Off to Hong Kong

We woke up at around 6, took a bath, packed our things, and checked out of the hotel. By 8, we were already on a bus to the Ferry Terminal.

I can't remember the bus number but I remembered we paid MOP 3.20 each

This time, we were headed to Kowloon (Tsim Sha Tsui China Ferry Terminal) since it’s nearer our hotel. So we went on the New World First Ferry instead of Turbojet, which goes to Central.

Buying our tickets for the 8:30 AM ferry

There are certain sailing times in certain days when tickets are offered at a discounted rate. So be sure to check their site for the schedule and prices.

We were lucky! We only paid 135 HKD instead of 155 HKD.

Again, you will have to be ready with a departure card to show to the immigration officer.

View from inside the terminal

We got on the boat on time but the trip took longer than I expected. It wasn’t a smooth ride, too. I almost p*uked!

Inside New World First Ferry

I was so glad when we docked. I was still feeling sick when I was lining up at the immigration counter (This time with my arrival card that was given onboard.). But then, I was already in Hong Kong. The excitement made me forget the seasickness in no time!

Macau Itinerary- Part 3

I am used to 6:00 PM sunsets. But when we were in Macau, it was already 7:00 PM and the sky still looked like this:

Late sunset

Compare it to this:

Now, that's better!

The picture above was taken at quarter past 7. The lights were more dazzling against the black sky. This was the time we have been waiting for. Lights from the casinos became more brilliant. So, we just walked around and took pictures. Up until this time, we still haven’t taken any form of public transportation, save for the taxi ride to the hotel.

Lively street; Grand Lisboa is partly hidden on the left; Wynn is in the middle

We are not big on casinos. So out of curiosity, we only went inside one- Casino Lisboa. It was big and a lot of people were playing. We didn’t stay long, though.

Macau pedicabs near Grand Lisboa

We walked some more until we got tired. We saw more beautiful buildings along the way. We then finally got on a bus (I’m so sorry, I really forgot the bus #.) to go to Hotel Sintra.

In Macau, hotels offer free shuttle buses. We took advantage of the one from City of Dreams. We got on the City of Dreams bus to get to Cotai Strip.

City of Dreams shuttle outside Hotel Sintra

The shuttle stopped outside City of Dreams.

Outside City of Dreams

I really liked the smell of this place.

We were greeted by this 3D display when we got inside.

City of Dreams is really huge. It has numerous designer shops, casinos, the Grand Hyatt Macau, and Hard Rock Hotel. They also have two theaters where you can watch shows like The Bubble. We didn’t have a lot of time so we weren’t able to watch any shows.

Vivienne Westwood store inside City of Dreams

These spades on the floor lead to the casino.

Hard Rock Hotel

We then walked to The Venetian, which was right across City of Dreams.

View of the Venetian from City of Dreams

This place is massive. But we only went to see the Grand Canal Shoppes and the gondola.

The Grand Canal Shoppes

We didn’t see anybody riding the gondola when we were there. I think because it was already late.

Gondola ride @ MOP108 (per ride) for adults and MOP80 (per ride) for kids

We got on the City of Dreams shuttle again to go back to Hotel Sintra. We then walked all the way back to the hotel.

Street food we saw on our way back to the hotel

My friends decided to eat dinner at a food stand beside the hotel while I went ahead and called it a night.

MACAU ITINERARY- PART 2

Warning: This is a photo- heavy post.

We went out again at around 10:30 and headed to the Ruins. We didn’t have a hard time getting there. We walked from our hotel to Senado Square and just followed the street signs.

Largo do Senado

Along the way to the Ruins, we saw a lot of shops and curious finds.

There was also this one particular street that seemed to be busier than the others. It was lined with shops selling souvenirs, local goods, and some branded items. This was also where locals and tourists can get a taste of pastries, like almond cookies, and dried meats for free. They were delicious, I must say.

Busy street

I noticed a pastry shop in that same street that was flooded with people. Upon closer inspection, I realized it was the Pasteleria Koi Kei.

Pasteleria Koi Kei

They are famous for their Portuguese egg tarts. I bought one for myself to try. It turned out to be the best egg tart I’ve ever tasted. Each costs 6 patacas (Macau’s currency) or you can also pay in HKD for the same amount.

We ended up buying more egg tarts. Don't leave Macau without tasting them!

We then continued to walk along this street and was greeted by the famous Macau landmark.

The busy street leads to the Ruins.

A lot of people were already there. There was even a photo shoot going on.

The crowd by the Ruins

Wedding photo shoot

We took more pictures before we went inside.

Closed gate beside the main entrance

Back view of the Ruins

We climbed the stairs behind the Ruins and we got a good view of the Grand Lisboa.

View from one of the Ruin's windows.

We then went to the Museum of Sacred Art and Crypt.

View from the stairs behind the facade. The arrow points to the Museum of Sacred Art and Crypt.

We only went inside the Crypt. Admission was free.

The crypt contains the relics of martyrs from Vietnam and Japan.

Our next stop was the Museo de Macau, which was near the Ruins. We didn’t get inside for some reason and just took some pictures.

Museo de Macau's operating hours

The escalator here leads to the Museum's entrance

Outside the Museum

If you want to buy some souvenirs, you can check out the stores in between the Ruins and the Museum. A seller from there gave me a very good price. So, don’t be shy to work your haggling skills.

View from the Museum. The arrow points to the stores where souvenirs are sold.

By this time,  we were starving. So we walked back down the same busy street. We found some benches near a 7- eleven store and decided to eat there.

7- eleven

This is what I had- noodles with crab sticks and some dimsum. This is less than 30 HKD.

We ate here.

After lunch, we walked back to our hotel supposedly to get some sleep. Remember, we haven’t had enough sleep the night before. We went straight to Macau as soon as we arrived in Hong Kong. But it is not everyday that I can be in Macau. So when B said she would rather spend the time exploring Macau more, I gladly joined her. And, P tagged along.

We walked through alleys where we didn’t find a lot of tourists. We stayed for a while in a mini park surrounded by local houses. We saw stores catering mostly to the locals and a street lined with antique shops. We were surprised to end up at Na Tcha Temple right beside the Ruins.

I don't know the name of this temple but it houses some golden statues.

Brass monkey statue

Local houses

This street is lined with antique shops.

Na Tcha Temple beside the Ruins

Although I enjoyed going around on foot, my feet were already complaining like mad. So we just dropped by Lou Kau Mansion in No. 7, Travessa da Se, which is in one of the alleys near Senado Square. We then went back to the hotel.

The ceiling in Lou Kau Mansion

Wooden panels with very intricate designs

Tea Hall. Admission to the mansion is free.

Whew! This is one lengthy post. And, we are not even done with Day 1 yet.

Macau Part 3 is coming soon…

MCDONALD’S MACAU

McDonald’s is very easy to spot when you are in Senado Square. Just look for this:

McDonald's brand icons

I noticed that the breakfast items on their menu are a bit different from what’s available in my local branch.

The breakfast menu

Out of curiosity, I went for the cheesy pasta set. I paid 23 HKD for this. I wasn’t disappointed.

My breakfast: Sausage & Egg Cheesy Tasty Pasta

The happy eaters!

HOTEL MAN VA

If the incident at Hotel Ko Wah didn’t happen, we wouldn’t have known about Hotel Man Va. And I take it as a blessing in disguise for the following reasons:

Outside the hotel

1. Michael (I’m so sorry I wasn’t able to take a picture of him). He’s the receptionist when we were there. He’s very, very accommodating.

2. The hotel lobby. They had a proper lobby with comfortable sofas. It was spacious too.

Lobby. The door behind me is the main entrance. To my left is the reception counter.

3. The room rate. We got 2 triple- rooms at a little less than 500 HKD each. It was definitely worth the kind of service that we got from the staff.

4. The rooms. Ours had three separate beds with enough space to walk around. We even had a bathtub. Best of all, it was clean and didn’t have any weird smell.

L: Our room (Please excuse the mess! =^_^=); R: The bathroom

5. The location. Hotel Man Va is along Travessa da Caldeira. Although it is not on the main street, it is just a few minutes away from the city center. It’s a minute away from the bus stop that goes to the ferry terminal. Senado Square is also less than 5- minutes away on foot.

The arrow points to where Hotel Man Va is located; Above it is the Ruins; Towards the right is the Senado Square

If you are looking for a hotel in Macau that is simple, affordable, and accessible, I would really recommend that you check this place out.

Contact information

MACAU ITINERARY- Part 1

Actually, there was no itinerary. I have read that Macau is pretty easy to navigate and that you can get maps from the ferry terminal and hotels. So, I didn’t really bother coming up with a detailed plan. I only called Hotel Ko Wah weeks before to make a reservation.

L: Macau map I got at the Ferry Terminal; R: Map I got from Hotel Ko Wah

My friends and I arrived in Macau a little after 5:00 AM. The streets were empty except for a few trucks and taxis. Since according to the map Hotel Ko Wah (which is in Rua da Felicidade) is far, we decided to just take a taxi. We had to hail two since there were six of us. Each charged us 40 HKD.

There were two guys at the reception when we got there. They were asleep so I had to knock on the counter. One of them immediately waved his arms to say that there were no vacancies and that he didn’t speak English. I tried to tell him that I made a reservation a month before. I even had to make an international call to them since they didn’t have a website. But he just ignored me and went back to sleep.

I wasn’t too happy, of course. But we were in a dark and unfamiliar street at an ungodly hour and there was no time for drama. We went out of the hotel, walked down the road to look for a place to stay. The next hotel had no vacancies either. The third one (Hotel Man Va) also didn’t have any rooms available. However, Michael, the receptionist, said if we can wait we can check in by 9:00 AM. At that time, it was just around 6:00 AM. It was too early to do anything. So we waited by the hotel’s lounge and slept for a bit.

By 7:00 AM, we were too hungry. Michael said we can walk to Senado Square to get a McDonald’s meal. He also gave us a map. He was very nice and accommodating. He was also good in English. He let us leave our things in their storage room while we grab something to eat.

Reception area of Hotel Man Va (The left door is the storage room.)

The hotel, which is in Trevessa Da Caldeira, was just a few minutes walk from Senado Square.

Street leading to Largo do Senado

After breakfast, we went around and took some pictures. Most of the shops were still closed. They usually open at around 10:00 AM. We took our time and were able to observe some locals going about their day.

The shops near the Square

Students walking past the Cathedral of Macau

Some elderly hanging out by the benches in Senado Square

At around 9, we walked back to our hotel. We settled into our rooms and rested for a while.

Part 2 can be found here.

SETTING FOOT ON FOREIGN LAND

We arrived in Hong Kong at almost midnight. Cebu Pacific’s only direct flight from Cebu to Hong Kong leaves late at night daily. The first thing I noticed when we got there was how huge the Hong Kong International Airport was. We even had to get on the train just to reach the immigration halls.

Waiting for the train

Maps of all sorts for your travel around Hong Kong are available everywhere in the airport.

Once we got our passports stamped, we proceeded to get our bags and headed for the bus station.

Baggage carousel

It was only after I saw the bus did I realize that we didn’t have octopus cards. P and I asked several airport personnel where we can get the said card. However, nobody understood what we were talking about. That’s when it dawned on me that English is not as common as I thought it would be in Hong Kong.

Octopus card

Both of us went back inside the airport. All we saw were just octopus card reloading machines. All customer service counters were also closed. We then decided to just buy food from 7- eleven so we will have some change for the bus. We were going to Macau Ferry Terminal in Central via the N11 bus of Citybus. The fare was 33 HKD each. Buses in Hong Kong and Macau do not offer change. So you really have to prepare the exact amount.

A11 bus becomes N11 at night (please excuse the trash can)

The ride to Central took an hour. Since it was very early in the morning, the terminal was almost empty.

Macau Ferry Terminal

Before we got to the official ticket counter of Turbojet, there were several people who offered us tickets at a much cheaper price. But we wanted to be safe so we just bought our tickets from the Turbojet counter for 168 HKD.

Turbojet ticket for Hong Kong to Macau

Our passports were again stamped before we got on the boat.

Up Next: Our Macau Adventure

SUMMARY OF MY HONG KONG- MACAU TRIP

This is not the itinerary that I made before we left. We were not able to cover all the places in the initial itinerary. Everything was huge and amazing that we tend to spend more time than we expected at each destination. This here is what we actually accomplished.

Ruínas de São Paulo

March 25 (Thursday)
9:00 PM Fly off to Hong Kong
11:50 PM Arrival in Hong Kong

March 26 (Friday)
12:10 AM Immigration and baggage claim
1:00 AM Dinner from 7- eleven
1:30 AM Ride bus to Macau Ferry Terminal
2:40 AM Arrival at the ferry terminal
4:00 AM Ride ferry to Macau
5:00 AM Arrival in Macau
5:30 AM Arrival at Hotel Man Va
7:00 AM Visit Senado Square
7:30 AM Breakfast at McDonald’s
8:00 AM Visit Cathedral, St. Dominic Church
9:00 AM Check in at Hotel Man Va
11:00 AM Visit St. Paul’s Ruins
1:30 PM Lunch at 7- eleven
3:30 PM Visit Na Tcha Temple, Lou Kau Mansion
8:30 PM City of Dreams
9:30 PM The Venetian

Largo do Senado

March 27 (Saturday)
8:30 AM Departure from Macau
10:00 AM Arrival in Hong Kong
10:30 AM Kowloon Park
11:00 AM Check in at Golden Crown Guest House
12:00 PM Lunch at Golden Lake Restaurant
2:00 PM Visit Hong Kong Science Museum and Hong Kong Museum of History
4:00 PM Head to Sha Tin
5:00 PM Visit Ten Thousand Buddhas, New Town Plaza, Snoopy’s World
7:30 PM Dinner at McDonald’s
9:20 PM Shopping in Mongkok (Ladies’ Market)

Tian Tan Buddha

March 28 (Sunday)
9:00 AM Breakfast at Golden Lake Restaurant
10:30 AM Ngong Ping 360
3:00 PM Citygate Outlet
3:30 PM Lunch at Food Republic
5:30 PM The Peak Tram, Madame Tussaud, Sky Terrace
8:30 PM Walk back to the hotel
10:00 PM Dinner at the hotel

Hong Kong Skyline from the Sky Terrace

March 29 (Monday)
9:30 AM Buy breakfast from 7- eleven
10:00 AM Avenue of the Stars, Clock Tower
1:00 PM Hong Kong Disneyland
2:00 PM Lunch at Corner Cafe
10:00 PM Dinner at Pizza Hut
10:30 PM Shopping in Mongkok

Traditional Chinese Junk

March 30 (Tuesday)
10:00 AM Nan Lian Garden
11:30 AM Lunch at Food Republic
1:30 PM Ocean Park
7:00 PM Shopping at Haiphong Road
8:30 PM Get bags from the hotel
9:00 PM Ride bus to the airport
11:00 PM Dinner at Popeye’s

Note that we arrived in Ocean Park at 1:30 PM. They close at 6:00 PM. Since there were a lot of shows going on, and some would even last for about an hour, we only got to explore one side of Ocean Park. I was disappointed that I didn’t get to see those pandas. =(

The park was full even on a Tuesday! The lines for the cable car and ocean express were too long that we just gave up the idea of crossing.

PLANNING MY FIRST TRIP ABROAD

Hong Kong International Airport

Sometime in January, Cebu Pacific offered discounted seats for Cebu- Hong Kong- Cebu. My friends and I booked our tickets  for March immediately. I was tasked to do all the planning since we wanted a DIY trip.

Here are some links that have been very useful for me:

12hk (The Unofficial Guide)

Ambot Ah!

Citybus

Discover Hong Kong (Museums)

Frommer’s- Hong Kong

Hong Kong Disneyland

MTR JOurney Planner

My Little World- Hong Kong

My Little World- Macau

Ngong Ping 360

Ocean Park Hong Kong

Pinoy Exchange- Hong Kong 1

Pinoy Exchange- Hong Kong 2

Pinoy Exchange- Macau

I am grateful to the owners of and those who posted on these sites. These really made making an itinerary much, much easier.

I hope that you too will find these useful and enjoyable to read.