Nathan

Personal, Travel

Just got back home at almost 12 midnight last Saturday. It was a very tiring journey, but one that is surely worth it.

My relatives and I went to Macau and Hong Kong for a short reunion from June 10-14. We left the Philippines at 12 noon. We boarded on Philippine Airlines for a 1-1/2 hr flight to Macau. We then rode a 5 minute shuttle to the Venetian Hotel Macau at Cotai Strip. That’s where we stayed for a night. Good thing I wasn’t the one who paid for the room, because I won’t be able to afford it. It costs HK$ 2900 a night (gasp). It’s actually like the Venetian in Las Vegas (not that I’ve slept there before). The interiors were great and the rooms very spacious. For those looking for a large and clean bathroom, you should stay here. But almost everything had a fee: wired broadband, office publishing, faxing, etc.

Cotai Strip is actually a reclaimed area right below the Macau peninsula. We rode a taxi to Macau peninsula for a short sight-seeing. We asked to be dropped at Senado Square and we walked our way towards the narrow side streets armed with a map we printed. There were lots of stores and lots of people selling food! Below are pictures of Senado Square and St. Paul’s Cathedral Ruins.

The taxi fare was around MOP$ 40 one way from the hotel to the Senado Square. After we went back to the hotel, we ate some dinner inside the food court and tried our luck at the casino for a short time. We had a sort of difficult time communicating with some of the staffs in the hotel and the people in Macau in general. Some of them do not understand English very much. Most of the people we talked to only knew the dialects, specifically Cantonese, but some understood Mandarin. Only my brother and cousin and I were more able to speak the language so there.. I said to myself, “this is pressure”. LOL ^^

The next day we bought ferry tickets to Hong Kong. The fare is HK$ 142 each person. We rode the shuttle to the ferry. When we were on the bus, a staff said on the microphone something in Cantonese, and translated it into English. We weren’t able to understand what exactly he was saying, and all I heard was that the bus was going to stop somewhere and that’s it. When we stopped at the first terminal, the doors opened but no one went down. We stayed until we reached the ferry terminal. As we approached the gate, the checker told us that we’re not on the right terminal. (Oh no!) My aunt was already panicky, because it was already 12:20pm  and our ferry leaves at 1:00pm and started to blame me and my cousin for not asking the driver. We decided to ride the shuttle back to Venetian. My aunt was already urging me to talk to the driver in Chinese to tell him that we need to go to the other terminal. Oh pressure. I did tell the driver and just hoped that he was kind enough to send us there. And he was. We reached the terminal just in time.

The ferry ride (Shun Tak) to Hong Kong lasted for 55 minutes. It was a slightly bumpy ride since it was raining, but it was fun. Only a few passengers were inside. At the Shun Tak Sheung Wan terminal, we waited for my cousin who came pick us up. We stayed at the Excelsior Hotel in Causeway Bay. (There is not free internet access in Excelsior…) We went to Times Square and went to my aunt’s place in North Point by bus. We visited my cousin’s wife’s Hello Kitty store. After dinner, we went back to the hotel by tram. The tram fare is HK$ 2 per person.

The next day, we were supposed to go to Kowloon island, but unfortunately, my brother had a fever. My mom and I had to stay with my brother in the hotel. The others strolled around and ate nearby. I went down to do a little grocery shopping for water and food. I bought some noodles and congee for our late lunch back at the room.

The next day we went to Kowloon side, rode the MTR (follow the link for the train map). The fare was HK$ 10.50 per person, one way. We went to Mong Kok for a little bit of shopping and strolling. There were three particular streets where we walked around, Sai Yeung Choi St., Tung Choi St., and Fa Yuen St. There were lots of shirts, bags, shoes, etc. One thing to remember is – Know how to haggle!

Late nights are usually roaming around Causeway Bay. There are a lot of shops around where you can get good bargains. We spent the last day at North Point and we had tea and Dimsum. We caught the Airport Bus at Causeway Bay after checking out. the Airport Bus (Bus # A11) is along the main road and arrives every 20 minutes. The ride is fast and smooth and it costs HK$ 40 per person.

The Hong Kong International Airport is really big. We were at Terminal 2. We heard that it was Lucio Tan (Philippine Airlines owner) who constructed that terminal. It’s very big and nice.  It’s hello Philippines for all of us again. We

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