Friday, May 29, 2015

Bun Festival in Cheung Chau Island, Hong Kong

I just got back in Hong Kong last 16th of May and it's going to be for good. I'm so blessed that I finally got my working visa approved by the Immigration. My husband and I are moving in Hong Kong  with big dreams of having our own kids here through God's grace and start promising careers for both of us...Yes, we have a new life here...new job...new friends...new city! It's always exciting to move into a new place. I really love to explore and experience diverse cultures and have joy with my eternal family.

Then I heard about the bun festival from http://www.discoverhongkong.com. Luckily it falls on May 25th and it's holiday in Hong Kong  for it's Buddha's birthday. They celebrate it here big time so off I go to Cheung Chau Island.

I live in Wan Chai so I ride the tram for only 2.30 HKD fare going to Central then I walk all through the Central Piers and Pier 5 is the right pier going to Cheung Chau island. I used my Octopus card for an ordinary First ferry ride which costs around 19+ HKD for an hour sailing going to the tiny island of Cheung Chau.




The tiny island was so crowded because of the bun carnival happening that week. After descending the ferry, I turned left going to the plaza. Along the way I saw several stalls selling all sorts of food, drinks, dried fish and several souvenirs. I tried the big fishballs, 2 round balls for 10hkd. Ofcourse I also tried the buns and I love the red bean stuffed bun. It was such a great experience to witness the parade of their deities that look like Pinoy version of black sto. Nino...hmmm...I also saw the temple where they keep the deities. For more stories on how the bun festival started, just go to http://www.discoverhongkong.com or google it baby!






Friday, March 6, 2015

Chinese New Year 2015 @ Hong Kong


I left for Hong Kong for only 5 days just to attend an important training and gathering activity together with my future co - NET teachers in Primo Education Centre in Hong Kong. I'm so lucky that it fell on the same celebration week date for Chinese New Year. It's my first time to witness and experience Chinese New Year in Hong Kong. I was really amazed on how the whole city looked so alive and colorful everywhere in HK. I saw several auspicious and colorful decorations outside even inside each building I passed by. I saw beautiful flowers blooming everywhere. It was such a great experience for me and I enjoyed every detail of  my memories during my latest HK trip this year 2015.

fresh blooms inside HKIA
auspicious display inside HKIA

HKIA Terminal 2
oversized Mandarin fruit

Kumquat tree
inedible Gold berries which resemble a head of an animal that is believed to bring goodluck 
 
 The HK International airport was so beautiful when I arrived there with all fresh blooms and auspicious decorations inside and outside of the building to welcome the Lunar New year.  I can't help but to fall in-love with Hong Kong again  and again for the nth time....I know that I'm still gonna be in-love with this city especially now that my husband and I decided to move to HK making it as our second home...what! we are moving to Hong Kong soon!?


Alright, let's make this official then....HK is now my fabulous "probinsya" for the record since I never had one before. I was born and grew up in Manila so I really want to have another place to be called as my "probinsya" where I can usually stay for vacay and I chose HK! but this time, not only just for vacay but will actually move there for good. I love HK forever!

I don't think that I will get tired booking my flight with Cebu Pacific airline. It's very economical and I never had much bad experience with their services other than flight delays at times but not all the time. I have learned to enjoy my flight with this carrier and so I did patronize them every time I fly to HK. My round trip plane ticket only costs me Php 5,800 with 15kg. baggage allowance.

system O.R.
Itinerary receipt
I had my early morning flight last 15 February  via my favorite Clark International Airport. While we were just on board the aircraft to HK, I was sitting on the left-hand side of the plane (A seat) so I got to see the hot air balloons  soaring in the sky. I missed the hot-air balloon festival this year but I'm leaving for HK so I'll probably see hot-air balloon festival next year...
my view of Hot Air balloons on board the aircraft (seat 7A)

600php Terminal fee



travel tax 1,620php




The terminal and travel tax fees in Clark are still of the same price for tourists like me. The paper for departure card has changed for the better. Atleast I saw a bit of change everytime I fly out of Clark Int'l Airport. I can see that Clark International Airport is getting better and better. I always love the atmosphere whenever I go overseas via this airport. A lot more serene compared to Manila terminals.

This year's trip, I stayed in a transient accommodation for only 50HKD per night with a decent toilet and bath. It reminds me of a college dormitory type of accommodation with all girls in the flat. I'm glad my friend helped me out in looking for a budget accommodation. It's usually hard to find budget friendly transient places during  peak seasons in HK like Chinese New Year season but I'm blessed to be able to find one and made some new friends too. I stayed along Lockhart road in Wan Chai area just a walking distance going to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Wan Chai chapel. 

I arrived early morning in HK on Sunday and attended the services in the afternoon with Island 2nd branch. I'm blessed to be able to attend the sacrament meeting there and be able to see our brothers and sisters in Hong Kong mostly Filipinos and some are Caucasians living and working in HK. I really feel at home in this branch. LDS chapel in Wan Chai is actually 14-storey-building that always have sacrament meetings, when I say always, it means literally everyday. Yes, it's a very busy chapel with English, Cantonese and Putonghua language services on scheduled meetings. I feel so secured and I love the feeling when I go inside this chapel. Aside from the chapel in Hong Kong, we also have the temple in Kowloon Tong. I love going there too with my husband attending ordinance sessions and we feel so blessed and so much peace in our hearts that words can't really explain how we feel. 

14 storey chapel of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Wan Chai

My hubby pointing to the Hong Kong China Temple, Kowloon Tong

I rested the whole night of Sunday and when I woke up in the morning of Monday, I was starving so I went down and head to the nearest food court in Lockhart market where you can find local food for 30hkd. You have several options of rice toppings or noodles. Just ask for English menu so you will know the name of food you'll order. I had fish fillet in tomatoes. I was surprised with the amount of rice, it's more like I'm eating for two meals already...burp! it comes with beef soup. If you are in Hong Kong, I would suggest you go find the restaurant where many people are on queue and you will not regret ordering authentic delicious food. 

local food court in Lockhart market
Cat display in Time Square, Causeway bay
I went along Causeway bay and Victoria Park where there is an ongoing Lunar New Year Fair where you can find  flower market of all sorts and varieties. Street food that I haven't seen in Manila. Unfortunately I wasn't able to take some more pictures when my phone went flat but I did try some HK local street food and enjoyed exploring Wan Chai and Causeway bay areas.
Indonesian noodles and Chinese cake in Circle K

this is yummy!


Aside from delectable food that I've seen and tasted. I've experienced hiking in one of the popular nature trails in Hong Kong for the first time. I went together with my co - teachers and Primo staff in Tai Tong nature trail where we had some barbecue and chit chats on the top of the mountain overlooking New Territories area and Shenzhen, China....I love New Territories, it's the laid back side of Hong Kong actually, it's no longer HK, it's another island of the entire country. This activity made me realized that I'm not getting younger anymore, I was catching my breath on our trip up the trail... I promised myself to do more exercises and warm ups next time. I love hiking and will do it again in HK with my hubby. It's healthy and invigorating and a great way to see the other side of HK.
overlooking Shenzhen, China at far right-hand corner 



going up the trail is ofcourse the most tiring part

with Native English Teachers

tired and hungry? ok, cook for your own food...


On the 19th of February, I attended One-day Mission activity in Wan Chai chapel and so we went to Tsim Sha Tsui to find some souls who are ready to hear and accept the gospel of Jesus Christ and invite them to visit our church. It was so cold and windy that time in Tsim Sha Tsui Promenade and Kowloon park but I'm so grateful for that experience. In the evening, I went to see the parade in the evening where I was able to see our very first Philippine entry to the annual international Cathay Pacific parade that is no other than the Masskara Festival group from Bacolod. I had a blast and went back to Wan Chai to look for HK noodles but since it's holiday, my friend and I ended up eating pizza instead but it wasn't bad at all. Paisano pizza is good, yo! That  basically sums up my short trip to HK this year. I may not be able to write everything here about my itineraries but  I believe I have written much about the highlights of my trip. I hope you guys find something new and interesting here  that you may also want to try in the future if you decide to come to HK for more adventure. For more information about Hong Kong attractions, please visit: http://www.discoverhongkong.com.

sweet 20 world party 2015

crowd in Tsim Sha Tsui waiting for the International parade

paisanos.com.hk
Hennesy, Road @ 5AM February 20, 2015





Tuesday, February 10, 2015

Guide to your Hong Kong Trip

I always wanted to write something about my own experience in going on a trip to Hong Kong in my blog and this is it! I have posted some helpful tips that I think would be helpful to first timers in going to Hong Kong. I'm actually writing all of these for my mom who will come to Hong Kong soon for the first time. 

Let me start with booking a flight going to Hong Kong. I did it online with cebupacificair.com and paid it via the nearest "bayad" payment center in our place but you can also use a credit card. After getting a reference booking number,it must be paid not later than 24  hours upon booking or you might need to re-book your flight. If you want much cheaper plane ticket, try booking  via Clark International airport as your point of origin. I have such a wonderful experience in Clark airport that's why I kept coming back there...less stress and proximity wise on my part. 
online booking ticket


There are required fees before you can board the aircraft on your scheduled flight such as Travel tax P1,620.00 and P600.00 for Clark International Airport Terminal fee. The good thing about this is that when you go back from HK to Clark, you don't have to pay anything like this anymore... only in the Philippines. 


Travel tax (Php1620.00)


board pass Clark to HK and Terminal fee (Php600.00)

Boarding pass (this boarding pass is from HK to Clark)
On the actual day of your scheduled flight, be sure to be at the airport 2 hours prior to your scheduled flight to avoid any inconvenience. 
Clark Int'l airport departure area entrance

But if you are way too early on your scheduled flight and your flying via Clark...no worries!  you can do yoga or do more selfies while waiting for the baggage counter to open.
Clark International airport baggage counters area (not yet open)


Departure Card (fill this out before going to Immigration counter in Clark)

boarding gate waiting area
boarding the aircraft (sometimes you need to walk afar from the gate to board the aircraft)

Now all you need to do is sit back and relax and don't forget to listen to the pre-flight safety instructions demonstration conducted by the airline cabin crew. 

After approximately one hour and 45 minutes, you have arrived in Hong Kong International airport where you have to ride bus transfer and train to the Immigration area where you will be issued with a VISA. It's a small sized paper that you should be careful not to misplace. I suggest you bring with you a paper clip to attach with your passport and to secure them properly. After getting a visa,  you may now proceed to the luggage conveyor area to pick up your luggage then off to the customs area and then to the arrival area of the airport where you will see several fast food chains. 
Mcdonalds inside HKIA
Don't forget to get yourself a HK map before you leave the airport. It would be very helpful for the first timers in Hong Kong based on my own experience. You can find the map just before you go inside the Immigration area or approach customer service inside the airport for a copy of HK map.
bus train transfer (HK International airport)






Arrival Hall (HK International Airport)

Welcome to Hong Kong! If you have someone to pick you up from the airport then good for you but if you know your way around the city, all you need to do is just ride a bus going to your hotel accommodation or ride a train at your convenience.

I prefer the bus as usual because it is much cheaper than the express train going to Hong Kong proper. In our case, we ride the E11 coded bus going to our accommodation in Wan Chai HK. This E11 bus will also passby Central where you can find money changer Pinoy style in the World-Wide House. 
Double Decker bus (upstairs seats)



 Des Voeux Road Central 
(1 hkd = 5.72pesos) as of Feb 2015 currency conversion
 Tram (always try the top level seat)
 cheap Tram fare (2.30hkd for adult)

Octopus card 150hkd  (50 hkd deposit which is refundable when you return the card)


I love riding the Tram aside from it's cheap fare, I get to see the city in a more relaxing way...just like riding a "kalesa in Luneta". If you have coins, save it for your next tram ride for only 2.30hkd for adults. You can also use your Octopus card if you like, either ways make no difference at all...everything is at your own convenience. I got my Octopus card from the MTR station.

If you want to buy a HK prepaid sim card, you can go to the World-Wide house in Central or Circle K, Wellcome or 7-Eleven stores nearby. I bought mine from World-Wide house and it's a CSL prepaid sim for 38hkd. If you want to buy a simcard before you leave the arrival area in the airport, you can look for 7-Eleven store in the arrival area of the airport. There are several other sim cards available in the store.  You can use it in texting and calling your loved ones back in Pinas and use its 3g data features to connect to the internet.

I was still able to use the CSL simcard back here in the Phils upon my return without even registering to roaming unlike our simcard (globe or smart) that you still need to activate the roaming feature manually before you leave the country. CSL prepaid sim automatically activates its roaming services once you arrive your country of origin and it is powered by Globe. 



And now you are ready to conquer Hong Kong! goodluck in your trip! Don't forget the pasalubong, ok!