I was so excited that we will be embarking from the Terminal 3 aboard Cebu Pacific going to Hongkong. Sa excitement ko, I asked my father to wake up as early as 1AM para by 2, nandun na kami sa T3. Ang aga noh? Well, I also thought na we have to be early kasi international flight iyon at ayoko namang mahuli at maiwan. We arrived earlier than the estimated time so I felt lucky that we did not get to experience the ordeal that some of the passengers have gone through when they boarded 5J flights in T3. Kasama ko sa biyahe ang high school buddy ko, si Shirley Bonifacio. While waiting, we took pictures.
In the HK International Airport (HKIA), we tried not to appear first-timers as we follow the crowd towards the immigrations and the conveyor for our luggages. I didn't know what was the problem with the immigration officer when it was my turn because he asked me questions about my stay in HK while my companion was already on the other side and waiting for me. Ang chaka. Cute sana. I don't have penchants for Chinese men pero kapag irresistable na ang itsura na, i-career na! LOL. But for only a few minutes, he already stamped my passport and I went through. Hongkong, here I am.
It is my first time alone in Hongkong. I went through a travel agent before so I don't care about everything then but to present my passport. But now, I have to plan on everything to avoid getting lost or spending too much. As per the research that I had, we have to buy an Octopus card worth HKD100 with additional deposit of HKD50. We can use this primarily for buses and MTR in going around the city. If we didn't consume everything that is in the card, we can refund it at the customer service counter.
After that, we went out of the terminal to look for the A21 bus going to Yau Ma Tei district. This is where our hotel, Dorsett Seaview, is located. The bus is amazing! LOL. Well, the last time I rode in this kind of bus was when I was a kid and in Manila. I don't know if there is anyone of you who can still remember that. There were double-decker buses in Manila before that were used for mass transportation. No kidding. So anyway, we found the bus, went straight to the second deck after we left our luggages below, and sat in front. Amazing view! There were frequent rainshowers when we arrived but we tried not to let it dampen our excited mood of exploring the city.
We have to get off at bus stop #9 in Nathan Road but we could not see the bus stop number for every point, if there's any. So when we reached Mongkok, we went down from the second deck and told the driver to stop at the #9 spot, whatever they called it. In a few minutes, we reached the destination. From Nathan Road, we looked for the Public Square St, turned to the corner, walked for a few minutes and found our hotel.
Dorsett Seaview Hotel is a three-star hotel that has amenities acceptable to our taste, LOL. The elevator is small but the room is nice. It can really provide a place for your comfort after a long day of exploring the sights and sounds of Hongkong. It is located in the corner of Public Square Street and Shanghai Street. Temple Street is only on the other side so it will give anyone an easy access to the bargain shops that lined up the street every night. The Yau Ma Tei station of MTR is the place to get off to reach this hotel.
The receptionist present at that time has 'Elle' on her nameplate. We immediately inquired our reservation. It was hard to talk with her because aside from the fact that she is not even smiling, she talked so fast. It was hard to understand her English with her Chinese accent. She asked for our passports and she began to type on our names in the system. She asked me to fill up the form for check-in, as well, and she made a guaranteed save on my credit card account. Me and Shirley knew that the usual check-in is two PM so we decided to left our bags and started exploring the city.
We started walking to look for the Wing Hoi money changer, which is located at the back of Mirador Mansion. It was a long walk. There was the usual rainshower. Through the help of the HK thread in Pinoy Exchange, we were able find it. It was worth the walk because we enjoyed passing through shops and seeing cute HK policemen (as in, OMG!). Kung hindi lang nakakahiya, nagpa-picture na kami sa kanila kaso on duty sila eh. LOL! We finally found the infamous money exchange and ok nga magpapalit ng currency sa kanila. **wink**
After that, we're already hungry so we decided to eat. We don't have time to look for any 'hole-in-the-wall' eateries because we're so hungry, we want to eat right away. So setting aside our feel for gastronomic adventure, we went inside a McDonalds and ate breakfast. Solved na. Anyway, I brought a special guest with me on my trip. Meet Nick Carter, the ninja! (hiniram ko muna sya dahil alam kong mawawala na sya sa pangangalaga ko, hehe)
gusto nya may hawak syang tinidor, LOL
Nakakatamad mamasyal at this time na umaambon so we decided to postpone our itinerary to go to Victoria Peak and walked towards the waterfront to check the Avenue of Stars. It was the Chinese version of Hollywood's Walk of Fame. I found the stars of Jet Li, Jacky Cheung, Chow Yun Fat, Bruce Lee and of course, Jacky Chan. They all have handprints except Bruce Lee. Magulat ka kapag meron sya. Baka metacarpals na niya ang naka-embossed dun, hahahaha.
solo pics muna si Nick. sya ang proxy ko kung ayaw kong magpa-picture.. hehe
aliw na aliw ang mga intsik habang pini-picturan ko sya dito. Go Nick! LOL
syempre, di kami pahuhuli kay Jackie Chan. Hai yah!
epal. gusto pa sa Director's Chair
syempre, ako din!
After going to the Avenue of Stars, we were so tired of walking. My feet is killing me! I want to sit but we could not find any dry place to rest for a while. We went back to our hotel by foot. Imagine yourself walking from Baclaran to Vito Cruz through Roxas Blvd, mga ganun ang distance ng hotel at ng dulo ng Nathan Road. I was struggling to keep on walking.
It was already two PM when we reached the hotel. Sakto for check-in time. Elle is not smiling again. I told her about our reservations was pre-guaranteed by my cc. She said na disregarded na daw iyon kanina nung nag-check in kami. So, check-in na pala ang ginawa nya kanina nung unang dumating kami. Hindi naman kami binigyan ng susi. Pero ok lang. At least hindi kami siningil ng additional rate for the early check-in. So we get the bags from the bell service and preceeded to our room. Konting pahinga lang ang ginawa namin tapos we decided to go to Victoria Peak after two hours.
For the first time, we traveled via MTR. Sobrang organized ng transport system ng HK. If there is a tendency to get lost, just go to their Customer Service Counter. They can converse with you in English which is dapat lang, hehehe. So going back, we started in the Jordan station and get off at the Central station. We will go to Worldwide Plaza first to buy cheap Disneyland HK tickets. From the peak-day ticket worth HKD350, nabili namin for HKD320. Medyo nagkaligaw-ligaw kami. Ang mga pulis na nakita namin, hindi nakakaintindi ng English. Naging pulis pa sila kung sa kapwa Chinese lang sila makakatulong, di ba? Anyway, I was overwhelmed when we reached Worldwide Plaza. It was invaded by Filipinos! As in kahit saang anggulo, may Pinoy. For a period of time, Tagalog ang narinig kong wika, hehehe. Cool!
Traveleasy is located at the third floor of Worldwide Plaza. Travel agency siya. Matatagpuan sa bandang dulo sa kaliwa pagkatapos mag-escalator. From MTR, go to exit D, turn left towards Des Veoux Central street, this building is located across the street. Makikita ang pangalan ng building sa labas. Pagpasok mo pa lang sa travel agency, mga Pinay ang bubungad sa iyo. Kaya nag-tagalog agad kami. Hehehe. After buying tickets, tumuloy naman kami sa Smart 1528 at the 1st floor. Kailangan ni Shirley ng HK SIM card para makatext at tawag sa Pilipinas sa murang halaga. HKD38 ang bili niya pero kung iko-convert iyan sa piso, tipid pa ba? Ayoko na mag-compute, hahaha. Naghintay lang ako sa labas kasi wala naman akong gagawin sa loob. Makakasikip lang ako. May lumapit sa aking matanda. Tinatanong ako kung break contract daw ako. Hindi ko alam kung ano yun pero umiling lang ako. Siguro, iyon yung tawag kapag natapos na ang kontrata ng isang OFW sa HK.
After Worldwide Plaza, dumiretso na kami papuntang Peak Tram. It is a moving piece of history at hindi namin pinalagpas ni Shirley yun. But before going there, may mga nadaanan kaming interesting subjects for photoshoot.
may impluwensya ni Bayani Fernando ang gumawa ng signage na ito, hmmm...
St John's Cathedral: May Pinoy translation. 'stig!
o di ba? hahaha
Discounted ang Peak Tram nung hapong iyon kasi foggy daw. Hindi na maganda ang view dahil sa ulan. From the usual HKD48, HKD33 na lang ang roundtrip fare. Yes, tipid na naman, hehehe. Tinatamad ako actually magpunta but for my friend, I will go there para makita naman niya. Sayang nga lang. I know mas maa-appreciate niya sana ang view ng Hongkong kung maganda ang panahon. When we get there, ok naman ang view. Medyo obstructing lang talaga ang fog. After that, we went back to Tsim Sham Tsui to watch Symphony of Lights.
sayang, di ba? hehe. pahamak na ulap!
Before that, we decided to have dinner first. Mga six PM na yun. We found a Chinese eatery at doon kami kumain. I ordered beef and vegetables with rice. Ang laki ng serving nila, in a low price of HKD28. May inumin na din ako. Busog na busog na ako kahit yung spoon na pang-congee ang gamit ko. Hindi naman kasi ako marunong mag-chopsticks eh. At ayokong magpanggap, hahaha. Ang sarap ng pagkain nila. Yum!
After dinner, nagpahinga kami saglit ni Shirley. After a while, nagpunta na kami sa Avenue of Stars. Umaambon pa rin pero carry. Manonood na kami ng Symphony of Lights. Ahead of schedule kami so maganda ang pwestong sinilungan namin. Tanaw na tanaw ang nightscape ng Hongkong Island. Ang gaganda tingnan ng mga nagsasayaw na lights ng mga building, lalo na yung sa Bank of China. Iyong pwesto namin, malapit lang sa Olympic Piazza at malakas ang sound system. So damang-dama iyong performance ng mga ilaw dahil sa music na naririnig namin.
napakalikot ng building ng Bank Of China. hehe
Pagkatapos ng show, naisip na naming bumalik sa hotel. Susubukan naming mag-MTR kasi nakakapagod na. From Tsim Sham Tsui station, bumaba kami ng Yau Ma Tei, exit C. Ok, natututo na kami. Haha. Ilang tumbling na lang at hotel na. Shirley was supposed to go sa night market pero umaambon pa din kaya nagpahinga na lang kaming dalawa at natulog.
nakaramdam ako ng pagod nung makita ko yung kama.
Nakakapagod. First day in Hongkong pa lang iyan. Sakit sa paa ang paglalakad pero enjoy naman, hehe.
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