to exist in the world!

Batman

Batmobile, being the only one of its kind known to exist with its box in the world!

Green Hornet with Bruce Lee as Kato

Green Hornet Car (Blue in colour), being the only one to exist in the world!

LEVEL 3: CHILDHOOD FAVOURITES
Here, you can find popular icons such as...

Mickey Mouse.
In his earliest incarnation, Mickey was more rat-like, his head was less rounded, his body thinner, his hands larger and he also featured teeth and was the proud possessor of a tail!

Darkie, the very beginning of Darlie – the icon used in Darlie toothpaste

Bonzo the Dog

Betty Boop

Snow white and the seven dwarfs.
Notice anything strange?? That's right, how come Snow white has black hair??!!

‘Door of Hope’ doll collection

LEVEL 2: COLLECTABLES

Lunch boxes

Die cast metal trains

Die cast metal planes

Cute toys

Skating circus clowns

Die cast metal motorcycles

1840's tumbling toy

Matchbox die-cast toy vehicles, so-named because they were packaged in a matchbox back in the 1950s

Earliest version of the Mickey Mouse Hurdy Gurdy, or Organ Grinder toy. On exhibit is an early prototype made by The Johann Distler Company, Germany in the 1930’s. The later versions have tails, which are ‘spring like’ and the lithographs on the Organs are slightly different in design. This toy is often found missing the small Minnie Mouse dancing figure, as it is not attached to the toy.

LEVEL 1

Astro boy greets you when you enter the museum

'Lenticular panel' lines the walls of the walkway from the museum’s entrance, and depicts a chronological record of comics from the Silver Age to the Platinum Age.

BUILDING

There is no support pillar for Level 4/5 of the museum and the floors are only supported by the side walls. Seems as though the floors are floating in the air!

From Level 3, you can look down directly and clearly to the ground floor through the glass flooring.

The building’s facade comprises of twenty-six glass panels and is unique in that it has been specifically designed to minimize the amount of light into the building to reduce the damaging effect of UV rays on the collections.