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 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
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| Me, Mark and Reymond |
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| Team Macau-HK :) |
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| View of Macau while our plane was descending |
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| 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.
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| Outside of the hotel. Just opposite the Macau International Airport. |
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| To the Ferry Terminal |
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| Inside Cotai Jet - Comfy Seats :) |
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| 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 Shun Tak Center Shun Tak Center
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.
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| 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
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| 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.
Here are some photos ^^
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| This is what a Disney Ticket looks like. |
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| WELCOME! |
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| Le Parade |
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| Hi OLGA :) |
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| This was the part where I started crying. |
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| Aboard a train that took us around Disneyland. It was a short but fun ride. |
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| welcome to my crib. Nyahaha. |
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| Oh mickey you're so fine! |
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| The Lion King Musical - definitely a MUST WATCH! |
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| 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
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.
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| You know you're in Avenue of the Stars when you see this Statue |
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| 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.
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| 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!
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| Venetian Macau |
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| Dinosaur Exhibit at the Venetian Hotel |
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| mmmm MILK PUDDING |
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| So YUMMYYYYY |
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| A lot of free taste there! |
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| 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:
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
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
Photo credits: Olga Pagtaconan, Mark Andrew Angliongto and Jessica Dyquiangco
