Monday, January 9, 2012

Hongkong and Macau

Hongkong was definitely not in our lists of vacation as we know that out-of-the-country trips will be just too expensive and we only want to explore the Philippines first. While we were trying to book Bohol things get a little rough as some of the best dates we were choosing  were sold out or while waiting for the booking confirmation the system would tell us that the slot was already filled-in. We thought of trying Hongkong just to check if Cebu Pacific's system had a problem because we were starting feel a little disappointed. If it will be successful then no worries because our elder sister was in Mainland China so she will be our tour guide =). Instead of trying to book for the whole family it was made for just two persons. After once again completing the payment details and all, the booking was confirmed! and so we were very happy and excited. The immigration fee plus tax costs around Php 3,000.

Our Itinerary
Sept. 8 ,2010 
Arrived in Hongkong at around 10:00 AM, then rode city bus going to the Dragon Hostel we booked in. We checked in at 1:00PM


Hongkong airpot

When we arrived at the airport we headed towards immigration line for a bit of interviewing. At that time, Hongkong was very strict for someone who is not in a group  specially if it's your first time abroad. Also, the incident in Manila was still fresh.



queue for city bus

As it was my first time for an out of the country trip, boarding the bus was a very memorable moment. Payment was through octopus card at the time did not work! 



How to get to there:
From the Airport, take Citiflyers airport bus, No. A21, to Dragon Hostel. It is an air-conditioned bus and cost HK$33 per person. Drop off at 6th stop -- Mong Kok MTR (Mass Transit Railway) station. The bus will take about 35 minutes, then walk 5 minutes to Sincere house use elevator to go up to 7/F. The room we got was clean which was good for four persons but the bathroom was too small.


Park's entrance

We had few hours of rest before going to Ocean Park. We couldn't find a cheap but good restaurant so we dined in at KFC. After eating our lunch, we proceeded to Ocean Park at around 2:00 PM.

How to get there:
Take MTR (Mass Transit Railway), drop off to Admiralty station then take the Citybus Route 629 which runs daily from Admiralty MTR Station or Central Pier No. 7. 

This was where the sea lion's located
We purchased the tickets at the bus station which costs HK280.00. It seems that you can buy tickets for their major tourist attractions everywhere. We also purchased our Disney tickets from the hostel at a discounted price, great savings!



many escalators



They have shows in various parts of the park. We didn't catch the dolphin show so we decided to go to the other side to see the panda bears. We've been anticipating this for such a long time, I personally would like to see red panda bears.



roller coaster
There were two options to get to the other side by train or cable car. Initially we thought there was a fee for cable car so we were a bit hesitant to ride, besides we had a plan of going to Ngong Ping. Luckily, there's no fee and so we queued for it, the line was very long but we did not care.

At the cable car


Big balloons greeted us when we get to there. We also queued to experience it waiting time was about 30  minutes. If you are going to ride, you have to leave your belongings - house rule. Belongings will be put in a basket or container which you can practically watch over while you are on the air.

we rode at the balloon to get a view of ocean park




performers at the ocean park
We left the park at around 5:00 PM, took a bus going to MTR station. Ocean park is one of the best I've been to, there were so many things to do, more shows to watch. Half day was never enough to explore it. I will definitely go back to this place.


Sept. 9, 2010

Day 1 - Macau
Initially, this was not part of list of tour as we thought there weren't much to see there apart from Casinos and we are not into it. However, our sister was very persistent in going to Macau and so we did. We rode a cotai jet which costs 100HKD [if i remember it correcly =)] and there was also turbo jet which costs higher. It was an hour travel, if it took another minutes I would have vomited as I as was not used to riding a ferry. 


When we arrived at Macau, I felt a little giddy and fidgety because we don't know anything about it. Where and how to go places. we searched from the internet. We thought of it as just a casino haven which we were not too keen to visit. It was a good thing that though that we found some Filipinos there who helped us. Lyn was a bit feisty but funny while others were very nice. They've been there for several years so they pretty much know getting around Macau
You may contact them at the following numbers:
Lyn Montero -  +63 9267269828/ +63 9213612766
Jenny & Toto - +639087987653/ +85366291205




We saved a lot of money because guide costs around 600HKD for just a day tour!  We went to the church - Ruins of St. Paul and went to some of the major casinos in Macau. We had a blast there! It was a great experience! We get to watch the show in City of Dreams and it was amazing. We also played a bit - slot machine but we didn't spend so much. After Macau we thought of catching the Symphony of Lights in Hongkong (it's schedule was 7:00 PM). But time didn't permit us, we arrived at around 8:00 PM. So we just went to the avenue of stars then later on had our dinner.

Hot to get there:

From  Shun Tak Centre. It is above Sheung Wan MTR station and next to a terminal for buses and minibuses from many parts of Hong Kong, including the A11 Airbus from the airport. The terminal has passenger wharves and helipad, booking offices for current and advance sailings and flights, reservation offices of Macau hotels and travel agents, a branch of China Travel Service, and a Macau Government Tourist Office Information Counter.

Public Bus No. A11 (air-conditioned)
Get off at the "Macau Ferry, Connaught Road, Central" bus stop. 
Fare: HK$40 
Operating Hours: 06:10 AM - 00:30 AM 
Frequency: Every 20-25 minutes
Journey Time: 30-40 minutes


Sept 10
Disneyland was really




Sept 11
Day 3 - Hongkong Proper
We were supposed to go to Ngong Ping 360 but the weather did not permit us to pursue our plan. It suddenly rained the whole day. Our 2nd plan was to go to Noah's Ark or Hongkong Wetland but sadly we were already out of the budget :( and the location was a bit far from our accommodation

For more information you may check this site for the list of tourist attractions

Puerto Princesa, Palawan

After Boracay, Hongkong & Macau, we had once again thought of another booking. This time... Puerto Princesa, Palawan via Cebu Pacific's low fare promo. Booking was made for 4 - with my other 3 sisters plus my former manager and his wife. We booked our flight on September 11-14,2011. After a few months of waiting for our flight trip, we inquired from various resorts, guest houses and bed & breakfast. 


The following were the quotations we received, for the full list, please click the quotation's link or just visit their sites for updated rates.



DUCHESS PENSION HOUSE
107 E Valencia Street
Puerto Princesa City,
Palawan 5300, Philippines
duchesspension_09@yahoo.com
Mobile: 09175530605

Airconditioned Room for two persons with private bathroom- P765
Airconditioned Room for 4 persons  with private bathroom - P990

Underground river tour package P-2880
Honda bay tour package P 990
City tour package P540

Note: If you are going to mail Duchess, please make it a month before the trip because their response time really sucks. We had to send them a reminder and the replied we received was just in informing us they they have a promo for walk-in guests.

BALAY INATO
294 Manalo Extension
Puerto Princesa, Palawan
SMART: 09993766777
GLOBE: 09175901155
LAND LINE: (048) 433-8595



Php. 1,400 - Family Room (2 pax) with breakfast
Php. 2,150 - Family room (4 pax) with breakfast and 2 extra bed
Php. 1,200 - Double room (2 px) with breakfast
Php. 1,575 - Triple sharing (3 pax) with breakfast & 1 extra bed

RAQ Pensionne/SMY Travel and Tours
Shayne Gabuco/09175821999
361 Malvar Street, Puerto Princesa City 
Tel No. 434 – 1429 Telefax 433 – 2533 
Mobile No. 0917-553-2884, 0920-924-076

Php1,700.00 / pax ( Accommodation only 3N/4D) 
Php4,500.00 / pax ( Accommodation 3N/4D with tours) 

Ysabelle Mansion
214 Abad Santos Ext.
Puerto Princesa City
Landline (63) (48) 723 0992
Mobile 0918 408 9377 / 090 889 37193
Website: www.ysabellemansion.com

Sept- 11-12- 1 Family Room @2,100.00 X 1 Nights     Php2,100.00
Sept 12-14- 1 Doube Room @1,200.00 X 2 Nights            2,400.00
                  1 Quad Room @1,850.00 X 2 Nights             3,700.00
TOTAL                                                                    Php 8,300.00


We chose Ysabelle Mansion...the picture clearly shows how lovely the room was and felt we did a good decision in choosing the mansion.





Room is good for 6 persons
Very clean bath room




Breakfast inclusion




 

Exotic food called Tamilok








 



 





 


 




 






Mitra's Ranch





 








 

























Friday, January 6, 2012

LOST


1/6/2012

I know that this is not the right forum for me to post this as what I have written is entirely not related to a vacation, but I just couldn't help it. I need to get this thoughts, feelings out of me.

Jan 6, this has been marked red by me because of the tragic incident happened. My whole bag, a body bag was snatched from me by three (3) young men in their teens or early 20's. Their formation was like a pyramid. I was actually not gonna take my way down to guadalupe bridge. 1. It was past 10 pm, 2. I was alone, 3. I'm female. But I still dismissed those ideas and had not remembered what a friend of mine had told me "It is not safe to take that path". God may have spoken to me already of not to push through with my plan because 1. I thought of riding on a bus and walk my way up and down to stairs of Tulay, Makati. 2. While I was near the bridge, It rained a little bit (while I don't usually leave my umbrella at home). Thus, it happened. Good thing though was that, before it happened I remembered God and He was part of my thoughts because I have learned from someone who witnessed my struggle that those young men have knives therefore he was not able to help me. Poor me as I had to experience such incident. I have lost so many valuable "material" things but I am still thankfull from the Lord above that he saved me from being hurt or worst-death. True enough that when it's your time, it's your time but it is still depend on your choices - the decision that you make..of what life we would like to have. When you make a decision, always think that it's your life at stake. Just like yesterday...I was thinking of a short and not too tiring way to my destination. Hope that this will serve as a lesson to everyone. May God always protect us