Baguio in December

Posted on 11/01/2012 | 12 Comments

Last December 28.  My husband, my niece Kat and I, went to Baguio City to unwind, bond and syempre to enjoy the cold weather.  We left Manila around 4.30am and arrived Baguio at around 11.30am. I got a deluxe room at Bloomfields hotel which I booked last October pa.

Our Room Number

Our bed.

Actually the room was  small. For P2610 (with breakfast) per night I think it’s  bit overpriced. Yung 2610 is for 2 person lang. Since we  brought my niece it’s an additional 350. If we pick additional person with mattress it cost 550. Eh when I saw how small the room is, yung 350 na lang. Buti na lang, we bring along our handy camping gears (mat, blanket and extra pillow.) So solve na yung niece ko dun.

The only good about this hotel is that, it’s very near to SM Baguio and walking distance to Session Road. 10 min walk to Burnham Park, Market and other business establishments in the city and since the hotel is situated in a busy street, you can hear the vehicular noise during the day and even in the evening.  There was also an on going construction so it added the noise in the morning.

A stone’s throw away to SM Baguio

After placing our things in the hotel, went to SM (san pa…) for a quick lunch and we headed to Mines View. We asked the taxi driver to bring us there, when we were close, it was so traffic na so we decided to walk na lang.  Yun nga lang hindi namin kabisado pag pagpunta kaya we follow our instinct and we  realized that we are in Good Shepherd Convent instead…

It was our first time here, We didn’t know na magkalapit lang pla and Good Shepherds and Mines View.

The Good Shepherd nuns make and sell different kinds of pasalubong items which are very popular among tourists / visitors in Baguio.

long queue of cutomers eager to have those yummy treats. :-)

So I got, 4 jars of ube jams. 1 peanut brittle, 1 no sugar added strawberry jam, 2 chocolate chip cookies, it all cost, 1200 plus, the prices of Good Shepherd’s products are a little bit pricey.  Well, I just consider this written on the cap of the strawberry jam we bought. It’s for charity :-)

Ube jam is a must try. It’s smooth creamy, not cloying…in short masarap. The rest of the products we bought, well nothing special, mahal lang talaga….hahahaha.

Good Shepherd also has a store for bread and coffee just across the cashier.

Since, we just had lunch,  we just had, civet coffee

 

It’s my first to taste this kind of coffee…at first I was hesitant kasi di ba, I know how it  became  civet coffee.  Pero syempre I gave it a try,  I am so glad, I did…kasi the taste  was so wonderful. Would love to have another cup sana kaso haba ng ng pila sa bakeshop. :-(

After that, we headed to Mines View Park.  Although there’s nothing really much to see in Mines View, the place is still one of the top destinations in Baguio. Nothing new to offer, with so many vendors peddling souvenir items, while some offer souvenir photo wearing Igorot costumes for a fee, or ride a horse or pose with a large dog, for a fee too.

Syempre I asked my niece na sumakay sa pink horse :-)

Ang cute di ba?

Around 5pm we headed back to our hotel.  My husband slept for a while napagod kasi sa long drive….my niece slept din, napagod  ata kahit puro sleeping lang sa car from Manila to Baguio and inatupag, hehehe. While me, I was busy playing angry birds with my new toy :-)

Thanks hubz for this fab Christmas gift. 143 :-)

Up next more Baguio pics,  most are food. :-)

Have a great week everyone!

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Posted in Byahe, Treats

Welcome 2012

Posted on 02/01/2012 | 9 Comments

I’ve definitely been missing in action lately, honestly am touched when getting emails from some of you checking in on me because you have noticed that I haven’t blogged in a while.  Well, I wasn’t really blogging because I find it very hard to write, in short….I lost my blogging mojo (again). As of this moment, I really don’t know if it’s back but I do promise to try to write more often :-)

Ofcourse I won’t let the New Year start without my year end post. I don’t want to be in hiatus for the rest of 2012 di ba, hehehe.

So…like 2010, 2011 had been a fruitful year for me. I was really blessed with lots of things….in work, my family, travels, friends, health and lots more. So many that it’s countless. Thank You Lord for everything.

Now, as I face 2012, I am praying God’s guidance.  To give me wisdom as I face more challenges in life. To keep the family safe and healthy.To make my husband more patience  and more loving and most of all a prosperous 2012 not only for me but to everyone.

As we end 2011 may we reflect and be thankful for every event, every moment to this
point that has shaped our lives.

May we let go of any hurt, resentment or regret.

As we enter the first moments of 2012 and beyond, may the opportunity of all that the
new year brings fill our hearts and souls with love, joy, contentment & the desire to achieve all that we see is possible for ourselves and for others.

May we discover, believe in, and truly live our passion, remembering to give…. to also receive  and to continually pay it forward in the hope of making our world an even more beautiful place.

May 2012 and beyond be everything you dream it can be.

I miss all of you and Happy New Year everyone.

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Posted in Celebration

All I want for Christmas

Posted on 26/11/2011 | 15 Comments

Last year, PM organised, All I want for Christmas project for her blogger friends and readers. It’s an exchange gift thing, organised online. It was a blast last year. Now, since Christmas is just around the corner, she is again organising another All I want for Christmas. Salamat PM.

I did, enjoy last year exchange gift. So hindi ko ito mapapalampas kahit sobrang busy. :-)

So to start off, here are my wish….

Something small:  A black coin purse

Something big:  A hand purse

Something cute:  earphone

Something soft:  socks or a pillow

Something techie: IPAD or a Kindle or a GPS or a memory card for my camera

Something fancy: A D&G or Fossil Watch

Something (insert your favorite color):  Pomegranate Shower Gel from body shop

Something wearable: A silver necklace with cute pendant (from silverworks)

Something you need: A parker nice ballpen

Something you can use for work: Since I got lots of pens, pencils and marker on my work station, I badly need a cute, pen/pencil/marker organizer (please)

Something sweet: Lipton Milk Tea

Dear Santa I’ve Been Good and I really, really, really want: A new house or my own car (don’t worry this is a wish for my hubby)! Yeaaha!!!!

For those who wants to join, well…you could try, hop on to her blog , today kasi is the last day of joining hehehe.

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Posted in Friends

Blogging again from Manila

Posted on 20/11/2011 | 9 Comments

Hello…. after my six weeks stay in Doha, I am so back here in Manila. :-)
Our Doha office was requesting us (the Manila Team)to extend until 1st week of December but our minds are all set to go home. Gusto ko na talagang umuwi…So after some meetings with the Doha team we finally agreed that we will go home.

So ayun nga, I arrived last Nov. 11. I really don’t know why pero parang sobrang namiss ko ang Pinas. Na enjoy ko naman ang Doha. I got friends naman dun,maybe I do wanted to go home because, Christmas na ang ambiance sa atin and I don’t want to miss a Christmas Tradition that I been doing for years and it’s collecting Starbucks stickers.

For this year, I have to collect 17 stickers by buying nine (9) Christmas beverages and eight (8) core beverages or purchase twenty-three (23) core beverages. Well, I decided to do option 1. :-)

It’s the time of the year that I am a regular or shall I say an avid…coffee drinker at SB. Usually kasi, I try other coffee shops if I wanted a coffee fix. Buti na lang, the sandwhiches at SB are getting good. Actually meron na nga akong fave sa sanwhiches nila, before kasi I just get bagel and cream cheese lang.

My first sticker comes from a serving of Cafe Mocha. I also got a SB clubhouse sandwhich. I must say, this sandwhich is a real yummy. Favorite ko na sya. :-)

Since I’ve been here in Manila for a week pa lang, 5 pa lang ang stickers ko (I started collecting last Monday lang). So I guess, will be a SB drinker for a moment.

So who wants to have coffee with me at SB?

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Posted in Starbucks, Treats

Patchi!

Posted on 03/11/2011 | 11 Comments

My friend M asked me to accompany her at Patchi to grab a box of chocolate. When we entered the Patchi store, OMG…the place was chocolate heaven.
This brand of chocolate is known for its line of decorated chocolates. Handmade decorations are wrapped around chocolate pieces and presented in colors and styles that match many occasions and season. I checked the price and they were really expensive ha. I saw one box (half kilo) and it cost 169 riyals (around 2000 pesos). I got curious why this choc is so pricey. So end up buying a box to bring home and share it with my husband in Manila. :-)

This famous brand of chocolate came from Lebanon and is closer to Swiss or Belgium style chocolate.

I know my husband will go mad when he finds out how much this cost but sabi ko nga sa friend ko, might as well buy it here rather than buying it in Manila. Mag dadalawang isip lang ako. Besides it’s only once you get to have the chance bucks to buy something special.
By the way, the Patchi store in Manila was made famous by Ben Chan when he brought the franchise last year with a store at the Fort. :-)

I tried a piece and I have to say, I understand why Patchi chocolates are so pricey. Patchi is a brand that blew my mind.  It really good. It is chocolatey delicious.  Really like it.

Maiba naman….

So…how are you everyone. Sorry wasn’t updating lately. Was really busy with work and tons of deadlines but thinking that next weekend I will be home, it ease all the tiredness. :-)

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Posted in Qatar, Treats

1 month in ME

Posted on 19/10/2011 | 10 Comments

Time really flies so fast, imagine few more days and I’m on my 1st month here. Konti na lang uuwi na ulit ako sa Pinas. I cannot wait…excited na naman ako, I miss hubz and I miss my parents and siblings and my niece.  I am counting the days again…..

So in my one month stay, I had adjusted somehow….the weather here is getting better, the temperature is slowly dropping ,  they say winter in nearly coming.   About the food naman here in Doha,  I seldom cook because the serving here is good for 2 people. So we usually buy food and bring it home. One meal cost around 15 riyals (175 Php).  I dont really miss pinoy food because there are lots of pinoy resto here. During lunchtime, we eat in this pinoy restaurant. Their menu are filipino dishes like nilagang baka, bulalo, chopsuey, bangsilog, longsilog at kung anu ano pa. Wala nga lang pork…so sa Manila na ko mag sisinigang na pork. 

Hindi ko rin namiss si Jollibee…

Hi Jollibee.

 Jollibee opens its first store at the Al Meera Consumer Goods Mall in Doha. Accodring to some of my friends who lives here, when Jollibee newly open last year, there were large crowd inside the and long queue outside the restaurant.  One of my friend waited 3 months before she visited Jollibee because she was avoiding the long queue. :-)

 By the way, there’s also a chowking store here but haven’t tried it yet.  I am not sure if I’ll try it after my bad chowking experience in Pinas (my phobia, hehehe)

Here is my serving of chicken and fiesta palabok  with drinks for 15 riyals (around 175php)…..yummy. The serving is very Filipino (except for the lemon instead of calamansi which is not available daw in this country). It was just enough compared sa serving ng regular resto here. This time no sharing for us. Namiss ko yata si Jollibee.

Since we are talking about food….let me share pics of our take-away dinner the other night…

 Beef Sisig. The photo above doesn’t give justice to how the food taste but I tell you, mas masarap pa sya sa natikamn ko sa Pinas. This is just a single serving by the way but  it is a big one and  it’ s good for 3 people.

We also had Fried Chicken Biryani

Fried Chicken Biryani.

I first tried Biryani in Melbourne. I got hooked the first time I tried it. Kaya I am  happy that Biryani is almost in every menu of most resto here.  Biryani according to wikipedia is  is a set of rice-based foods made with spices, rice (usually basmati) and meat, fish, eggs or vegetables. The name is derived from the Persian word beryā  which means “fried” or “roasted”.

Again, that serving of Biryani is just a single serving but I tell you, it’s huge that 3 of us shared.

Hay pano kaya ko mag didiet kung ganito hehehe.

Have a splendid week everyone. Kami dito malapit na mag weekend :-)

 

 

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Posted in Qatar

Off to the Souq

Posted on 14/10/2011 | 6 Comments

This shopping destination is renowned for selling traditional garments, spices, handicrafts, and souvenirs. It is also home to dozens of restaurants serving cuisines from all over the world, as well as Shisha lounges. Although this market dates back at least a hundred years, it has been recently restored back to its original glory.  It is now considered one of the top tourist destinations within Doha.  Souq Waqif is located in the center of the town, this old Bedouin souq has been renovated and transformed into a tourist attraction plus the eatery and fancy dining places


Virtually anything can be found there, from local traditional garb and beautiful embroideries and perfumes, to food, spices, musical instruments, and pre-colonial antiques.  The shop and stall keepers are laid back, not in the least bit pushy, and do accept and expect some bargaining. 

more souvenirs here.

garments and lots of garments

 Colorful pashminas

We wanted to have coffee but most of the coffee shops are full then we saw one familiar coffee shop, CBTL. There was no customers but when I asked for a latte, they run out of coffee (wht the….) so we just ordered Freez. Freez by the way is a non-alcoholic drink. 

To purchase liquor,one must have a license.  You can only get a license when you have obtained your residency permit and you will need to get a letter from your employer confirming your salary in addition to paying a certain amout of deposit.  -wikitravel

So walang lasing dito hahaha.

Before heading home, we dropped by at the Gold Souq which is just a stone’s throw away from Souq Waqif. There are lots of lovely and pricey jewelries to choose from and this eye pendant caught my attention

and here is another pricey eye candy, I saw on our way home

at maraming ganitong luxury car and nagkalat sa daan….

It was a lovely evening for us. A great experience to keep too. 

Happy weekend everyone.

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Posted in Qatar

Shawarma Dinner

Posted on 10/10/2011 | 6 Comments

Friends and co workers said that the middle east caters the best shawarma so that Friday night, we wanted to give it a try.  We headed to Marmara Istanbul Restaurant located just  near Al Asmakh Mall (about 10-15 minutes walk from our apartment)

At first we, were a bit intimidated to try this resto because all crew are men and most people eating that time were men but we were really craving to have shawarma at that very moment. :-)

So we headed straight to this resto and  ordered 3 beef shawarma for take-away (sawa na kasi kami sa chicken). Each cost 14 riyals (around Php 160), they have a smaller serving that cost 7 riyals, gutom na kami kaya we bought the larger serving.

While waiting for our shawarma, we  noticed that there are cars stopping in front of the store to order for takeaway.  This resto must really offer good food.

I took a photo of those men preparing the shawarma…..this made me hungry….

A few minutes our order arrived. We headed straight home. Excited to eat our beef shawarma.

It’s a big serving. I think it’s twice longer that what we have in Manila.

The shawarma was good and taste even better with their garlic sauce which looks a bit different…

Looks more like a mayo to me but it’s garlic sauce indeed…

Since the shawarma is too long, we cut it in half and I was happy to see whats inside…

Pure, thick slices of beef. Yummm. I was that full after finishing the half. The other half, well, It was my dinner the next day hahaha. :-)

You like shawarma my friend? :-)

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Posted in All About Food, Qatar

Mall visit

Posted on 08/10/2011 | 6 Comments

Hi everyone. It’s been few days since I last updated. I was really busy with work (as usual) and was really busy coping here, hehehe. 

I haven’t got to explore Doha yet because 1-it really is hot out here, 2-our place is  a bit far to Qatar’s tourist spot that we have to have a car, 3- we don’t have a car and ever if we have a car, we don’t know how to drive.  There is a mall near our office (Royal Plaza) and  I’ve  been inside, thrice and I got bored already  because there are less to see and the shops are a bit pricey but last Tuesday when my friend JG invited us for dinner at Royal Plaza,  I was able to spot a sale on Guess store. We went there and found a cute item on sale….

So that was I that day….a happy Girl….can you see it?

We then got hungry, so we had dinner at Roma Pizza located at the 3rd level of the mall

I had a serving of roma pasta…hay It was a huge serving that I wasn’t able to finish the whole plate.

I got to thank my friend JG for the pasta dinner. :-)

Then that night too,  our Aussie team leader, asked if we wanted to come and visit Villagio. He was scheduled to do his weekly grocery. Villagio by the way is  a shopping mall located at Aspire  Zone in the west end of Doha. 

Villagio caters signature shops, including many famous brands in the US, UK, Italian and German markets. So wala akong nabili hahaha but I happen to enjoy  the malling experience…. or should I say, the great window shopping malling experience.  Maganda kasi ang place.

Painted sky like in Venetian Hotel, Macau

Then there’s the Gondolino - The main feature of the Gondolino trip is the gondola, the legendary venetian rowing boat. :-)

There are lot more to see at Villagio Mall but we weren’t able to totally roam the whole place since, our Aussie team leader is in a hurry din. Oh well….sana makabalik kami before we head home. :-)

Weekend here is almost over…Friday and Saturday kasi ang off, work start on Sunday naman. So enjoy the rest of the weekend everyone, wherever you are. :-)

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Posted in Qatar

Away from Home (again)

Posted on 27/09/2011 | 7 Comments

Qatari Riyals

I’m in Doha, Qatar right now. I arrived here last Saturday afternoon (Qatar time). The temperature was around 39C and boy it was really hot. Will be spending a few weeks away from home :-(

I’m on my 3rd day here. First day of work was last Sunday. I am amazed that there are lots of Filipino here. You can find them anywhere and they talk to you in Filipino. I found few filipino resto just near my work so I think I wont be missing some filipino dishes, yung nga lang no pork here.

By the way, let me share photos of the hotel where I’ll be spending 4-6 weeks here.

My access card.

A short hallway going to my bed but before that let me show my huge bath tub. Too huge that I cannot get a whole shot. :-)

 cute giveways.

Finally my comfy bed

I’ll be sharing more of my Qatar stay next time. For now, have a blessed week everyone. :-)

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Posted in Qatar

HK – Day 3 (Experience the magic)

Posted on 22/09/2011 | 8 Comments

Getting to Disneyland from NyongPing is easy.  It is just a station away from Tung Chung station, then a Disney train awaits you at the station. 

The train only serves a direct 1 stop route to Disneyland and each train comes pretty fast so you won’t have to worry if you miss one.

Hong Kong Disney train. MTR is super cute with Mickey windows .

and mickey mouse handle :-)
 

The Train is spacious with very comfortable seats. They also have statues of different Disney characters.

posing while inside the train with my friends. Ayun si goofy sa gilid :-)

Theres a short walk from the Station to the Ticket booth. Don’t worry, you’re just going to be walking through the front garden of Disneyland before actually getting in. You’ll feel like you’re already inside because the place is so awesome.

A single adult ticket  is HK$350 (around Php 2100)

When we got inside, the parade was about to start. We were so lucky to get seated in front and saw all the floats up close. :-)

Hey Woody…why are you staring at me?

I bet there are Filipinos in this band…

and it was indeed a very colorful parade. Full of cheers and happiness.

Then my inner kid grew when I saw Mickey Mouse. :-)

So after that eye candy parade, with our Disney map, we walked and explore more of the park.

We tried  “It’s a Small World” attraction.

 Take a trip on the happiest cruise that ever sailed. Here, the children of the world sing and dance to the song “It’s a small world.” It’s a pleasant boat ride that will show off the  different places on earth and even in space and fantasy land! Kids and kids at heart will absolutely love the colors and all the toys and dolls around and what did you know, there’s a representative from our country….. 

 at ang cute ng tarsier, hehehe.

Then after that,  the very cute Lightning McQueen passed in front of us.

Astig nito!!!

I was able to have a photo with Mickey Mouse….

and saya saya….

Then we tried the Space Mountain. a thrilling high-speed ride.  It’s a space-themed enclosed roller coaster.  Actually, the 6 of us planned to try this but when the staff told that the highest drop would we be about 6 flrs high, 2 of my friends quit the idea of trying and its only 4 of us na lang. So now if you will asked me if how was it, the only word I can say is WOW!!!! This is something you shouldn’t miss as you go around, up and down in total darkness…And don’t forget to smile because they take a photo of you.

After we got tired of trying each and every rides, we then headed to main Street to check out Disney items….

 and i got Mickey’s girl and there were lots and lots of signature toys to choose from. This is my happiest day in Hong kong

Disneyland is all about happiness and magic!  What better way to celebrate a lovely day in Disney is to watch the Stars Fireworks Display at night?  Disneyland shows fireworks displays every night at around 8pm to wrap up the day. No pictures but I took a video. Let see if I can share it here.

There is something magical about a Disney.  It has the power not only to transport visitors back to their childhood, but also to a better childhood than memory serves. :-)

Yeah…indeed I experienced the magic!

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Posted in Hongkong, Treats

HK – Day 3 (NgongPing 360)

Posted on 19/09/2011 | 8 Comments

On our last day in HK, first on our itinerary is to visit  Nyong Ping 360.

Ngong Ping 360, which consists of a cable car journey and a themed village, is one of the must see attractions in Hong Kong travel.

Located at Lantau Island, not far from HK Disneyland just take a few minutes MTR to the Tung Chung station, there you’ll find the entrance to the Cable car Station. Its open at 10:00am by the way.

Before we were able to have the tickets, we waited for an hour becuase of the long queue.

We bought the Journey of Enlightenment Package which cost HKD176, this package includes Round Trip Ngong Ping Cable Car journey and entry to Ngong Ping Village’s Walking with Buddha and Monkey’s Tale Theatre attractions.

Now it’s our turn to ride the cable car.

The cable car line offers two levels of service based on different cabin designs, branded Standard Cabins (the one we picked) and Crystal Cabins. The Crystal Cabins are distinguished by their glass bottoms (scary, hehehe), and are charged at a premium rate. Both sets of cabins circulate on the same cable, with passengers being segregated by queuing systems at both terminal.

The cable cabin ride was a breathtaking experience.

 

To beat the scary feeling, I stand up and asked my friend to take my picture :-)

Hinintay talaga namin ang cable car sa likod ko :-)

A few minutes before we reach the village, We saw Tian Tan Buddha. Amazing…

 The statue by the way is located near Po Lin Monastery and symbolises the harmonious relationship between man and nature, people and religion.

 As a culturally themed village, it boasts several attractions including Walking with Buddha and Monkey’s Tale Theater. The place also  dining and entertainment establishments. Street performers entertain visitors with Kungfu demonstrations and acrobatic shows.

Around 1pm, we took the cable car going down. Ang taas na kasi ng sikat ng araw. We had lunch at the nearest mall – City gate Mall.

Up next on my update was the reason why we visited Hongkong – Disneyland!!!

 

 PS – I have to finish this Hongkong series this week. By next week, I will be sharing a new trip series naman. :-)

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Posted in Hongkong

HK – Day 2 (Ocean Park and more)

Posted on 12/09/2011 | 5 Comments

This continues our second day in Hongkong.

 ♥ ♥ ♥

From  the  Peak Tram Terminal, we walked down to Admiral Bus Terminal. We bought our tickets there for HKD 280 and took Bus 629 going to Ocean Park.

Be sure to get some Ocean Park’s map at the entrance for easy navigation of the theme park.

 Had we known that the park is huge, more than we thought, we should gone earlier.
 
 
By the way the park is divided into two parts: The waterfront (lowland) and the summit (headland). Since we entered the waterfront part, we first visit the Great Oceanarium. Honestly, I was quite disappointed with the giant aquarium; I was expecting a larger one. I did not enjoy my stay inside the oceanarium and besides, there were really lots of peaople and I wasn’t able to explore the whole place  :-(
  
Then after that  we headed straight to Giant Panda Habitat.
 
 
 We wanted to see famous panda bear named ‘An-An’ . To bad, An-An was sleeping during our visit but we saw another panda (I forgot her name though)
 
 
So adorable, right?
 
We got tired of waiting for An-an, so we decided to go the summit.  We went there via ocean express summit station
 

the Ocean Express funicular train can shuttle guests between the Park’s two main lands in just 4 minutes.  The train runs through a tunnel that was created by excavating 71,300 square meters of earth and is 1.3 kilometers in length.  Really amazing. I must admit in terms of transportation and engineering napapahanga ako ng hongkong.

Reaching the summit, we tried the rotating tower…

 at first, I thought it was scary up there but it’s not.  Actually it was more relaxing because you can see the nice view of ocean park.

There were lots of rides to pick like the roller coaster but we were scared to death to try hahaha. Side kwento: I tried roller coaster thrice pa lang in my entire life. twice sa Zyklon loop ng Star City and the other one is in disneyland (Kwento ko next) :-) .

We didn’t see the dolphin show, we got less time kasi and beside meron na nun sa atin sa Subic.

So we took photo opps from here to there. Pose here pose there. Until we got tired and decided to go back sa waterfront, this time, we  tried the cable car naman. 

The cable car transport visitors from the Waterfront to the Summit or vise versa, 205 metres above sea level. An 8-minute ride offers breathtaking views of the surrounding mountains, sea and the Park. No neat pictures…It was my first time to try a cable car ride…I was scared  kasi hahaha….

Oh di ba….kung makahawak parang ayaw na bumitiw, hahahaha

We left Ocean Park at around 6.30pm. We hurriedly went back to TST to witness “A Symphony of Lights.” The show is organised by the Hong Kong Tourism Board and displayed every night at 8pm Hong Kong Time. This attraction is really amazing and best of all it’s for free. Kaya when your in HK, dont forget to see this. I wasn’t able to get a photo….na lowbat na kasi ako….sigh…but I still got my ipod and captured the video :-)

So…It was a tiring 2nd day at Hongkong. Well, I must admit, there are some point of our tour na I got bored like sa ocenarium and some part sa ocean park, the cable car ride was fun though and the Madame Tussads experience was incomparable but then again fun or no fun, I am still blessed to experience all this. Thank You Lord sa blessing  :-)

Up next…experience the magic!

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Posted in Hongkong

HK – Day 2 (The Peak, Sky Terrace and Madame Tussads)

Posted on 04/09/2011 | 6 Comments

A visit to Hong Kong is never complete without riding the famous Peak Tram, operating since 1888, the cable pulled tram travels between Central and the Peak, one of the city’s most scenic transport routes. 

The tram ascends 373 meters from the Lower Peak Tram Terminus in Central to The Peak. The steepest inclination is 27 degrees at May Road. So just imagine how exciting this ride would be.  The journey aboard the tram will take eight minutes and upon reaching the summit you will see a seven storied building - The Peak Tower

 The Peak Tower boasts the highest 360° viewing platform – The Sky Terrace 428. Standing at 428 metres above sea level, the Sky Terrace 428 offers spectacular panoramic views of the vibrant city – from the stunning cityscape to the tranquility of greenery landscape.

 After the spectacular view, we went down to level 1 for Madame Tussads  Wax Museum.  At Madame Tussads, I was able to have photos with some of my favorite stars like;

Brangelina

Lady Gaga

 Pres. Obama

Marilyn Monroe

The 7 ft 5 in Yao Ming

Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man

and of course, with Hongkong’s biggest star

Guest aren’t allow to take personal photos for this Jackie Chan wax figure. Madame Tussauds Hong Kong has  a professional photo service for Jackie Chan’s wax figure. There is  no obligation to purchase the photo but since Jackie Chan is Jackie Chan,  we opted to buy the efile for HKD 100. Other than Jackie Chan’s Wax Figure,  all celebrity wax figure inside the mesuem can be photograph with the guest’ personal cameras.

Save your memory card to take loads of pictures, as Madame Tussads HK houses nearly 100 wax figures altogether.

Here is the direction getting to The Peak Tram Lower Teminus from Tsim Sha Tsui (TST);

Walk about 8 minutes to the TST Star Ferry Pier,  take the Star Ferry to Central (9 minutes @ HK$2.5). Walk to the nearby Central Pier Bus Terminus, take the bus 15C to the Peak Tram (10 minutes @ HK$4.2) . take the Peak Tram up to The Peak. 

When your at the Peak terminus, I suggest you buy the 3 in 1 combo package, this includes Peak Tram (2 way), Madame Tussads admission and Sky Terrace Admission, this cost HKD 210. :-)

Our day is not finish yet, after this, we went to Ocean Park. Will share that on my next entry.

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Posted in Hongkong

Macau – Day 1

Posted on 30/08/2011 | 17 Comments

Last Aug. 24, my friends and I travelled to Hong Kong and Macau for 3 days. It was 6 of us. All girls and all of us were first timer to travel in another asian country. Since HK is a non-english country, we knew that it would a bit hard to communicate with the locals. So before we fly to HK, we’ve been making research online about HK and Macau.

Upon arriving in HK, maps and brochures about Hong Kong are available at the airport free of charge.  And by the way, HKIA is a big airport, so you have to take a minute train ride from Airport A to Airport B to get your luggage.

We bought Octopus Card in the airport. This card is used to pay for buses and trains; stores like 7-Eleven; and even fast food chains like McDonalds. On top of that, it gives you discounts on all public vehicles except cabs. Travelling for us was made easy because of this card.  For more details on how to avail an Octopus Card, visit their website here.

We went straight to our booked hostel, Taisan Guesthouse Harilela Branch. Taisan Guesthouse has 3 branches and Harilela Branch was newly renovated though you might find the elevator a bit ackward kasi, it has a door that you have to open when accessing the elevator. Safe naman though.

Taisan Gueshouse, Harilela branch is located at Tsim Sha Tsui MTR Station Exit C2 (Nathan Road #81) side. Very near so MTR station. Now if you will book this branch, make it sure to the person you are dealing with that he/she understands you. Medyo nagkagulo kasi yung booking ko because the owner misinterpret my emails. I originally wanted to book 2 rooms at Burlington branch since the branch has a pinay manager. So since nagkagulo nga at muntik ko ng makaaway yung owner na mataray, 3 of us stayed in Harilela and the other 3 naman sa Burlington branch. Burlington branch naman is on the other side of the street kaya okay na rin. Our room was not that big but we dont mind since we  spend our 3 days touring HK.  Each room pala has it’s own pc with internet. Our PC in our room has a problem so we asked for a replacement. It was replaced naman agad on the next day. The room has a spacious cr with hot and cold handheld shower, 2 beds – 1 single and 1 double size bed. It’s an airconditioned room. Yun nga lang I noticed that the aircon was programmed. It turned off on a certain time so what I did, I pressed the reset button of the remote hehehe. The room cost 500HKD . Well, staying at Taisan Guesthouse was okay naman. Wala ng hassle after the misunderstanding situation nung arrival namin.

Around 12 noon, we walked along Haiphong Road to get to the China Ferry Terminal in TST where the First Ferry  is located.

Ticket price depends on the day and time of travel. Ours was HKD 151. Dont forget your passport by the way.

It was a 1hr ferry ride to Macau. Since we were in a hurry, we bought lunch from McDo near Taisan and eat it inside the bumpy ferry ride. No visa is required when travelling to Macau.

By the way the currency used in Macau is called the Pataca (MOP$). Hong Kong dollars (HK$) are accepted in Macau but Pataca is not accepted in HK so try and get back change in Hong Kong dollars.
 
Upon arriving at the ferry terminal, we grabed a Tourist Map at the Tourist Information Centre, just near customs exit.  An important tools that help us touring round.

we headed to the nearest bus stop going to Senado Square

We walked towards the north part of the square leading us to Rua de Felicidade. It is a very narrow street surrounded by old buildings, there all lots  food tastings along the way. Sample every food you want at Pastelaria Koi Kei, Macau’s largest bakery.

During our Macau trip, there were no free tasting for portugese egg tart. So we bought each for 7 MOP$.

Authentic Portugese Egg Tart. Yummm

but the beef/pork thin fillets samples are overflowing…

I think, I tasted every kind of these.

By the time we reached St. Paul’s ruin, I was full already. hahaha.

What’s left of the St. Paul Cathedral is its ornate facade after being destroyed by fire in 1835.

From Senado Square, we walked towards the Grand Lisboa to catch the bus back to the ferry terminal. From here, we transferred to the free Venetian Macau shuttle and headed  to Venetian Hotel. The Venetian Macau is a another  famous tourist attraction.  Its has a Venetian-inspired structure and canals and Renaissance-inspired paintings.

So grand….

Escalator na kung escalator….ang taas kasi. I tried to look back at nalula ako sa taas. hehehehe

Photo opps muna. After the mile long escalator ride hehehe.

A few more steps from here, we were in the Grand Canal Shoppe. What amazes me is that this area has have artificially hand-painted skies onto the ceiling. I kid you not.

It was really amazing to see the lovely sky este hand-painted sky…

Grabe ang ganda.

At this side naman,  the  sky is getting dark na :-). 

Looks so real di ba?

The signature of the Grand Canal Shoppes is three 490 long water canals along the cobblestone walkways. They even have Italian gondolas and serenading gondoliers to transport you around. Too bad we came in a bit late. It was close already. :-(

At 9.30 pm, with our aching feet, we took the shuttle bus from the Venetian Macau to get to the ferry terminal and catch the Ferry going back to Hong Kong. We accidentally bought ferry tickets from Turbojet that brought us to Shun Tak Center. We weren’t aware that this ferry will brought us not in Tsim Sha Tsui (TST) where our hostel is. In short….NALIGAW kami…wuahhh!!!

We tried to asked people but it was really hard since, most of them don’t speak english. We had asked many locals how to get to TST. Luckily there was this lady who understand us somehow. We took the MTR which was a few steps lang, kakatawa talaga.  In less than 30minutes we were at the hostel na.

It was a tiring  and a challenging day for us. Our feet was really aching but the memories of Macau was incomparable. :-)

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Posted in Hongkong