Hong Kong Revisited Part 3

We didn't have a definite agenda for our last day in Hong Kong. 

We were supposed to go to Madame Tussaud at Victoria's Peak but decided to forego it a day before our trip. Issa and I saw this Supernatural episode wherein a wax museum was haunted and waxed personalities like Gandhi, James Dean, and yes, Paris Hilton killed people. He he. Lame excuse, right?

Anyway, the Hubby bought it and went with our plan to 'explore' the nearby malls, er, vicinity instead.

The 1881 Heritage was just right across our hotel. There were several preserved historical artifacts from the Victorian era of Hong Kong. Like this sailboat..

...and this Cinderella carriage. I was tempted to ride on it. Good thing Issa saw the sign, "Please don't climb."

There were luxury shops around the area, like Vivienne Tam, Cartier, etc etc.

In the near future, I wish all the roads in my country were this clean.

The dream street.

We just had to pay homage to Lola Yayoi Kusama of LV collaboration.

While we were at H&M yesterday, the Hubby was confused at the fuss people were making at one part of the Harbour City. He said crowds were flocking to these ugly, blue creatures and taking pictures with them. So he had to show it to us, and Issa gleefully said, "Why, it's Doraemon, Dad!"

We realized that Doraemon was celebrating its 100 Years Before its real birthday, which will be on September 3, 2112. Did you even get that? Celebrating its birthday 100 years before the actual date. Crazy, right? 

But as they say, go with the flow!

They installed 100 Doraemons and its 100 magical secret gadgets, hence, the frenzy.

Okay, after getting out of that mayhem, we explored the quieter parts of the Harbour City Mall.

Issa's ever unfulfilled dream of becoming a motorcycle rider.

There was a balcony at the mall and we just had to take in the sight of this beautiful Hong Kong day.

We went around and around the mall until our feet practically shouted, "Enough!" So this is how it feels to be a Hong Kong resident. Over all, it was an interesting Hong Kong experience.

As much as we still wanted to go around, our flesh is slowly eating our spirits to continue window shopping. At around 4 p.m., we headed to the MTR Central station to buy our Airport Express Ticket. (TST to Central to Airport ticket: HK$79~Php434.50/person) Come to think of it, taking a cab would have saved us more money.

Anyway, we still explored the IFC Mall at the Central Station and ate some snacks there. Our flight was still at 1:35 a.m., and check-in counter usually opens three hours before the flight. 

By the time we have checked in at 10:35, we only had a few time left to check the Duty Free shops. Some stores close at 11:00 p.m., while others close at 12:00 a.m. Issa blamed me for taking too long at the perfumery section. She was kind of disappointed for not being able to look around that much.

Going home

On our flight back to Cebu, Issa hugged us and whispered a sweet, "Thanks, Mom! Thanks, Dad" to us before dozing off. 

My heart melted. I think we really made Issa happy on her special day. 

Hong Kong Revisited Part 2 (Macau, Actually)

Marvelling to see the clean, unbustling streets of Salisbury and Canton Roads from our 12th floor window, this Hong Kong morning was so worth waking up early for.

A look at the Heritage 1881 facade

The Hong Kong Cultural Centre at the foreground with the magnificent harbour view beyond it.

But the Princess chose to bask in the sun's glory in bed until 8:00.

Our first destination for the day was to go to Macau. At 9:00, we started to walk a few blocks to go to the China Ferry Terminal (333 Canton Road). I'm so thankful that my Hubby is a human GPS. On trips, he just seems to know where to go.

Looking back four years ago, Issa was all head band and pony tails and oversized clothes...

 ...now she's this? Who would have thought she would be into body con dresses?

Anyways, here we are just amazed at the streets of Hong Kong--clean and orderly.

No one was supposed to cross the street when the light said stop walking. Oh, but we saw a few who did, but we didn't want to dare follow them jaywalking.

On the way to the ferry terminal, we passed by our ultimate shopping destination: H&M. We were giddy when we saw the 'Mid Season Sale' banner. Good thing the store opened at 10:30. If it had been open at that time, we would surely have forgone our Macau trip. (Oh, how the Hubby would have killed us!)

Breathe in, breathe out.

China Ferry Terminal looked like an airport. There were even moving walkways. 

We were able to get the 10:00 a.m. ticket. There were two ferries to choose from: the TurboJet and the CotaiJet. There was not much difference between the two, except that CotaiJet was newer. TurboJet leaves every 15 minutes, while CotaiJet leaves every 3o. We chose the latter since it would be taking off in just a few minutes from when we arrived at the terminal. (Ticket was at HK$163~Php896/person) Take note that you have to give some time for immigration, but it is very efficient, so no need to worry.

The waiting area was clean and fully air conditioned. 

All aboard at exactly 9:45 a.m.

Aaah Macau. The Land of the Casinos and rich Stanley Ho's. Like Hong Kong, Macau is a special territory of China with its own political, police, and monetary systems. It was a Portuguese colony until its turnover to the Chinese government in 1999.

From the Taipa Ferry Terminal, there are free shuttle buses which will take you to the hotel of your choice. We opted to go to the Venetian Macau Resort Hotel.

A view from the Bridge of Friendship

Casinos abound the city. All you need is money and Lady Luck.

The luxurious lobby of the Venetian Macau Resort Hotel.

Shops, shops everywhere. 

Not all that glitters is gold, but this gilded wall would fool any one into believing otherwise.

We stopped this 16th century-costumed man for a photo op which he willingly obliged. He smelled like a grandmother's talc--must be his velvet coat.

To go with the Venetian theme, one could also take a gondola ride, for a fee of course. We skipped this one since the manmade canal was really lame and small.

The ceiling was painted with a mural that looked like a bright, morning sky. They probably wanted to trick people into feeling that they are in a perpetual light. Kinda scary because if you were an inveterate gambler, you would definitely lose track of time here.

We tried the famous Lord Stowe's egg tart. (Per piece HK$8~Php44)

After eating lunch at their food court, we decided to look around the casino floor for a little bit. Nope, we didn't hear the call of the slot machines, nor the card tables. We said goodbye and good luck to the wishful gamblers.

We took a taxi to the Senado Square. There were buses that go there, but we didn't have the exact fare of pataca (MOP10) which was needed to ride the bus.  

The Senado Square is the city centre where cultural and business activities are held. The piazza, paved with Portuguese-style cobblestones, is surrounded by historic churches and buildings, and small cafes and restaurants. There was the usual weekend tourist crowd, so we could barely find an open spot to take pictures.

We stopped by the Santo Domingo Church to pray. As you know, it's still Issa's birthday and she has to say a word of thanksgiving.

A block away from Santo Domingo, following the horde of people walking, we reached the ruins of St. Paul Cathedral. One can just see its magnificent facade, a testament to one of the biggest Catholic chuches in Asia built in the 1580's.

We stopped walking as soon as we reached the foot of the stairs. We saw Starbucks, and we got more attracted to the idea of sipping a cold frapuccino, than trekking the flights of stairs to the door of the cathedral. I know, I know, lazy bums, we were!

Heaven is a Starbucks cold drink after a long pilgrimage.

We headed back to the Taipa Ferry Terminal, and we were able to take the 3:30 p.m. TurboJet catarman.  The fare from Macau to Hong Kong was slightly less expensive than going to Macau. (HK$154~Php847/person) 

Reaching Canton Street, we didn't spare much time walking back to H&M. And we got twilight zoned there until 7:00 p.m. The Hubby got impatient and went ahead to YMCA to rest. I didn't know he also has limits! 

Next stop was the Avenue of the Stars. It is where Hong Kong celebrities are honored, much like the Hollywood Walk of Fame. 

Behind us was the 4.5-m replica of the Hong Kong Film Awards statuette. As you can see, throngs of tourists were also vying for a photo op space. Sayang, we missed Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan.

We heard that the Symphony of Lights happens every 8:00 p.m. We were so excited to witness this "spectacular" lights and sounds multimedia show participated by the buildings along the Harbour front.

However, it was a letdown of sorts for us. Not all the buildings participated, probably only less than half of the forty buildings said to light up nightly. I don't know, maybe we were expecting too much, or maybe were just tired and hungry. The boom and the wows that I was anticipating to jolt me never came.

Issa was even more distracted and amused by the heart cloud she saw nearby.

After 15 minutes or so, it was done, and the voice over said it was the end of the Symphony of Lights. We then eagerly searched for dinner.

Issa's birthday dinner

After eating, we then practically dragged our feet back to YMCA. Gosh, we were so exhausted!

To be continued...

Hong Kong Revisited Part 1

When the whole family went to Hong Kong last 2008, Issa was still a wide-eyed high school sophomore. And my boys still gave me the sweetest hugs at bedtime.

Well, Issa just turned eighteen last September 8, and she asked to re-visit Hong Kong for her debut gift. Of course, this time she had quite a different agenda in mind. While Disneyland and Ocean Park were the main focus of our trip four years ago, this time around, it was more of an "adult" thing--casino(?) and shopping.

Yup, she may not be that wide-eyed anymore, yet she opted to spend her special day with her old creaky mom and dad instead. So how could we have had the heart to say no to that?

Waiting for our flight to Hong Kong at Mactan Cebu International Airport

And I thought it was bonding time, here we are still not talking. Hahaha!

Our flight to Hong Kong was at 10:15 p.m. and we arrived a little before 12:50 a.m. Hong Kong International Airport is truly a class of its own. So pardon the third worlders for some airport pictures.

The details were amazing. Don't look up!

The architectural lines were simply breathtaking.

We would have wanted to save on hotel lodging, but decided to book for the day anyway. We know we had a full two days ahead of us, so even a few hours of sleep would immensely help in recharging our batteries.

The Airport Express Trains close at 12:00, so we had to take a taxi to the hotel. Our driver was pleasant, compared to the driver we had four years ago. We knew he wasn't very conversant in English, but he tried to make some one-liners anyway. His parting word to us was "Have a good day!"-- so cute considering he dropped us off at YMCA at early dawn. (Cab fare: HK$196.50~Php1,080.75)

We pre-booked at the YMCA Salisbury at the heart of  Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon Peninsula. We chose this hotel for its proximity to the shopping malls, China Ferry, the exit leading to the subway, and some well-known landmarks. We booked their Family Suite for two nights.(Hotel rate: US$260~Php10,900+/night)

Issa already looked ready to go for some serious shopping time...

...while I could barely keep my eyes open! (It didn't help that the hotel lobby had the cozy vintage-y feeling to it.)

Yes, off to Room 1288! We were pleasantly surprised that we were given the Harbour View Room, although we didn't particularly book that more expensive alternative.

The sofa in the living room was converted into a bed for the birthday girl.

The master's bedroom had a king-sized bed. There was a walk-in closet, but only one small bathroom. But I couldn't ask for a better room with the best view.

Oh, and there was also a basket of fruits to welcome us. 

Before we slept, we first ate the hot meals from Cebu Pacific, which we decided to take out instead of eating them on the plane.

We were finally able to get a snooze at 3:00 a.m.

To be continued.