Hong Kong Stops

I am not a “selfie” person. I’ve always preferred being behind the camera rather than in front of it. And this dislike of having my picture taken increased over the years, since I started gaining A LOT of weight. As such “selfies” or “wefies” are so not my thing.

But this post is going to surprise you. Why? Because I took over 20 wefies on my first trip to Hong Kong. Yes, my fellow “Pitchin Bitches” makes me do the craziest things. And I love it! With them, I dare to be wild. Because the three of them are quirky, fun, confident, and self assured women who make me feel brave and unafraid.

It started when Chewie suggesting that we take a “wefie” in front of the word “Wan Chai” at the underground train station.

We had just landed and after dropping our bags at our Wan Chai Airbnb apartment we decided to begin exploring Hong Kong. And to commemorate our first adventure together, Chewie got us to do a “wefie”. Then it hit me, why not do a “wefie” at every stop we got on or off at. I was thrilled at the idea of doing a series of photographs for my blog and it was also a great way to retrace our steps in the future.

And so, we did.

Here you’ll see a total of 14 “wefies” taken at 12 different stations. There are 89 MTR stations in Hong Kong so in all honesty, we really didn’t explore much of Hong Kong. And looking back at the photos, it still doesn’t do much to help me remember why we stopped at that station. Nonetheless, we had lots of fun going around Hong Kong and taking “wefies” at every stations we stopped or transited at.

We tried to pose in a way that we think represents or suits the name of the station. I hope you have fun going through the photos as much as we did taking them. So now, in alphabetical order…

MTR station: Admiralty

We were due to arrive at Hong Kong in late September. And just a week or two before our trip, Hong Kong had a political situation that affected the travel plans of many individuals. We were initially nervous about going ahead with the trip because the news reports we got in Singapore showed tear gas being deployed and we were worried about our safety and whether everything in Hong Kong will come to a standstill. We seriously considered cancelling our trip but my Travelzoo colleagues based in Hong Kong assured me that everything was going to be fine as Hong Kong protesters are very polite and well behaved. So why our poses? Because Admiralty was one of the areas that was affected by the protests.

MTR station: Causeway Bay

In Mandarin, Causeway Bay is written as 銅鑼灣 in Traditional Chinese or 铜锣湾 in Simplified Chinese, which when translated to English literally means Copper Gong Bay. Now the last word “湾” can mean “bay” or “a bend.” And that is why we are bending on our sides.

MTR station: Central

This station was one of the areas where there were a lot of protestors. Vehicular access was restricted or completely closed in parts of Wan Chai, Admiralty, Central, Mong Kong and Tsim Sha Tsui when we were holidaying there. So Central was one of the places we tried to avoid as much as possible but couldn’t as it was the only MTR station connected to 4 lines! I tried to do a “stop” pose but I’m not sure why Pamy and Shuping posed the way they did.

MTR station: Chai Wan

This MTR sign was the hardest to find. We were heading to Stanley Market and this was the last stop on the Island Line (Blue Line). I was fascinated with this station because it looks like one of the west side stations on the green line in Singapore, like Clementi or Commonwealth Station. It was the only overland station we stopped at while we were holidaying in Hong Kong. In Mandarin, Chai Wan is written as 柴灣 in Traditional Chinese or 柴湾 in Simplified Chinese, which when translated to English literally means Firewood Bay. Again Shuping and I tried to do “a bend” and Pamy was giving us her best Little Match Girl impression.

MTR station: Diamond Hill

This station pose needs no explanation. “If you liked it then you should’ve put a ring on it…” There’s also an inside joke referencing a fellow Mediacorp colleague who once broke her fourth finger.

Photo Source: Wikipedia

I wish we found the black coloured mosaic pillars for this “wefie” series though. The “diamonds” above the station name would have been perfect!

MTR station: Jordan

I wanted to do a basket toss pose (think Michael Jordan) but it didn’t look nice so I switched it up. I was pointing upwards in both shots because Michael Jordan would have been towering over me should he actually be standing beside or behind me. I think that didn’t come across very well. If I had already tried the awesome steamed egg white pudding with milk and egg custard from Australian Dairy Company (澳洲牛奶公司), I would have done a pose to show how please I was with it for this station as it was the closest MTR to the restaurant.

MTR station: Mong Kok

Okay, I think this photo was taken before we decided that we should pose in a way that represented the station we were taking “wefies” at. So don’t bother trying to figure out the connection between our poses and the station. We did take two shots because of the different coloured pillars at the station. I couldn’t decide which I shot I prefer so I just decided to use both.

MTR station: Prince Edward

We were all referencing Mini Me from Austin Powers but I can’t for the life of me remember why or if this has any connection with the station’s name. Oh well… Next!

MTR station: Tsim Sha Tsui

I will always connect Tsim Sha Tsui to the place where I totally freaked out. We went to Tsim Sha Tsui to visit Chungking Mansions because we thought that it’d be nice to see the place that inspired director Wong Kar Wai and was also the setting for the Hong Kong film, Chungking Express. When we entered, I immediately felt claustrophobic. Chungking Mansion is famous for “its 200 lodgings, it is a mix of different cultures” with “people of all races and nationalities: Chinese, white people, black people, Indian.” In truth, it kinda reminded me of Lucky Plaza in Singapore. But that’s not what freaks me out.

When we were there, we got lost after taking one of the lifts up. And according to Chewie and Shuping, one of the guys riding in the lift with us was checking me out. That made me uncomfortable but what made me lose it was the creepy corridors and the feeling of being trapped in the tower. We eventually were guided back down and out by a nice Indian guy who realised we were lost.

MTR station: Wong Tai Sin

Wong Tai Sin Station was named after the Wong Tai Sin Temple. Dedicated to Wong Tai Sin, or the Great Immortal Wong, it is a famous landmark and the place to go to have your prayers answered and fortunes told. In Mandarin, Wong Tai Sin is written as 黃大仙 in Traditional Chinese or 黄大仙 in Simplified Chinese. And the word “仙” means “god” or refers to an “immortal being” and that is why Shuping and I did those poses while Pamy channeled all things good in her expression.

MTR station: Yau Ma Tei

Our last MTR “wefie” in the series is another one that doesn’t jog my memory. I can’t remember why we were there and why we posed the way we did. And even analyzing the meaning of the name doesn’t help. Maybe you can help? In Mandarin, Yau Ma Tei is written as 油麻地. And according to Wikipedia, the literal meaning of 油麻地 is Oil Sesame Ground. Let me know what you think about the way we posed here.

I really love the designs of the pillars at the underground stations in Hong Kong. The 3D name of the stations are my favourites. The newer and flat names like the ones at Wan Chai and Causeway Bay aren’t as pretty. I think there’s something pretty about the mosaic tiles and protruding station names and I’m really glad we decided to do a “wefie” MTR series.

In fact, while writing this post, I discovered something interesting. The font of those 3D names is actually called Myriad. The metro company of Hong Kong, MTR, uses Myriad as its corporate identity font as well. But previously, the names were using the font Helvetica. Cool eh!

What do you think?
Did you enjoy looking at our MTR “wefie” series? Do you think we could have posed differently? Take a “wefie” or “selfie” with the name of your favourite station in your city and share it with us.

Have you heard of Skimbaco Lifestyle’s Instagram Travel Thursday series? This post is a part of the Instagram Travel Thursday series hosted by SkimbacoLifestyle.com. And if you’re not sure what to write check out the posts by Not A Ballerina and House Of Anais. All photos in this post were published on my Instagram account. You can also participate on Instagram using #IGTravelThursday!