First Timer in Hong Kong & Macau

Wednesday 18-Sep-2013

After my last stamp on my passport in December 2012, here I am again on the immigration check. Yay finally a new stamp in September 2013.

Right now we’re on our way to Hong Kong. First time traveling with my sister just the two of us. It all began when my sister requested a long haul flight abroad. Hmm long haul flight but short term of vacation, Hong Kong is the only place i can think of. No visa needed, overseas and still in Asia and plus… a 6 hours flight.

Ohh!! And I’ve never been to Hong Kong before LOL! So this will be like a new adventure for me…

As usual I was hunting for a budget airline.. well at first i was hunting for GA airline, it was $ 375 for return ticket in November. I heard November and December has the best weather in HK but then again cheap price beats good weather. I got a $ 250 return ticket with AA. Bye bye GA… see you next flight hahaha…

Next will be accommodation hunting. Hmm… many hotel rooms in HK charged high price. Hostel not as cheap as it was in Seoul too. Oh gosh, i need cheap accommodation. I prefer spending my money to shop since HK known as the shopping heaven…

Think… Think…

Then I remembered that I have a friend who just move in to HK. So I texted her and asking her permission to sleep over at her apartment during our visit. She said if it was only the two of us there won’t be a problem. But if i traveled with more people she can’t provide place to sleep. Yes!! So we’re getting a free accommodation hooraaayyyy! Thank you Ms.NT…

(written @ AK 1381 – 29F)

Arrived at Sepang, transferred to gate T8 for next departure to HK. Our flight was AK 1658, boarded at 13.55 (malaysia’s local time).  Got a seat at 21F. As soon as we take off, the steward gave us our pre-booked meals, then after that we’re taking a nap. 4 hours flight remain…. zzzZzZZzz….

Finally touchdown at Hong Kong International Airport. After passing the immigration desk we headed to the belt to get our luggage. Then i went out and buy 2 tickets of Hong Kong Airport Express. This ticket cost us HKD 300 each. We can use this ticket as return ticket from Airport – Hong Kong station – Airport and as 3-days pass for MTR. After that I top up my (friend’s) Octopus card for HKD 100. I will be using this card for bus fares and shopping. Octopus Card is a ‘must have’ card during your visit to Hong Kong. After getting transportation tickets we’re going to Terminal 2 for Disneyland store. If you’re planning on going to Disneyland you better get your tickets here. It will cost you HKD 450 each. And if you’re buying more than 1 ticket you’ll get yourself a free merchandise (this what you can’t get anywhere else). Next simcard for our mobile phones. I’m getting a one2free simcard that cost us HKD 88 each. Subscribing to 7-days mobile broadband data that will deduct HKD 78 from your balance. I ‘m using it for my Samsung S3 phone. This is very useful for communication, updating social media and reading maps so you won’t get lost! A very good deal!!

After that we’re going towards the train (Airport Express) that wil take us to Hong Kong station. As soon as we board on the train, I texted my friend and she tell us to wait in some place to meet her. After meeting her we’re having dinner in a Japanese restaurant. Great sushi they had! After feeling full, then she took us to her apartment in Kennedy Town area. We headed to her apartment by bus. What i love about Hong Kong is their easy and friendly public transportation. They have MTR, buses, trams, taxi. Your choice 🙂

Arriving at her place, I wowed at the very first impression, what a clean and neat apartment she lived.. we are blessed. I fell in love with the location and the apartment itself since day-1. And not to mention… frew wi-fi ^__^ a perfect place for my next 4 days! As soon as we’re arriving, we took a bath and slept all through the night.

Goodnight from Skyla Apt.

 

Thursday 19-Sep-2013 

We woke up at 7 AM. While my friend was getting ready to get to work, we’re getting ready for Disneyland. Yes, we put Disneyland on working day because we wanted to avoid weekend crowdness. The direction to get to Disneyland is you have to take Tung Chung Line on MTR, get down in Sunny Bay station then continue your journey with Disneyland Resort line. There’s this special train to Disneyland that is so Mickey Mousey, you will find it soooo cute! I love this train, i know you will too… trust me!

Get off at the station then heading to the entrance gate. Thankfully we’ve already got our ticket as i saw a lon queue at the ticket counter. All prices in the Disneyland is very very expensive. From drinks to souvenirs. A price for a bottle of water is HKD 22 (while the actual price outside Disneyland is HKD 10). LOL!! So bring as much cash as you can during your visit to Disneyland Hong Kong. This is my 2nd experience visiting Disneyland, my 1st time was Disneyland Paris. All I can say is… the Paris one felt more Disney with their Mickey Mouse family while in Hong Kong less Mickey…. But still worth it to visit. Especially when you’ve never been to Disneyland. Overall, me and my sister had a lot of fun in Disneyland!

Next we’re going to IKEA store in Causeway Bay area. Get on a train that will take you to Causeway Bay station and choose exit E for Park Lane Hotel / Victoria Park. The IKEA store is located next to the hotel. Not so big but if you like their furniture you should visit here. Beside IKEA you can find a loooottt of branded shops here. As for me i don’t really fond of visiting this area because it’s soooo crowded especially in the weekend. But this is a must visit area during your Hong Kong stay too. Especially when you love shopping….

After Causeway Bay our next destination is Ladies Market. The market is located in Mong Kok. Get off in Mong Kok station and choose exit E2. It’s a street market that sells various kind of things. You have to bargain your price here because they usually will give you a high opening price. Beside street market, you can also find various local shops around here. This has been a fun and tiring day, so after ladies market we headed home….

Goodnight from Skyla!

Friday 20-Sep-2013

Today is a public holiday in Hong Kong. A mid spring festival. So i believe today will be a very crowded day. Bring it on Hong Kong!!

Our first destination for today is The Peak and having a hop on-hop off bus tour. The bus from our apartment had a stop near te Pier 7 ferry terminal. This is where you can find ‘Big Bus’. I found riding this kind of bus is very useful when you have limited time staying in a country. This bus have 3 lanes (red, green and blue). If you want to be freely riding any bus lanes, the package price is HKD 380 per person. But if you’re only choosing one lane, it will cost you HKD 250 per person. This package include The Peak tram ticket and fast track. This is a very useful option if you’re planning on visiting The Peak during public holiday… because the queuing is super crazy!!!

At The Peak we’re entering Madame Tussaud wax museum. The admission fee is HKD 200 per person, but if you buy it online you can save 10% off. If you wanna buy it in the lower tram starting point get a package of Tram + Madame Tussaud + Sky Terrace for HKD 250. In the madame tussaud museum you can meet a clone of many artist and famous people. Fun!

After The Peak, we’re continuing journey with our ‘big bus’. Going around to Ocean Park but because of so many people going there we’re canceling our plan of visiting there. Then we’re going to the beach around repulse bay to see the sunset. So pretty… after that we went to Stanley Market for a while and them going back to the city.

After that we’re continuing our journey to the avenue of the stars. It’s in Tsim Tsa Shui, a bit long walk from the station to the venue. If you want to see the symphony of light of Hong Kong make sure you get there before 8pm because the light starts at 8pm.

After that we’re going to the Temple Night Street Market near Yau Ma Tei station. Not as many stores as in Mong Kok though.. but OK to visit.

After having a dinner we’re going back to the apartment. Hot and (again) a tiring day 🙂

Wen an (good night) from Skyla

 

Saturday 21-Sep-13

Still battling inside our head whether to continue our adventure to Macau or not. Government warning of Typhoon Usagi heading to Hong Kong is one of the main reason why. But again i thought this will be a once in a lifetime moment. Therefore we decided to go. We went to Macau by ferry in ferry terminal Shun Tak Center. We’re getting a return ticket for HKD 356 by Turbo Jet. 45-60 minutes sailing then we’re finally arrived in Macau. Yay!!!

So this is what we’re going to do in Macau for 4.5 hours:

1. Grand Lisboa Hotel & Casino

2. Senado Square + Ruins St. Paul church

3. Pavillion de Giant Panda in Coloane

4. The Venetian resort & casino

OK.. this is our first time to Macau. And with so limited information we just headed optimistically… I know my traveling instinct will come put eventually.

After arriving in Macau Ferry terminal we’re going to the parking lot of free shuttle bus across the street. There are a lot of free shuttle bus but we choose the shuttle bus to Grand Lisboa. Why? Because it’s the nearest stopping near Senado Square. After arriving at Grand Lisboa we took some time going around the Casino and Hotel lobby. The building is so magnificent.. it’s huge.. After that we chose a way to go to Senado Square. A 10-15 minutes walk and you will see Senado Square on your right. Entering Senado square and then find a path to Ruin St. Paul church. Senado square was so crowded this afternoon. A lot of tourist went there. And if you happen to go to Macau you should try the egg tart… soooo delicious while it’s still hot. I love the arhitecture of Senado Square… feels so European. Another 10-20 minutes walk (include stopping at some stores) we’re finally arriving at the Ruins of St. Paul church. Took some pictures then we’re continuing our journey to the Panda pavillion on Coloane. This was special request from my sister. She wanted to see Panda in China :). I decided to took a taxi to Coloane for fastest route. It will cost you MOP 78 (=HKD 78) from Senado to Panda Pavilion. It’s like in the other island so it was far. To entering the Panda Pavilion you have to pay MOP 10 (=HKD 10) per person. And the Panda show time only from 10 AM – 12 PM and 2 PM – 5 PM. My sister was soooo happy and kept smiling after seeing the Panda. I don’t know she loves Panda that much :D.

The Panda Pavilion seems like in a desserted place where you can’t find taxi. So i was studying first of which bus can go to the Venetian from here. Aha! I found it! We have to take bus no. 21 A from the bus stop across the street. It will cost you MOP 5 (=HKD 5) per person to get you to The Venetian. The bus will stop in front of the Four Season Hotel, you have to walk 5-minutes towards the Venetian. As soon as we arrived at the Venetian we went inside the casino and then heading to the Grand Canal shoppe. It was a mall inside the Venetian and you will love the mini-Italy setup of the mall. You can also find the Gondola ride and the singing person on the boat like you can get in Venice, Italy. You can also view the sky-lookalike ceiling. Beautiful… love it! After that i went to the bakery which people said to be having the best egg tart in town. I bought 1 1/2 dozen. Each egg tart cost us MOP 8. I love the egg tart! Deliciooooo….

It was already 6.30pm when i realized we have to get back to the ferry terminal. We have a ticket for 7.15 pm ferry. OMG! Super Panic attack!!!! We then run to the West Lobby to get on to the free shuttle bus to Macau Ferry. It was a very long queue!!!!! More panic attack… all we can do is praying….

As soon as we get on the bus it was 6.45pm. Arrived at the ferry terminal at 7.05pm running to the gate and we finally made it on 7.10pm at the boarding gate. Thanks God!!!!! It was a crazy and full of adventure day… phewww…

Arriving at 8.20 pm, having dinner at Yoshinoya which cost us HKD 36 per person. Then we’re off to the IFC Mall, looking around at some stores then heading back to apartment. Tonight is our last night at Hong Kong… tomorrow we’ll be going back home to Jakarta.

After finishing packing and before we’re going to sleep we do monitoring the typhoon Usagi updates and the updates at HKIA official websites. Some flights are canceled but our flight still on schedule. We keep praying so that the flight won’t be canceled due to the typhoon.

Praying and going to sleep now…

 

Sunday 22-Sep-13

Wakes up at 7AM, checking flight status.. still on schedule. Take a shower, eating breakfast, we’re saying goodbye to my friend and leaving her apartment at 9 .20 AM. Outside is light-raining. I pulled out my cape with hoodie. And here we go.. back to Hong Kong station to ride the Airport Express train.

As soon as we drop off our luggage through the check in counter, we’re going inside to the duty free shop and eat lunch…

Finally the boarding calls spoken out… time to say goodbye…

Thank you Hong Kong & Macau!!! You’re awesome!!