Thursday, 26th November 2009
We arrived in Hong Kong without any delay - got our bags through customs, bought our 'Octopus' travel card and soon were on our way via the Airport Express train and the hotel shuttle bus to the Royal Plaza Hotel in the Mongkok/Prince Edward Road area. 
On arrival at the hotel, we quickly checked in and had a quick wash. The Royal Plaza's rooms are big compared to those in many other hotels. We liked its proximity to the MTR and KCR train stations and the adjacent six-storey shopping mall with its nice food court. We ere impressed with the gym and swimming pool which we could use for free - unfortunately we had no time to use these facilities.........
Then it was time to hit the streets. Our fearless 'Tour Leader', danzbuddy Lay Kuan led us to have a late lunch of 'congee', 'tau fu fa', etc at one of the many nice porridge restaurants at nearby Fa Yuen Street which also features lots of 'pasar malam' street stalls selling all kinds of everything.
Next, we went for a ride on the MTR to busy the Tsim Sha Tsui neighbourhood to shop and do some 'walk-about' - re-visited the historic Peninsula Hotel which I had the pleasure of staying in during the late 80s....... 
Time to take a rest - we were led to the very popular 'Sweet Dynasty' dessert restaurant where we had their famous 'bean curd' desert (served in a barrel for six!). It was great to then meet up with our long lost 'MIA' danzbuddy Shandy Soh, now a Hong Kong resident. 
After the 'dessert stop', it was time time to go for dinner - with our 'gourmet guide', Kim who is a good friend of Lay Kuan, Maggie and Shandy. We were brought to Lei Yue Mun - a 'hidden gem' of a place which is quite off the beaten track for a most wonderful seafood dinner. 
On arrival at the Seafood paradise, the first order of the night was to go to one of the many seafood shops to view, select and buy whatever we fancy eating that night........ and then arranging for one of the restaurant there to cook and serve the dishes desired.
It was a most sumptuous seafood dinner at one of the best seafood restaurant in Lei Yue Mun in a most interesting location. We said a big 'Thank You' to Kim who brought us there and also to Shandy's husband, Desmond for sharing cost of the dinner with Kim........
Friday, 27th November 2009
We woke up bright and early and went for another round of 'congee' breakfast, after which it was shopping again - this time over on Hong Kong island. Everyone got back to the hotel ontime at 3.30 pm for the onward journey by train to Shenzhen..... 
Taking the train to the Luoho border town was the easy part, the challenging part was fighting with the crowd to get through immigration, filling in the health declaration and wheeling the luggage to the hotel. 
Fortunately, the hotels we stayed in - Shangrila and Felicity Hotel (where Lay Kuan's group stayed) were close to the Immigration building. Below is view of the Luohu Border Immigration Building from the Shangrila Hotel lobby with the 'famous' 6-storey Luohu Shopping Plaza to the left and the Railway Station to the right. 
First on the agenda was to visit the textile section at the Luohu Shopping Plaza to buy whatever materials needed for the dresses, cheong-sams, shirts, etc and then go find the tailor to sew the items. We did these first so that the finished creations can be collected by Sunday evening before we leave Shenzhen for Macau...... 
After that was the highlight for the day - dinner at the Laurel Restaurant for which we had to take a reservation ticket in advance. And the food......all dishes were yummy and worth the wait. The Restaurant is famous for its 'pumpkin dishes' - it was clear to see from the daily pile of pumpkins seen by the kitchen door.....
After dinner came more shopping til we retire for the night............for blouses, T-shirts, shoes, pearls - well 'all kinds of everything.....'
END OF PART 1......to be continued
