The most common Asian country for
Filipinos to visit is Hong Kong. I haven’t
been here ever so that is why I call this “much-awaited”. Colleagues told me to
switch the itinerary by prioritizing Macau and make HK the side trip. However,
with less discounts and travel sked options from Manila to Macau,
I opted for the HK fare.
My previous boss, a Swiss and a
backpacker, was the one who taught me how to use the lonely planet. So when he
left the Philippines to go back to Switzerland, he left me most of his lonely
planet travel guides, and one of them was, yes, HK & Macau book. It was
perfect!
I went with 2 other friends on February 1, 2012. Luckily,
flight was on time. I also prepared a good itinerary and the guesthouse I made
a reservation with instructed me to take the Airport Express, then get off at
Hong Kong Station.
The Airport Express was so clean!
In the cart, there was just 3 of us and 3 other passengers. I am very impressed
with the maintenance of this train which charges 210 HKD for group of 3 people.
It is a good deal considering this only takes 30 minutes to reach HK Island. We
got off at HK stop and took a free bus (H2) that will drop us at Excelsior
Hotel in Causeway bay, about 9 stops away.
Alisan Guesthouse offered to pick
us up from Excelsior but we wanted to soak into causeway bay so we decided to
find our way to Hoi To Court. After a few confusions, we finally found it. You
may contact this clean guesthouse through Winda (or the owner named Tommy) through
(852)-28380762 or E-mail : alisangh@hkstar.com.
Winda replies promptly so feel free to ask a room and book. My travel buddy who
was in HK 2 months ago (December 2011) swears it is cheaper and spacious than
their hotel in Yau Ma Tei area. As for me, the bed mattresses are nice to sleep
on, sheets are clean, and bathroom is small but well equipped with heater and
exhaust. Tommy charged us only 700HKD per night.
Alisan Guesthouse Address: Flat A
5th floor, Hoito Court, 275 Gloucestar Road, 23 Cannon Street, Causeway Bay
We rested for a while before we
headed to see the lovely view of Victoria
Peak at night time.
Vincent knew how to get there so please forgive me as I did not lead the route
getting there. All I can remember is we took a train going to Admiralty and
took an interchange then walked towards a road leading upwards to Victoria Peak. Suggestion: if you are visiting
this at night time, go for 7pm. We were there as early as 5pm and the line was
going around in circles with too many people. After 7pm, you will notice
there’s almost no one lining up outside. Actually, along the way and back, you
will get to appreciate many other city spots and parks worth snapping a photo
of, so enjoy the view by keeping your itinerary loose.
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| Airport Express |
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| Alisan Guest House |
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| On our way to Victoria Peak |
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| Victoria Peak |
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| Victoria Peak |
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| Dimsum at Causeway Bay |
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| Dimsum at Causeway Bay |
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| Continental Breakfast in front of Alisan Guest House |
Victoria Peak is not for the broken-hearted,
I’m telling you. If you plan to do some soul-searching, traveling on your own,
and you are recuperating from a bad break-up, do not in any way visit Hong Kong. Do not in any way visit the Victoria Peak.
I’ve been to some peaks in Manila,
New York, Chicago, and so far, Victoria Peak
nails it. I think it is because the view is not too high up that it still
brings out the city lights and the building outlines so well, and not too low
that it can still be called a peak.
Back to causeway bay, I have
always wanted to have a food trip of authentic dimsums. Luckily we found this
little store that serves what appears to be steamed siomai and shanghai rolls.
Even their fried versions look steamed but I loved it! The consistency of the
wrap was just delicious, and the meat was combined with turnip, just like the
home made ones back in Manila! Just like how my mom and dad made them!
Day 2 is Ocean Park. We had
breakfast across the guesthouse and they serve continental breakfast. Then from
the guesthouse, you will just need to walk towards the bus stop which will take
you to Ocean park in just a maximum of 15 minutes. Really I was surprised. Walk
to Cannon Street, Gloucester Road, take the 671 Bus towards Ap Lei Chau (12
mins, 1 stop), Getting off to Aberdeen Tunnel, Walk to Ocean Park, about 5 mins (280 m).
One thing I missed in Ocean Park?
The rides! These rides are so scary that my 2 travel buddies did not support my
desire to try them. So if you are the thrill-seeker, bring equally
thrill-seeker buddies to Ocean Park and brave the rides!
Do not miss these things in Ocean
Park:
- Cable
Car ride
- Jelly
fish
- Panda
On the way back to Alisan, we
decided to check out the malls in Causeway Bay for a bit. We found some really
nice flat shoes worth 100HKD, and in HK, they were all about the in thing in
2012: leopard leopard leopard prints in all shades and in all items! Gosh, what
a haven for fashionistas!
If you are a person who eats a
lot of rice, then you won’t get much from Causeway Bay. We had to settle with a
Japanese restaurant (Itamae-Sushi, Cuaseway Bay) on the night of Day 2 just to
satisfy our rice craving. I do not find the restaurant a budget restaurant, so
after this, we still decided to look for 7-eleven and bought more food. Me and
Vincent tried the street food in Causeway bay too.
Not bad for the streetfood by the
way! For 4 to 8HKD, you can get a stick of whatever. I am not very familiar
with some but I did try the squid. It was tasty!
After Dinner, we went back to the
guest house to rest for a bit. Then we took the train going to Mongkok. The
night market was in Argyle street. It wasn’t much, I barely bought anything,
just a zebra printed flat shoes, a sequined purse with metal hasp and short
chain handle, and of course fridge magnets!
So Day 3 is reserved for Macau.
It was a long walk really. We took the train towards the HK ferry port, but you
have to walk inside this mall where the ticketing booths are. The ferry ride
itself is just a short one, a couple of minutes more than an hour, not bad. You
will have to leave your luggage in designated areas at the back then take your seats
as indicated in the seat number on the ticket. The price can range from HK$133
- HK$175. In our case, I think we paid about HK$175, and it was a Friday morning.
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| How the ferry looks like inside :) |
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| Moving around Macau |
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| This is the chicken in HK and Macau McDonald's |
We arrived at Macau before lunch and
we struggled looking for a nice place to stay. We did not have any bookings,
but I did arrange for some lodge/guesthouses that we can check out. However,
either they were too high up like 4th floor with no elevators, or
too expensive for budget travelers. We got to these lodges by way of a free bus
from the airport going to Lisboa Hotel, which is the nearest to the lodges that
we sort of picked from the Lonely Planet list.
In all my travels, I have never
found it hard to use a map, most of all, a lonely planet map! But in Macau, oh
boy, this is just like the small streets in the Philippines. Macau has very clear
street names alright, they are even on tiles and stone markers, but the streets
just curve in complicated manners. You need a lot of mapping skills on this
one. It is not like the grid maps of the U.S. So get ready.
Alas, we found this really nice
hotel called the Hotel Nan Tin. In the internet, it is listed as Nam Tin but
the receipt says Nan Tin. The hotel charged us 800 MOP for the night which
includes a delayed check out of 3:30pm the following day.
Hotel Nan Tin
Travessa da Praia Grande, no. 4,
Macau
(853) 2871 1212/(853) 2871 1115
The hotel is not bad, it is
spacious for a budget hotel and has wifi but it actually works in the lobby.
The rooms are like real hotel rooms. We were on the second floor, but don’t
worry about your luggage because they have an elevator!
Now it’s time to eat, and we won’t
forget the McDonald’s we saw just after we took a free bus from the ferry port
going to Lisboa Hotel. Again, I compared the chicken and it is just very much
the same in taste as the McDonald’s chicken in HK (I must say, the McDonald’s
oriental chicken wings in Beijing is still unbeatable).
It was the best time to be in
HK and Macau, and it is colder in Macau by just 2-5 degrees. We walked towards
the Lisboa (yes the Nam Tin Hotel is also very near the Grand
Lisboa and Wynn Hotels) with the plan
of going to the Venetian. On our way, I have to say, Macau, I just fell in love
with you. The Grand Lisboa was a sight to behold. The building itself was
flashing its own lights and messages. The casino hotel was a spectacular play
of colors! I can just sit on the gutter, put my hands under my jaws and just
stare!
So we had to take the bus back to
the ferry port. From the ferry port, we took another free bus that led us to
the Venetian. On the way, we spotted a much grander looking hotel than the
Venetian and it is the Galaxy Hotel. This hotel just knows what “peacocking”
is!
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| Free bus to the Venetian |
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| Just across the Venetian |
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| Ala Jan Di of Boys Over Flowers |
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| Galaxy Macau |
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| Inside Galaxy Macau |
So as everyone else, we went inside
the gondola areas of the Venetian, promising ourselves to cross the street and
visit the Galaxy next. I just had to take photos ala Jan Di of Boys over
Flowers, pretending to be crying over Jun Pyo. Fine, I’m a sucker for Korean
Novelas! I also bought my usual Starbucks city tumblers from the Starbucks at
the Venetian Hotel. We paused for some coffee since it was cold and coffee just
sounded such a lovely idea.
We crossed the street towards
Galaxy macau. We took some photos and I recorded a video of the hotel because
it shoots ray lights everywhere and it was so fun! Inside, we went to look for
the tall greeters in Galaxy Macau. Vincent, who already visited the place 2
months ago in December 2011, told us we should go to the crystals area. It was
a nice lobby filled with man-made crystals adorned with moving lights. In the
other lobby, we missed the show, but we luckily found those tall girls and took
photos with them. Really, Jickie and I looked like hobbits beside the girls.
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| Funny hobbits :-P |
So Day 4 is the last day,
Februray 4, 2012. We had breakfast at the senado square. The stores don’t open
as early as in Manila (many shops open for breakfast in Manila), but we did manage
to find a lot of rice yay! I had rice and chicken curry.
We hurried towards the senado
square itself. Going through the walk leading to the ruins of St. Paul, we enjoyed
shopping for treats like nuts (try the wintergreen melon), dried fruit, and
beef jerky. Street food near the ruins of St. Paul was a bit pricey so I just
opted for the best egg tarts in the world.
I love Macau, everything is
affordable! I love Senado Square! This place is my idea of food trip! The
weather just helped too, cold and fit for walking forever!
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| Best Egg Tarts! |
I checked out the Saint Augustine
church while my friends took advantage of the sale in Esprit. On my way, I found
a really nice looking Chinese food store with all those hanging ducks and pork.
I bought food for lunch and made a mental note of the place should my friends
decide to eat there. It was very affordable. As expected, I went back with my
friends and we had our lunch there.
We were rushing back to Nan Tin
because it was 3pm. We all took some calling cards so we can refer this hotel
for people who want to stay in Macau as it was hard to find. We took the ferry
back to HK, and the express train back to HK airport. It was sad leaving Macau
too soon. As well, I loved HK. If I get back to HK< for sure, I will hit the
rides in Ocean Park.
I also loved my company. It is
the best travel mix of 3 people. In my experience, 3-4 people who are all
backpackers or at least low-maintenance people will go well with travelling on
a budget.
