Ever since my parents retired from work, the word "TRAVEL" became the #1 word on their bucketlist. After years of devoting themselves to the academe, it's high time we travel more often and create more memories together as a family. It is something we seldom do since my siblings and I have different work schedules. We are also barely home with everyone complete under one roof.
One morning, my sister called and said she was booking tickets for Hong Kong. They're taking my daughter Andi with them. I wasn't sure if I could still say no since she had obviously booked them already. But what about me? I couldn't pass the chance of being on a trip with Andi after several months of tight schedules. What the heck, I went ahead with it and the trip was officially booked.
A month before the scheduled trip, an unfortunate event happened to my project. It burned down and the entire building closed down. It was quite stressful on my part since most of the areas that caught fire were the newly-renovated floors which were supposed to be opened on that same month.
But fast forward to my birthday month, it was also a good timing since I needed some rest. I also had to do something that can ease me up a bit. So it was time to enjoy and have some fun. So passports ready. Hong Kong, here we come!
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| Passports assemble! |
My father and brother were not able to come with us. But sure enough, I knew it was still going to be a memorable week with this bunch.
As early as 5:00 AM, we checked-in for our 7:00 AM Cebu Pacific Flight to HK. The process through immigration was a breeze. Probably because we were with kids, there weren't so many questions. And when asked about the documents, my mom's got a full envelope with all the printed itineraries and pre-booked tickets. Thanks to KLOOK!
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| Ready for departure |
DAY 1
For most of us (except my sister Jinyang), it was our first time to travel overseas. The flight was almost 2 hours. We barely knew our way out of the Hong Kong International Airport. The place was huge! At the passenger terminal, we were met by our driver/guide Annie. We got our prepaid pocket WiFi too... because internet is life!
Annie drove us from the airport to Tsim Sha Tsui. We settled in our accommodation and walked around Nathan Road to eat lunch. We had the rest of the day without an itinerary. So I googled on what else we can do aside from what my mom prepared for us for the week. I came across The Peak and Madam Tussauds.
We were up to it. And next thing you know, we were in the nearest MTR terminal, trying to figure out how to operate the ticket vending machine and how to get to the Central Station along the Tsuen Wan Line.
From the train station, we walked towards The Peak Tram. Along the way, we came across a guy from Klook, selling all-in tickets to a round-trip on the tram and entrance fees to The Peak and the wax museum. And since my mom is a big fan of Klook, she bought the tickets without second thoughts.
The tram was quite the scary experience. The mountainside was too steep, the tram inclined to almost a right angle and we had to sit back at all times
Once we arrived at The Peak, we went directly to Madam Tussauds. Even in wax, we were amazed to see those famous characters looking so human-like.
On the roof top or the viewing deck of The Peak, you could see the awesome panoramic view of Hong Kong--its mountainside, skyscrapers and the Victoria Harbour.
After a fun first day in Hong Kong, we took the same tram back to the terminal, then took the train from Central to Tsim Sha Tsui station.
In the evening, me and my sisters took a stroll around Tsim Sha Tsui. Lo and behold, we were actually just a few steps away from a Jollibee branch! We bought Chicken Joy and fries for the kids. After, we went around again and realized that just a few blocks from where we stayed was the Avenue of the Stars. Hong Kong was even way better at night!
DAY 2
We woke up early and had breakfast at Jollibee (and we'd eat Jollibee for the rest of the week). Annie picked us up outside our hotel and took us to Hong Kong Disneyland. It definitely is the happiest place on the planet! Rain or shine, we rode all the rides we can ride and enjoyed every minute of the day. Definitely became a child again.
Despite my mom's hesitation on taking the train, we took the Disney train to the Sunny Bay Station along the Tung Chung Line. Then hopped on another train to Central Station. And another train to Tsim Sha Tsui. On the second day, even the kids were already "experts" on taking the train. All we had to do was follow the colors!
Another fun day awaits us and this time, we went to the Ocean Park. And yes, we took the train again. It's definitely the fastest way to move around. From Tsim Sha Tsui station, we got off the Admiralty Station. Transferred on the South Island Line, and got off on the Ocean Park station.
DAY 4
We went to Kowloon and took the next ferry ride to Macau. Thanks to Klook again, the entire Macau trip was well-prepared. Our mom booked an open top bus tour around Macau. The nice thing about that bus tour is that we can just hop on and hop off on any bus of that specific bus company. The day trip had 16 stops on all the top sights of Macau.
Finally, it was our last day in Hong Kong. But there was still one more place to go. We bid goodbye to Tsim Sha Tsui and headed towards Lantau Island. Our mom booked the Ngong Ping 360 cable car ride.
Our cable car ride at the Ocean Park couldn't compare to what we had at Ngong Ping. For me, it was the best part of the trip. At the Ngong Ping village, we had the chance to discover the local heritage of the island by visiting the Po Lin Monastery and the Big Buddha.
The time has come to say goodbye to Hong Kong.
After Ngong Ping, Annie took us to the airport. We returned our rented pocket wifi and waited for our evening flight back to Manila.
It was definitely a memorable 5-day trip. The kids enjoyed every second of it despite having to walk all day long. Looking forward to our next trip!
See you soon, Singapore!!!
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| Thank you, Hong Kong and Macau! |
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