I am starting my year with another trip - international trip.
I wasn't planning to join this trip before since I've been to this place several times. As I think it over, there were lots of changes in the places and there were places that I haven't been to like Disneyland and the Buddha.
It's been 4 or 5 years ago since my last trip to this place and there were lots of changes.
I am on leave for 4 days. It's just a very short trip. There was already an itinerary for the trip and one of it is to visit Macau.
Hong Kong is also known as the 'Fragrant Harbour'. The fragrant refers to the waters that are sweetened by Pearl River or the incense that's from a company from the Kowloon river. They were colonized by British sailors. It is now part of the British rule.
Me and Jenn met up at the Mactan International airport. I met the people I am going to travel with. It's my first time to travel with people that I just met. I met Jo-hun, Yong and Juvie.
We then got our boarding pass and checked in our bag. When we got in to the airplane, we relaxed and slept since its a 2 hours and 40 minutes trip.
When we arrived in Hong Kong, I really could not recognize the airport. It's different from the one that I have seen before. It's very clean, organized and a very huge airport. I was too amazed..
We took our bags from baggage counter. We then headed to the Immigration so that our passports would be checked.
We then roam around for awhile on the airport to take pictures. We looked for free maps and we found a lot. There are maps of different languages like English, Chinese and etc.
After roaming around, we then looked for a place to rest since its still dawn. We still lack sleep. We found seats that one could lay on. We slept there for a few hours.
At around 6 am, we woke up and purchased our Octopus cards. It's the counterpart of Singapore's E-Z Link Card. You can use it for fares for the different transportation, pay for food and etc. You can reload this card if there is no more money in it. If you are leaving Hong Kong, you can return the Octopus card and get the money left of the card.
An octopus card would cost $150 dollars with a $50 dollar deposit and a $100 stored value. That is about 829 in pesos.
After purchasing the Octopus card, we then took the A-21 bus going to our pension house which is located in Mongkok. We were able to book already on the pension house so we didn't have to worry where we would be staying.
The bus is so nice and just like the bus that we took in Malaysia, its a double-decker bus. The best thing about it is that it has free Wi-fi. If you bring laptops, i-pod or your phone has a wi-fi capability, then you can surf and post in facebook where you are currently in.
When we arrived in Mongkok, the next thing that we have to do is find the location of our pension house. We would be staying at the Sincere House. We only know the address of the pension house, so we have to look for it. Since Mongkok is big, we need to pass a lot of streets and we got lost. We sought help from the i-pod however wi-fi connection is not that strong and there aren't much free wi-fi connection.
Last option for us was to ask. After following the directions provided by someone we asked along the road, we got to the pension house. We left our things and then ate our breakfast.
Since we have a limited time, we need to make sure that we follow our itinerary. We just ate our breakfast in KFC. We got the breakfast meal of hash brown and burger. There isn't any rice in their KFC meals so one has to get used to not eating it once your there.
We then headed to our first stop wherein you could see lots of tourist attractions, Tsim Sha Tsui. One of the things you would see here would be the Hong Kong Space Museum. It is a museum of astronomy and space science.
We then walked and a few meters away, you could see the 1881 Heritage. It features a shopping mall, a heritage hotel and an exhibition hall. This place used to be the heritage of the headquarters of the Hong Kong Marine Police.
On the exhibition hall, you would see different designs that are made of flowers and grasses.
A short distance from where we currently were, one could see the view of the sea and the different buildings in Hong Kong.
When we were there, you could really feel the cool breeze brought by the sea. We first took a picture of the Clock Tower. It is one of the landmarks in Hong Kong. It is built from red bricks and granite.
You can also find here the Hong Kong Museum of Art which is the main art museum in HK.
This is the spectacular view of the different buildings in Hong Kong. It's best to take a picture here at night.
We then headed to the Avenue of Stars. This place has been modeled on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. It would showcase here the different celebrities of the Hong Kong film industry.
I am not familiar with the other artists that I have passed by on but for sure, everyone knows this person - Jackie Chan. He is famous not only in Hong Kong but also in the U.S.
You could also see here the sculpture of the famous Bruce Lee. It shows his martial arts move. He has been famous from his martial arts movies.
After strolling around and feeling the cool breeze, it's time to have some fun at the Ocean Park. We took a bus going to Ocean Park.
Ocean Park is one of the premiere theme parks in Hong Kong. It's a very huge one and you can see here lots of attractions and shows. The ticket here would cost $280 for a one day adventure in the park. That is about 1, 547 in pesos.
You would see here the map of Ocean Park.
Aside from the rides that one could take in this park, you would also see here a live Panda on the Great Panda Adventure area.
You can also enjoy the cable cars that would take you to the other side of the theme park.
I only enjoyed 2 rides. One is the Ferris Wheel while the other one is the Flying Swing. I am not so crazy with the going through all the different rides they have.
You would see there the Grand Aquarium. You can find the different fishes and different underwater creatures.
There is also a Sea Jelly Spectacular wherein the whole place is dark and you would see the different sea jelly.
Since we finished roaming around the place at night, we were able to see the spectacular dancing fountain.
We then rushed to our next destination before it closes which is the Peak. We took a bus going to the Peak. We bought our tickets for the Peak Tram and the Sky Terrace which costs $65. That is about 360 in pesos.
We waited for our turn for the tram since there are a lot of people in line. Aside from the fact that you will have to wait in line, the wind blowing in the waiting area would make you feel very cold. The jacket that we wore are not enough to make you feel warm. Good thing that the line moves fast and it was our turn already.
When we reached the top, we were able to see their different boutiques and stores. At the top of the Peak is a small mall. There are also restaurants. This is where you can also find the Madam Tussaud's Wax Museum. The wax museum would show you wax figures of different artists, politicians and other famous people. Outside the museum, you would be able to see the figure of Pierce Brosnan. We did not visit this place but good thing I was able to visit it before and it's really nice as well.
We then took the escalator going to the Sky Terrace. There were lots of people in the area. There are a lot that are taking pictures.
Do you see that wonderful sight? The lights on the buildings are really nice to look at.
We then headed back near our pension house. We looked for a place to eat. We wanted to try eating at a restaurant in Hong Kong. We decided to eat in Yoshinoya. We don't know if they have a delicious foods. We were just looking at the pictures of the foods they served outside the restaurant, that is when we decided to just eat there.
Finally, we were able to see there meals with rice and one of it is beef with rice. We then tried it and its delicious.
Our second day in Hong Kong was for our trip in Macau.
Our third day in Hong Kong, it was just me and Jenn left. Those that were with us just wanted a two day trip.
Me and Jenn decided to go to the Giant Buddha. It's a good thing we researched since we already know what train we need to take. We have to switch from one train to another since this place is very, very far. From Mongkok, we need to take a train going to Lantau Island.
When we reached the City Gates Outlet, we then took the Ngong Ping 360 cable car going to the Great Buddha.
The Ngong Ping 360 Cable Car has different types of cable cars like the Standard Cabin and Crystal Cabin.
The cabin we chose is just the standard which costs $ 125 and that's about 690 pesos. The cabin is big so there are a lot of people that could occupy. We just shared cabin with a Chinese family.
This is the trip that we need to take. We have to pass different mountains before reaching the place.
When we got down from the cable car, we roamed around the Ngong Ping Village.
There are different things you would see before arriving at the Giant Buddha. There are different sculptures and also a Bodhi Wishing Shrine.
We are almost near the Great Buddha.
Finally, we have seen the Great Buddha. This Great Buddha took 12 years to complete and it takes about 200 steps to reach the top.
Of course, I took that 200 steps going up. There is no shortcut going up. It's not tiring going up, maybe because of the weather but still you would feel exhausted.
Look at Jenn, she is still walking through the steps. I'm already at the top.
Here is a much clearer view of the Buddha.
At the top, there is a small room where you could light up an incense and pray to the buddha and the different gods.
You can also see different structures of different gods.
This is the view at the top.
This is a view from the bottom.
Near the great Buddha, there is the Po Lin Monastery. You could see their different gods.
This is where they would pray to their gods. Again, you can light your incense here if you don't want to climb the steps.
The monks in the area.
After spending half of our day their, we then had our lunch. It's another beef rice but now its in Cafe de Coral.
After eating our lunch, now it's time to locate the lomography store. My friend Bram wanted me to buy some films. I had a hard time locating the place since it's the streets are quite complicated in the area.
Finally, I was able to find it and bought the films.
It's raining but that doesn't stop us from going to another location.
We then looked for the Golden Bauhinia Square where we would see a sculpture of a flower which is a symbol of Hong Kong.
The next stop would be the Snoopy World.
When I was a kid, I really liked Snoopy. I love dogs that maybe one of the reasons why I loved Snoopy.
This Snoopy World is located in one of the malls in Hong Kong.
When we arrived there, it was already closed. Even if it's closed, I still had my picture taken on the different Snoopy figures.
We then went back to our pension house. Tomorrow is Disneyland day and our last day in Hong Kong.
On our last day in Hong Kong, we woke up early for our trip to Disneyland. It's a rainy day but it wouldn't spoil our day.
We took an MTR going to the Central Station then to the Hong Kong Station and then change trains at Sunny Bay. From Sunny Bay, we took the last train which is the special train for Disneyland.
The train for Disneyland has the symbol of Mickey Mouse in it and its very spacious.
When we arrived at the Disneyland Resort, we purchased our ticket. The ticket is worth $399 which is about 2, 204 pesos. When we got in, we took pictures of the place.
There are 4 lands in Disneyland : Main Street, U.S.A, Adventureland, Tomorrowland and Fantasyland. The first part that you would see when you get in would be the Main Street, U.S.A.
The first thing that we have done here is to go to the Art of Animation. It would show you how they create the movies like Toy Story and how they came to life. After seeing the process, we then looked for Mickey Mouse and Minnie mouse in the Meet the Characters. Since there was a long line of people and its raining, we did not take a picture yet of both Mickey and Minnie.
We decided to just proceed to the Fantasyland.
In Fantasyland, we tried the attraction 'The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh' where you would be seeing and hearing a story of Winnie the Pooh and his adventures with his friends.
We then saw the different princesses and we took a picture with them.
We then went to Tomorrowland and we saw Buzz Lightyear.
Since it's already lunch time, we ate there. You could not bring any foods inside. If you are going to bring one, you will have to leave it on their lockers and you will have to pay for the locker. For lunch, we ordered peking duck with rice.
After lunch, we watched the High School Musical parade.
We then headed back to Fantasyland and we set sail in 'The Small World'. We see their different dolls showcasing different nationalities from different part of the worlds. It's a very nice experience and you wouldn't forget the music.
We then headed back to the streets to watch the Flight of Fantasy Star. This is a parade that would show the different Disney Characters and their floats.
After the parade, we watched the 'Golden Mickeys' which is a musical with Mickey and his friends.
We then looked for different characters and took pictures with them.
We prepared ourselves for the fireworks display. This happens every night here in Disneyland. It is located near the castle of Sleeping Beauty.
After the fireworks display, I purchased the Mickey Mouse waffle with strawberry. I was jealous of the people eating it and it looks really delicious.
We then headed back to our pension house since we need to prepare for our flight back to Cebu.
