Throwback Post: MACAU and HONG KONG 2013

Two years ago, a bunch of officemates of mine decided to go to Macau after finding out that Cebu Pacific has launched another one of their Promo fares. When I heard about their plan, I immediately told them I wanted to tag along.

We booked the ticket like months prior to the trip (August 2013). The dates we booked coincided with the Kadayawan Festival in Davao City. As if Macau wasn’t enough, the crew wanted to spend one whole day at Hong Kong (which was just an hour ferry ride away from the Las Vegas of Asia). Friday was declared a holiday, plus two days on the weekends = 3 days to JAMPACK both Macau and Hong Kong. Talk about hassle.

So here’s what conspired during my quick weekend getaway to both the Former Portuguese colony and Former British Colony in Asia.

Day 1 – Davao-Manila-Clark-Macau

Left Davao City around 7 in the morning, arrived in Manila before 9 am. We waited for an officemate of ours who took a later flight. When she arrived, we rode a rented van going to Clark from NAIA3. After more than an hour, we arrived at Diosdado Macapagal International Airport at Clark. We left Clark around 7 in the evening and arrived at Macau before 9 pm. We stayed at Golden Crown China Hotel which was conveniently located in front of the Airport Exit. I definitely recommend this hotel for those who arrive in Macau late at night. After checking in, two of my officemates decided to check out neighboring hotels while I chose to catch some Zs… Zzzzzzzzzzz.

Me, Mark and Reymond

Team Macau-HK :)

View of Macau while our plane was descending

Touchdown, Macau

Day 2 – Macau to Hong Kong

So I woke up around 5 in the morning the following day. A few months before this trip, I contacted my good friend, Olga, who currently works in Hong Kong. Olga and I decided to spend the day together while I was in Hong Kong. Mark, my boyfriend, decided to tag along. We left Macau before 7 in the morning and arrived at Hong Kong around an hour later. We rode Cotai Water Jet (Blue). The fare was around HKD 172 that time.

Outside of the hotel. Just opposite the Macau International Airport.

To the Ferry Terminal

Inside Cotai Jet - Comfy Seats :)

Finally here!

Okay, so we got lost! That was the first time I visited Hong Kong and we got lost. Talk about luck. I only relied on my internet research to know exactly where to go to upon arrival. Turns out HK has two ferry terminals – the one in Tsim Sha Tsui and the one in Shun Tak Center. I thought we were going to arrive at Tsim Sha Tsui Ferry Terminal since Olga and I decided to meet up there. But we arrived at Shun Tak Center instead. After talking to people who barely spoke English, somebody finally spoke little English enough for us to understand. She told us to take the MTR from Shun Tak Center to Tsim Sha Tsui which was like a few stops away.

Wow first MTR ride. It was my first time to ride a train, and let me just say that I was totally impressed! The ride was so fast. Although I did observe however that everybody there was so engrossed in tinkering their gadgets and all. It was a good thing though because Mark and I started camwhoring inside the MTR. Now, in order to use the MTRs, one must either possess an octopus card or buy tickets before going to the train. You can find booths on the side of the station which you just click your destination and it gives you a pass. Be sure you have small bills because some machines only accept certain denominations and not the big ones! Don’t worry, the machine gives you coins as change.

When we reached Tsim Sha Tsui, we were so happy! We finally made it. We just had to take a picture.

SUCCESS :)

We saw Olga who waited for us at the end of the escalator. I just had to hug her! Hahahaha… Hadn’t seen her in 4 years.

First stop in Hong Kong - Lunch at Café de Coral. The food sold here is cheaper (well, for HK standards, that is) and yummy too! So if ever you’re in HK and want to eat at an inexpensive place and want to do away with usuals like KFC, MCDO, etc, Café de Coral is definitely the place to go to. We spent around HKD25 to HKD30 per person. That time, exchange rate was around Php 5.5=HKD 1.

Next stop – DISNEYLAND! A great excuse to be a kid again. Good thing Olga tagged along with us because she has lived in HK for quite some time now. So she knew how to get there. We took an MTR to Sunnybay and switched to another train. From downtown HK, the trip will take around 45 minutes to an hour. After alighting at Sunnybay, You’d know that the train is bound for DISNEYLAND because the windows on the train are shaped like Mickey Mouse - it’s a big HIDDEN MICKEY! J

Find the hidden mickey! Hahaha. This is what you'll see at the train bound for Disneyland.

When we arrived at Disneyland, the lines were so long. We went on a Saturday so we really expected that a lot of people would go there too. We were absolutely right. Lines were ridiculous. We bought our tickets there which cost HKD 450.

Disneyland was just… ugh… I honestly can’t find the right words to describe this place. When we arrived, we were just in time for the Parade. Let me tell you a little secret, I cried during the parade. Hahahaha! I don’t  really know why but maybe because I was so happy that I got to see Mascots of all the Disney Characters I grew up with. Here are some pictures of Disneyland because I might not give justice just writing about it. It is way better to see it instead.

Here are some photos ^^

This is what a Disney Ticket looks like.

WELCOME!

Le Parade

Hi OLGA :)

This was the part where I started crying.

Aboard a train that took us around Disneyland. It was a short but fun ride.

welcome to my crib. Nyahaha.

Oh mickey you're so fine!

The Lion King Musical - definitely a MUST WATCH!

You're welcome :)

Another cool thing about being in Disneyland was that there were a lot of Filipinos working there. I got the chance to meet some of my Kababayans there. Too bad I don't have pictures.

We left Disneyland around 5 in the afternoon. We decided not to watch the fireworks because we still wanted to go to Mongkok to buy streetfood and souvenirs (pasalubong) for our family back home.

Before coming to HK, I pictured Mongkok as this great night market full of inexpensive things that you could purchase. But I was kind of disappointed when we went there. It was just like any other street market here in the Philippines. The clothes they sold there were just the same as the ones sold in Chinatown (Uyanguren) here in Davao City. And I bet Divisoria or Baclaran sells the same as well.

But one thing is for sure, if you wanna get good deals in Mongkok, you have to sharpen your bargaining skills. I wanted to buy keychains for my officemates. After 30 minutes of store hopping, a lady was willing to sell me 6 keychains for HKD 100. What??? NO WAY! Too expensive! I tried to bargain but boy was she tough! She was friendly but tough. Anyway, I asked if I could buy the 6 keychains for HKD 30. She said NO. So I just said thank you when I was about to leave, she grabbed my hand and said “Okay. 40” and she was smiling. Wow! I was satisfied with 40. Other stores wouldn’t go that low anymore. So if you wanna go shopping for keychains, you’ll be lucky if you find a seller who’s willing to go below HKD 40 dollars. The trick is to just walk away if the deal is not fair enough for you. And always bargain with a smile even if they won’t smile back at you. But also make sure that you make a deal that is both win-win for you and the seller. They still have to make money after all.

Aside from the keychains, I bought three ref magnets for HKD 10 each. I was collecting ref magnets so this was definitely on my MUST BUY list. Then I bought 5 shirts for HKD 100. Not a bad deal. However, I shouldn’t have settled for that price because as we were leaving the street market, we saw a store that sold 6 shirts for HKD 90! And they also sold the same designs as the ones I bought a few minutes back. Now that was a steal! Too bad I already bought shirts. Huhuhu.

After walking around Mongkok night market, Olga, Mark and I went back to Tsim Sha Tsui and walked from the MTR station to Avenue of the Stars which was also located in Tsim Sha Tsui. From the station, it took us like 15 to 20 minutes to get there. My feet were tired but I didn’t mind it. I really wanted to go there.

You know you're in Avenue of the Stars when you see this Statue

Ahhhh HK at night. What a lovely sight to see!

Day 2 – Bye HONG KONG, Hello again, MACAU!

Before leaving Hong Kong, Mark and I ate breakfast at Fairwood located a few blocks away from the Tsim Sha Tsui MTR Station. Just like Café de Coral, the food is also yummy and inexpensive. Same price range too. I highly recommend this place for tourists as well.

Mmmmmm breakfast

We rode Cotai Jet again back to Macau. We arrived around 2 in the afternoon. Got a free shuttle to Venetian Hotel and explored the place a bit. Mark and I wanted to try the Gondola ride but we didn’t have the luxury of time anymore. Outside the Venetian, we took a shuttle to Yuet Tung Pier because I wanted to go to Senado Square and try the famous Milk Pudding that I read on the internet a couple of months back. Reviews said that it was good. And aside from this, we wanted to buy munchies from Koi Kei Bakery.

Koi Kei Bakery is quite popular in Macau because a lot of tourists buy delicious treats here. Koi Kei has a lot of chains in Macau so if ever you visit there, you won’t have trouble finding a bakery or two in Senado Square. They also have one in the Venetian Hotel but I think the prices are much higher than those sold in Senado Square.

Snapshots!

Venetian Macau

Dinosaur Exhibit at the Venetian Hotel

mmmm MILK PUDDING

So YUMMYYYYY

A lot of free taste there!

Going home with two bags full of goodies for our family and friends back in the Philippines

Before 6 in the evening, we retraced our steps back to where the shuttle dropped us off and waited for the shuttle back to the Venetian Hotel. From the Venetian, we took a free shuttle to the Airport and waited for my other officemates. Our flight back to Clark was around midnight.

Bye Bye Macau and Hong Kong! Until next time :)

Random Tips:

Macau is quite an expensive place to visit but tourists need not spend a single dime when going to places because a lot of hotels (especially the big ones) offer free shuttle rides from their hotel to various places. You just have to know where the shuttle stops and if the place you want to go to is just right there or a few steps away.

It will take quite some time to understand the MTR routes in Hong Kong. But you'll get the hang of it sooner than you think.

If you’re staying in Hong Kong for three days or more, I recommend you get an octopus card. You can purchase one at Hong Kong International Airport at the Information booth. It costs HKD 150 and HKD 50 is paid as deposit while the remaining HKD 100 is consumable. You can redeem the HKD 50 when you return the card. Every time you enter the station, you have to tap your octopus card. You can always reload at the nearest booths found in all MTR stations or 7-11 Convenience stores.

Do not exchange your money at the airports! Airport rates tend to be bad. Great places to exchange your money in Hong Kong are western union found almost everywhere. I recommend the one in Chungking mansion in Tsim Sha Tsui.

Be prepared to do lots of walking! People in HK are used to walking so you better keep up with them. I guess that’s why even the seniors are still fit and healthy because they exercise by walking all the time.

If you wanna visit both Macau and Hong Kong, I suggest you enter first either one of them and exit out of the other. They allow that. This way, you could actually save money on round trip ferry tickets since one way tickets alone are quite expensive as it is. Just make sure you keep your ticket in case they want to take a look at it.

Xoxo,

AVI


Photo credits: Olga Pagtaconan, Mark Andrew Angliongto and Jessica Dyquiangco