Welcome to Hong Kong: Royal View Hotel

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After about a 3-month stay in the Philippines, we say goodbye and board Philippine Airlines to Hong Kong.

We enjoyed exploring areas from Baler, Aurora to Legazpi City, Sorsogon to Mount Mayon Volcano in Bicol, Philippines to Tagaytay's Taal Volcano, Zoobic Safari in Subic Bay to the Whale Sharks in Donsol and Oslob, Cebu to hanging with Tarsiers in Bohol and finalizing our stay in La Union. So many reasons to adventure in the Philippines!

What I won't miss is the city smog or the air quality with all the agricultural burning in the rural areas. That was very hard on my allergies and lungs that we cut our trip short 1-week before my health could worsen.

Welcome to Hong Kong (HKG)

Our first time to Hong Kong. Everything felt so organized and welcoming... maybe because it was February and there were still Happy New Year 2015 decorations everywhere at the airport.

After grabbing our luggage, we exchange some currency (1 USD = 7.7554 HKD).

We purchase Airbus Tickets to get from the airport to the MTR Tsuen Wan West Station where we will then grab a taxi to get to our hotel.

There's our A31 double-decker bus! We head to the top.

I created a map to recall a portion of the route we had taken. It was a cloudy day but we were still able to snap a lot of great pictures of what we saw on our route to the MTR.

So close to HKG Airport was the Citygate Outlets.

While on the Kap Shui Mun Bridge, we saw Park Island Towers and the Park Island Pier.

Below: This was the view from in/around 225 Castle Peak Rd - Tsuen Wan. We spot a familiar brand - a KFC advertisement on a bus.

Here we're passing by the Tuen Wan Police Station and a policeman on his motorbike.

Random shots around the Hong Kong's metropolis: (left) Wah Lik Industrial Center where I found the decorative divider above on Cheung Pei Shan Rd quite nice. (top-right) We passed the D•Park Shopping Mall. (bottom) High-rise building of the Clague Garden Estate Block A as seen from Tai Chung Rd.

After Sha Tsui Road Playground (at 171-199 Sha Tsui Rd.), we passed another shopping center - Citywalk.

Tsuen Wan West Station

We make our way to the Tsuen Wan West Station Taxi Station to hail a cab.

We spotted a vibrant Mobile Softee truck. So nice to see a chidhood tradition alive here, too... just like my childhood in Texas.

(bottom-left) Our tax route to Royal View Hotel took us along Hoi On Road... specifically, we snapped a picture while in the area of the Hoi On Road Noise Barrier.

Arrived at the Royal View Hotel

The Royal View Hotel on Castle Peak Road is situated between Ting Kau Bridge, Lido Beach and Ting Kau Beach. 

^{[UPDATE: 12/29/2025 - TripAdvisor Reviews: Royal View Hotel Rating - 4 of 5 (1,682 reviews)]}

The Royal View Hotel Lobby.

With the average temperatures in February and March, 60°F to 74°F, I don't think we will be using the pool.

From the 10th floor, we could already catch a glimpse of the area... from Lido Beach, Park Island in the distance, and the Tsing Ma Bridge.

From Room 1051, we could see Ting Kau Beach.

Room 1051 - Having a super plush mattress at home, my biggest complaint about Royal View Hotel was regarding their very firm mattresses (... it felt in the range of firm to extra firm ...)!

I used extra pillows to sleep on so I wouldn't wake up with sore joints as a side-sleeper. It didn't work, but I tried.

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