DAY 1: MACAU TRIP

The original plan was Day 1 (Saturday) Ocean Park, The Peakand Star Ferry and Day 2 (Sunday): Macau. But since I have to meet with PHRreaders HK based on their day off (which is Sunday), I had to switch my Day 1and Day 2 to accommodate them. (Chos! Accommodate talaga? Hotel tingin mo sasarili mo teh?)

So eneweiz, we woke up at around 8 in the morning. May freecomputer with internet sa room kaya naman we had enough time to research thedirection. We already know na malapit lang ang China Ferry Terminal sa Taisankaya naman hindi na mahirap sundin ang direction. On our way to terminal, anold man was kind enough to point us to the right direction. Nagbalak pa kasikaming pumasok ng mall (Gateway ata yun or Harbour) dahil lang nakita naman sadulo ang barko. Haha.. But then, mali pala. Sa kabilang building kami dapatpumasok at sumakay ng elevator paakyat ng Level 1. We bought our round trip ticketat First Ferry scheduled 9:30 AM and 10PM for 320HKD. Nasa pilahan na kami ngimmigration nang may makachika kaming 3 magkakapatid – Isang lalaki at dalawangbabae. Kwentuhan doon, tanong dito at tawanan doon. Bago pa man kami makaratingng immigration officer, napagkasunduan na naming magsamang lima sa Macau Trip namin.

More or less ay one hour ang biyahe ng ferry. Pagdatingnamin ng terminal, hinanap ko agad ang mga free maps ng Macau. Pero madadayayung mga tourist agency doon, sukat ba namang kinuha ang mga mapa for them torecognized kung sino ang tourist sa hindi?! Kainis lang. Ggggrrr.. Pero sinongniloko nila? Eh marunong din akong mandaya! Lumapit sakin ang isang tour guide,binigay sakin ang free map at sinabi ang offers nila. Kunwari ay nakikinig akopero ang ending, tumanggi ako. No choice ang tour guide kundi iwan kami pati nayung mapa. Bwahaha… And viola! May free map na kami!

At Macau Immigration

May mga free shuttle bus ang Macau that will direct you totheir different hotels. Kaya hindi problema ang transpo dito. Makakatipid pakayo dahil in our case, lunch at ferry ticket lang ang nagastos namin. Walkingdistance lang ang Fisherman’s Wharf sa Terminal kaya naman iyon ang una namingpinuntahan. Mga five to ten minutes lang iyon. Tirik ang araw noong nagpuntakami kaya konting pictures dito at doon lang ang ginawa namin and after thatbumalik na kami ng terminal. We first hop in to Venetian Hotel’s free shuttle.Iyon naman kasi ang highlight talaga ng Macau trip namin. Doon kami talaganagtagal. Pag-akyat pa lang ng third floor, namesmerize na kami sa ganda nglugar! Sosyal teh! Super ganda lang talaga.

Nagplano pa kaming sumakay ngbangka, pero nagbago ang isip namin nang malaman ang presyo – 180HKD. Huwag na!Sinundan na lang namin ang ruta ng bangka, ganun din naman yun. Makakarating padin kami sa dulo! Hahaha… (talked about kuripot).

Next stop ay city of dreams. Paglabas niyo ng Venetian (kungsaan kayo pumasok), turn to your right. Doon niyo makikita ang shuttle (freeagain, take note) papuntang City of Dreams. Saglit lang kaming namasyal doon, dinaman kasi kami manonood ng Bubble Show or House of Dancing Water. May bayad nadin ang Dragon’s Treasure nila ng 30HKD kaya naman hindi na lang kami nanood.

Sunod naming pinuntahan ay ang Ruins of Saint Paul. From City of Dreams, sumakay kaming shuttle papuntang Sintra. Mahabang lakaran pala iyon mula sa aming binabaan.And from Senado Square, malayo pa din ang Ruins. Haynaker! Pero naglibut-libotmuna kami sa Senado, tikim-tikim ng mga free taste. No wonder ang damingtourists sa Macau, hindi sila madamot. Madami silang free. Hihi…

After Ruins, balak pa sana naming pumunta ng Wynn for the prosperitytree and sa Galaxy Hotel. Kaso habang bumabalik kami dun sa binabaan namin, maynarealized kaming isang bagay. Nakakapagod na palang maglakad. Plus wala kamingmaayos na tulog. Hahaha… Kaya naman mula sa binabaan namin, dumiretso na kamingGrand Emperor kung saan naroroon ang free shuttle to ferry. But you have to goup to third floor ng hotel muna to get your free shuttle ticket bago ka pumila.Only to find out na malapit na lang pala talaga ang Wynn Hotel mula sa GrandEmperor! Kumusta naman diba? He-he... Pero chox lang! Ganun talaga ang buhay.And it’s not as if hindi pa kami sumaya sa tour na yun diba? Even if hindi kaminakapag-Wynn at Galaxy, for me, keri pa din. Ang importante, nag-enjoy kami.Yun yun!

Next blog, Day 2: Around Hong Kong… :)

HONG KONG – MACAU TRIP

And so here it is… my first out of the country trip. Yippeee! Hooray! I’ve been dreaming about this Hongkong Trip since I started working. Isinumpa ko talagang (sumpa talaga?!) makarating ng HK before my twenty sixth birthday. And guess what? I did!! 

Originally, we bought a ticket for four people last May. But then may mga chorva na naganap kaya ang resulta, dalawa na lang kaming natuloy. Siyempre pa, hindi kami umatras dahil lang doon. Because of these reasons: 

1. I already did my research about our itinerary and information about HK that we need to know. Thanks to Pinoyexchange (Hong Kong for Dummies). As in really! Sa kanila ko nakuha lahat ng info about great hostel to stay, itinerary and other stuffs about HK. They have been such a great help in my entire HK-Macau Trip kaya naman iseshare ko din sa inyo ang 4D3N itinerary and lahat ng nagastos namin at the end of my day 4 blog. 

2. I already have my newly acquired passport na minadali kong iprocess just for this trip and luckily ay nakuha ko last August 13 

3. My pinaghirapang pocket money 

4. And lastly, sayang ang binili naming plane ticket and reservation for our hostel. Non-refundable yun teh! Sayang ang datung! 

Kaya bakit ako aatras, right? 

And so came September 9, 2011, the moment I’ve been waiting for has finally arrived! Our flight was 10:25 PM so mga quarter to 8, nasa airport na ko. Andun na rin ang friend kong si Queenie or we fondly called “Kiking” since we were still in HS na bumyahe pa from Davao. We arrived at the HK International airport past 12 midnight. We then headed to the immigration line and to the exit door after since wala naman kaming chineck in na baggage. Nahirapan kaming hanapin ang customer service area (siguro ay dahil inaantok pa talaga kami. Hehe…) para bumili ng octopus card so we decided to pay cash na lang sa bus. 

Nang makarating kami ng Taisan Guest House Burlington Branch, mali pa ang una naming pinuntahan! Kalerki! May A and B pala sa branch na yun. Taisan A is where the “infamous” Ate Yolly of pinoyexchange staying and we thought dun kami nakabook. Kaso dahil sa internet kami nagpareserve (to a certain Ken), sa Taisan B pala kami. Kaya bumaba ulet kami ng ground floor at lumipat ng elevator B. In my own opinion, mas malinis at bago ang Taisan B kaya keri na din. What I love about Taisan aside from its great location is their staff. Accommodating, mabait and… basta! :) Kaya for those who are in tight budget and first timers, I recommend Taisan Guest House Burlington Branch. May isa pa akong choice actually, at iyon ay ang Golden Crown Guesthouse. Nasa TST lang din ito kaya hindi mahirap sa mga first timers.

Luckily, we got the room na nasa site nila mismo. Happiness!

Matapos naming makapagcheck in ay nakatulog din kami sa wakas! Kailangang mamahinga para sa aming first day gala, which is Macau Trip!