This is my second trip to HongKong. Since I live in Manila, Philippines and was on my way to India I decided to spend three days in HongKong. My wife and I visited in the month of May. We booked our flights on Cathay Dragon and the journey fromManila is around 3hours.We reached HongKong airport in the noon. After the immigration process and collecting our baggage we headed towards the nearest 1010 store in the arrival hall.I got the CSL sim card which works both in HongKong and Macau. I even decided to get 2 octopus cards one for my wife and myself (it’s a multipurpose card which can be used at all grocery stores and even in MRTs. so it’s a must to have one of these in HongKong. You need not worry about carrying the exact change) I got the cards at the airport express counter. You need to charge these with the amount of your choice and even pay a deposit fee of 50Hkd which is refundable once you return the card.
To get to the city one can hire a taxi or can even opt for the airport express. We decided to get a cab since we had lots of bags with us. The journey was a pleasant one with beautiful view of the harbour and the city, it was delight. We had booked our stay in IBIS hotel Sheung Wan (Economy hotel)The hotel is situated in the city centre. The hotel has the Queen St tram stop right outside the door, and only a 5 min walk to the HK Macau Ferry Terminal and 8 min to MTR. One can visit ground floor Starbucks for a coffee.After checking in we freshened up and got ourselves something to eat from Starbucks. Later in the evening we decided to go watch the symphony of lights show, and visited the temple street market after. On our way to Temple Street we visited a Chinese vegetarian restaurant. YES!!! You heard it right, the restaurant had every non vegetarian dish on the menu but it was made using soy tofu. So we ordered for shrimp which tasted like shrimp even looked like one but made out of soy.
Unfortunately I don’t happen to remember the name of the restaurant neither do we have pictures, but it was a mind boggling experience.We visited the night market on Temple Street and dined in one of the local restaurants there.
Day 2: Macau
A DAY TRIP TO MACAU
Macau also known as the Vegas of Asia is like a European piece of Asia. The lovely architecture and the modern casinos are what awed us the most. The currency used in Macau is Pataca, but one can also use their HongKong dollars.
We started early in the morning. Grabbed our breakfast from Starbucks and headed to the Shun Tak centre which is at a walkable distance from Ibis
To get to Macau we took the turbo jet which costs HKD146 for one way. Make sure you get a two way ticket. The journey is just 60mins. As you reach Macau you have to wait in line to clear your immigration process. Remember to carry your passports.
There are many ways to reach the city from the Macau ferry terminal
-take a free shuttle
-take a taxi
-take a local bus
As soon as we reached Macau we hopped on the local bus and went to the ruins St.Paul’s cathedral and the Senado square. It’s easy to travel in Macau as there are signs and boards in English and with the help of Google maps we were able to travel about with ease. The place is gorgeous and is filled with tourists. You would want to get a picture at every place. Oohh… the Portuguese egg tarts were something everyone who visits Macau has to have. It was truly divine!!
Next we decided to walk and visited the grand emperor hotel and few other casinos on the way, including Casino Lisboa.
Just opposite Lisboa there is a bus terminal from where we boarded a bus to the Macau Tower. We had a great time at the Macau Tower! Awesome views but the best thing for us was watching people bungy jumping straight past the window we were looking out of! Wow!!! Also, walking along the glass walkway up so high was a highlight for us.
It is the world’s higher commercial bungee jumping spot. There are two observation decks, one inside and air conditioned one outside. Two areas on the inside deck have glass floors. On the other hand, it's an excellent place to see Macau and China from above the view from above is remarkable.
It was already noon time we decided to have our lunch on the ground floor of the tower. The food was delicious.
Next we decided to go check out Ama temple. But unfortunately we got into the wrong bus and lost our way only to end up in the residential area of the city. Which was quiet an experience. Due to the heavily constructed buildings our Google maps were not working well. When we asked the locals for direction people too refused to talk as they did not know English. We just wandered about and found a shop where a local helped us.
Since we already lost two hours we headed towards the Fisherman’s Warf.
A theme park and one of Macau’s landmark attractions, Fisherman’s Wharf Macau is actually a “themed attraction." Overall, there is simply not much to do at the Wharf.
It was already dinner time so we visited the Sands hotel just opposite the Warf. As we entered we were welcomed by a beautiful chandelier. We visited the casino and the duty free shop. We got a gift voucher so I decided to get myself a perfume and then grabbed seafood Tepanyaki at the food court. After which it was time to depart to hongkong. We took the free shuttle from Sands Hotel to the Macau ferry terminal.
Day3: Big Buddha and Victoria peak
Tian Tan Buddha, also known as the Big Buddha, is a large bronze statue of located at Ngong Ping, Lantau Island, in Hong Kong. The statue is sited near Po Lin Monastery . It is a major centre of Buddhism in Hong Kong, and is also a popular tourist attraction.
We took the MRT to Tung Chung. From Tung Chung we opted for the cable car ride. We had booked our tickets through KLOOK and didn’t have to wait in the que for long. But you have to wait in a long que for your turn to arrive to be seated in the cable car. There are two kinds of cable cars one with glass at the bottom which a a little expensive than the regular one. We opted for the regular cable car.
It’s breathtaking to glide over the mountains and see the big Buddha revealed. The cable car ride is worth it. You get to see entire HongKong from the top. You will need at least half a day to spend there. It’s a great place for days spend.
After visiting Big Buddha our next destination was The Victoria Peak.
There are two ways to get to the top of Victoria Peak
-the peak tram
-ride a bus
We decided to take the bus .As we reached the Central bus terminal we spotted a bus that goes to the peak. The bus journey is approximately 30 to 45 minutes depending on the traffic.
We visited the peak in the evening and stayed there until sunset to view the night view as well. The Sky Terrace 428, the highest 360° viewing terrace in Hong Kong. The view is breathtaking you can see the buildings stacked one after the other and it is so exhilarating. On the other hand you can see the lush green foliage of trees, like broccolis stocked together.
Day 4:
We had our return flight to India so we decided to just roam about in and around the hotel. We visited the IFC building spent some time shopping and had lunch at Central chee kie Lunch. We still had some time left so we went for the star ferry ridewhich was a pleasant ride on a sunny afternoon.
To get to the airport we called for a cab which was arranged by the hotel staff.
