I just got back from Hongkong the other day. I have so much to tell. But first, a shout out to Ma'am Eden, who booked us a cheap flight even if it was not planned at all. Thank you so much!
Anyways, I am going to be your trip advisor today. Everything I will be writing here doesn't reflect any of my friends/companions opinions. Its all me!
1. Book a flight on line. Most airlines have promos. We got ours for only P2000.00 (inclusive of everything) via Air Asia in Clark. www.airasia.com
2. Lucky me, I have friends whom I can hitch going to Clark. But if your flight schedule will fit the bus/ van schedule, you can take that. www.philtranco.com.ph
3. One you reach the Clark Airport (make sure you are there 2-3 hours before the flight), check-in (by the way, air asia has a self check-in machines. Its so convenient!), proceed to pay the travel tax and the Philippine Tax which is abouit P2300 all in all, depending on the exemptions. (parang hold-up lang, ng 2 bebes) http://www.dmia.ph/
* here's a tip when going through the immigration officer, have all your documents and IDs ready and make sure you answer all their questions honestly and with a smile.
4. Its a 1 hour and 55 minutes trip. I admire the pilots of Air Asia, we had a smooth flight all the way to Hongkong (including the landing!). The stewards were also very nice (except for their casual uniform- an Air Asia polo short and Air Asia pants plus leather shoes. seriously?). Bring your food. Plane food is so expensive.
5. The Hongkong International Airport is big. Walkalators are all over the place. Its clean and very organized. Its one of the finest airport I've been to.Exchange your money here and purchase your Octopus Card too. https://www.hongkongairport.com/
6. When you are travelling to Hongkong make sure are very aware of the MTR and Bus routes. It will get confusing if you don't have the map and schedule. It will always help to read, read, read. Expect a lot of walking and transferring from one public transport to another. www.mtr.com.hk or www.nwstbus.com.hk
7. Hongkong is known for their high-end Hotels. But if you are on a tight budget, you can always find a hostel to stay at. We stayed at Dragon Hostel. www.dragonhostel.com We reserved a room on-line and just paid the balance when we checked in. The location is actually well located. It's only a block away from the Mongkok MTR station. It's also near 711 stores and McDonald's too. The best thing about it, you just cross the street and you are at the Night Market. Their rooms are very clean, although its small, its comfortable. Well, except for the bathroom. Its really small. The shower (with hot and cold), the toilet bowl and the toilet sink is an armful away from each other. Its also has a sliding door (that doesn't close really well), but if you are not that particular with bathrooms, you'll survive. Don't worry, its clean. There's also free wifi and you can always get free hot water for your coffee or cereals. There's a refrigerator but its shared by 3-5 rooms on that floor.Again, its clean.
8. The first place we went to is the Citygate Outlet Mall. We didn't check-in to the hotel yet so we left our bags at the lockers you can rent for HK$10 for 2 hours. make sure you are fast in getting available lockers, they only have a few. But their lockers are really big, so you don't have to worry about putting everything you are carrying in just one locker. Eat at Food Republic. Authentic Chinese food are available there. Its kinda pricey and most of the food kiosk there prepares their food using their bare hands. No gloves. (no wonder its tastes funny). There are really cheap stuff that you can buy at the whole mall. If you are bringing cash, you will definitely have a good time. Splurge on Giordano clothes. Its way, way cheaper than the Giordano stores here. www.citygateoutlets.com.hk
9. So after resting, we went out again to see the Avenue of the Stars and the Symphony of Lights. Located at Tsim Tsa Tsui, take the star ferry from Central. Its a long, long, long walk but the view is worth it. We took pictures and just strolled along the avenue. The sight was amazing. These tall buildings were magnificent. It was just disappointing that the Symphony of Lights was not that entertaining. The narration was in Cantonese and only a few buildings were able to participate. We got bored. big time. www.starferry.com.hk
** we were discriminated here when we tried to find a bathroom and asked a local security guard. He said that the bathrooms here were exclusive and not for us. Good thing, we were able to ask somebody else and found the restrooms inside the Museum.
10. After dinner, we went to the Ladies market to buy pasalubong. www.ladies-market.hk
We were able to buy cotton i love hongkong shirts and key chains in very cheap prices. I love the bargain shopping but the sales people here are the worst. They shout at you when you ask for discounts and they get mad when you don't buy from their stores. Damn it, they are really scary!
11. We got our tickets from a travel store in Central. A place where most of the Filipinos gather. Here you will find products from the Philippines and people are talking in Tagalog. Its like Divisoria and Quiapo in one. The original ticket was HK$399 but we got ours for only HK$360. We were able to buy the adaptor we needed here too.
12. Yey! Disneyland! www.park.hongkongdisneyland.com
** You need to transfer to the Mickey Mouse train to go to Disneyland. Make sure you go there early because lines are really long and some people tend to be inconsiderate. They just don't know how to fall in line!
** Make sure you have your Disney maps so that you'll know where to go and what time you will be able to watch the shows. The meet and greet of the Disney Characters and the parade schedule are mentioned here too.
** Lines in rides and shows are really long. You need to have patience. People flock the lines and waiting time would take up to 70 minutes. So make sure you plan ahead.
** There are a lot of sale items in souvenir shops. Take advantage of them. Usually they are in the counters. Ask the unfriendly sales person about it, if they are not busy fixing things every single time.
13. I saw 2 shows. The "Golden Mickey" (ang hot ni Tarzan! kakairita si Bebe!) and the "Festival of the Lion King" (Pinay daw yon nagaacrobat! again, may hot fire dancers!)
14. Ride the Big Grizzly Runaway Mine Cars. Challenge yourselves to a very fast roller coaster ride. i got scared. More scared than the sales person in ladies market (hahaha!). I will never, ever, ever do that again! ever!
15. The best part of our visit in Disneyland is the fireworks. It was amazing. It would give you chills.
** Its like everything I have read in books and seen on TV came alive. Take pictures with all the characters if you can.
16. Going home, we checked in at Terminal 2 and boarded at Terminal 1. We ate at Cafe de Coral and we didn't like it. I swear, the breakfast meal I got tasted terrible! www.cafedecoral.com
What do I love about Hongkong?
- there's no traffic. buses and MTRs have fantastic routes
- shopping is great if you have tons of money
- fashion is awesome. fantastic shoes and super duper short shorts!
What I hate about Hongkong?
- people are very, very rude. i don't know why, but they are.
- they think that all Filipinos are domestic helpers so they discriminate.
- a lot of them smells. they do. they really, really do.
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