3 HONG KONG: NIGHT WALK IN MONGKOK



The second day of our Hong Kong tour is simply a side trip to Macau. Initially, Lantau Island and Macau would be for second and third respectively. But we lost our itinerary. So we got no choice but to create one on the spot. Although no problem since we already sorted the entire plan among the places to visit. Only differs is prior to the schedule day.

I am no longer wasting my space about what happened in Macau, but I’ll surely back to this gambling city for more exploration and appreciation. But for now I will share the best prize the night after our horrific side trip.


Hong Kong is merely twenty-four-seven city, and market doors are open extensively whether night or day. And captivating the night is more than siesta. Night market is just for the people who love fiesta foods and in thirst for cheaper tees and gadgets. The prize I’m talking about is night food trips and Mong Kok is the best host for the cravings. This place sketched with array of food stalls, small shops, and markets.


Mong Kok is the best place for your desire. Every street is characterized depending on what you want or what ya need. It has “Ladie’s Street” obviously for our beloved ladies, you got “Sai Yeung Choi Street” for electronic products and if you want something to bumper your sleeping lazy nuts then red-light district is best for you, just look for “Portland Street”.

And right across the streets and nearby blocks are popular shopping plaza. Just beware on your breath and prepare your legs to roam around this dense area and it will surely crack your prowess.


So how to get there?! It is just seven minutes ride from Tsim Sha Tsui to Mong Kok, and you gonna pass three stations only on the same red line. And by the way please click this MTR JPlanner if you got hard time transferring station to another stations. This will surely help you. That website will give you all the information – your journey time and fare info. For navigation simply click [1] Clear Result to start anew [2] Enter your Starting Point and Destination on space provided then the system itself will load the data for your travel information.


It was his birthday so regardless of what happened earlier that day; we still tried to shelter his special day and eliminate the unnecessary. First, we had dinner at Café de Coral [I think we have this one in Quezon City] although not an aristocratic resto but better compared to our daily McDonalds and KFC meals. Café de Coral offers variety of Chinese delicacies with seafood and Angus beef as favourable flavour. And while waiting for our order I took a photo fromt their food menu and the exterior until an order taker woman yelling pointing at me. I didn't know its prohibited, I just turned my camera off and say sorry.. Anyway i don't understand what she said but I got it.

The Birthday Boy!

Cafe de Coral food menu..i deleted all the photos except this one.
Afterwards we conquered the place and look for gadgets, perfumes, branded clothes, etc and I know we’re not buying just for pleasure and of course price comparison. I know it’s a failure when you convert things but for first timers, please carry your patience. 

I can compare Mong Kok to Baclaran, or Plaza Miranda or I guess Divisoria, imagine plenty of people going to nowhere directions. The area is diverged in hard techno music from every corner of the street, and each block is jumbled with entertainment. There were people singing, there were bands in heavy metals that will split your ears in high decibels, there were like Taguro that will let people punch his blacktop abdomen and pay after fist shred into pieces. And look at this man, showcasing his unique Pinoy Got Talent like talent; I think it would be better if he’s riding a monocycle. What ya think? 

  
Dont sick with Ms. Sasa, she is everywhere.

We just kept on strolling around the area going end to end then change direction then back to wherever we started. Until I saw this sign, haha! Berde ba talaga ang ilog?


We spent our night in Mong Kok and tasted most of their authentic street food. My favourite is “Eggette” also known as egg waffle, egg puff, gai daan jai or bubble waffle, this is obviously made of eggs and additional ingredients like milk, flour and sugar. Eggette is popular in Macau and Hong Kong and it looks like round pancakes or waffles. For HK$10 per piece and it has I think 24 egg puffs is enough already to fill your appetite. Then the counterpart of “pambara” is “panulak” so we seek out for something that will satisfy our thirst. Gong Cha would be the perfect match for HK$12 only. 

Amoy pagkain na ba kayo..lets do the rubabadabango. Haha.
A quick shot with my Gong Cha!
Overall our second day wasn’t totally roofed with hatred and failure sentiments. What happened in Macau has been swap over with food trips. At least I’m glad that we’re back in Hong Kong and spent our day in a combination of negative and positive settings. 

5 NGONG PING 360 AT LANTAU ISLAND IN HONG KONG





I woke up the next morning with full of positivity. What happened yesterday is just a history, an unforgettable story. I admit that I throw out words of hatred if I would step my feet back to Macau. I got full of hesitation. But I didn’t realize the lessons behind it. Getting lost is simply joy. Getting lost is the initial test of being travel junkie.

Third day of our tour is to visit Lantau Island. A colleague gave us an idea to pay visit Hong Kong’s largest island. Lantau Island is located at the mouth of the Pearl River, the island has been developed in recent years with the construction of Tung Chung New Town and the completion of several major infrastructure project including Hong Kong International Airport, Hong Kong Disneyland and Ngong Ping 360.

And speaking about Ngong Ping, a 360° panoramic view of Hong Kong’s mountain plateau via sky rail line. This is a must see attraction and should not be missed when visiting Hong Kong. Lantau Island offered not just the longest cable car ride but also a popular tourist destination – Tan Tian Buddha.

o   How to get to Tung Chung via MTR: Starting from Tsim Sha Tsui Station to Central Station [red line] then interchange to Hong Kong Station to Tung Chung Station [orange line].
o   Reminders: If you have plan to visit Ngong Ping, be sure to wake up early – travel time from Tsim Sha Tsui to Tung Chung will take approximately 45 minutes, and expect for a long queue. Or I advise be there before the opening hours, [Weekdays: 10-6pm, Weekends: 9-630pm], because when I say long queue, expect 1 to 2 hours of waiting that will take your patience away. Don’t forget to bring your passport! If I’m not mistaken we have discounted price for cable ride.
o   For additional information how to get there, please refer to this website

As soon as we get off the train I was looking for something to eat. I never expect for a long ride all the way from Tsim Sha Tsui to Tung Chung. I looked over my watch and it took us approximately 45 minutes ride. Good thing CityGateOutlets is just around the corner that houses array of food and outlet stalls. Speaking of which, this mall will surely strike your pockets. I’ll tell you later!

CityGateOutlets.don't forget to visit this place if you want to visit HK or else you miss half of your life. :)
On the back of City Gate Outlet is the starting line to cable car. No more surprise, no more complain, and just bring your best patience if you want to experience Ngong Ping.

o   Cabins and Prices:
§  There are only two types of cabin – Standard and Crystal cabin. Crystal cabin is more expensive because it is equipped with a glass bottom. A see through bird’s eye view on the bottom of your skyline trail. Expect eight people per cabin.
·         Standard Cabin Roundtrip: Adult = $125, Children = $62, Senior = $98.
·         Standard Cabin Single Trip: Adult = $86, Children = $44, Seniors = $70
·         Crystal Cabin Roundtrip: Adult = $188, Children = $125, Seniors = $161
·         Crystal Cabin Single Trip: Adult = $130, Children =   $88, Seniors = $114
   *** Children ages 3-11, Seniors 65+
§  Private Cabin – whether standard and crystal cabin, the difference is you can ride the cable car by your family only or your loved one plus free entry to themed attractions – Walking with Buddha and Monkey Tale Theatre.
·         Standard Cabin: $2,700/cabin
·         Crystal Cabin: $3,200/cabin

Who else excited..first time!
After more than an hour of waiting standing from a long queue, we finally met the woman behind the glass bars. Tickets scanned but passports were presented for a reason of discounted price exclusively for foreign visitors.

Each cabin contains eight passengers, whether you like it or not but you pushed to join other visitors which make you feel awkward. Our cabin composed of different nationalities, there were Chinese and Americans. 

My clothes are hanging on top of the mountain.
HK Internatinal Airport can be seen from cable car.
As the gondola lift started to move my eyes were again mesmerized by the city’s charm. I feel the fulfilment and when we reached the zenith, Hong Kong is not just a city of skyscrapers. The country is surrounded by soaring mountain ranges and bluish inlets. Hong Kong is not just one big urban city but diverge in rich community. 

The ride was smoothly slow to captivate the momentum on the top of the mountains; there were hikers downhill and birds on the skies. Until I saw a Giant Buddha so I know we are close already. You have all the time to cage the scenery, cable ride runs thirty minutes starting from Tung Chung to Ngong Ping. The potential downside of Cable car is their frequent maintenance schedule, so please don’t forget to check their website or else you will take by land and never complete your story in travelling via sky line.

Here we are..if you think we are close. Nah..count another fifteen mins before you land.
When we get off the cable car, I can’t help myself taking pictures on every side of the village. My cam memory is almost full and the battery is about to die. But then again my addiction prevails. We walk around the village with different Chinese architectures standing elsewhere. Ngong Ping Village is manmade theme park so don’t expect of much Chinese accent. The place is in high altitude so the temperature is getting colder.



As we walk going to the middle of the village I took some photos and we were welcome by twelve divine generals representing Chinese birth year. We smacked a pose similar to our chosen generals.

o   The Names of the Twelve Heavenly Generals are: Kumbhira for Rat, Vajra for Ox, Mihira for Tiger, Andira for Rabbit, Anila for Dragon, Sandilya for Snake, Indra for Horse, Pajra for Sheep, Mahoraga for Monkey, Sindura for Rooster, Catura for Dog and Vikarala for Boar.
Strike a pose with our favourite Heavenly Guardians.
Finally the Tian Tan Giant Buddha. It is the largest outdoor bronze statue in the world and before you can take photo closer to Buddha you need to take 268 steps. And even if I have this huge body built, seen from the ground I surely reach the top without any sign of weary. But I regret with my words, in the middle of my challenge I’m so dead drain and my entire body is drenched to sweats.

Up on the top, you can see another panoramic view enveloping Lantau Island. The air is freezing but my body temperature was too high from unexpected physical test. Well as I remember the first noble truth of Buddhism is life suffering.

Tian Tan Buddha is surrounded by six guardians. 


Great Buddha..Tian Tan Buddha

The Six Guardians.
After our prayers, we need to step down to roam around the village. Po Lin Monastery is located on the discreet side next to Giant Buddha stairs. Inside Monastery I thought taking pictures is prohibited but I saw visitors took theirs so I took mine. Po Lin Monastery is the best place for soul searching or you want peace of mind. You can feel the silence and respect. I noticed that there were fresh fruits in front of three statues of Buddha.

By the way entering Po Lin Monastery is free but you can offer donations. There coin box in the middle of entrance gates.




After our tour we drift around the area to look for foods where stalls are on the left side of the village. There are dogs rambling around the village but they’re not risky. In fact after I placed my palm towards his neck, his tails wiggled sign of our mutual friendship.

And the sun was about to rest so we quickly went back to cable car station to avoid long queue. Unfortunately it was too late. The estimated time of waiting from where we stand was one hour so no choice but again to wait.


The place is getting dark and the atmosphere is freezing. So please don’t forget to bring your jackets, hand gloves, or anything that can keep you warm. Even white people were complaining for cold winds passing thru their slender skins. It was already 6pm before we boarded the cable car so my fingers were inflexible, I can’t even move my body, I feel like smoke were coming out from my mouth the moment I speak. 


We arrived in Tung Chung in freezing mode. So I took my jacket off to absorb all the heat provided by the city lights and vehicles. Then visit City Gate Outlet. This mall houses all branded shops. Signature polo shirts that I love to buy here in the Philippines is much cheaper in City Gate. So we bought four Giordano Polo shirts for HK$110/each [P605.00]. I also checked my favourite Nike and Adidas shoes for price comparison only since I don’t have money already, enough for our remaining tour. Shoes ranging (in peso) from 2,000 to 4,000 compared to 7,000 here in Manila. Then after mouth watering prices, we check out chocolates for pasalubong.

2 VISITING MACAU'S SENADO SQUARE AND RUINS OF ST. PAUL

St. Dominic Church..parang nasa Pinas lang. :)
This is the continuation of our Macao’s horrible yet funny adventure. I would say our entire tour was full of unforgettable experience. We already accepted the fact that we booked our travel by mistake to Macao. And I thought that was the end of the dilemma however there was a lot, plenty of challenges waiting.

We understand that we need to leave The Venetian on scheduled time since we already divided our precious time. Apparently, we got lost! The Venetian is too small for us to get lost but for some reason we ended on the same place where we started. The computerized map system wasn’t friendly at all. Tensions heightened so I got nerve to ask locals and gave us directions to exit. It was already 2:30PM and we only have more than two hours left to visit Largo do Senado and Ruins of St. Paul.

o   The Senado Square, or Senate Square (Portuguese: Largo do Senado), is a paved area in the centre of the former Portuguese colony of Macau, China, enclosed by the buildings of the Leal Senado, the General Post Office, and St. Dominic’s Church. The Square is paved in the tradition Portuguese pavement. Wikipedia.
o   The Ruins of St. Paul (Portuguese: Ruinas de Sao Paulo), refers to the ruins of the 16th century complex in Macau including of what was originally St. Paul’s College and the Cathedral of St. Paul. Today, the ruins are one of Macau’s most famous landmarks. In 2005, they were officially enlisted as part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site Historic Centre of Macau. Wikipedia.

A Filipino worker helped us the fastest way to get to Senado Square and the only option is take a cab. Free shuttle service has 30 minutes interval of travel schedule to Macao Island. So I got confused. I thought Macao is one big island but similar to Hong Kong; it is an archipelagic country. It is divided into two major islands – Taipa and Macao. The Venetian is situated in Taipa which means we need to travel and take another minute of our precious time. And he told us that the cab fare will run between 60 – 70MOP [Macao Pataca]. Good thing Macao accepts Hong Kong dollars.

We got no choice but to take cab.  However we were worried and bothered at the same time. We might lock up to a place we’re not familiar of. In addition to that, we got only Hong Kong dollars on hand, the driver might not give us the change. Luckily, the driver did not play any evil game. He dropped us right in front of Largo do Senado. Cab fare was 60MOP and gave us an exact change of HK$100 to Pataca.
Wynn Hotel, Macau Tower, Grand Lisboa Hotel..all shot from the cab.
The square was crowded with locals and tourists and different nationalities similar to Plaza Miranda. Old buildings surround the area with boutiques and food stores on it. St. Dominic’s Church is also within the area. It is a catholic church built in 1587 by three Spanish Dominican priests, the church built during Portuguese occupation in Macao.

I thought I was in Quiapo because of those crowded people, small businessmen selling foods and souvenirs, tourists and police officers. After we took few pictures of ourselves we need to leave to get to Ruins of St. Paul. And because of unexplainable crowd, we were locked up. Instead of five minutes’ walk to Ruins, it took us nearly fifteen minutes. And again we got only few pictures in front of stone façade structure [Ruins of St. Paul], a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Couple of minutes later, we need to leave the place. The time was around 3:15PM.

Crowded Senado Square.
Going back to Senado Square, we exchanged our 100 Hong Kong dollars to Pataca for us to buy our favourite Beef Jerky. For a price of 49MOP per jerky fillet, enough already for the two of us since it was thick and tasty.  We were running out of time so we got no chance to stray around and check some stuff and souvenir items.
Our tour inside Senado Square with delicous Beef Jerky.
We passed by group of Filipino and we asked them what to ride to get to ferry terminal. They told us two options: either take free shuttle in Grand Lisboa Hotel or ride Bus 3A going to ferry terminal. He said bus fare will be 3.20MOP or 7MOP for two persons. And we should say “Yangga” which means two so the driver would understand that we dropped off 7MOP on his coin jar.
Halata bang problemado mga mukha namin?!
Since we still have more than an hour and walking to Grand Lisboa Hotel is not too far, we chose to take the free shuttle. When we get to Lisboa the officer requires a ticket. So we asked locals where to get the tickets and pointed us inside the casino. So we went straight to information and asked where to get the tickets for shuttle service. The girl, I don’t what happen to her – she was just smiling while looking straight to our face. No words came out from her mouth after we asked where to get the tickets. So we went back to the officer then asked the same question. And received no perfect answer from him. Tense arisen and every ticks of clock overheard throughout our brains. We ran out the Hotel then take option two – Bus 3A. 

The time was around 3:45PM already. Few seconds later Bus 3A aprroaching and the driver did not allow us to ride after we showed him 50MOP paper bill. His head was shaking, signed of refusal. Oh boy precious coin. Then the “amazing race” had happened, it seems like we’re in the middle of competition a game show that needs to finished our mission. Now I know the importance of “Takatak Boys”. We run everywhere to exchange our money and get precious coins. Finally a drug store showed up after few blocks of running. We bought wet wipes and received coins. So we rushed ourselves going to bus stop and at last we were allowed to hop in. A wide smile stretched all over our face. The time was already 4:10PM. I had a deep breath and still shaking out of horrifying unpleasant incident. The bus toured us around Macao and passed by different landmarks. Until we reach last bus stop which is ferry terminal, we dropped off and run straight to Cotai Jet. 

We gave them our returning ticket but the Cotai officer told us that it was not the right ferry terminal. We booked for Cotai in Taipa ferry terminal. So I came to realize that the bus did not pass any bridge at all. Oh good Lord! Time was 4:30PM. We were hopeless, the officer grabbed a piece of paper and writes something on Chinese characters and he told us to give it to taxi driver. Therefore we got no choice again but to take taxi! I was very sick of taking taxi, especially when you are a budget traveller. We got run around, strolling around Macao while holding my hands looking on my watch and monitoring the time. I almost lost everything, and thinking to pay another bucks to get back to Hong Kong. Thanks God after minutes of driving we arrived at exactly 5:00PM and we were the last passenger to check in.


We arrived in Hong Kong around 6PM and had heavy dinner at KFC then visited night market in Mong Kok for food trip.

FEW TIPS WHEN GOING TO MACAU:
  •  Always check your travel schedule, consider everything!
  • Prepare coins, coins, coins.
  • When visiting Macao, it is better to have one night stay so that your not always in a hurry.

0 GUIDE TO MACAU AND THE VENETIAN


Facebook shoutout: “Heading to Macau, can’t wait to see Venetian and Galaxy, should visit also St. Ruins of Paul and Senado Square”.

Second day of our itinerary will be Macau. We woke up late; both of us had deep sleep from our extensive trip yesterday – starting from Manila to Clark, then Clark to Hong Kong, and then rested for less than an hour, then stick with our first day itinerary. It was simply exhausting. Though I’m not worn out at all due to extreme admiration of the place and mysterious culture but my eyes were complaining.

Woke up the next day and excited again for our next trip. We had little study how to get to Shun Tak Centre in Sheung Wan. It is a minor transport hub that has a direct access to Macau and China thru ferry services. And we already have a roundtrip ticket to Macau HK$295 [P1622.00] courtesy of Ate Yolly through Cotai Jet. However something happened, a little serious problem after our time stamp.

               How to get to Shun Tak Centre from Tsim Sha Tsui:
o   Via MTR: Tsim Sha Tsui station to Central, then interchange to Sheung Wan where the Shun Tak Centre located.

By the way you need first to book for time stamp of your travel to your respective ferry carrier thru their offices that can be found around the area.

On our way, boarding the Jet.
It was our mistake; we did not include the travel time. We booked 12PM to 5PM; travel time from Hong Kong to Macau is one hour, a supposedly five-hour tour, now down to four. We pleaded the jet officer for at least we could move our return schedule. But she gave us three words with hand gestures of rejection -  “no no change”.


Helpless but we need to push our tour. The jet departed on time so we have an hour to relax. It was a smooth travel, comfy and relaxing. There are TV’s around the passenger’s deck; it was swift drift with minimal waves. I fell asleep in a calm atmosphere inside the cabin.


Inside Cotai Jet & Free Venitian's Shuttle
Alarm buzzed and people chattering around. It’s a sign that we arrived in Macau, I checked my wristwatch and incredibly the turbo jet arrived on time. I got another stamp for my passport and I am so glad about it. It means a lot; it helps for you next travel abroad.

My foot once again set in another foreign soil. There were welcome banners around the area. With Spanish translations and Macau is already spelled as Macao.

o   “Macao” is the traditional English spelling. However since the handover of administration from Portugal to China in 1999, the government of Macau considers both “Macao” and “Macau” to be acceptable English spellings of the name, whereas in Portuguese “Macao” has a long abandoned and just “Macau” remains the official spelling. Wikipedia.

Another long queue on immigration counters. And for every in and out of the country I’m always worried, it’s not about something but my eyes. After arrival stamps, we quickly go to free shuttle service that will take us to The Venetian Hotel and Casino. And I was the only one standing; good thing the travel wasn’t too long. It was only about 10 to 15 minutes. 

INSIDE THE VENETIAN HOTEL
I admired the magnificent paintings on the ceiling. It started from taxi stand where we get off the shuttle going to the main entrance all the way to casino proper. The Venetian’s ceilings were too hard to justify but wow. No word can describe the artistic piece, simply impressive. It seems like I was in time where Plato was on his success. I remember my “Art Appreciation” subject way back college.

I almost forgot that we only have limited time of stay in Macau therefore we need to move and explore the Casino. And to get to shopping area you will pass thru those people busy with their gambling life. Surprisingly most of them are women. By the way, taking photos inside the casino is strictly prohibited. Guards will not allow you to pass Casino to get to the shopping area if your holding the camera, better to put it inside your pocket or bag.

Artistic Ceilings inside Venetian

THE VENETIAN GRAND CANAL AND THE SKY:
After Casino, we were just following the crowd and passing through expensive boutiques which I didn’t care to look out the figure. I know for sure. After nearly 10 minutes of walking, a bright sky seized my attention. I thought it was an open space. The Venetian Sky is breathtaking; it’s more real than the real sky. After all it is just one of those incredible paintings. Then I heard graceful voices whistles around the place. It was coming from Gondoliers; they were busy sailing with their gondolas while singing to entertain their customers. They were singing Italian song which is more romantic. Gondoliers must wear black pants, striped shirt, and darks shoes. They usually have a hut but not necessary to wear it. And I think requirement for them to have a wonderful voice. That Gondolier on the photo is Filipino. I heard him saying..”sige na nga..” He was just punching joke after his customers requesting to sing one more time. 

By the way never walk around without tracing your trails, you might get lost. I found out that the computerize mapping system is not user friendly! But don't be afraid to ask locals where to exit.

The Venetian Sky

The Grand Canal..kanta pa kuya sige kanta. Hehe.
I heard some gondolas were imported from Italy. The Grand Canal is a replica of canals of Venice in Italy. Although I haven’t check yet how it looks like but I guess this is better the fact that it’s an indoor. The entire place is picturesque, everything is not real but again it’s more real than the real ones. Unfortunately, we have to leave the place, we almost forgot that we only have four hours of stay in Macau, otherwise it will be NatGeo’s lock up abroad. Next on my entry..our amazing race like, horrible experience going to Senado Square and St. Ruins of Paul.

11 MAKATI: THE 2012 SYMPHONY OF LIGHTS AND SOUNDS AT THE AYALA TRIANGLE



It has been Makati City’s annual tradition of lighting their streets with Christmas lights and decorations. The most remarkable amongst the street is Ayala Avenue. The island is full of bright white lights in different artistic decorations. Buildings around the area are also geared up putting huge Christmas decorations positioned in front of it. No wonder Makati is one of the brightest cities during this yuletide season.





On the other hand, Ayala Gardens is back alive. The Symphony of Lights and Sounds once again ready to give entertainment. I wasn’t able to watch the first lights and sounds on November 16 and only heard it across networking sites that it has been started. 

Last night, I was able to witness how dazzling it is. I thought I was late but luckily I was able to catch the last show. A lot of people patiently waiting, so I know there's one more. Nevertheless the show displays every day, starting from 6PM to 9PM. The enchanting lights and sound comes on 30 minutes interval and it will last until December 30. As per management, in cases of bad weather condition, the show will be postponed and resume whenever the weather is safe and sound.











Last year I was able to watched the show and I guess from my own opinion it was way better. The only difference about this year is the floating effect of Christmas balls and the teardrops lights. But anyway, the most important is the spirit of Christmas thru their harmony of lights and sound. It's still good.













Here are the schedules of events:

December 6: Young Voices [High School Christmas Caroling competition, 6pm at Ayala Triangel Gardens]

December 6-7: Kindred Voices [Christmas concert series with Lea Salonga and Nikki Gil together with ABS-CBN’s Philharmonic Orchestra under Maestro Gerard Salonga. December 6, 6PM at Greenbelt 5 Fashion Walk Area | December 7 at Glorietta New Activity Centre]

December 14: 2nd Avenue’s Christmas at the Gardens [Musical performance by The Company, 7PM at the Ayala Triangle Gardens]



December 15-23: Thanksgiving Masses [Mass starts at 6PM at Ayala Triangle Gardens]




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